AHK Script for Active Window Border in Windows 11 22H2

active_border.ahk

;
; Inspiration / Code Jacked from the following resources:
; https://www.reddit.com/r/windowsporn/comments/x6299x/a_small_effect_on_window_switching/
; https://superuser.com/questions/1190658/fine-tune-this-red-border-around-active-window-ahk-script/1191059#1191059?newreg=d3acdcdab8714e76a5efeca9996e792f
; https://www.autohotkey.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=110505
; https://discord.com/channels/898554690126630914/898556726108901386/1053662963585781760  # Komorebi Discord
;

#NoEnv
#SingleInstance, Force
#Persistent
SendMode, Input
SetBatchLines, -1
SetWorkingDir, %A_ScriptDir%

Gui +LastFound
hWnd := WinExist()
DllCall("RegisterShellHookWindow", UInt,hWnd)
MsgNum := DllCall("RegisterWindowMessage", Str,"SHELLHOOK")
OnMessage(MsgNum, "ShellMessage")
Return

ShellMessage(wParam,lParam) {
    Local k
    if (wParam = 32772){
        SetTimer, DrawActive, -1
    }
}

DrawActive:
    ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
    ; Border Color Configuration
    ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
    border_color := "0x6238FF"
    ; Start by removing the borders from all windows, since we do not know which window was previously active
    WinGet, WindowHandles, List
    loop % WindowHandles
    {
        DrawBorder(WindowHandles%A_Index%, , 0)
    }
    ; Draw the border around the active window
    hwnd := WinExist("A")
    DrawBorder(hwnd, border_color, 1)
Return

DrawBorder(hwnd, color:=0xFF0000, enable:=1) {
    static DWMWA_BORDER_COLOR := 34
    static DWMWA_COLOR_DEFAULT	:= 0xFFFFFFFF
    R := (color & 0xFF0000) >> 16
    G := (color & 0xFF00) >> 8
    B := (color & 0xFF)
    color := (B << 16) | (G << 8) | R
    DllCall("dwmapi\DwmSetWindowAttribute", "ptr", hwnd, "int", DWMWA_BORDER_COLOR, "int*", enable ? color : DWMWA_COLOR_DEFAULT, "int", 4)
}

AHKv2 version:

#Requires AutoHotkey v2.0
#SingleInstance Force

myGui := Gui()
myGui.Opt("+LastFound")
hWnd := WinExist()
DllCall("RegisterShellHookWindow", "UInt", hWnd)
MsgNum := DllCall("RegisterWindowMessage", "Str", "SHELLHOOK")
OnMessage(MsgNum, ShellMessage)
Persistent

ShellMessage(wParam,lParam, msg, hwnd) {
    if (wParam = 32772){
        SetTimer(DrawActive,-1)
    }
}

DrawActive()
{
    ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
    ; Border Color Configuration
    ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
    border_color := "0x6238FF"
    ; Start by removing the borders from all windows, since we do not know which window was previously active
    windowHandles := WinGetList(,,,)
    For handle in windowHandles
    {
        DrawBorder(handle, , 0)
    }
    ; Draw the border around the active window
    hwnd := WinExist("A")
    DrawBorder(hwnd, border_color, 1)
}

DrawBorder(hwnd, color:=0xFF0000, enable:=1) {
    static DWMWA_BORDER_COLOR := 34
    static DWMWA_COLOR_DEFAULT	:= 0xFFFFFFFF
    R := (color & 0xFF0000) >> 16
    G := (color & 0xFF00) >> 8
    B := (color & 0xFF)
    color := (B << 16) | (G << 8) | R
    DllCall("dwmapi\DwmSetWindowAttribute", "ptr", hwnd, "int", DWMWA_BORDER_COLOR, "int*", enable ? color : DWMWA_COLOR_DEFAULT, "int", 4)
}

Is there a way to change the thickness?

Thanks for the script!

For those who want to use system accent color, I recommend to try this snippet — just copy the GetSysColor(n) method from there, and change in this script border_color := "0x6238FF" to border_color := GetSysColor(10).

I also noticed that when new window is created, sometimes I have to refocus it in order for border to appear. I fixed it by adding 300ms delay before border gets drawn.

Is there a way to change the thickness?

@jo-project did you find a way?
thanks

@emvaized

I fixed it by adding 300ms delay before border gets drawn.

SetTimer, DrawActive, -300

Is there any chance this could be updated to work with Windows 24H2 (OS Build 26100.2605)?

@downspire https://gist.github.com/mariusrueve/c6b1af96c1d5b5792c150e52c8500288

I had a shot at it and this is currently working for me

@downspire https://gist.github.com/mariusrueve/c6b1af96c1d5b5792c150e52c8500288

I had a shot at it and this is currently working for me

This does work but it does not have the same visual appearance as the original script. Either way thank you for your time.

Check out both "cute-borders" and "tacky-borders".

They both accomplish active window highlighting, and both have far more configuration options. They can both do a different color per app. tacky-borders is even more flexible with the line thickness, and even has animated borders.