GetSystemMetrics info Overview Group

The GetSystemMetrics function retrieves various system metrics and system configuration settings.

System metrics are the dimensions (widths and heights) of Windows display elements. All dimensions retrieved by GetSystemMetrics are in pixels.

int GetSystemMetrics(

int nIndex

// system metric or configuration setting to retrieve

);

Parameters

nIndex

Specifies the system metric or configuration setting to retrieve. All SM_CX* values are widths. All SM_CY* values are heights. The following values are defined:

Value	Meaning
SM_ARRANGE	Flags specifying how the system arranged minimized windows. For more information about minimized windows, see the following Remarks section.
SM_CLEANBOOT	Value that specifies how the system was started: 0 Normal boot 1 Fail-safe boot 2 Fail-safe with network boot Fail-safe boot (also called SafeBoot) bypasses the user’s startup files.
SM_CMOUSEBUTTONS	Number of buttons on mouse, or zero if no mouse is installed.
SM_CXBORDER, SM_CYBORDER	The width and height, in pixels, of a window border. This is equivalent to the SM_CXEDGE value for windows with the 3-D look.
SM_CXCURSOR, SM_CYCURSOR	Width and height, in pixels, of a cursor. These are the cursor dimensions supported by the current display driver. The system cannot create cursors of other sizes.
SM_CXDLGFRAME, SM_CYDLGFRAME	Same as SM_CXFIXEDFRAME and SM_CYFIXEDFRAME.
SM_CXDOUBLECLK, SM_CYDOUBLECLK	Width and height, in pixels, of the rectangle around the location of a first click in a double-click sequence. The second click must occur within this rectangle for the system to consider the two clicks a double-click. (The two clicks must also occur within a specified time.)
SM_CXDRAG, SM_CYDRAG	Width and height, in pixels, of a rectangle centered on a drag point to allow for limited movement of the mouse pointer before a drag operation begins. This allows the user to click and release the mouse button easily without unintentionally starting a drag operation.
SM_CXEDGE, SM_CYEDGE	Dimensions, in pixels, of a 3-D border. These are the 3-D counterparts of SM_CXBORDER and SM_CYBORDER.
SM_CXFIXEDFRAME, SM_CYFIXEDFRAME	Thickness, in pixels, of the frame around the perimeter of a window that has a caption but is not sizable. SM_CXFIXEDFRAME is the width of the horizontal border and SM_CYFIXEDFRAME is the height of the vertical border. Same as SM_CXDLGFRAME and SM_CYDLGFRAME.
SM_CXFRAME, SM_CYFRAME	Same as SM_CXSIZEFRAME and SM_CYSIZEFRAME.
SM_CXFULLSCREEN, SM_CYFULLSCREEN	Width and height of the client area for a full-screen window. To get the coordinates of the portion of the screen not obscured by the tray, call the SystemParametersInfo function with the SPI_GETWORKAREA value.
SM_CXHSCROLL, SM_CYHSCROLL	Width, in pixels, of the arrow bitmap on a horizontal scroll bar; and height, in pixels, of a horizontal scroll bar.
SM_CXHTHUMB	Width, in pixels, of the thumb box in a horizontal scroll bar.
SM_CXICON, SM_CYICON	The default width and height, in pixels, of an icon. These values are typically 32x32, but can vary depending on the installed display hardware. The LoadIcon function can only load icons of these dimensions.
SM_CXICONSPACING, SM_CYICONSPACING	Dimensions, in pixels, of a grid cell for items in large icon view. Each item fits into a rectangle of this size when arranged. These values are always greater than or equal to SM_CXICON and SM_CYICON.
SM_CXMAXIMIZED, SM_CYMAXIMIZED	Default dimensions, in pixels, of a maximized top-level window.
SM_CXMAXTRACK, SM_CYMAXTRACK	Default maximum dimensions, in pixels, of a window that has a caption and sizing borders. The user cannot drag the window frame to a size larger than these dimensions. A window can override these values by processing the WM_GETMINMAXINFO message.
SM_CXMENUCHECK, SM_CYMENUCHECK	Dimensions, in pixels, of the default menu check-mark bitmap.
SM_CXMENUSIZE, SM_CYMENUSIZE	Dimensions, in pixels, of menu bar buttons, such as multiple document (MIDI) child close.
SM_CXMIN, SM_CYMIN	Minimum width and height, in pixels, of a window.
SM_CXMINIMIZED, SM_CYMINIMIZED	Dimensions, in pixels, of a normal minimized window.
SM_CXMINSPACING SM_CYMINSPACING	Dimensions, in pixels, of a grid cell for minimized windows. Each minimized window fits into a rectangle this size when arranged. These values are always greater than or equal to SM_CXMINIMIZED and SM_CYMINIMIZED.
SM_CXMINTRACK, SM_CYMINTRACK	Minimum tracking width and height, in pixels, of a window. The user cannot drag the window frame to a size smaller than these dimensions. A window can override these values by processing the WM_GETMINMAXINFO message.
SM_CXSCREEN, SM_CYSCREEN	Width and height, in pixels, of the screen.
SM_CXSIZE, SM_CYSIZE	Width and height, in pixels, of a button in a window's caption or title bar.
SM_CXSIZEFRAME, SM_CYSIZEFRAME	Thickness, in pixels, of the sizing border around the perimeter of a window that can be resized. SM_CXSIZEFRAME is the width of the horizontal border and SM_CYSIZEFRAME is the height of the vertical border. Same as SM_CXFRAME and SM_CYFRAME.
SM_CXSMICON, SM_CYSMICON	Recommended dimensions, in pixels, of a small icon. Small icons typically appear in window captions and in small icon view.
SM_CXSMSIZE SM_CYSMSIZE	Dimensions, in pixels, of small caption buttons.
SM_CXVSCROLL, SM_CYVSCROLL	Width, in pixels, of a vertical scroll bar; and height, in pixels, of the arrow bitmap on a vertical scroll bar.
SM_CYCAPTION	Height, in pixels, of normal caption area.
SM_CYKANJIWINDOW	For double-byte character set versions of Windows, height, in pixels, of the Kanji window at the bottom of the screen.
SM_CYMENU	Height, in pixels, of single-line menu bar.
SM_CYSMCAPTION	Height, in pixels, of a small caption.
SM_CYVTHUMB	Height , in pixels, of the thumb box in a vertical scroll bar.
SM_DBCSENABLED	TRUE or nonzero if the double-byte character set (DBCS) version of USER.EXE is installed; FALSE, or zero otherwise.
SM_DEBUG	TRUE or nonzero if the debugging version of USER.EXE is installed; FALSE, or zero, otherwise.
SM_MENUDROPALIGNMENT	TRUE, or nonzero if drop-down menus are right-aligned relative to the corresponding menu-bar item; FALSE, or zero if they are left-aligned.
SM_MIDEASTENABLED	TRUE if the system is enabled for Hebrew/Arabic languages.
SM_MOUSEPRESENT	TRUE or nonzero if a mouse is installed; FALSE, or zero, otherwise.
SM_MOUSEWHEELPRESENT	Windows NT only: TRUE or nonzero if a mouse with a wheel is installed; FALSE, or zero, otherwise.
SM_NETWORK	The least significant bit is set if a network is present; otherwise, it is cleared. The other bits are reserved for future use.
SM_PENWINDOWS	TRUE or nonzero if the Microsoft Windows for Pen computing extensions are installed; zero, or FALSE, otherwise.
SM_SECURE	TRUE if security is present, FALSE otherwise.
SM_SHOWSOUNDS	TRUE or nonzero if the user requires an application to present information visually in situations where it would otherwise present the information only in audible form; FALSE, or zero, otherwise.
SM_SLOWMACHINE	TRUE if the computer has a low-end (slow) processor, FALSE otherwise.
SM_SWAPBUTTON	TRUE or nonzero if the meanings of the left and right mouse buttons are swapped; FALSE, or zero, otherwise.

Return Values

If the function succeeds, the return value is the requested system metric or configuration setting.

If the function fails, the return value is zero. GetLastError does not provide extended error information.

Remarks

System metrics may vary from display to display.

The SM_ARRANGE setting specifies how the system arranges minimized windows, and consists of a starting position and a direction. The starting position can be one of the following values.

Value

Meaning

ARW_BOTTOMLEFT

Start at lower-left corner of screen (default position).

ARW_BOTTOMRIGHT

Start at lower-right corner of screen. Equivalent to ARW_STARTRIGHT.

ARW_HIDE

Hide minimized windows by moving them off of the visible area of the screen.

ARW_TOPLEFT

Start at upper-left corner of screen. Equivalent to ARV_STARTTOP.

ARW_TOPRIGHT

Start at upper-right corner of screen. Equivalent to ARW_STARTTOP | ARW_STARTRIGHT.

The direction in which to arrange can be one of the following values.

Value

Meaning

ARW_DOWN

Arrange vertically, top to bottom.

ARW_LEFT

Arrange horizontally, left to right.

ARW_RIGHT

Arrange horizontally, right to left.

ARW_UP

Arrange vertically, bottom to top.

See:

int nIndex	// system metric or configuration setting to retrieve
);

Value	Meaning
ARW_BOTTOMLEFT	Start at lower-left corner of screen (default position).
ARW_BOTTOMRIGHT	Start at lower-right corner of screen. Equivalent to ARW_STARTRIGHT.
ARW_HIDE	Hide minimized windows by moving them off of the visible area of the screen.
ARW_TOPLEFT	Start at upper-left corner of screen. Equivalent to ARV_STARTTOP.
ARW_TOPRIGHT	Start at upper-right corner of screen. Equivalent to ARW_STARTTOP \| ARW_STARTRIGHT.

Value	Meaning
ARW_DOWN	Arrange vertically, top to bottom.
ARW_LEFT	Arrange horizontally, left to right.
ARW_RIGHT	Arrange horizontally, right to left.
ARW_UP	Arrange vertically, bottom to top.