Question

I would like a win32 program that takes the desktop and acts like it is shattering glass and in the end would put the pieces back together is there way reference on Doing this kind of effect with C++?

Answer 1

I wrote a program (unfortunately now lost) to do something like this a few years ago.

The desktop image can be retrieved by creating a DC for the screen, creating a compatible bitmap, then using BitBlt to copy the screen contents into the bitmap. Then use GetDIBits to get the pixels from this bitmap in a known format.

This link doesn’t do exactly that, but it demonstrates the principle, albeit using MFC. I couldn’t find a Win32-specific example:

http://www.flounder.com/screencapture.htm

For the shattering effect, best to use Direct3D or OpenGL. (Further details are up to you.) Create a texture using the bitmap data saved earlier.

By way of window for associating with OpenGL or D3D, create a borderless window that fills the entire screen and doesn’t do painting or background erasing. This will prevent any flicker when switching from the desktop image to the copy of the desktop image being used to draw.

(If using D3D, you’ll also find GetMonitorInfo useful in conjunction with IDirect3D9::GetAdapterMonitor and friends, as you’ll need to create a separate device for each monitor and you’ll therefore need to know which portion of the desktop corresponds to that device.)