Develop Reference

c# Windows form - Reference 32bpp BGRA BackgroundImage with layered window style WS_EX_LAYERED for alpha transparency support? [duplicate]

When I tried from with transparent background, it's not completely transparent.
I tried two code blocks for this issue. First i tried like this code:
public Form1()
{
InitializeComponent();
SetStyle(ControlStyles.SupportsTransparentBackColor, true);
this.BackColor = Color.Transparent;
this.FormBorderStyle = FormBorderStyle.None;
//this.WindowState = System.Windows.Forms.FormWindowState.Maximized;
}
it look like this picture;
Then i found some different codes and tried ike this;
public Form1()
{
InitializeComponent();
this.TransparencyKey = Color.White;
this.BackColor = Color.White;
this.FormBorderStyle = FormBorderStyle.None;
this.WindowState = System.Windows.Forms.FormWindowState.Maximized;
}
And this looks like this picture;
You can see logo with a white border. I want to show only .png Logo completely transparent. What should i do? How can do this?
Here is my Logo image as .png;

You can use Layered Windows:
Using a layered window can significantly improve performance and
visual effects for a window that has a complex shape, animates its
shape, or wishes to use alpha blending effects. The system
automatically composes and repaints layered windows and the windows of
underlying applications. As a result, layered windows are rendered
smoothly, without the flickering typical of complex window regions. In
addition, layered windows can be partially translucent, that is,
alpha-blended.
Create layered window in Windows Forms
Here is some code from msdn code gallery which demonstrates creating Layered Windows in Windows Forms. It allows you to create a shaped splash screen and let you to move it by mouse.
Add PerPixelAlphaForm to the project and then it's enough to inherit from this form and call its SelectBitmap and pass your png to the method to create a layered window.
PerPixelAlphaForm.cs
#region Using directives
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Data;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Text;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using System.Drawing.Imaging;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
#endregion
namespace CSWinFormLayeredWindow
{
public partial class PerPixelAlphaForm : Form
{
public PerPixelAlphaForm()
{
this.FormBorderStyle = System.Windows.Forms.FormBorderStyle.None;
this.ShowInTaskbar = false;
this.StartPosition = FormStartPosition.CenterScreen;
this.Load += PerPixelAlphaForm_Load;
}
void PerPixelAlphaForm_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
this.TopMost = true;
}
protected override CreateParams CreateParams
{
get
{
// Add the layered extended style (WS_EX_LAYERED) to this window.
CreateParams createParams = base.CreateParams;
if(!DesignMode)
createParams.ExStyle |= WS_EX_LAYERED;
return createParams;
}
}
/// <summary>
/// Let Windows drag this window for us (thinks its hitting the title
/// bar of the window)
/// </summary>
/// <param name="message"></param>
protected override void WndProc(ref Message message)
{
if (message.Msg == WM_NCHITTEST)
{
// Tell Windows that the user is on the title bar (caption)
message.Result = (IntPtr)HTCAPTION;
}
else
{
base.WndProc(ref message);
}
}
/// <summary>
///
/// </summary>
/// <param name="bitmap"></param>
public void SelectBitmap(Bitmap bitmap)
{
SelectBitmap(bitmap, 255);
}
/// <summary>
///
/// </summary>
/// <param name="bitmap">
///
/// </param>
/// <param name="opacity">
/// Specifies an alpha transparency value to be used on the entire source
/// bitmap. The SourceConstantAlpha value is combined with any per-pixel
/// alpha values in the source bitmap. The value ranges from 0 to 255. If
/// you set SourceConstantAlpha to 0, it is assumed that your image is
/// transparent. When you only want to use per-pixel alpha values, set
/// the SourceConstantAlpha value to 255 (opaque).
/// </param>
public void SelectBitmap(Bitmap bitmap, int opacity)
{
// Does this bitmap contain an alpha channel?
if (bitmap.PixelFormat != PixelFormat.Format32bppArgb)
{
throw new ApplicationException("The bitmap must be 32bpp with alpha-channel.");
}
// Get device contexts
IntPtr screenDc = GetDC(IntPtr.Zero);
IntPtr memDc = CreateCompatibleDC(screenDc);
IntPtr hBitmap = IntPtr.Zero;
IntPtr hOldBitmap = IntPtr.Zero;
try
{
// Get handle to the new bitmap and select it into the current
// device context.
hBitmap = bitmap.GetHbitmap(Color.FromArgb(0));
hOldBitmap = SelectObject(memDc, hBitmap);
// Set parameters for layered window update.
Size newSize = new Size(bitmap.Width, bitmap.Height);
Point sourceLocation = new Point(0, 0);
Point newLocation = new Point(this.Left, this.Top);
BLENDFUNCTION blend = new BLENDFUNCTION();
blend.BlendOp = AC_SRC_OVER;
blend.BlendFlags = 0;
blend.SourceConstantAlpha = (byte)opacity;
blend.AlphaFormat = AC_SRC_ALPHA;
// Update the window.
UpdateLayeredWindow(
this.Handle, // Handle to the layered window
screenDc, // Handle to the screen DC
ref newLocation, // New screen position of the layered window
ref newSize, // New size of the layered window
memDc, // Handle to the layered window surface DC
ref sourceLocation, // Location of the layer in the DC
0, // Color key of the layered window
ref blend, // Transparency of the layered window
ULW_ALPHA // Use blend as the blend function
);
}
finally
{
// Release device context.
ReleaseDC(IntPtr.Zero, screenDc);
if (hBitmap != IntPtr.Zero)
{
SelectObject(memDc, hOldBitmap);
DeleteObject(hBitmap);
}
DeleteDC(memDc);
}
}
#region Native Methods and Structures
const Int32 WS_EX_LAYERED = 0x80000;
const Int32 HTCAPTION = 0x02;
const Int32 WM_NCHITTEST = 0x84;
const Int32 ULW_ALPHA = 0x02;
const byte AC_SRC_OVER = 0x00;
const byte AC_SRC_ALPHA = 0x01;
[StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)]
struct Point
{
public Int32 x;
public Int32 y;
public Point(Int32 x, Int32 y)
{ this.x = x; this.y = y; }
}
[StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)]
struct Size
{
public Int32 cx;
public Int32 cy;
public Size(Int32 cx, Int32 cy)
{ this.cx = cx; this.cy = cy; }
}
[StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential, Pack = 1)]
struct ARGB
{
public byte Blue;
public byte Green;
public byte Red;
public byte Alpha;
}
[StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential, Pack = 1)]
struct BLENDFUNCTION
{
public byte BlendOp;
public byte BlendFlags;
public byte SourceConstantAlpha;
public byte AlphaFormat;
}
[DllImport("user32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto, SetLastError = true)]
[return: MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.Bool)]
static extern bool UpdateLayeredWindow(IntPtr hwnd, IntPtr hdcDst,
ref Point pptDst, ref Size psize, IntPtr hdcSrc, ref Point pprSrc,
Int32 crKey, ref BLENDFUNCTION pblend, Int32 dwFlags);
[DllImport("gdi32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto, SetLastError = true)]
static extern IntPtr CreateCompatibleDC(IntPtr hDC);
[DllImport("user32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto, SetLastError = true)]
static extern IntPtr GetDC(IntPtr hWnd);
[DllImport("user32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto, SetLastError = true)]
static extern int ReleaseDC(IntPtr hWnd, IntPtr hDC);
[DllImport("gdi32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto, SetLastError = true)]
[return: MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.Bool)]
static extern bool DeleteDC(IntPtr hdc);
[DllImport("gdi32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto, SetLastError = true)]
static extern IntPtr SelectObject(IntPtr hDC, IntPtr hObject);
[DllImport("gdi32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto, SetLastError = true)]
[return: MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.Bool)]
static extern bool DeleteObject(IntPtr hObject);
#endregion
}
}
SplashScreen.cs
public partial class Form4 : CSWinFormLayeredWindow.PerPixelAlphaForm
{
public Form4()
{
InitializeComponent();
this.SelectBitmap(Properties.Resources.splash);
}
}
Note
The original answer was based on turning double buffer off and overriding OnPaintBackground and drawing the image without calling base method. The answer had a known issue; while the form was moveless it was working well but if form was moving or the window behind the form was changed the window was not updating. You can see previous code in revisions. The current edit which is completely based on an MSDN code doesn't have any known issue.

You can choose the level of transparency for an image via changing the alpha coefficient which is between 0 and 255. An image can be a backgrounf image too,no prob
private static Image ToGrayscale(Image s,int alpha)
{
Bitmap tImage = new Bitmap(s);
for (int x = 0; x < tImage.Width; x++)
{
for (int y = 0; y < tImage.Height; y++)
{
Color tCol = tImage.GetPixel(x, y);
Color newColor = Color.FromArgb(alpha, tCol.R, tCol.G, tCol.B);
tImage.SetPixel(x, y, newColor);
}
}
return tImage;
}

Screenshot with BitBlt results in black image on Windows 10

I am using the code below to capture a screenshot of the currently active window. This code comes from Capture screenshot Including Semitransparent windows in .NET, with a few small additions, i.e. it uses GetForegroundWindow and also a timer so that I can select the desired window.
On Windows 10 (x64) this works fine for Firefox browser, but it does not work with Chrome or Edge.
I find it strange that Screenshot captured using BitBlt in C# results a black image on Windows 10 [duplicate] is marked as a duplicate, because the answer from above (first link) does not solve this problem.
Any ideas why it does not work for Chrome or Edge?
Code:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
namespace App1
{
/// <summary>
/// Description of MainForm.
/// </summary>
public partial class MainForm : Form
{
public MainForm()
{
//
// The InitializeComponent() call is required for Windows Forms designer support.
//
InitializeComponent();
//
// TODO: Add constructor code after the InitializeComponent() call.
//
}
void DoCapture()
{
label1.Text = "Capturing...";
try
{
IntPtr hDesk = GetForegroundWindow();
//IntPtr hDesk = GetDesktopWindow();
var windowRect = new RECT();
GetWindowRect(hDesk, out windowRect);
int width = (int)(windowRect.Right - windowRect.Left);
int height = (int)(windowRect.Bottom - windowRect.Top);
Size sz = new Size(width, height);
sz.Width = (int)(sz.Width * 1.25); // this is just an adjustment for the Windows zoom factor of 125%
sz.Height = (int)(sz.Height * 1.25);
IntPtr hSrce = GetWindowDC(hDesk);
IntPtr hDest = CreateCompatibleDC(hSrce);
IntPtr hBmp = CreateCompatibleBitmap(hSrce, sz.Width, sz.Height);
IntPtr hOldBmp = SelectObject(hDest, hBmp);
bool b = BitBlt(hDest, 0,0, sz.Width, sz.Height, hSrce,
0, 0, CopyPixelOperation.SourceCopy | CopyPixelOperation.CaptureBlt);
Bitmap bmp = Bitmap.FromHbitmap(hBmp);
SelectObject(hDest, hOldBmp);
DeleteObject(hBmp);
DeleteDC(hDest);
ReleaseDC(hDesk, hSrce);
bmp.Save(#"c:\temp\test.png");
bmp.Dispose();
label1.Text = "Done";
}
catch (Exception e){
label1.Text = "Exception Occurred";
textBox1.Text = e.ToString();
}
}
void Button1Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
timer1.Enabled = true;
}
// P/Invoke declarations
[DllImport("gdi32.dll")]
static extern bool BitBlt(IntPtr hdcDest, int xDest, int yDest, int
wDest, int hDest, IntPtr hdcSource, int xSrc, int ySrc, CopyPixelOperation rop);
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
static extern bool ReleaseDC(IntPtr hWnd, IntPtr hDc);
[DllImport("gdi32.dll")]
static extern IntPtr DeleteDC(IntPtr hDc);
[DllImport("gdi32.dll")]
static extern IntPtr DeleteObject(IntPtr hDc);
[DllImport("gdi32.dll")]
static extern IntPtr CreateCompatibleBitmap(IntPtr hdc, int nWidth, int nHeight);
[DllImport("gdi32.dll")]
static extern IntPtr CreateCompatibleDC(IntPtr hdc);
[DllImport("gdi32.dll")]
static extern IntPtr SelectObject(IntPtr hdc, IntPtr bmp);
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
public static extern IntPtr GetDesktopWindow();
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
public static extern IntPtr GetForegroundWindow();
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
public static extern IntPtr GetWindowDC(IntPtr ptr);
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
static extern bool GetWindowRect(IntPtr hWnd, out RECT lpRect);
[StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)]
public struct RECT
{
public int Left; // x position of upper-left corner
public int Top; // y position of upper-left corner
public int Right; // x position of lower-right corner
public int Bottom; // y position of lower-right corner
}
void Timer1Tick(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
timer1.Enabled = false;
DoCapture();
}
}
}
Running this in SharpDevelop 5.1

Likely it doesn't work for these 2 browsers because they use a hardware-accelerated graphics context (OpenGL- or DirectX-based) to render their content, and this is incompatible with GDI-based calls.

I can suggest a simple workaround:
First use GetForegroundWindow to get the active window rect. Then call GetDesktopWindow and use that handle with the call to BitBlt:
Just add a single line to above code:
IntPtr hDesk = GetForegroundWindow();
... // get dimensions of active window
hDesk = GetDesktopWindow(); // add this line
IntPtr hSrce = GetWindowDC(hDesk);
IntPtr hDest = CreateCompatibleDC(hSrce);
Works fine.

Transparent background image for Form - Smooth edge shape for the Form

When I tried from with transparent background, it's not completely transparent.
I tried two code blocks for this issue. First i tried like this code:
public Form1()
{
InitializeComponent();
SetStyle(ControlStyles.SupportsTransparentBackColor, true);
this.BackColor = Color.Transparent;
this.FormBorderStyle = FormBorderStyle.None;
//this.WindowState = System.Windows.Forms.FormWindowState.Maximized;
}
it look like this picture;
Then i found some different codes and tried ike this;
public Form1()
{
InitializeComponent();
this.TransparencyKey = Color.White;
this.BackColor = Color.White;
this.FormBorderStyle = FormBorderStyle.None;
this.WindowState = System.Windows.Forms.FormWindowState.Maximized;
}
And this looks like this picture;
You can see logo with a white border. I want to show only .png Logo completely transparent. What should i do? How can do this?
Here is my Logo image as .png;

You can use Layered Windows:
Using a layered window can significantly improve performance and
visual effects for a window that has a complex shape, animates its
shape, or wishes to use alpha blending effects. The system
automatically composes and repaints layered windows and the windows of
underlying applications. As a result, layered windows are rendered
smoothly, without the flickering typical of complex window regions. In
addition, layered windows can be partially translucent, that is,
alpha-blended.
Create layered window in Windows Forms
Here is some code from msdn code gallery which demonstrates creating Layered Windows in Windows Forms. It allows you to create a shaped splash screen and let you to move it by mouse.
Add PerPixelAlphaForm to the project and then it's enough to inherit from this form and call its SelectBitmap and pass your png to the method to create a layered window.
PerPixelAlphaForm.cs
#region Using directives
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Data;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Text;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using System.Drawing.Imaging;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
#endregion
namespace CSWinFormLayeredWindow
{
public partial class PerPixelAlphaForm : Form
{
public PerPixelAlphaForm()
{
this.FormBorderStyle = System.Windows.Forms.FormBorderStyle.None;
this.ShowInTaskbar = false;
this.StartPosition = FormStartPosition.CenterScreen;
this.Load += PerPixelAlphaForm_Load;
}
void PerPixelAlphaForm_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
this.TopMost = true;
}
protected override CreateParams CreateParams
{
get
{
// Add the layered extended style (WS_EX_LAYERED) to this window.
CreateParams createParams = base.CreateParams;
if(!DesignMode)
createParams.ExStyle |= WS_EX_LAYERED;
return createParams;
}
}
/// <summary>
/// Let Windows drag this window for us (thinks its hitting the title
/// bar of the window)
/// </summary>
/// <param name="message"></param>
protected override void WndProc(ref Message message)
{
if (message.Msg == WM_NCHITTEST)
{
// Tell Windows that the user is on the title bar (caption)
message.Result = (IntPtr)HTCAPTION;
}
else
{
base.WndProc(ref message);
}
}
/// <summary>
///
/// </summary>
/// <param name="bitmap"></param>
public void SelectBitmap(Bitmap bitmap)
{
SelectBitmap(bitmap, 255);
}
/// <summary>
///
/// </summary>
/// <param name="bitmap">
///
/// </param>
/// <param name="opacity">
/// Specifies an alpha transparency value to be used on the entire source
/// bitmap. The SourceConstantAlpha value is combined with any per-pixel
/// alpha values in the source bitmap. The value ranges from 0 to 255. If
/// you set SourceConstantAlpha to 0, it is assumed that your image is
/// transparent. When you only want to use per-pixel alpha values, set
/// the SourceConstantAlpha value to 255 (opaque).
/// </param>
public void SelectBitmap(Bitmap bitmap, int opacity)
{
// Does this bitmap contain an alpha channel?
if (bitmap.PixelFormat != PixelFormat.Format32bppArgb)
{
throw new ApplicationException("The bitmap must be 32bpp with alpha-channel.");
}
// Get device contexts
IntPtr screenDc = GetDC(IntPtr.Zero);
IntPtr memDc = CreateCompatibleDC(screenDc);
IntPtr hBitmap = IntPtr.Zero;
IntPtr hOldBitmap = IntPtr.Zero;
try
{
// Get handle to the new bitmap and select it into the current
// device context.
hBitmap = bitmap.GetHbitmap(Color.FromArgb(0));
hOldBitmap = SelectObject(memDc, hBitmap);
// Set parameters for layered window update.
Size newSize = new Size(bitmap.Width, bitmap.Height);
Point sourceLocation = new Point(0, 0);
Point newLocation = new Point(this.Left, this.Top);
BLENDFUNCTION blend = new BLENDFUNCTION();
blend.BlendOp = AC_SRC_OVER;
blend.BlendFlags = 0;
blend.SourceConstantAlpha = (byte)opacity;
blend.AlphaFormat = AC_SRC_ALPHA;
// Update the window.
UpdateLayeredWindow(
this.Handle, // Handle to the layered window
screenDc, // Handle to the screen DC
ref newLocation, // New screen position of the layered window
ref newSize, // New size of the layered window
memDc, // Handle to the layered window surface DC
ref sourceLocation, // Location of the layer in the DC
0, // Color key of the layered window
ref blend, // Transparency of the layered window
ULW_ALPHA // Use blend as the blend function
);
}
finally
{
// Release device context.
ReleaseDC(IntPtr.Zero, screenDc);
if (hBitmap != IntPtr.Zero)
{
SelectObject(memDc, hOldBitmap);
DeleteObject(hBitmap);
}
DeleteDC(memDc);
}
}
#region Native Methods and Structures
const Int32 WS_EX_LAYERED = 0x80000;
const Int32 HTCAPTION = 0x02;
const Int32 WM_NCHITTEST = 0x84;
const Int32 ULW_ALPHA = 0x02;
const byte AC_SRC_OVER = 0x00;
const byte AC_SRC_ALPHA = 0x01;
[StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)]
struct Point
{
public Int32 x;
public Int32 y;
public Point(Int32 x, Int32 y)
{ this.x = x; this.y = y; }
}
[StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)]
struct Size
{
public Int32 cx;
public Int32 cy;
public Size(Int32 cx, Int32 cy)
{ this.cx = cx; this.cy = cy; }
}
[StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential, Pack = 1)]
struct ARGB
{
public byte Blue;
public byte Green;
public byte Red;
public byte Alpha;
}
[StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential, Pack = 1)]
struct BLENDFUNCTION
{
public byte BlendOp;
public byte BlendFlags;
public byte SourceConstantAlpha;
public byte AlphaFormat;
}
[DllImport("user32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto, SetLastError = true)]
[return: MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.Bool)]
static extern bool UpdateLayeredWindow(IntPtr hwnd, IntPtr hdcDst,
ref Point pptDst, ref Size psize, IntPtr hdcSrc, ref Point pprSrc,
Int32 crKey, ref BLENDFUNCTION pblend, Int32 dwFlags);
[DllImport("gdi32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto, SetLastError = true)]
static extern IntPtr CreateCompatibleDC(IntPtr hDC);
[DllImport("user32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto, SetLastError = true)]
static extern IntPtr GetDC(IntPtr hWnd);
[DllImport("user32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto, SetLastError = true)]
static extern int ReleaseDC(IntPtr hWnd, IntPtr hDC);
[DllImport("gdi32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto, SetLastError = true)]
[return: MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.Bool)]
static extern bool DeleteDC(IntPtr hdc);
[DllImport("gdi32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto, SetLastError = true)]
static extern IntPtr SelectObject(IntPtr hDC, IntPtr hObject);
[DllImport("gdi32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto, SetLastError = true)]
[return: MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.Bool)]
static extern bool DeleteObject(IntPtr hObject);
#endregion
}
}
SplashScreen.cs
public partial class Form4 : CSWinFormLayeredWindow.PerPixelAlphaForm
{
public Form4()
{
InitializeComponent();
this.SelectBitmap(Properties.Resources.splash);
}
}
Note
The original answer was based on turning double buffer off and overriding OnPaintBackground and drawing the image without calling base method. The answer had a known issue; while the form was moveless it was working well but if form was moving or the window behind the form was changed the window was not updating. You can see previous code in revisions. The current edit which is completely based on an MSDN code doesn't have any known issue.

You can choose the level of transparency for an image via changing the alpha coefficient which is between 0 and 255. An image can be a backgrounf image too,no prob
private static Image ToGrayscale(Image s,int alpha)
{
Bitmap tImage = new Bitmap(s);
for (int x = 0; x < tImage.Width; x++)
{
for (int y = 0; y < tImage.Height; y++)
{
Color tCol = tImage.GetPixel(x, y);
Color newColor = Color.FromArgb(alpha, tCol.R, tCol.G, tCol.B);
tImage.SetPixel(x, y, newColor);
}
}
return tImage;
}

Drawing text to a Bitmap with TextRenderer

I am trying to draw some text using TextRenderer (since this is favorable to using Graphics.DrawString) to a Bitmap, however it is having some very undesirable effects.
Example Code
using (Bitmap buffer = new Bitmap(this.ClientRectangle.Width, this.ClientRectangle.Height, System.Drawing.Imaging.PixelFormat.Format32bppArgb))
{
using (Graphics graphics = Graphics.FromImage(buffer))
{
// Produces the result below
graphics.TextRenderingHint = System.Drawing.Text.TextRenderingHint.ClearTypeGridFit;
// Produces clean text, but I'd really like ClearType!
graphics.TextRenderingHint = System.Drawing.Text.TextRenderingHint.AntiAliasGridFit;
TextRenderer.DrawText(graphics, "Hello World", this.Font, this.ClientRectangle, Color.Black);
}
e.Graphics.DrawImageUnscaled(buffer, this.ClientRectangle);
}
Result
I'm not sure exactly how to fix this...help!
I do NOT want to use Graphics.DrawString as I want correct GDI (as opposed to GDI+) rendering.
NOTE: I've just realized, I've left a gaping hole in this question. Some people have pointed out that rendering ClearType text is working fine on their machines...
I'm trying to render the text to a transparent (Color.Transparent) bitmap. If I do it with a solid color, everything works fine! (but it is imperative that I render to a transparent Bitmap).

Specify a BackColor in your call to DrawText():
TextRenderer.DrawText(graphics, "Hello World", this.Font, this.ClientRectangle, Color.Black, this.BackColor);

You can try setting TextRenderingHint for your Image Graphics:
using (Graphics graphics = Graphics.FromImage(buffer))
{
graphics.TextRenderingHint = System.Drawing.Text.TextRenderingHint.AntiAliasGridFit;
TextRenderer.DrawText(graphics, "Hello World", this.Font, this.ClientRectangle, Color.Black);
}

The issue is that TextRenderer uses GDI rendering that uses ClearType to render text, clear-type uses special anti-aliasing algorithm to smooth the text, unfortunately it doesn't work when you try to draw on bitmap device.
To make it work you have to use a trick, draw into in-memory and then copy to bitmap:
Create in-memory bitmap buffer that is compatible with display device context (IntPtr.Zero handle)
Fill the buffer background with solid color or image
Render the text into the memory bitmap
Copy from in-memory bitmap to image device context (BitBlt)
See this blog for details: GDI text rendering to image.
Sample code, sorry its a bit long:
public static class Test
{
public static Image Render()
{
// create the final image to render into
var image = new Bitmap(190, 30, PixelFormat.Format32bppArgb);
// create memory buffer from desktop handle that supports alpha channel
IntPtr dib;
var memoryHdc = CreateMemoryHdc(IntPtr.Zero, image.Width, image.Height, out dib);
try
{
// create memory buffer graphics to use for HTML rendering
using (var memoryGraphics = Graphics.FromHdc(memoryHdc))
{
// must not be transparent background
memoryGraphics.Clear(Color.White);
// execute GDI text rendering
TextRenderer.DrawText(memoryGraphics, "Test string 1", new Font("Arial", 12), new Point(5, 5), Color.Red, Color.Wheat);
TextRenderer.DrawText(memoryGraphics, "Test string 2", new Font("Arial", 12), new Point(100, 5), Color.Red);
}
// copy from memory buffer to image
using (var imageGraphics = Graphics.FromImage(image))
{
var imgHdc = imageGraphics.GetHdc();
BitBlt(imgHdc, 0, 0, image.Width, image.Height, memoryHdc, 0, 0, 0x00CC0020);
imageGraphics.ReleaseHdc(imgHdc);
}
}
finally
{
// release memory buffer
DeleteObject(dib);
DeleteDC(memoryHdc);
}
return image;
}
private static IntPtr CreateMemoryHdc(IntPtr hdc, int width, int height, out IntPtr dib)
{
// Create a memory DC so we can work off-screen
IntPtr memoryHdc = CreateCompatibleDC(hdc);
SetBkMode(memoryHdc, 1);
// Create a device-independent bitmap and select it into our DC
var info = new BitMapInfo();
info.biSize = Marshal.SizeOf(info);
info.biWidth = width;
info.biHeight = -height;
info.biPlanes = 1;
info.biBitCount = 32;
info.biCompression = 0; // BI_RGB
IntPtr ppvBits;
dib = CreateDIBSection(hdc, ref info, 0, out ppvBits, IntPtr.Zero, 0);
SelectObject(memoryHdc, dib);
return memoryHdc;
}
[DllImport("gdi32.dll")]
public static extern int SetBkMode(IntPtr hdc, int mode);
[DllImport("gdi32.dll", ExactSpelling = true, SetLastError = true)]
private static extern IntPtr CreateCompatibleDC(IntPtr hdc);
[DllImport("gdi32.dll")]
private static extern IntPtr CreateDIBSection(IntPtr hdc, [In] ref BitMapInfo pbmi, uint iUsage, out IntPtr ppvBits, IntPtr hSection, uint dwOffset);
[DllImport("gdi32.dll")]
public static extern int SelectObject(IntPtr hdc, IntPtr hgdiObj);
[DllImport("gdi32.dll")]
[return: MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.Bool)]
public static extern bool BitBlt(IntPtr hdc, int nXDest, int nYDest, int nWidth, int nHeight, IntPtr hdcSrc, int nXSrc, int nYSrc, int dwRop);
[DllImport("gdi32.dll")]
public static extern bool DeleteObject(IntPtr hObject);
[DllImport("gdi32.dll", ExactSpelling = true, SetLastError = true)]
public static extern bool DeleteDC(IntPtr hdc);
[StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)]
internal struct BitMapInfo
{
public int biSize;
public int biWidth;
public int biHeight;
public short biPlanes;
public short biBitCount;
public int biCompression;
public int biSizeImage;
public int biXPelsPerMeter;
public int biYPelsPerMeter;
public int biClrUsed;
public int biClrImportant;
public byte bmiColors_rgbBlue;
public byte bmiColors_rgbGreen;
public byte bmiColors_rgbRed;
public byte bmiColors_rgbReserved;
}
}

How to get screenshot to include the invoking window (on XP)

I have code that takes a screenshot...
Size ssSize;
int ssX, ssY, ssWidth, ssHeight;
Bitmap thisScreenshot;
Graphics gfxScreenshot;
public Image Screenshot()
{
ssX = Screen.PrimaryScreen.Bounds.X;
ssY = Screen.PrimaryScreen.Bounds.Y;
ssWidth = Screen.PrimaryScreen.Bounds.Width;
ssHeight = Screen.PrimaryScreen.Bounds.Height;
ssSize = Screen.PrimaryScreen.Bounds.Size;
thisScreenshot = new Bitmap(ssWidth,ssHeight);
gfxScreenshot = Graphics.FromImage(thisScreenshot);
return((Image)gfxScreenshot.CopyFromScreen(ssX, ssY, 0, 0, ssSize));
}
On W7, the resulting image includes the pixels of the calling window;
but on XP it does not. I would like the image to always include the pixels of the
calling process/window. Any clue how I can force this?
UPDATE1:
I've done more experimentation with this, and as a result I'm more confused...
I took the above code and created a totally separate application so that there is no relationship between this and the application that I was originally launching it from.
Strangely enough, I am STILL not seeing the window of that application in the screenshot.
So now I have no relationship between the process doing the screenshot and the window that I want included in the screenshot; yet, that window is still not included.
I did try the PRNT-SCRN button and that does include the window.
Note that this is only a problem on XP.

Set your form's Opacity property to 100 and right-click the TransparencyKey property and select Reset. That ensures that your window is no longer a layered window and won't be missing from the screenshot.
If you want to keep these properties then you'll have to work around in a bug in Graphics.CopyFromScreen(). The overload that uses CopyPixelOperation with the CaptureBlt operation is required to capture layered windows. But won't work due to a bug in the argument validation code. The workaround isn't pretty but functional:
using System;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
namespace WindowsFormsApplication1 {
public partial class Form1 : Form {
public Form1() {
InitializeComponent();
}
private void button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e) {
Size sz = Screen.PrimaryScreen.Bounds.Size;
IntPtr hDesk = GetDesktopWindow();
IntPtr hSrce = GetWindowDC(hDesk);
IntPtr hDest = CreateCompatibleDC(hSrce);
IntPtr hBmp = CreateCompatibleBitmap(hSrce, sz.Width, sz.Height);
IntPtr hOldBmp = SelectObject(hDest, hBmp);
bool b = BitBlt(hDest, 0, 0, sz.Width, sz.Height, hSrce, 0, 0, CopyPixelOperation.SourceCopy | CopyPixelOperation.CaptureBlt);
Bitmap bmp = Bitmap.FromHbitmap(hBmp);
SelectObject(hDest, hOldBmp);
DeleteObject(hBmp);
DeleteDC(hDest);
ReleaseDC(hDesk, hSrce);
bmp.Save(#"c:\temp\test.png");
bmp.Dispose();
}
// P/Invoke declarations
[DllImport("gdi32.dll")]
static extern bool BitBlt(IntPtr hdcDest, int xDest, int yDest, int
wDest, int hDest, IntPtr hdcSource, int xSrc, int ySrc, CopyPixelOperation rop);
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
static extern bool ReleaseDC(IntPtr hWnd, IntPtr hDc);
[DllImport("gdi32.dll")]
static extern IntPtr DeleteDC(IntPtr hDc);
[DllImport("gdi32.dll")]
static extern IntPtr DeleteObject(IntPtr hDc);
[DllImport("gdi32.dll")]
static extern IntPtr CreateCompatibleBitmap(IntPtr hdc, int nWidth, int nHeight);
[DllImport("gdi32.dll")]
static extern IntPtr CreateCompatibleDC(IntPtr hdc);
[DllImport("gdi32.dll")]
static extern IntPtr SelectObject(IntPtr hdc, IntPtr bmp);
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
public static extern IntPtr GetDesktopWindow();
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
public static extern IntPtr GetWindowDC(IntPtr ptr);
}
}