dynamic-dpi

page_type	urlFragment	products	languages	extensions	description
sample	dynamic-dpi-code-samples	office office-excel office-outlook office-powerpoint office-word office-visio	javascript	contentType technologies createdDate samples Add-ins 9/30/2019 1:25:00 PM	Update your ActiveX, COM, VSTO and related Office solutions to handle high DPI and DPI scaling.

Dynamic DPI code samples

Many computer and display configurations now support high DPI (dots-per-inch) resolutions, and can connect multiple monitors with different sizes and pixel densities. This requires applications to adjust when the user moves the app to a monitor with a different DPI, or changes the zoom level. Applications that don’t support DPI scaling might look fine on low DPI monitors, but will look stretched and blurry when shown on a high DPI monitor.

The code samples included here will help you with handling DPI changes in your code for VSTO and COM Add-in projects. More information about the code samples and handling DPI can be found in the accompnying article: Handle high DPI and DPI scaling in your Office solution

Applies to

• VSTO Add-ins
• Custom task panes
• COM Add-ins
• ActiveX controls

Prerequisites

• Visual Studio 2017 or later with the following workloads.

  • .NET desktop development
  • Desktop development with C++
  • Office/SharePoint development
  • latest version of Windows SDK

  Note: Some samples may not compile because they might target an older Windows SDK. If this happens you can right-click (or select and hold) the solution and choose Retarget solution. Then choose the version of the Windows SDK you have installed.

• A Microsoft 365 account. You can get one if you qualify for a Microsoft 365 E5 developer subscription through the Microsoft 365 Developer Program; for details, see the FAQ. Alternatively, you can sign up for a 1-month free trial or purchase a Microsoft 365 plan.

Note: Many of the samples use the Developer tab in Microsoft Excel. If you haven't enabled the Developer tab, follow these instructions in the article Show the Developer tab

Solution

Solution	Author(s)
Dynamic DPI samples	Shawn McDowell (Microsoft)

Version history

Version	Date	Comments
1.0	September 30 2019	Initial release

Disclaimer

THIS CODE IS PROVIDED AS IS WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, MERCHANTABILITY, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT.

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COMAddinCPP

This sample shows how to handle DPI changes in a COM Add-in using C++.

To run the sample

1. Clone or download this repo.
2. Run Visual Studio 2017 (or later) as administrator.
3. Open the COMAddinCPP.sln file.
4. On the menu bar choose Build > Build Solution.

   Note: Set your build target to Win32 or x64 to match the version of Microsoft Excel you will run (32-bit or 64-bit).

5. Run Excel.
6. On the Developer tab, choose COM Add-ins.
7. Ensure COM Add-in C++ with Custom TaskPane is enabled (checked). Then choose OK.

A custom task pane will appear titled COM Add-in C++. It will show rectangle coordinates based on the current DPI. You can drag Excel to a monitor with a different DPI to see the coordinates update.

DPI code

You can find more info about the DPI code in the ATLControl.cpp file.

VSTO SharedAddin

This shows how to handle DPI changes in a VSTO Add-in. It contains folders for each Office host listed below:

• VSTO Excel Addin
• VSTO OutlookAddIn
• VSTO PowerPointAddIn
• VSTO VisioAddIn
• VSTO WordAddIn

To run the sample

1. Clone or download this repo.
2. Run Visual Studio 2017 (or later) as administrator.
3. Open the VSTOSharedAddin.sln file.

You'll need to create a test certificate for each project. To do so:

1. Right-click (or select and hold) on a project, such as OutlookAddIn1 and choose Properties.
2. Choose the Signing category in the properties.
3. Choose Sign the ClickOnce manifests and then chose Create Test Certificate.
4. In the Create Test Certificate dialog, enter and confirm a password. Then choose OK.

Note: You'll need to create a test certificate for each host project in the solution.

Now you can build and run the solution

1. On the menu bar choose Build > Build Solution.

   Note: Set your build target to Win32 or x64 to match the version of Microsoft Excel you will run (32-bit or 64-bit).

2. Set one of the projects as the startup project. For example, right-click (or select and hold) the ExcelAddin1 project and choose Set as StartUp Project.
3. Choose Start (or press F5). The debugger will launch Excel and load the add-in.

The task pane for the VSTO Add-in will appear. You can drag Excel to a monitor with a different DPI to see displayed information change. You can explore different scnearios by changing the Template and Context fields. Then choose Open Top-level Form and a top-level form will open using the settings you specified. You can drag it to monitors with different DPI settings to see how it handles the DPI changes.

DPI code

You can find more info about the DPI code in the DPIContextBlock.cs and DPIHelper.cs files.

MFCApplicationDPIAware

This is an ActiveX control created from the MFC template that is dynamic DPI aware.

To run the sample

1. Clone or download this repo.
2. Run Visual Studio 2017 (or later) as administrator.
3. Open the MFCApplication1.sln file.
4. On the menu bar choose Build > Build Solution.

   Note: Set your build target to Win32 or x64 to match the version of Microsoft Excel you will run (32-bit or 64-bit).

5. Run Excel.
6. On the Developer > Controls tab, choose Insert. Then choose the More Controls icon which is in the ActiveX Controls section.
7. Choose MFCActiveX Control. Then choose OK.
8. Insert the control on the workbook by drawing a rectangle representing the size it should be.
9. Right-click (or select and hold) on the control and choose MFCActiveX Control Object > Properties.
10. On the MFCActiveX Control Properties box, enable the Utilize Dynamic DPI Code checkbox.

DPI code

You can find more info about the DPI code in the MFCApplication1.cpp file.

Window Based ActiveX

This shows how to handle DPI changes in a window-based ActiveX control.

To run the sample

1. Clone or download this repo.
2. Run Visual Studio 2017 (or later) as administrator.
3. Open the MFCActiveX.sln file.
4. On the menu bar choose Build > Build Solution.

   Note: Set your build target to Win32 or x64 to match the version of Microsoft Excel you will run (32-bit or 64-bit).

5. Run Excel.
6. On the Developer > Controls tab, choose Insert. Then choose the More Controls icon which is in the ActiveX Controls section.
7. Choose MFCActiveX Control. Then choose OK.
8. Insert the control on the workbook by drawing a rectangle representing the size it should be.
9. Choose the Design Mode button to turn off design mode.

The control will display a pie chart and some other information. You can drag Excel to a monitor with different DPI settings to see how the control redraws.

DPI code

This is an MFC window-based ActiveX control that supports dynamic DPI on the WM_SIZE event.

You can find more info about the DPI code in the MFCActiveXCtrl.cpp file.

Windowles ActiveX

This shows how to handle DPI changes in a windowless ActiveX control.

To run the sample

1. Clone or download this repo.
2. Run Visual Studio 2017 (or later) as administrator.
3. Open the ODActiveX.sln file.
4. On the menu bar choose Build > Build Solution.

   Note: Set your build target to Win32 or x64 to match the version of Microsoft Excel you will run (32-bit or 64-bit).

5. Run Excel.
6. On the Developer > Controls tab, choose Insert. Then choose the More Controls icon which is in the ActiveX Controls section.
7. Choose ODActiveX Control. Then choose OK.
8. Insert the control on the workbook by drawing a rectangle representing the size it should be.
9. Choose the Design Mode button to turn off design mode.

The control will display some DPI information. You can drag Excel to a monitor with different DPI settings to see how the control redraws.

DPI code

This is an MFC Windowless ActiveX control that supports dynamic DPI on WM_PAINT. It gets the HWND of the host window from HDC. You can find more info about the DPI code in the ODActiveXCtrl.cpp file.