Get caption of child window button on windows using uiautomation with c++

To get the caption or text of a child window button on Windows using UI Automation with C++, you can follow these general steps:

1. Initialize the UI Automation Library: Start by initializing the UI Automation library using the CoInitializeEx function.

2. Obtain a Reference to the Child Window Button: Use the UI Automation API functions to obtain a reference to the child window button element. You can use the FindFirst or FindAll functions to search for the button element based on the appropriate criteria, such as automation ID or control type.

3. Get the Text Property: Once you have a reference to the button element, you can use the GetCachedPropertyValue or GetCurrentPropertyValue functions to retrieve the value of the UIA_NamePropertyId or UIA_LegacyIAccessibleNamePropertyId property. This property represents the caption or text of the button.

Here's a sample code snippet demonstrating the process:

cppCopy code
#include <UIAutomation.h>



// Initialize UI Automation

CoInitializeEx(NULL, COINIT_MULTITHREADED);



// Get a reference to the parent window or control

HWND hwndParent = ...; // Set the handle to the parent window or control



// Get a reference to the child window button

IUIAutomationElement* pElement = NULL;

IUIAutomation* pAutomation = NULL;

CoCreateInstance(CLSID_CUIAutomation, NULL, CLSCTX_INPROC_SERVER, IID_IUIAutomation, (void**)&pAutomation);

pAutomation->ElementFromHandle(hwndParent, &pElement);



// Find the button element

IUIAutomationCondition* pCondition = NULL;

pAutomation->CreatePropertyCondition(UIA_ControlTypePropertyId, UIA_ButtonControlTypeId, &pCondition);

IUIAutomationElement* pButton = NULL;

pElement->FindFirst(TreeScope_Subtree, pCondition, &pButton);



// Get the text property of the button

BSTR bstrName = NULL;

pButton->get_CurrentName(&bstrName);

if (bstrName)

{

    // Convert BSTR to std::wstring or use as needed

    std::wstring buttonCaption = bstrName;

    SysFreeString(bstrName);

}



// Clean up resources

pButton->Release();

pCondition->Release();

pElement->Release();

pAutomation->Release();



// Uninitialize UI Automation

CoUninitialize();

This code snippet demonstrates the basic steps for obtaining the caption or text of a child window button using UI Automation in C++. Adjust the search criteria and property access based on your specific scenario and requirements.

Make sure to include the necessary header files (UIAutomation.h) and link against the UIAutomationCore.lib library.

Remember to handle error checking and release the acquired interfaces to avoid memory leaks.

It's important to note that UI Automation may not be available for all types of controls or applications. Some applications may not provide proper UI Automation support, in which case alternative methods or technologies may be necessary to retrieve the button caption or text.