I’ve got this app that sends commands to the active window. But here’s the problem: I can’t use my computer while it’s running. As soon as I switch to another window, the keystrokes go there instead.
Right now, I’m using Windows API stuff like FindWindow, IsIconic, and ShowWindow. I have to:
Find the window
Check if it’s minimized
Show it if needed
Set focus to it
Only then can I send keystrokes. It’s a pain because I can’t do anything else while my app is running.
Is there a way to send keystrokes to a window without making it active? I just want to send commands in the background without disturbing what I’m doing. Any ideas?
yo, have u tried using autohotkey? it’s pretty sweet for sending keystrokes to background windows. the controlSend command lets u target specific windows without messing with ur focus. might be worth a shot if the windows API stuff isn’t cutting it for ya. just my two cents!
I encountered similar challenges when trying to send keystrokes without activating the target window. In my experience, instead of switching focus, using SendMessage or PostMessage can directly pass input to the window’s message queue. For example, you can obtain the window handle with FindWindow, then send individual characters via WM_CHAR and handle special keys with WM_KEYDOWN and WM_KEYUP. Although this approach can be unreliable with some programs, it lets you work on other tasks while running your app in the background. Testing with your specific application is essential.
Having tried multiple approaches myself, I can say that relying on SendMessage or PostMessage is hit or miss. In my experience, AutoHotkey has delivered more consistent results when sending keystrokes to a background window. The ControlSend command lets you target the window without changing focus, offering an immediate workaround to the active window limitation of traditional API calls. Although compatibility can vary based on the target app, overall it has proved to be a practical and effective solution to the problem.