The intuimessage structure is an exec message that has been extended to include Intuition specific information. The ExecMessage field in the IntuiMessage is an actual instance of a message structure and is used by Exec to manage the transmission of the message. The Intuition extensions of the IntuiMessage are used to transmit specialized Intuition data to the program. struct IntuiMessage { struct Message ExecMessage; ULONG Class; UWORD Code; UWORD Qualifier; APTR IAddress; WORD MouseX, MouseY; ULONG Seconds, Micros; struct Window *IDCMPWindow; struct IntuiMessage *SpecialLink; }; The IntuiMessage structure fields are as follows: ExecMessage This field is maintained by Exec. It is used for linking the message into the system and broadcasting it to a message port. See the chapter "exec messages and ports" for more information on the message structure and its use. Class Class contains the IDCMP type of this specific message. By comparing the Class field to the IDCMP flags, the application can determine the type of this message. Each message may only have a single IDCMP type. Code Code contains data set by Intuition, such as menu numbers or special code values. The meaning of the Code field changes depending on the IDCMP type, or Class, of the message. Often the code field will simply contain a copy of the code of the input event which generated this IntuiMessage. For example, when the message is of class idcmp_rawkey, code contains the raw key code generated by the keyboard device. When the message is of class idcmp_vanillakey, code contains the key mapped ascii character. Qualifier This contains a copy of the ie_Qualifier field that is transmitted to Intuition by the input device. This field is useful if your program handles raw key codes, since the Qualifier tells the program, for instance, whether or not the Shift key or Ctrl key is currently pressed. Check the <devices/inputevent.h> file for the definitions of the qualifier bits. MouseX and MouseY Every IntuiMessage will have the mouse coordinates in these variables. The coordinates can either be expressed as absolute offsets from the upper left corner of the window, or expressed as the amount of change since the last reported positions (delta). If idcmp_deltamove is set, then these numbers will represent delta positions from the last position. All messages will have zero in these values except idcmp_mousemove and idcmp_mousebutton events, which will have the correct delta values for the movement. If IDCMP_DELTAMOVE is not set, then these numbers are the actual window offset values. Seconds and Micros These values are copies of the current system clock, in seconds and microseconds. They are set when Intuition generates the message. Microseconds (Micros) range from zero up to one million minus one. The 32 bits allocated to the Seconds variable has enough accuracy to count up to 139 years. Time is measured from Jan 1, 1978. IAddress Typically this variable contains the address of some Intuition object, such as a gadget. The type of the object depends on the Class of the IntuiMessage. Do not assume that the object is of a certain type before checking the Class of the object. The IAddress pointer is defined only for the following IDCMP Classes. Do not attempt to dereference or otherwise interpret the IAddress field of any other type of IntuiMessage. IntuiMessage Class Meaning of IAddress Field ------------------ ------------------------- idcmp_gadgetdown iaddress points to the gadget. idcmp_gadgetup iaddress points to the gadget. idcmp_rawkey iaddress points to the dead-key information. idcmp_idcmpupdate iaddress points to a tag item list. Other classes No meaning. In particular, for idcmp_mousemove intuimessages emanating from gact_followmouse gadgets, the iaddress field does not point to the gadget. Interpreting the IAddress as a gadget pointer and trying to access the gadget's fields before ascertaining that the event is an idcmp_gadgetup or idcmp_gadgetdown event is incorrect, and can lead to subtle or serious problems. (Note that GadTools gadgets do arrange for the IAddress to point to the gadget when idcmp_mousemove messages appear). IDCMPWindow Contains the address of the window to which this message was sent. If the application is sharing the window's userport between multiple windows, IDCMPWindow allows it to determine which of the windows the message was sent to. SpecialLink For system use only.