Sets or removes the password character for an edit control. When a password character is set, that character is displayed in place of the characters typed by the user. You can send this message to either an edit control or a rich edit control.
Syntax
To send this message, call the
SendMessage
function as follows.
lResult = SendMessage( // returns LRESULT in lResult
hWndControl, // (HWND) handle to destination control
EM_SETPASSWORDCHAR, // (UINT) message ID
wParam, // = () wParam;
lParam // = 0L; not used, must be zero
);
Parameters
- wParam
-
The character to be displayed in place of the characters typed by the user. If this parameter is zero, the control removes the current password character and displays the characters typed by the user.
- lParam
-
This parameter is not used.
Return Value
This message does not return a value.
Remarks
When an edit control receives the EM_SETPASSWORDCHAR message, the control redraws all visible characters using the character specified by the wParam parameter. If wParam is zero, the control redraws all visible characters using the characters typed by the user.
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. The ES_PASSWORD style is removed if an EM_SETPASSWORDCHAR message is sent with the wParam parameter set to zero.
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.
Message Information
| Header | Declared in Winuser.h, include Windows.h |
|---|
| Minimum operating systems |
Windows 95, Windows NT 3.1 |
|---|
See Also
EM_GETPASSWORDCHAR