CreatePen info  Overview  Group

The CreatePen function creates a logical pen that has the specified style, width, and color. The pen can subsequently be selected into a device context and used to draw lines and curves.

HPEN CreatePen(

int fnPenStyle,	// pen style
int nWidth,	// pen width
COLORREF crColor	// pen color
);

Parameters

fnPenStyle

Specifies the pen style. It can be any one of the following values:

Style	Description
PS_SOLID	Pen is solid.
PS_DASH	Pen is dashed. This style is valid only when the pen width is one or less in device units.
PS_DOT	Pen is dotted. This style is valid only when the pen width is one or less in device units.
PS_DASHDOT	Pen has alternating dashes and dots. This style is valid only when the pen width is one or less in device units.
PS_DASHDOTDOT	Pen has alternating dashes and double dots. This style is valid only when the pen width is one or less in device units.
PS_NULL	Pen is invisible.
PS_INSIDEFRAME	Pen is solid. When this pen is used in any graphics device interface (GDI) drawing function that takes a bounding rectangle, the dimensions of the figure are shrunk so that it fits entirely in the bounding rectangle, taking into account the width of the pen. This applies only to geometric pens.

nWidth

Specifies the width of the pen, in logical units. If nWidth is zero, the pen is a single pixel wide, regardless of the current transformation.

crColor

Specifies a color reference for the pen color.

Return Values

If the function succeeds, the return value is a handle that identifies a logical pen.

If the function fails, the return value is NULL. To get extended error information, call GetLastError.

Remarks

After an application creates a logical pen, it can select that pen into a device context by calling the SelectObject function. After a pen is selected into a device context, it can be used to draw lines and curves.

If the value specified by the nWidth parameter is zero, a line drawn with the created pen will always be a single pixel wide regardless of the current transformation.

If the value specified by nWidth is greater than 1, the fnPenStyle parameter must be PS_NULL, PS_SOLID, or PS_INSIDEFRAME.

If the value specified by nWidth is greater than 1 and fnPenStyle is PS_INSIDEFRAME, the line associated with the pen is drawn inside the frame of all primitives except polygons and polylines.

If the value specified by nWidth is greater than 1, fnPenStyle is PS_INSIDEFRAME, and the color specified by the crColor parameter does not match one of the entries in the logical palette, Windows draws lines by using a dithered color. Dithered colors are not available with solid pens.

When you no longer need the pen, call the DeleteObject function to delete it.

See Also

CreatePenIndirect, DeleteObject, ExtCreatePen, GetObject, RGB, SelectObject