An application sends the WM_WININICHANGE message to all top-level windows after making a change to the WIN.INI file. The SystemParametersInfo function sends this message after an application uses the function to change a setting in WIN.INI.

Note  The WM_WININICHANGE message is provided only for compatibility with earlier versions of the system. Applications should use the WM_SETTINGCHANGE message.

A window receives this message through its WindowProc function.

LRESULT CALLBACK WindowProc(
  HWND hwnd,       // handle to window
  UINT uMsg,       // message identifier
  WPARAM wParam,   // not used; must be zero
  LPARAM lParam    // system parameter area
);

Parameters

hwnd

A handle to window.

uMsg

The WM_WININICHANGE identifier.

wParam

This parameter is not used.

lParam

A pointer to a string containing the name of the system parameter that was changed. For example, this string can be the name of a registry key or the name of a section in the Win.ini file. This parameter is not particularly useful in determining which system parameter changed. For example, when the string is a registry name, it typically indicates only the leaf node in the registry, not the whole path. In addition, some applications send this message with lParam set to NULL. In general, when you receive this message, you should check and reload any system parameter settings that are used by your application.

Return Value

If you process this message, return zero.

Remarks

To send the WM_WININICHANGE message to all top-level windows, use the SendMessage function with the hWnd parameter set to HWND_BROADCAST.

Calls to functions that change WIN.INI may be mapped to the registry instead. This mapping occurs when WIN.INI and the section being changed are specified in the registry under the following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\IniFileMapping

The change in the storage location has no effect on the behavior of this message.

Requirements

See Also

SystemParametersInfo

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Build date: 11/19/2009