How do I draw transparent DirectX content in a transparent window?

Question

I want to draw DirectX content so that it appears to be floating over top of the desktop and any other applications that are running. I also need to be able to make the dire

Answer 1

I guess that will be hard without using the Desktop Window Manager, i.e. if you want to support Windows XP. With the DWM, it seems to be rather easy though.

If speed is not an issue, you may get away with rendering to a surface and then copying the rendered image to a layered window. Don't expect that to be fast though.