GetParent Function

The GetParent function retrieves a handle to the specified window's parent or owner.

To retrieve a handle to a specified ancestor, use the GetAncestor function.

Syntax

HWND GetParent(      
    HWND hWnd
);

Parameters

hWnd
[in] Handle to the window whose parent window handle is to be retrieved.

Return Value

If the window is a child window, the return value is a handle to the parent window. If the window is a top-level window, the return value is a handle to the owner window. If the window is a top-level unowned window or if the function fails, the return value is NULL. To get extended error information, call GetLastError. For example, this would determine, when the function returns NULL, if the function failed or the window was a top-level window.

Remarks

Note that, despite its name, this function can return an owner window instead of a parent window. To obtain the parent window and not the owner, use GetLastError with the GA_PARENT flag.

Example

For an example, see Initializing a Dialog Box.

Function Information

Minimum DLL Versionuser32.dll
HeaderDeclared in Winuser.h, include Windows.h
Import libraryUser32.lib
Minimum operating systems Windows 95, Windows NT 3.1

See Also



Community Content

Noelle Mallory - MSFT
Possible VB9 declaration
Friend Declare Function GetParent Lib "user32.dll" (ByVal hwnd As Int32) As Int32
Tags :

dmex
vb.net syntax
<DllImport("user32.dll", CharSet:=CharSet.Auto, ExactSpelling:=True)> _
Public Shared Function GetParent(ByVal hWnd As IntPtr) As IntPtr
End Function
Tags :

dmex
C# syntax
[DllImport("user32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto, ExactSpelling = true)]
public static extern IntPtr GetParent(IntPtr hWnd);
Tags : c#

Yuriy Chumak
fix for "Remarks"
Remarks
Note that, despite its name, this function can return an owner window instead of a parent window. To obtain the parent window and not the owner, use GetAncestor with the GA_PARENT flag.
Tags : fix

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