Make child window transparent to user input

Question

Is there a way to make input "pass through" a child window and reach its parent? My problem is this: I'm making custom control with a label that can be formatted. So, rather than trying to re-invent the wheel, I added a RichTextEdit control and applied the WS_EX_TRANSPARENT extended window style. It looks like what I want, but there are obvious focus and input issues. Is there an effective way to pass on the child window's messages to the parent or apply a set of styles thus making the child window appear to just be text drawn on the button?

Answer 1

You can do this fairly easily by overriding the WM_NCHITTEST message and returning HTTRANSPARENT. Just be sure to turn off WS_TABSTOP also so the control cannot be tabbed into.