Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!cs.utexas.edu!ut-emx!jdm
From: jdm@ut-emx.UUCP (Jim Meiss)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.programmer
Subject: Re: Finding out What Application is Running
Summary: Here is what I'm really trying to do....
Keywords: Desk Accessories, CurApName
Message-ID: <9112@ut-emx.UUCP>
Date: 29 Dec 88 15:45:36 GMT
References: <9065@ut-emx.UUCP> <22991@apple.Apple.COM>
Organization: The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas
Lines: 69



In response to my article Larry Rosenstein writes:
<Checking the application signature is better than checking CurApName (since
<user's can't change the signature), but there is nothing to say that the
<next version of Excel won't have a different signature.  (Aldus and Adobe
<have both done this with their respective programs.)

<What is it that you are trying to do?  It might be better to check for the
<undesirable window configuration, and work from there.  (That way if soem
<other application does the same thing, you are still covered.)

  What I'm trying to do is get the result of a calculation automatically entered
in an applications window. My routine for doing this is: 
-------
Boolean underExcel; 		/* TRUE if CurApplication is Excel*/

Handle DItemHandle(wPtr,item)
windowPtr wPtr;
int item;
{
	/*return handle for dialog item*/
}

Pstr_Length(aStr)
char* aStr;
{
	/*return length of a pascal string*/
}

PostKeys(itemNo)		/*AutoPost of the Result*/
int itemNo;
{
Str255 theText;
int i,len;
long message;
				
	GetIText(DItemHandle(dce->dCtlWindow,itemNo),theText);
	len = pstr_Length(theText);
	
	for(i=1;i<=len;i++)
	{
		message = (long)theText[i];
		PostEvent(keyDown,message);
	}
	
	SendBehind(dce->dCtlWindow,((WindowPeek)dce->dCtlWindow)->nextWindow);
	if(underExcel)
           SendBehind(FrontWindow(),((WindowPeek)FrontWindow())->nextWindow);
}
-------

 I have to do a second SendBehind for Excel because it keeps its small edit
window as the frontmost window, but this window won't accept keydown events. 
You have to make the spreadsheet window frontmost first. I don't know how to
check to see if this kind of window configuration exists in general.  This mght 
happen with other spreadsheet programs, but I only have Excel. Another case when
this could happen is for SuperPaint (and perhaps MacPaint too) which has the
pallette windows frontmost always.  However, this isn't a big problem because I 
don't envision anyone using my calculator for a painting program.
	Finally, this procedure doesn't work under Multifinder unless the option
key is used on launch of the DA. However, I wouldn't know how to tell which of
the running applications should receive the keydown's anyway.
	I'd entertain any suggestions about how to detect such a window 
configuration in general, or if there is something better to do than SendBehind.

				Thanks;
				Jim Meiss
				jdm@emx.utexas.edu