How can I get the mouse position in a console program?

c++ mouse windows-console
someguy picture someguy · Jun 8, 2011 · Viewed 21.7k times · Source

How can I get the mouse click position in C++ in a Windows console program? (A variable that returns the position of the mouse when clicked)

I want to draw a menu with simple text commands, so when someone clicks, the game will register it and know the position. I know how to do everything I need to do except get the mouse position when clicked.

Answer

user7116 picture user7116 · Jun 8, 2011

You'll need to use the *ConsoleInput family of methods (peek, read, etc). These operate on the console's input buffer, which includes keyboard and mouse events. The general strategy is:

  1. wait on the console's input buffer handle (ReadConsoleInput)
  2. determine the number of waiting events (lpNumberOfEventsRead)
  3. handle them as you see fit (i.e. MOUSE_EVENT and MOUSE_EVENT_RECORD)

You'll have to indicate that you want to retrieve mouse input using SetConsoleMode first though, as illustrated in this MSDN article.

Related questions

Easiest way to convert int to string in C++

What is the easiest way to convert from int to equivalent string in C++. I am aware of two methods. Is there any easier way? (1) int a = 10; char *intStr = itoa(a); string str = string(intStr); (2) int a = 10; stringstream ss; ss &…

Read More
The Definitive C++ Book Guide and List

This question attempts to collect the few pearls among the dozens of bad C++ books that are published every year. Unlike many other programming languages, which are often picked up on the go from tutorials found on the Internet, few …

Read More
How do I iterate over the words of a string?

I'm trying to iterate over the words of a string. The string can be assumed to be composed of words separated by whitespace. Note that I'm not interested in C string functions or that kind of character manipulation/access. Also, …

Read More