Adding a background image to any window

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There are times you may need to change your dialog or control background. It can be easy if you are using the CPictureWindow class. This class uses one of the ATL classes, CWindowImpl. This does not means that the CPictureWindow class cannot be used in MFC applications. All that you need to do is insert two new lines in your stdafx.h:

#include < atlbase.h > ;

extern CComModule _Module;

The class is used by subclassing another window. So if you want to change the background of one of your dialogs or a control, all that you need is to add a new member of CPictureWindow in the object, and then subclass the object with your new member.

For instance, if you want to set the background image in a dialog, you would add a member variable m_PictureWindow to your dialog, and in the OnInitDialog call the function m_PictureWindow.SubclassWindow(m_hWnd ); where m_hWnd is the window handle of the dialog.

If you want to handle the EraseBackGround message in the dialog you have to call

m_PictureWindow.nMessageHandler = CPictureWindow::BackGroundPaint. 

After you do this you have to call the Load function of the CPictureWindow class. In this way your background of the dialog will display an image.

#include "PictureWindow.h"

BOOL XXXX::OnInitDialog()
{
	...
	m_PictureWindow.SubclassWindow( m_hWnd );
	m_PictureWindow.m_nMessageHandler = CPictureWindow::BackGroundPaint;
	m_PictureWindow.Load("image.bmp");
};

Also, If you have one control child of one dialog (window) and you need to add a background picture all that you need to do is:

#include "PictureWindow.h"

BOOL XXXX::OnInitDialog()
{
	...

	// The IDC_STATIC1 is the identifier of child window, and the m_hWnd is the

	// parent window handle

	m_PictureWindow.SubclassWindow( ::GetDlgItem( m_hWnd, IDC_STATIC1 ) ); 
	m_PictureWindow.m_nMessageHandler = CPictureWindow::ClientPaint; // This is the default value

	m_PictureWindow.Load("image.bmp");
};