🚀 go-pugleaf

"Denville Longhurst" <denville@metco.co.uk> wrote in message 
news:4744bd52$1@newsgroups.borland.com...

> How could I add a menu item to the global right-click menu
> that offers copy, cut, paste, etc. ?

You can't.  You will have to create your own menu that has those same 
options in it, plus whatever you want to add to it.

> the user is within any arbitrary application eg reading an email
> etc. I would like it to be possible to right-click and in addition
> to the normal cut/copy/paste etc options, there be a new option
> 'copy to my app'.

There is no single popup menu that handles that globally for everything 
equally.  Different controls, files, windows, etc have different menus. 
Even things that appear to have the same options do not implement them the 
same way.

The only way you are going to be able to hook into another application's 
menu like you describe is if that application exposes an API to do so. 
Otherwise, you have to implement a global hook in a DLL using 
SetWindowsHookEx(), and have it intercept menu and mouse messages for the 
application, blocking the native menu handling and displaying your own menu 
instead.

> My app would then grab a copy of the selected text (presumably
> from the clipboard, which I know how to do) and do something with it, 
> perhaps in the background.

Another option would be to simply monitor the clipboard itself for changes 
(look at SetClipboardViewer()) and then do something when new data arrives 
on it.

> If I can't add a menu item (easily), could I get a notification
> when the user clicks on Copy

A global hook could intercept another application's WM_COMMAND messages.  To 
prevent the default handling, you would have to modify the message into a 
different one, such as WM_NULL.  You can then send a notification back to 
your main application to let it know that it can do what it needs to.  You 
will also have to retreive the currently selected text and include that in 
your notification, since you can't retrieve it from an external process 
(your DLL would run in the context of the application being hooked).

> then pop up a sub-menu, offering eg 'Copy to Clipboard' and 'Copy to My 
> App' ??

You need to use your own menu for that.


Gambit 

Well, what can I say?  As usual you have answered my question completely and 
comprehensively, and saved me an enormous amount of time.

As  usual, thank you very much.

Denville.

"Remy Lebeau (TeamB)" <no.spam@no.spam.com> wrote in message 
news:4744ceac$1@newsgroups.borland.com...
>
> "Denville Longhurst" <denville@metco.co.uk> wrote in message 
> news:4744bd52$1@newsgroups.borland.com...
>
>> How could I add a menu item to the global right-click menu
>> that offers copy, cut, paste, etc. ?
>
> You can't.  You will have to create your own menu that has those same 
> options in it, plus whatever you want to add to it.
>
>> the user is within any arbitrary application eg reading an email
>> etc. I would like it to be possible to right-click and in addition
>> to the normal cut/copy/paste etc options, there be a new option
>> 'copy to my app'.
>
> There is no single popup menu that handles that globally for everything 
> equally.  Different controls, files, windows, etc have different menus. 
> Even things that appear to have the same options do not implement them the 
> same way.
>
> The only way you are going to be able to hook into another application's 
> menu like you describe is if that application exposes an API to do so. 
> Otherwise, you have to implement a global hook in a DLL using 
> SetWindowsHookEx(), and have it intercept menu and mouse messages for the 
> application, blocking the native menu handling and displaying your own 
> menu instead.
>
>> My app would then grab a copy of the selected text (presumably
>> from the clipboard, which I know how to do) and do something with it, 
>> perhaps in the background.
>
> Another option would be to simply monitor the clipboard itself for changes 
> (look at SetClipboardViewer()) and then do something when new data arrives 
> on it.
>
>> If I can't add a menu item (easily), could I get a notification
>> when the user clicks on Copy
>
> A global hook could intercept another application's WM_COMMAND messages. 
> To prevent the default handling, you would have to modify the message into 
> a different one, such as WM_NULL.  You can then send a notification back 
> to your main application to let it know that it can do what it needs to. 
> You will also have to retreive the currently selected text and include 
> that in your notification, since you can't retrieve it from an external 
> process (your DLL would run in the context of the application being 
> hooked).
>
>> then pop up a sub-menu, offering eg 'Copy to Clipboard' and 'Copy to My 
>> App' ??
>
> You need to use your own menu for that.
>
>
> Gambit
>