win_msgbox

A small Rust library for multiple native Windows message boxes and notification popups with timeout.

Features

Native Win32 message boxes with icon and button presets
Optional auto-close timeout for message boxes
Standalone popup notification window (bottom-right corner)
Balloon tip helper for existing tray icons
C/C++ FFI: Expose custom_msgbox_w for direct calling from C/C++ code

Platform

Windows only
Uses raw Win32 FFI (User32, Shell32, Gdi32)

Installation

Add to your Cargo.toml:

[dependencies]

win_msgbox = "1.2.0"

Quick Start

use win_msgbox::{
    MsgBoxType, MsgBtnType, custom_msgbox, error_msgbox, info_msgbox, notify_msgbox_standalone,
    quest_msgbox_yesno, wait_notifications, warn_msgbox,
};

fn main() {
    info_msgbox("Hello from Rust", "Info", 0);
    warn_msgbox("Careful!", "Warning", 3000);

    let result = quest_msgbox_yesno("Do you want to continue?", "Question", 0);
    if result == 6 {
        info_msgbox("You clicked Yes", "Result", 0);
    } else if result == 7 {
        error_msgbox("You clicked No", "Result", 0);
    }

    custom_msgbox(
        "Custom buttons and icon",
        "Custom",
        MsgBoxType::Warn,
        MsgBtnType::OkCancel,
        0,
    );

    notify_msgbox_standalone("Task", "Operation completed", 5000);

    // Wait for standalone notifications before process exit.
    wait_notifications();
}

API Overview

Message Boxes

info_msgbox(msg, title, timeout_ms) -> i32
error_msgbox(msg, title, timeout_ms) -> i32
warn_msgbox(msg, title, timeout_ms) -> i32
quest_msgbox_yesno(msg, title, timeout_ms) -> i32
quest_msgbox_okcancel(msg, title, timeout_ms) -> i32
custom_msgbox(msg, title, msgbox_type, msgboxbtn_type, timeout_ms) -> i32

Return values follow Win32 MessageBox conventions:

1: OK
2: Cancel
6: Yes
7: No
-1: closed by timeout

Standalone Notification Popup

notify_msgbox_standalone(title, msg, timeout_ms) -> bool
wait_notifications()

Tray Balloon Helper

notify_msgbox(hwnd, msg, icon_id) -> i32

Notes:

notify_msgbox requires an existing tray icon created with the same icon_id.
NotifyIconType enum is exported for future extension.

C/C++ FFI

When built with crate-type = ["cdylib"] (already configured), the crate generates a .dll that can be called directly from C/C++ code.

Build the DLL

cargo build --release

The output win_msgbox_timeout.dll (and optionally .lib) will be in target/release/.

C/C++ Declaration

// Link with win_msgbox_timeout.lib
typedef enum {
    MsgBoxType_Error = 0x0010,
    MsgBoxType_Info  = 0x0040,
    MsgBoxType_Quest = 0x0020,
    MsgBoxType_Warn  = 0x0030,
} MsgBoxType;

typedef enum {
    MsgBtnType_Ok       = 0x0000,
    MsgBtnType_OkCancel = 0x0001,
    MsgBtnType_YesNo    = 0x0004,
} MsgBtnType;

__declspec(dllimport) int __stdcall custom_msgbox_w(
    const wchar_t* msg,
    const wchar_t* title,
    MsgBoxType msgbox_type,
    MsgBtnType msgboxbtn_type,
    unsigned long long timeout_ms
);

C++ Example

#include <iostream>

extern "C" int custom_msgbox_w(
    const wchar_t* msg, const wchar_t* title,
    int msgbox_type, int msgboxbtn_type,
    unsigned long long timeout_ms
);

int main() {
    int result = custom_msgbox_w(
        L"Hello from C++!",
        L"FFI Demo",
        0x0040, // Info
        0x0000, // OK
        5000    // 5-second timeout
    );
    std::cout << "Result: " << result << std::endl;
    return 0;
}

Running Tests

cargo test

The test suite covers:

Enum flag values (MsgBtnType, MsgBoxType)
Display formatting for default titles
Text normalization (line endings, trimming)
UTF-16 conversion (to_wide)
Timeout closer thread behavior
FFI null pointer safety
Notification spawning and cleanup

Publish to crates.io

Create a crates.io account and API token.
Log in from terminal:
```
cargo login <YOUR_CRATES_IO_TOKEN>
```

Validate package locally:

cargo fmt --check
cargo clippy -- -D warnings
cargo package

Publish:
```
cargo publish
```
Verify:
```
cargo search win_msgbox
```

Notes Before Publishing

Ensure the version in Cargo.toml is new (cannot republish same version).
Make sure license, description, and readme are present.
Consider adding repository when you have a public Git repository URL.

License

MIT

win_msgbox_timeout 1.2.0