Styjun

I'm trying to use System.Windows.Automation to get to a UI element in VLC media player (specifically the status box in the left-most corner that shows the filename of the video currently being played). I can get the parent element and a sibling element but in Spy++ all of the elements that have a dimmed icon next to them I cannot reach in code... I'm assuming that dimmed icon means they are private or hidden or something like that. Here is an image showing what I mean:

Notice that I have a reference to the parent with the handle 0x30826, and I do a FindAll()* from that and end up with only one result, a reference to the child with the handle 0x30858. You can see in Spy++ there are 5 children of 0x30826, but only one of them, the one that I get when I do FindAll, has a fully black icon, the others have a gray icon and I cannot get to them. Notice also that the one I want is 0x20908 and it has a grey icon...

How can I get to this in code?

*This is the code I'm using to try to get all the children of 0x30826:

 Dim aeDesktop As AutomationElement
 Dim aeVLC As AutomationElement
 Dim c As AutomationElementCollection
 Dim cd As New AndCondition(New PropertyCondition(AutomationElement.IsEnabledProperty, True), New PropertyCondition(AutomationElement.ControlTypeProperty, ControlType.StatusBar))

 aeVLC = aeDesktop.FindFirst(TreeScope.Children, New PropertyCondition(AutomationElement.NameProperty, "got s01e01.avi - VLC media player"))

 c = aeVLC.FindAll(TreeScope.Children, cd)

 c = c(0).FindAll(TreeScope.Children, Condition.TrueCondition)

The first FindAll() gives me only 0x30826, which is fine because that's what I want, but the second FindAll, with no conditions specified, gives only 0x30858 when I can see that plus 4 others in Spy++, including the one that I want.

You are really handicapping your efforts by using Spy++ instead of the Inspect Program. Using Inspect, you can easily see that the target element is a text element parented to a status bar element that is parented to the main window element.

Using that information, getting a reference to the target text element is straight forward. Start by getting the main window, then its status bar and finally the first text element of the status bar.

' find the VLC process 
Dim targets As Process() = Process.GetProcessesByName("vlc")

If targets.Length > 0 Then

 ' assume its the 1st process 
 Dim vlcMainWindowHandle As IntPtr = targets(0).MainWindowHandle

 ' release all processes obtained
 For Each p As Process In targets
 p.Dispose()
 Next

 ' use vlcMainWindowHandle to get application window element
 Dim vlcMain As AutomationElement = AutomationElement.FromHandle(vlcMainWindowHandle)

 ' get the statusbar
 Dim getStatusBarCondition As Condition = New PropertyCondition(AutomationElement.ControlTypeProperty, ControlType.StatusBar)
 Dim statusBar As AutomationElement = vlcMain.FindFirst(TreeScope.Children, getStatusBarCondition)

 ' get the 1st textbox in the statusbar
 Dim getTextBoxCondition As Condition = New PropertyCondition(AutomationElement.ControlTypeProperty, ControlType.Text)
 Dim targetTextBox As AutomationElement = statusBar.FindFirst(TreeScope.Children, getTextBoxCondition)

 ' normally you use either a TextPattern.Pattern or ValuePattern.Pattern
 ' to obtain the text, but this textbox exposes neither and it uses the
 ' the Name property for the text.

 Dim textYouWant As String = targetTextBox.Current.Name

End If