The GetSystemMetrics function retrieves various system metrics and system configuration settings.
System metrics are the dimensions (widths and heights) of Windows display elements. All dimensions retrieved by GetSystemMetrics are in pixels.
int GetSystemMetrics(
| int nIndex | // system metric or configuration setting to retrieve |
| ); |
Parameters
nIndex
Specifies the system metric or configuration setting to retrieve. All SM_CX* values are widths. All SM_CY* values are heights. The following values are defined:
| Value | Meaning |
| SM_ARRANGE | Flags specifying how the system arranged minimized windows. For more information about minimized windows, see the following Remarks section. |
| SM_CLEANBOOT | Value that specifies how the system was started:
0 Normal boot 1 Fail-safe boot 2 Fail-safe with network boot Fail-safe boot (also called SafeBoot) bypasses the user's startup files. |
| SM_CMOUSEBUTTONS | Number of buttons on mouse, or zero if no mouse is installed. |
| SM_CXBORDER, SM_CYBORDER |
The width and height, in pixels, of a window border. This is equivalent to the SM_CXEDGE value for windows with the 3-D look. |
| SM_CXCURSOR, SM_CYCURSOR |
Width and height, in pixels, of a cursor. These are the cursor dimensions supported by the current display driver. The system cannot create cursors of other sizes. |
| SM_CXDLGFRAME, SM_CYDLGFRAME |
Same as SM_CXFIXEDFRAME and SM_CYFIXEDFRAME. |
| SM_CXDOUBLECLK, SM_CYDOUBLECLK |
Width and height, in pixels, of the rectangle around the location of a first click in a double-click sequence. The second click must occur within this rectangle for the system to consider the two clicks a double-click. (The two clicks must also occur within a specified time.) |
| SM_CXDRAG, SM_CYDRAG |
Width and height, in pixels, of a rectangle centered on a drag point to allow for limited movement of the mouse pointer before a drag operation begins. This allows the user to click and release the mouse button easily without unintentionally starting a drag operation. |
| SM_CXEDGE, SM_CYEDGE |
Dimensions, in pixels, of a 3-D border. These are the 3-D counterparts of SM_CXBORDER and SM_CYBORDER. |
| SM_CXFIXEDFRAME, SM_CYFIXEDFRAME |
Thickness, in pixels, of the frame around the perimeter of a window that has a caption but is not sizable. SM_CXFIXEDFRAME is the width of the horizontal border and SM_CYFIXEDFRAME is the height of the vertical border.
Same as SM_CXDLGFRAME and SM_CYDLGFRAME. |
| SM_CXFRAME, SM_CYFRAME |
Same as SM_CXSIZEFRAME and SM_CYSIZEFRAME. |
| SM_CXFULLSCREEN, SM_CYFULLSCREEN | Width and height of the client area for a full-screen window. To get the coordinates of the portion of the screen not obscured by the tray, call the SystemParametersInfo function with the SPI_GETWORKAREA value. |
| SM_CXHSCROLL, SM_CYHSCROLL | Width, in pixels, of the arrow bitmap on a horizontal scroll bar; and height, in pixels, of a horizontal scroll bar. |
| SM_CXHTHUMB | Width, in pixels, of the thumb box in a horizontal scroll bar. |
| SM_CXICON, SM_CYICON |
The default width and height, in pixels, of an icon. These values are typically 32x32, but can vary depending on the installed display hardware.
The LoadIcon function can only load icons of these dimensions. |
| SM_CXICONSPACING, SM_CYICONSPACING | Dimensions, in pixels, of a grid cell for items in large icon view. Each item fits into a rectangle of this size when arranged. These values are always greater than or equal to SM_CXICON and SM_CYICON. |
| SM_CXMAXIMIZED, SM_CYMAXIMIZED |
Default dimensions, in pixels, of a maximized top-level window. |
| SM_CXMAXTRACK, SM_CYMAXTRACK |
Default maximum dimensions, in pixels, of a window that has a caption and sizing borders. The user cannot drag the window frame to a size larger than these dimensions. A window can override these values by processing the WM_GETMINMAXINFO message. |
| SM_CXMENUCHECK, SM_CYMENUCHECK |
Dimensions, in pixels, of the default menu check-mark bitmap. |
| SM_CXMENUSIZE, SM_CYMENUSIZE |
Dimensions, in pixels, of menu bar buttons, such as multiple document (MIDI) child close. |
| SM_CXMIN, SM_CYMIN |
Minimum width and height, in pixels, of a window. |
| SM_CXMINIMIZED, SM_CYMINIMIZED |
Dimensions, in pixels, of a normal minimized window. |
| SM_CXMINSPACING SM_CYMINSPACING |
Dimensions, in pixels, of a grid cell for minimized windows. Each minimized window fits into a rectangle this size when arranged. These values are always greater than or equal to SM_CXMINIMIZED and SM_CYMINIMIZED. |
| SM_CXMINTRACK, SM_CYMINTRACK | Minimum tracking width and height, in pixels, of a window. The user cannot drag the window frame to a size smaller than these dimensions. A window can override these values by processing the WM_GETMINMAXINFO message. |
| SM_CXSCREEN, SM_CYSCREEN |
Width and height, in pixels, of the screen. |
| SM_CXSIZE, SM_CYSIZE |
Width and height, in pixels, of a button in a window's caption or title bar. |
| SM_CXSIZEFRAME, SM_CYSIZEFRAME |
Thickness, in pixels, of the sizing border around the perimeter of a window that can be resized. SM_CXSIZEFRAME is the width of the horizontal border and SM_CYSIZEFRAME is the height of the vertical border.
Same as SM_CXFRAME and SM_CYFRAME. |
| SM_CXSMICON, SM_CYSMICON |
Recommended dimensions, in pixels, of a small icon. Small icons typically appear in window captions and in small icon view. |
| SM_CXSMSIZE SM_CYSMSIZE |
Dimensions, in pixels, of small caption buttons. |
| SM_CXVSCROLL, SM_CYVSCROLL | Width, in pixels, of a vertical scroll bar; and height, in pixels, of the arrow bitmap on a vertical scroll bar. |
| SM_CYCAPTION | Height, in pixels, of normal caption area. |
| SM_CYKANJIWINDOW | For double-byte character set versions of Windows, height, in pixels, of the Kanji window at the bottom of the screen. |
| SM_CYMENU | Height, in pixels, of single-line menu bar. |
| SM_CYSMCAPTION | Height, in pixels, of a small caption. |
| SM_CYVTHUMB | Height , in pixels, of the thumb box in a vertical scroll bar. |
| SM_DBCSENABLED | TRUE or nonzero if the double-byte character set (DBCS) version of USER.EXE is installed; FALSE, or zero otherwise. |
| SM_DEBUG | TRUE or nonzero if the debugging version of USER.EXE is installed; FALSE, or zero, otherwise. |
| SM_MENUDROPALIGNMENT | TRUE, or nonzero if drop-down menus are right-aligned relative to the corresponding menu-bar item; FALSE, or zero if they are left-aligned. |
| SM_MIDEASTENABLED | TRUE if the system is enabled for Hebrew/Arabic languages. |
| SM_MOUSEPRESENT | TRUE or nonzero if a mouse is installed; FALSE, or zero, otherwise. |
| SM_MOUSEWHEELPRESENT | Windows NT only: TRUE or nonzero if a mouse with a wheel is installed; FALSE, or zero, otherwise. |
| SM_NETWORK | The least significant bit is set if a network is present; otherwise, it is cleared. The other bits are reserved for future use. |
| SM_PENWINDOWS | TRUE or nonzero if the Microsoft Windows for Pen computing extensions are installed; zero, or FALSE, otherwise. |
| SM_SECURE | TRUE if security is present, FALSE otherwise. |
| SM_SHOWSOUNDS | TRUE or nonzero if the user requires an application to present information visually in situations where it would otherwise present the information only in audible form; FALSE, or zero, otherwise. |
| SM_SLOWMACHINE | TRUE if the computer has a low-end (slow) processor, FALSE otherwise. |
| SM_SWAPBUTTON | TRUE or nonzero if the meanings of the left and right mouse buttons are swapped; FALSE, or zero, otherwise. |
Return Values
If the function succeeds, the return value is the requested system metric or configuration setting.
If the function fails, the return value is zero. GetLastError does not provide extended error information.
Remarks
System metrics may vary from display to display.
The SM_ARRANGE setting specifies how the system arranges minimized windows, and consists of a starting position and a direction. The starting position can be one of the following values.
| Value | Meaning |
| ARW_BOTTOMLEFT | Start at lower-left corner of screen (default position). |
| ARW_BOTTOMRIGHT | Start at lower-right corner of screen. Equivalent to ARW_STARTRIGHT. |
| ARW_HIDE | Hide minimized windows by moving them off of the visible area of the screen. |
| ARW_TOPLEFT | Start at upper-left corner of screen. Equivalent to ARV_STARTTOP. |
| ARW_TOPRIGHT | Start at upper-right corner of screen. Equivalent to ARW_STARTTOP | SRW_STARTRIGHT. |
The direction in which to arrange can be one of the following values.
| Value | Meaning |
| ARW_DOWN | Arrange vertically, top to bottom. |
| ARW_LEFT | Arrange horizontally, left to right. |
| ARW_RIGHT | Arrange horizontally, right to left. |
| ARW_UP | Arrange vertically, bottom to top. |