C# Signature:
[DllImport("winmm.dll", SetLastError=true, CharSet=ChatSet.Auto)]
static extern bool PlaySound(string pszSound,
System.UIntPtr hmod, uint fdwSound);
VB Signature:
Public Declare Auto Function PlaySound Lib "winmm.dll" Alias "PlaySound" _
(ByVal pszSound As String, ByVal hmod As Long, ByVal fdwSound As Long) _
As Boolean
Notes:
[Flags]
public enum SoundFlags : int
{
SND_SYNC = 0x0000, // play synchronously (default)
SND_ASYNC = 0x0001, // play asynchronously
SND_NODEFAULT = 0x0002, // silence (!default) if sound not found
SND_MEMORY = 0x0004, // pszSound points to a memory file
SND_LOOP = 0x0008, // loop the sound until next sndPlaySound
SND_NOSTOP = 0x0010, // don't stop any currently playing sound
SND_NOWAIT = 0x00002000, // don't wait if the driver is busy
SND_ALIAS = 0x00010000, // name is a registry alias
SND_ALIAS_ID = 0x00110000, // alias is a predefined id
SND_FILENAME = 0x00020000, // name is file name
SND_RESOURCE = 0x00040004 // name is resource name or atom
}
Tips & Tricks:
Sometimes when using SND_ASYNC, your sound will be clipped at the beginning or the end of the sound. One workaround is to play all sounds in another thread using SND_SYNC.
Sample Code:
public static void Play (string strFileName)
{
PlaySound (strFileName, IntPtr.Zero, SoundFlags.SND_FILENAME | SoundFlags.SND_ASYNC);
}
// Calling with the the SND_MEMORY flag
public static void Play(string strFileName)
{
// a more usefull scenario would be extracting the sound file from the assembly resources
// NOTE: function must be declared with the CharSet parameter to CharSet.Auto
StreamReader reader = new StreamReader(strFileName, Encoding.Unicode);
string soundString = reader.ReadToEnd();
PlaySound(soundString, IntPtr.Zero, SoundFlags.SND_MEMORY);
}
Alternative Managed API:
Do you know one? Please contribute it!
