WM_EX_COMPOSITED without double-buffering

Question

I am trying to implement double-buffering in a Win32 application, so I need the controls of a window to be painted from the backmost-control to the frontmost. As I understand it, WM_EX_COMPOSITED does this, but it also does double-buffering itself¹. How can I get windows to be painted from bottom to top like WS_EX_COMPOSITED without getting the double buffering along with it?

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I am not using WM_EX_COMPOSITED for double buffering because I think I can do a better job manually and not have flicker with DWM, etc.

Answer 1

Use the WS_EX_TRANSPARENT extended window style to make the top-level window paint last.