C# Signature:

[DllImport("user32.dll", CharSet=CharSet.Auto)]
public static extern int MessageBox(int hWnd, String text, String caption, uint type);

User-Defined Types:

None.

Parameter Information

hWnd

Identifies the owner window of the message box to be created. If this parameter is NULL, the message box has no owner window.

lpText

Points to a null-terminated string containing the message to be displayed.

lpCaption

Points to a null-terminated string used for the dialog box title. If this parameter is NULL, the default title Error is used.

uType

Specifies a set of bit flags that determine the contents and behavior of the dialog box. This parameter can be a combination of flags from the following groups of flags.

Specify one of the following flags to indicate the buttons contained in the message box:

MB_ABORTRETRYIGNORE

The message box contains three push buttons: Abort, Retry, and Ignore.

MB_OK

The message box contains one push button: OK. This is the default.

MB_OKCANCEL

The message box contains two push buttons: OK and Cancel.

MB_RETRYCANCEL

The message box contains two push buttons: Retry and Cancel.

MB_YESNO

The message box contains two push buttons: Yes and No.

MB_YESNOCANCEL

The message box contains three push buttons: Yes, No, and Cancel.

Specify one of the following flags to display an icon in the message box:

MB_ICONEXCLAMATION,

MB_ICONWARNING

An exclamation-point icon appears in the message box.

MB_ICONINFORMATION, MB_ICONASTERISK

An icon consisting of a lowercase letter i in a circle appears in the message box.

MB_ICONQUESTION

A question-mark icon appears in the message box.

MB_ICONSTOP,

MB_ICONERROR,

MB_ICONHAND

A stop-sign icon appears in the message box.

Specify one of the following flags to indicate the default button:

MB_DEFBUTTON1

The first button is the default button.

MB_DEFBUTTON1 is the default unless MB_DEFBUTTON2, MB_DEFBUTTON3, or MB_DEFBUTTON4 is specified.

MB_DEFBUTTON2

The second button is the default button.

MB_DEFBUTTON3

The third button is the default button.

MB_DEFBUTTON4

The fourth button is the default button.

Specify one of the following flags to indicate the modality of the dialog box:

MB_APPLMODAL

The user must respond to the message box before continuing work in the window identified by the hWnd parameter. However, the user can move to the windows of other applications and work in those windows.

Depending on the hierarchy of windows in the application, the user may be able to move to other windows within the application. All child windows of the parent of the message box are automatically disabled, but popup windows are not.

MB_APPLMODAL is the default if neither MB_SYSTEMMODAL nor MB_TASKMODAL is specified.

MB_SYSTEMMODAL

Same as MB_APPLMODAL except that the message box has the WS_EX_TOPMOST style. Use system-modal message boxes to notify the user of serious, potentially damaging errors that require immediate attention (for example, running out of memory). This flag has no effect on the user's ability to interact with windows other than those associated with hWnd.

MB_TASKMODAL

Same as MB_APPLMODAL except that all the top-level windows belonging to the current task are disabled if the hWnd parameter is NULL. Use this flag when the calling application or library does not have a window handle available but still needs to prevent input to other windows in the current application without suspending other applications.

In addition, you can specify the following flags:

MB_DEFAULT_DESKTOP_ONLY

The desktop currently receiving input must be a default desktop; otherwise, the function fails. A default desktop is one an application runs on after the user has logged on.

MB_HELP

Adds a Help button to the message box. Choosing the Help button or pressing F1 generates a Help event.

MB_RIGHT

The text is right-justified.

MB_RTLREADING

Displays message and caption text using right-to-left reading order on Hebrew and Arabic systems.

MB_SETFOREGROUND

The message box becomes the foreground window. Internally, Windows calls the SetForegroundWindow function for the message box.

MB_TOPMOST

The message box is created with the WS_EX_TOPMOST window style.

MB_SERVICE_NOTIFICATION

Windows NT only: The caller is a service notifying the user of an event. The function displays a message box on the current active desktop, even if there is no user logged on to the computer.

If this flag is set, the hWnd parameter must be NULL. This is so the message box can appear on a desktop other than the desktop corresponding to the hWnd.

For Windows NT version 4.0, the value of MB_SERVICE_NOTIFICATION has changed. See WINUSER.H for the old and new values. Windows NT 4.0 provides backward compatibility for pre-existing services by mapping the old value to the new value in the implementation of MessageBox and MessageBoxEx. This mapping is only done for executables that have a version number, as set by the linker, less than 4.0.

To build a service that uses MB_SERVICE_NOTIFICATION, and can run on both Windows NT 3.x and Windows NT 4.0, you have two choices. 1. At link-time, specify a version number less than 4.0; or

2. At link-time, specify version 4.0. At run-time, use the GetVersionEx function to check the system version. Then when running on Windows NT 3.x, use MB_SERVICE_NOTIFICATION_NT3X; and on Windows NT 4.0, use MB_SERVICE_NOTIFICATION.

MB_SERVICE_NOTIFICATION_NT3X

Windows NT only: This value corresponds to the value defined for MB_SERVICE_NOTIFICATION for Windows NT version 3.51.

Notes:

At the time of writing this, I don't what to do with hWnd and type, so I just left them '0'. You should find out for me and post it here.

Tips & Tricks:

Please add some!

Sample Code:

    class Class1
    {
        [DllImport("user32.dll", CharSet=CharSet.Auto)]
        public static extern int MessageBox(int hWnd, String text, String caption,
            uint type);

        [STAThread]
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            Class1.MessageBox(0, "Text", "Caption", 0 );
        }
    }

}

Alternative Managed API:

System.Windows.Forms.MessageBox.Show()

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