INNO Setup: How to get the primary monitor's resolution?

Question

I'm trying to script an installer with INNO and I am stuck at a point where I need to get the screen resolution of the machine in which the setup is running and use that value to create a shortcut in the desktop with that resolution as one of the arguments. I know how to create a shortcut, however I do not know how to extract the screen resolution and how to pass that information (probably stored in a custom variable) to use it in the desktop shortcut.

Thanks for your time :)

EDIT: I cannot change the application because I'm not authorized to do that. So please do not suggest to do that.

I deleted my answer since you have made it clear that you cannot change the app. You have my sympathy. It seems that the people who work on the app have all the power and they are abusing that power. — David Heffernan, Mar 28 '11 at 17:44

Vite Falcon · Accepted Answer · 2011-03-29T13:38:51.367

My solution to this was to use GetSystemMetrics(), which can be found in user32.dll. This piece of code gives me exactly what I want and has been tested on Windows7 Professional (64-bit) with a dual-monitor setup.

[Code]
function GetSystemMetrics (nIndex: Integer): Integer;
  external 'GetSystemMetrics@User32.dll stdcall setuponly';

Const
    SM_CXSCREEN = 0; // The enum-value for getting the width of the cient area for a full-screen window on the primary display monitor, in pixels.
    SM_CYSCREEN = 1; // The enum-value for getting the height of the client area for a full-screen window on the primary display monitor, in pixels.

function InitializeSetup(): Boolean;
  var 
      hDC: Integer;
      xres: Integer;
      yres: Integer;
begin
    xres := GetSystemMetrics(SM_CXSCREEN);
    yres := GetSystemMetrics(SM_CYSCREEN); //vertical resolution

    MsgBox( 'Current resolution is ' + IntToStr(xres) +
        'x' + IntToStr(yres)
, mbInformation, MB_OK );

    Result := true;
end;

EDIT: It seems the indices should've been SM_CXSCREEN and SM_CYSCREEN. Changed the code to reflect that.

Great solution, thanks a lot! Still valid on Win Srv Std 2012 x64 :-) — Petr Abdulin, May 29 '13 at 07:18

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Mar 28 '11 at 19:47

You'll need some code to get the current resolution. Then you can add those values to the [Icon] entry to create the shortcut. Here's some code to get you started:

[Setup]
AppName=DisplayResoltution
AppVerName=DisplayResoltution
DefaultDirName=DisplayResoltution
DisableStartupPrompt=true
Uninstallable=false

[Files]
Source: "C:\util\innosetup\Examples\MyProg.exe"; DestDir: "{app}"; Flags: ignoreversion
; NOTE: Don't use "Flags: ignoreversion" on any shared system files

[Icons]
Name: "{group}\My Program"; Filename: "{app}\MyProg.exe"; Parameters: {code:GetParams}


[Code]
// Functions to get BPP & resolution

function DeleteDC (hDC: Integer): Integer;
 external 'DeleteDC@GDI32 stdcall';

function CreateDC (lpDriverName, lpDeviceName, lpOutput: String; lpInitData: Integer): Integer;
 external 'CreateDCA@GDI32 stdcall';

function GetDeviceCaps (hDC, nIndex: Integer): Integer;
 external 'GetDeviceCaps@GDI32 stdcall';

Const
    HORZRES = 8;    //horizontal resolution
    VERTRES = 10;   //vertical resolution
    BITSPIXEL = 12; //bits per pixel
    PLANES = 14;    //number of planes (color depth=bits_per_pixel*number_of_planes)
var
xres, yres, bpp, pl, tmp: Integer;

function InitializeSetup(): Boolean;
  var 
      hDC: Integer;
begin

    //get resolution & BPP
    hDC := CreateDC('DISPLAY', '', '', 0);
    pl := GetDeviceCaps(hDC, PLANES);
    bpp := GetDeviceCaps(hDC, BITSPIXEL);
    xres := GetDeviceCaps(hDC, HORZRES); //horizontal resolution
    yres := GetDeviceCaps(hDC, VERTRES); //vertical resolution
    tmp := DeleteDC(hDC);
    bpp := pl * bpp;   //color depth

    MsgBox( 'Current resolution is ' + IntToStr(xres) +
        'x' + IntToStr(yres) +
        ' and color depth is ' + IntToStr( bpp )
        , mbInformation, MB_OK );

    Result := true;
end;

function GetParams(def: string): string;
var
sTemp : string;
begin
  sTemp := 'xres=' + IntToStr(xres) + ' yres=' +IntToStr(yres);
  result := sTemp;
end;

Code adapted from http://www.vincenzo.net/isxkb/index.php?title=Detect_current_display_resolution_and_color_depth

hi mirtheil, Thanks for the answer. I should be able to test it today. Please don't mind me not being to able to verify it sooner. — Vite Falcon, Mar 29 '11 at 09:02
I tried your code and it shows `Current resolution is 0x0 and color depth is 0` — Vite Falcon, Mar 29 '11 at 09:52
What OS? I tried it on Win7 x64 and it worked for me. Have you tried it on any other machines? — mirtheil, Mar 29 '11 at 11:19
I'm trying it on Win7 x64 as well. But I've got the result by using `GetSystemMetrics()` from User32.dll using the indices SM_CXFULLSCREEN and SM_CYFULLSCREEN. I've got one difference with your system (probably); mine is a dual-monitor setup. I don't if that's causing the issue. And my solution has got far more less code. — Vite Falcon, Mar 29 '11 at 13:26

INNO Setup: How to get the primary monitor's resolution?

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