Changing ListView and TreeView Colors in WTL and WinAPI

When working with graphical user interfaces, visibility and aesthetics play essential roles in user experience. Developers often want to customize their applications to ensure information stands out and is easily readable. One common task is changing the colors of ListView and TreeView controls. In this blog post, we’ll explore the simplest way to change these colors using WTL (Windows Template Library) or plain Win32 code without delving into complex drawing routines.

The Challenge

You might be facing the following scenario:

• You want to adjust the colors of the text and background in ListView and TreeView controls.
• Implementing full owner drawing for these controls seems overwhelming or unnecessary.
• You want to ensure that any images displayed maintain their proper transparency when the colors are changed.

The Solution

Using Built-in Macros

Fortunately, there are existing solutions that do not require complex coding. The Win32 API provides specific macros that allow you to set the background and text colors for ListView and TreeView controls easily. Here’s how you can do it:

For ListView Controls

To change the background and text colors for ListView controls, you can use the following macros:

• Set Background Color: ListView_SetBkColor(HWND hwndListView, COLORREF color)
• Set Text Color: ListView_SetTextColor(HWND hwndListView, COLORREF color)

You can refer to the official documentation for more details:

• ListView_SetBkColor
• ListView_SetTextColor

For TreeView Controls

Similarly, for TreeView controls, you can apply the following macros:

• Set Background Color: TreeView_SetBkColor(HWND hwndTreeView, COLORREF color)
• Set Text Color: TreeView_SetTextColor(HWND hwndTreeView, COLORREF color)

Again, here are the references:

• TreeView_SetBkColor
• TreeView_SetTextColor

Example Code

Here is a minimal example to illustrate how you can change the colors:

// Assuming hwndListView and hwndTreeView are your ListView and TreeView handles
ListView_SetBkColor(hwndListView, RGB(255, 255, 255)); // Set to white background
ListView_SetTextColor(hwndListView, RGB(0, 0, 0)); // Set to black text

TreeView_SetBkColor(hwndTreeView, RGB(240, 240, 240)); // Set to light gray background
TreeView_SetTextColor(hwndTreeView, RGB(0, 128, 0)); // Set to dark green text

Things to Note

• Transparency: Using these macros will not interfere with the transparency of images displayed in your controls, which is a crucial consideration.
• Compatibility: These macros are compatible with applications that are built using WTL or plain Win32.

Conclusion

Changing the colors of ListView and TreeView controls in WTL and WinAPI can be done easily with the right macros, allowing for intuitive customization without cumbersome owner drawing implementations. By using the provided macros for setting background and text colors, you can enhance your application’s visual appeal, ensuring that it is both functional and user-friendly.

Final Thoughts

If you are looking to enhance the user experience of your applications, color customization of controls is a small yet impactful step you can take. Feel free to try out the provided methods and adjust colors to suit your design needs!