EM_GETPASSWORDCHAR message

Gets the password character that an edit control displays when the user enters text. You can send this message to either an edit control or a rich edit control.

Parameters

wParam

Not used; must be zero.

lParam

Not used; must be zero.

Return value

The return value specifies the character to be displayed in place of any characters typed by the user. If the return value is NULL, there is no password character, and the control displays the characters typed by the user.

Remarks

If an edit control is created with the ES_PASSWORD style, the default password character is set to an asterisk (*). If an edit control is created without the ES_PASSWORD style, there is no password character. To change the password character, send the EM_SETPASSWORDCHAR message.

Microsoft Windows XP: If an edit control is from user32.dll, an asterisk is the default character for the ES_PASSWORD style. However, if an edit control is from comctl32.dll version 6, a black circle is the default character for the ES_PASSWORD style. Note that comctl32.dll version 6 is not redistributable but is included with Windows XP or later. To use comctl32.dll version 6, specify it in a manifest. For more information on manifests, see Enabling Visual Styles.

Edit controls: Multiline edit controls do not support the password style or messages.

Rich edit: Supported in Microsoft Rich Edit 2.0 and later. Both single-line and multiline edit controls support the password style and messages. For information about the compatibility of rich edit versions with the various system versions, see About Rich Edit Controls.

Requirements

See also

EM_SETPASSWORDCHAR

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Build date: 10/27/2012