Get handle to desktop / shell window

Question

In one of my programs I need to test if the user is currently focusing the desktop/shell window. Currently I\'m using GetShellWindow() from user32.dll and compare the result

Answer 1

Here is a workaround that uses GetClassName() to detect if the desktop is active:

• When Windows first starts, the desktop's Class is "Progman"
• After changing the wallpaper, the desktop's Class will be "WorkerW"

You can test against these to see if the desktop is focused.

[DllImport("user32.dll")]
static extern int GetForegroundWindow();

[DllImport("user32.dll")]
static extern int GetClassName(int hWnd, StringBuilder lpClassName, int nMaxCount);

public void GetActiveWindow() {
    const int maxChars = 256;
    int handle = 0;
    StringBuilder className = new StringBuilder(maxChars);

    handle = GetForegroundWindow();

    if (GetClassName(handle, className, maxChars) > 0) {
        string cName = className.ToString();
        if (cName == "Progman" || cName == "WorkerW") {
            // desktop is active
        } else {
            // desktop is not active
        }
    }
}