Win32 Programming with WTL: Clipboard Snooping

This month, Richard Thomson will lead us through a detailed Win32 programming example from start to finish using Windows Template Library (WTL). We'll look at "clipboard snooper", a program that monitors changes to the clipboard and keeps a permanent record of all the changes. Images copied to the clipboard are automatically saved as PNG files and text copied to the clipboard is automatically saved as HTML or UTF-8. The application runs in the background and is manipulated through a system tray icon.

As we look through the code, we'll get exposure to the following topics:

• Windows clipboard mechanisms
• System tray icon applications
• Windows Template Library refresher
• Using WTL as a framework for non-traditional GUI applications
• Using COM interfaces with CComPtr smart pointers from ATL
• Using Windows Imaging Component to manipulate images
• Mapping status codes to exceptions for error handling
• Writing RAII wrappers for matching begin/end operations

Food will be provided, so please RSVP so we have a proper head count!