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**Peter Amick** · 10 Dec 2000, 09:54 PM

Originally posted by Scott Turchin:

Anyway, the app has to be invisible, not be in the system tray, not be in the task manager (Windows only, can't avoid NT)..

Can't even see the dialog to create it invisible, has to be invisible from time one...

One trick is to create the window offscreen, as below:

Code:

DIM xpos AS LONG 
DIM ypos AS LONG               

Dialog get loc WinHdl To xpos, ypos   'get window location
DIALOG SET LOC WinHdl, -100, -100     'move it off screen
DIALOG SHOW MODELESS hDlg, CALL DlgProc 
DIALOG SHOW STATE WinHdl, %SW_HIDE    'hide window
Dialog set loc WinHdl, xpos, ypos     'move back on screen

As for the TaskManager, I know there is a way to do this but I can't recall it off hand.

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Peter Amick
Baybuild Solutions

**Scott Turchin** · 10 Dec 2000, 09:57 PM

Task manager is easy, take the steps to put it in the system tray, but DON'T...
It deletes it from the task bar etc, and walah, invisible...I'll post the code when I get it done...

This may work, I'll letcha know

Thanks

Scott

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Scott
mailto:[email protected][email protected]</A>

**Lance Edmonds** · 10 Dec 2000, 10:07 PM

My $0.02...

Creating a Window "off the screen" can be problematic if multiple desktops (monitors) are in use... you could inadvertantly create a "hidden" window that appears on another monitor...

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Lance
PowerBASIC Support
mailto:[email protected][email protected]</A>

**Joseph W Murphy** · 11 Dec 2000, 05:49 AM

I am pretty sure that it is possible, because I have had a DLL running for 'hours' after the program that started it was terminated.
I did this by accident, but the DLL was supposed to send periodic updates to the main program on it's status and respond to 'commands' from the main program.
I think you have to use the SDK/API version of DoEvents and the apiSleep function.
Dave Navarro posted these routines -or- they were included with PB/DLL 5.0 samples.

Joe Murphy

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**Scott Turchin** · 11 Dec 2000, 06:55 PM

Hate to drag this up, but on Win98 that dialog is visible in the task bar, whether I do a dialog show state hdLg Dialog Show State hDlg,%SW_HIDE or not....

There has to be a way to create a window invisible doesn't there? or not create one at all?

Part of me is thinking of the PB/CC solution and hex editing the final executable so it's invisble...

Scott

------------------
Scott
mailto:[email protected][email protected]</A>

**Lance Edmonds** · 11 Dec 2000, 07:40 PM

Try making the dialog a tool-window, since they do not show in the taskbar... Use the extended style %WS_EX_TOOLWINDOW.

------------------
Lance
PowerBASIC Support
mailto:[email protected][email protected]</A>

**Peter Amick** · 11 Dec 2000, 07:53 PM

Lance,
Good point. I use this method, though, in my Net Connector program and haven't had any complaints so far. Don't know how many two-monitor systems there are out there, though.

Scott,
Haven't specifically checked Win98 lately, but the method I mentioned works fine on 95 and NT (doesn't show in the task bar). The program does have a tray icon, though, and that may have some effect.
Doing a quick run through POFFS, I see that you posted a similar question back in July. One of the respondents mentioned creating the window with the WS_ES_TOOLWINDOW extended style, and someone else suggested setting the window size to 0,0. Haven't tried either of these.

------------------
Peter Amick
Baybuild Solutions

**Scott Turchin** · 11 Dec 2000, 08:17 PM

Still a no go

Wonder why..

Code:

Function WinMain (ByVal hInstance     As Long, _
                  ByVal hPrevInstance As Long, _
                  lpCmdLine           As Asciiz Ptr, _
                  ByVal iCmdShow      As Long) As Long

Local szClassName As Asciiz * 80
szClassName = "SPYDER"

If IsTrue App_PrevInstance(szClassName) Then
    Exit Function
Else
    hMutex = CreateMutex(ByVal %Null, 0, szClassName)
End If


Dialog New 0,"" ,10, 10,30,30,, %WS_EX_TOOLWINDOW   To hDlg
'Dialog Set Loc hDlg, -100, -100
Dialog Show Modal hDlg Call DialogProc To g_Result
CloseHandle hMutex
End Function  ' WinMain

'------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CallBack Function DialogProc() As Long
  Select Case CbMsg
    Case %WM_CREATE
    Case %WM_DESTROY
    Case %WM_INITDIALOG
        InitializeCCSDLL
        Dialog Show State hDlg,%SW_HIDE
  End Select
End Function

------------------
Scott
mailto:[email protected][email protected]</A>

**Lance Edmonds** · 11 Dec 2000, 11:13 PM

Some "normal" dialog styles (ie, %WS_CHILD) are mutually exclusive with the %WS_EX_TOOLWINDOW style. Try something like this (off the top of my head, so E&OE please!)

Code:

DIALOG NEW hWndParent, "title", x, y, xx, yy, _
  %WS_SYSMENU OR %WS_THICKFRAME OR %DS_MODALFRAME, _
  %WS_EX_TOOLWINDOW TO hDlg

------------------
Lance
PowerBASIC Support
mailto:[email protected][email protected]</A>

**Dave Navarro** · 12 Dec 2000, 01:42 AM

Scott,

If you have MSDN (or use MSDN online) search for Matt Pietrek's article on "injecting a DLL into another process".

It shows you how to inject a DLL into the "desktop" process.

--Dave

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Home of the BASIC Gurus
www.basicguru.com

**Wayne Diamond** · 12 Dec 2000, 03:05 AM

im a bit confused by this thread...
my understanding was that DLL's can only run and do their thing while the process that loaded it is running... ? so if myprog.exe loads mydll.dll , and I kill myprog.exe using a standard call to TerminateProcess, surely mydll.dll will also be killed ? - even when the DLL has been "injected" - re: Pietrek, it should be unloaded by the OS when the calling process dies
so isn't what Scott wants to do - dare i say it - "impossible" ?
Thanks,
Wayne

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**Lance Edmonds** · 12 Dec 2000, 03:27 AM

No. When the app closes, each loaded/referenced DLLs' instance count is reduced by one, and the DLLs will only be unloaded from memory once their reference count reaches zero.

I'm just guessing, but the article you refer to is probably talking about a DLL within the "scope" of a single process (just to keep the explanation simple, and since that level of detail is in the realm of advanced programming

).

------------------
Lance
PowerBASIC Support
mailto:[email protected][email protected]</A>

**Scott Turchin** · 12 Dec 2000, 04:53 AM

Not to mention, I have ONE dialog box, one instance, and the only time my app will get sut down is when the guy shuts his computer down....

But isn't it also possible to use a global count integer, add each instance and if it goes over one exit the DLL???

Scott

------------------
Scott
mailto:[email protected][email protected]</A>

**Scott Turchin** · 12 Dec 2000, 07:16 PM

OK I give up on creating an invisible window, I didn't realize it would be such a pain in the ASTERISK...

What about a timer function, with no dialog, just SOMETHING to get this DLL initialized and hold itself in memory, the EXE does nothing....just inits the DLL and it does all the work...

There has got to be an easy way to do this without the user knowing a dialog is there..

What about a modeless dialog box? Does it require a modal dialog box??

Scott

------------------
Scott
mailto:[email protected][email protected]</A>

**Lance Edmonds** · 12 Dec 2000, 07:36 PM

Global variables are only global within a single instance of the module that they are defined.

That is, global variables in a DLL are not visible to the EXE that loads the DLL, and vice-versa (although they share the same process address space, they can be made visible py passing a pointer back and forwards). However, they are _completely_ isolated from each instance of a DLL (or process), since each process has it's own address space, stack, etc.

So how do you pass data between instances of a DLL or application? Use Inter-Process Communication (IPC) techniques. Check out WM_COPYDATA in WIN32.HLP for one of the easiest techniques, and search www.msdn.microsoft.com for IPC for information on other IPC techniques.

------------------
Lance
PowerBASIC Support
mailto:[email protected][email protected]</A>

**Wyman A Belts** · 12 Dec 2000, 08:39 PM

Hi Again Scott,
Do you need to make a dialog at all? The only thing the EXE is
doing is holding your hook DLL in memory, isn't it? Maybe I'm missing
something? In my EXE I just had a LoadLibrary call in PBMain
and a Do Loop with sleep 65000 or something. A WaitForSingleObject
with an infinite (-1) timeout would probly be cleaner, though.
Can't you use RegisterServiceProcess(GetCurrentProcessID, Action&)
to hide your EXE from the tasklist?
Good Luck!!

------------------
[email protected]

[This message has been edited by Wyman A Belts (edited December 12, 2000).]

**Greg Turgeon** · 12 Dec 2000, 10:21 PM

Code:

Scott--
   
I'm puzzled by your references to hiding a window.  Why create one at 
all?  Have a look at the following. (The ShowMsg function is included 
just to simplify message display for either PBDLL and PBCC.)
   
Greg
   
'---------------------------------------------------------------------
'-- Your DLL
'---------------------------------------------------------------------
#COMPILE DLL "STEALTH.DLL"
#REGISTER NONE
#DIM ALL
   
'============
DEFLNG A-Z
   
#INCLUDE "WIN32API.INC"
GLOBAL hINST&, DLLNAME$
DECLARE SUB ShowMsg(Msg$)
   
'====================
FUNCTION DllMain&(BYVAL hInstance&, _
                  BYVAL Reason&, _
                  BYVAL Reserved&) EXPORT
hINST& = hInstance&
select case Reason&
   case %DLL_PROCESS_ATTACH
      LOCAL ztmp AS ASCIIZ * %MAX_PATH
      '-- Retrieve DLL's name for ShowMsg()
      if GetModuleFileName(hINST&, ztmp, %MAX_PATH-1) then
         DLLNAME$ = ztmp
      else
         DLLNAME$ = "This DLL"
      end if
      function = 1 : exit function
   case %DLL_PROCESS_DETACH
      ShowMsg "%DLL_PROCESS_DETACH" + str$(Reason&)
      function = 1 : exit function
end select
END FUNCTION
   
'===========================
SUB ShowMsg(Msg$)
'-- MessageBox function wrapper
MessageBox 0, byval strptr(Msg$), byval strptr(DLLNAME$), %mb_TASKMODAL
END SUB
      
   
'---------------------------------------------------------------------
'-- EXE prop for DLL
'---------------------------------------------------------------------
#COMPILE EXE "STEALTH.EXE"
#REGISTER NONE
#DIM ALL
   
'============
DEFLNG A-Z
#INCLUDE "WIN32API.INC"
   
DECLARE FUNCTION HideProcess&()
DECLARE SUB ShowMsg(Msg$)
GLOBAL EXENAME$
   
'====================
FUNCTION WinMain&(BYVAL CurInst&, _
                  BYVAL PrvInst&, _
                  CmdLine AS ASCIIZ PTR, _
                  BYVAL CmdShow&) EXPORT
LOCAL t$, dllname$, ztmp AS ASCIIZ * %MAX_PATH
   
'-- Retrieve EXE's name for ShowMsg()
if GetModuleFileName(CurInst, ztmp, %MAX_PATH-1) then
   EXENAME$ = ztmp
else
   EXENAME$ = "This EXE"
end if
   
dllname$ = ucase$(rtrim$(EXENAME$, "EXE") + "DLL")
if LoadLibrary(byval strptr(dllname$)) = 0 then
   ShowMsg "Cannot load required DLL: " + $CR + dllname$
   goto ExitWinMain
end if
   
if HideProcess& then t$ = " hidden"
ShowMsg "Starting" + t$
   
'-- For demo purposes, cutoff in 10 seconds
WaitForSingleObject GetCurrentThread, 10000
''WaitForSingleObject GetCurrentThread, %INFINITE
   
ShowMsg "Ending"
   
'============
ExitWinMain:
END FUNCTION
   
%RSP_SIMPLE_SERVICE = 1 : %RSP_UNREGISTER_SERVICE = 0
'====================
FUNCTION HideProcess&()
'-- Works under Win 9x only
'   Does nothing if OS function is unavailable
'   Returns %TRUE on success
LOCAL hlib&, pRegisterServiceProcess AS DWORD PTR
hlib& = LoadLibrary("KERNEL32.DLL")
if hlib& then
   pRegisterServiceProcess = GetProcAddress(hlib&, "RegisterServiceProcess")
   if pRegisterServiceProcess then
      call dword pRegisterServiceProcess CDECL _
                (BYVAL GetCurrentProcessId, _
                 BYVAL %RSP_SIMPLE_SERVICE)
      function = %TRUE
   end if
   call FreeLibrary(hlib&)
end if
END FUNCTION
   
'===========================
SUB ShowMsg(Msg$)
'-- MessageBox function wrapper
MessageBox 0, byval strptr(Msg$), byval strptr(EXENAME$), %mb_TASKMODAL
END SUB

[This message has been edited by Greg Turgeon (edited December 12, 2000).]

**Scott Turchin** · 13 Dec 2000, 05:05 AM

You all are right on the money, the exe just calls this function in the DLL

Function InitCCSDLL
Local Dummy as long
Dummy = %FALSE
End Function

By doing that the DLL loads and begins operation and life is good

At that point in time I'm happy, so I could do a WaitForSingleObject, my only concern would be it locking up the machine hehe, otherwise that might work fine, the other one up there looks confusing but promising so I'll take a gander at it...

Scott

------------------
Scott
mailto:[email protected][email protected]</A>

**Scott Turchin** · 13 Dec 2000, 05:18 AM

Lance, if I read you correctly (and I'm not passing anything between DLL and EXE) I can't use a counter in the DLL either?

If I had to do something like that, and I forget how that topic came into this, but lets say I want to count instances of the DLL inside the DLL, can I use a gNumberofInstances variable and validate it does nto go over 1??

The WaitforSingleObject works fine, definitely does the job nicely...

Now the issue goes to the count, for some reason it wants to end the DLL mid stream, and there's no code to do that...

(It sends an email when complete, I have debug MSGBOX's in it for now and it sends 3 emails per run)..

Very strange, but its' almost done....

Thanks guys

Scott

------------------
Scott
mailto:[email protected][email protected]</A>

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