Python MessageBox with Icons using ctypes and windll

Question

So, I'm looking for a way to create a simple Messagebox in Python using just the native libraries and came across several posts, but namely this one, leveraging ctypes to import the win32.dll and call its MessageboxA function.

import ctypes  # An included library with Python install.
ctypes.windll.user32.MessageBoxA(0, "Your text", "Your title", 1)

Pretty cool stuff, I think.

--- But ---

When I when to look at the documentation for MessageboxA on Microsoft's site, turns out this MessageboxA function can do a whole lot more. I just don't know how to properly pass the parameters in.

I'm trying to figure out the standard method for raising the messagebox with an icon in it, like the systemhand or warning icon beside the message. Microsoft's documentation indicates one should enter this into the uType parameter, which is the last one, but I haven't been able to make any progress here other than changing the messagebox's buttons.

Nuno André · Accepted Answer · 2022-11-10 18:56:40Z

20

you just OR them together

import ctypes

# buttons
MB_OK = 0x0
MB_OKCXL = 0x01
MB_YESNOCXL = 0x03
MB_YESNO = 0x04
MB_HELP = 0x4000

# icons
ICON_EXCLAIM = 0x30
ICON_INFO = 0x40
ICON_STOP = 0x10

result = ctypes.windll.user32.MessageBoxA(0, "Your text?", "Your title", MB_HELP | MB_YESNO | ICON_STOP)

I got the hex values from the documentation you linked to

edited Nov 10, 2022 at 18:56

Nuno André

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answered Dec 2, 2014 at 19:16

Joran Beasley

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9 Comments

MrBubbles Over a year ago

doh! thinking wayyyyyyy to hard about this. lol Thanks so much Joran

MrBubbles Over a year ago

Joran, can you tell me how you deciphered what those hex values were? The hex values you are using seem to be an abbreviated form of what microsoft shows on their site. I originally tried passing in the hex values microsoft indicates as they were, but they never worked. Yours do work, I just don't know how you got to 0x30 from 0x00000030L, which is the value microsoft's documentation indicates for the exclamation icon

Joran Beasley Over a year ago

zeros on the left are not part of a number eg in decimal 97 is the same as 00097 ... I could have just as easily written 0x00000030 ... L just means long as in the datatype (any number that starts with 0x is just a hex number)

Mojimi Over a year ago

What is the reasoning that OR is what groups them together?

Tiger-222 Over a year ago

I would also use MessageBoxW() to deal correctly with unicode.

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