*****************************************************************
* Neveprise Inc. Delphi FAQ					*
*****************************************************************
* Section: WinAPI		Topic:   Registering a taskbar	*
* Created: July 26th, 1999	Revised: July 26th, 1999 	*
* Updates: www.neveprise.de	Info:	 support@neveprise.de	*
*****************************************************************

Q: How can I register my application as a taskbar?

A: You simply can align a form to the top e.g. and set the FormStyle
	Property to fsStayOnTop, so that no app can hide yours. But
	There are at least two problems: a) some other apps or windows
	still can cover your taskbar's window when they have the same
	stay-on-top property set and b) it does not define new Desktop
	metrics, so if an application maximizes, it lays behind your
	form instead of aligning to it. So you have to register that
	form as an ordinary taskbar:

procedure RegisterTaskBarH(FormHandle: THandle; Metrics: TRect;
	  Align: byte; UnRegister:boolean);
var AppStruct: TAppBarData;
begin
if UnRegister=false then begin //means you want to register a form
   with AppStruct do begin
        cbSize:=                SizeOf(AppStruct); //set record's size
        hWnd:=                  FormHandle; //e.g. Form1.Handle
        uCallBackMessage:=      WM_Activate;
        Rc:=                    Metrics;
        lParam:=                WM_Activate;
        case Align of //where shall it be placed? top, bottom...?
             tbaTop: uEdge:=    ABE_Top;
             tbaBottom: uEdge:= ABE_Bottom;
             tbaLeft: uEdge:=   ABE_Left;
             tbaRight: uEdge:=  ABE_Right;
        end;
   end;
   SHAppBarMessage(ABM_New,AppStruct); //add your form
   SHAppBarMessage(ABM_SetPos,AppStruct); //set it's position
   SHAppBarMessage(ABM_Activate,AppStruct); //activate it
   //and notify all other windows that your taskbar occupies a
   //special area (the metric bounds) on Desktop; thus they "know"
   //how far they can maximize etc.
   SHAppBarMessage(ABM_WindowPosChanged,AppStruct); //that's it!
end else begin //or we want to release our app
    with AppStruct do begin //clear parameters
         Rc:=rect(0,0,0,0);
         cbSize:=SizeOf(AppStruct);
         hWnd:=FormHandle;
         uCallBackMessage:=WM_Close;
    end;
    SHAppBarMessage(ABM_SetPos,AppStruct); //..feed functions with "nil"
    SHAppBarMessage(ABM_Activate,AppStruct);
    SHAppBarMessage(ABM_WindowPosChanged,AppStruct);
    SHAppBarMessage(ABM_Remove,AppStruct);
end;
end;


If your window shall be placed to the top of the Desktop, you would call
the procedure this way:

with Metrics do begin //type: TRect
     Left:=   0;
     Top:=    0;
     Bottom:= Screen.Width;
     Right:=  Form1.Height;
end;

RegisterTaksBarH(Form1.Handle, Metrics, tbaTop, false);



	Blazko