IUIAutomation::GetRootElement method (uiautomationclient.h)

Article
02/22/2024

Retrieves the UI Automation element that represents the desktop.

Syntax

HRESULT GetRootElement(
  [out, retval] IUIAutomationElement **root
);

Parameters

[out, retval] root

Type: IUIAutomationElement**

Receives a pointer to the UI Automation element.

Return value

Type: HRESULT

If this method succeeds, it returns S_OK. Otherwise, it returns an HRESULT error code.

Remarks

You can use the root element as a starting point for finding other elements, using the FindAll and FindFirst methods.

When searching from the root element, be sure to specify TreeScope_Children in the scope of the search, not TreeScope_Descendants. A search through the entire subtree of the desktop could iterate through thousands of items and lead to a stack overflow.

Requirements

Requirement	Value
Minimum supported client	Windows 7, Windows Vista with SP2 and Platform Update for Windows Vista, Windows XP with SP3 and Platform Update for Windows Vista [desktop apps only]
Minimum supported server	Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008 with SP2 and Platform Update for Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003 with SP2 and Platform Update for Windows Server 2008 [desktop apps only]
Target Platform	Windows
Header	uiautomationclient.h (include UIAutomation.h)