What does Windows error code 1423 (ERROR_WINDOW_NOT_COMBOBOX) mean?

ERROR_WINDOW_NOT_COMBOBOX

The target window is not a combo box

Combo-box messages use the CB_* namespace and expect the target to be an instance of the combo-box control class. A generic child window, edit control, or the internal child window of a combo does not satisfy that contract.

Subclassing and control discovery are common sources of confusion. A combo box can contain an edit control and a list portion, but applications should normally send combo messages to the combo's own HWND. Caching an internal child handle and later treating it as the outer control can produce this state.

What to check

• Confirm the class name and control creation path for the target handle.
• Use CB_GETCOMBOBOXINFO when code legitimately needs the internal edit/list handles.
• Send CB_* messages to the combo box itself unless a message explicitly targets a child.
• Reacquire handles after recreating or reparenting controls.

A valid combo box with an unsupported style-specific message instead yields the distinct ERROR_INVALID_COMBOBOX_MESSAGE condition.

References

• Microsoft: About Combo Boxes
• Microsoft: Combo Box Reference

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