Use Running App

All - I have used mtux to check for a running app and close it down if it a
previous app instance is running. Now, when a user double clicks on one of
the saved application files, I'd like for the existing instance of the
application to come to the front and use the file the user double clicked.
I have no issues doing this when no instance of the app is running but if it
is already running, how do I go about this?

Thanks,
Brian

Bob
Sat Nov 12 17:29:22 CST 2005

See the article in Windows Forms Tips and Tricks.

It doesn't use a mutex but it does bring the running application to the
foreground.

--
Bob Powell [MVP]
Visual C#, System.Drawing

Ramuseco Limited .NET consulting
http://www.ramuseco.com

Find great Windows Forms articles in Windows Forms Tips and Tricks
http://www.bobpowell.net/tipstricks.htm

Answer those GDI+ questions with the GDI+ FAQ
http://www.bobpowell.net/faqmain.htm

All new articles provide code in C# and VB.NET.
Subscribe to the RSS feeds provided and never miss a new article.





"Brian P. Hammer" <BrianHammer@community.nospam> wrote in message
news:uvSogH95FHA.4036@TK2MSFTNGP11.phx.gbl...
> All - I have used mtux to check for a running app and close it down if it
> a previous app instance is running. Now, when a user double clicks on one
> of the saved application files, I'd like for the existing instance of the
> application to come to the front and use the file the user double clicked.
> I have no issues doing this when no instance of the app is running but if
> it is already running, how do I go about this?
>
> Thanks,
> Brian
>
>

Brian
Sat Nov 12 20:14:26 CST 2005

Thanks Bob. I'll give it a shot.


"Bob Powell [MVP]" <bob@_spamkiller_bobpowell.net> wrote in message
news:eHX33A%235FHA.3416@TK2MSFTNGP15.phx.gbl...
> See the article in Windows Forms Tips and Tricks.
>
> It doesn't use a mutex but it does bring the running application to the
> foreground.
>
> --
> Bob Powell [MVP]
> Visual C#, System.Drawing
>
> Ramuseco Limited .NET consulting
> http://www.ramuseco.com
>
> Find great Windows Forms articles in Windows Forms Tips and Tricks
> http://www.bobpowell.net/tipstricks.htm
>
> Answer those GDI+ questions with the GDI+ FAQ
> http://www.bobpowell.net/faqmain.htm
>
> All new articles provide code in C# and VB.NET.
> Subscribe to the RSS feeds provided and never miss a new article.
>
>
>
>
>
> "Brian P. Hammer" <BrianHammer@community.nospam> wrote in message
> news:uvSogH95FHA.4036@TK2MSFTNGP11.phx.gbl...
>> All - I have used mtux to check for a running app and close it down if it
>> a previous app instance is running. Now, when a user double clicks on
>> one of the saved application files, I'd like for the existing instance of
>> the application to come to the front and use the file the user double
>> clicked. I have no issues doing this when no instance of the app is
>> running but if it is already running, how do I go about this?
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Brian
>>
>>
>
>

Brian
Sat Nov 12 23:39:35 CST 2005

Bob - This doesn't seem to work in 2005. RunningProcesses.Length always
return 0

Thanks,
Brian

Public Enum....

<Runtime.InteropServices.DllImport("User32.dll")> _
Public Shared Function ShowWindowAsync(ByVal hWnd As IntPtr, ByVal swCommand
As Integer) As Integer
End Function


<STAThread()> _
Public Shared Sub Main()
Dim RunningProcesses As Process() = Process.GetProcessesByName("Test")
'Change the name above to suit your application
If (RunningProcesses.Length = 1) Then
Application.Run(New MainGUI.MDIMain)
Else
ShowWindowAsync(RunningProcesses(0).MainWindowHandle,
ShowWindowConstants.SW_SHOWMINIMIZED)
ShowWindowAsync(RunningProcesses(0).MainWindowHandle,
ShowWindowConstants.SW_RESTORE)
End If
End Sub

"Bob Powell [MVP]" <bob@_spamkiller_bobpowell.net> wrote in message
news:eHX33A%235FHA.3416@TK2MSFTNGP15.phx.gbl...
> See the article in Windows Forms Tips and Tricks.
>
> It doesn't use a mutex but it does bring the running application to the
> foreground.
>
> --
> Bob Powell [MVP]
> Visual C#, System.Drawing
>
> Ramuseco Limited .NET consulting
> http://www.ramuseco.com
>
> Find great Windows Forms articles in Windows Forms Tips and Tricks
> http://www.bobpowell.net/tipstricks.htm
>
> Answer those GDI+ questions with the GDI+ FAQ
> http://www.bobpowell.net/faqmain.htm
>
> All new articles provide code in C# and VB.NET.
> Subscribe to the RSS feeds provided and never miss a new article.
>
>
>
>
>
> "Brian P. Hammer" <BrianHammer@community.nospam> wrote in message
> news:uvSogH95FHA.4036@TK2MSFTNGP11.phx.gbl...
>> All - I have used mtux to check for a running app and close it down if it
>> a previous app instance is running. Now, when a user double clicks on
>> one of the saved application files, I'd like for the existing instance of
>> the application to come to the front and use the file the user double
>> clicked. I have no issues doing this when no instance of the app is
>> running but if it is already running, how do I go about this?
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Brian
>>
>>
>
>

Brian
Sun Nov 13 00:15:10 CST 2005

Never mind.... It's too late to miss the simple thing of my app name...

Brian

"Brian P. Hammer" <BrianHammer@community.nospam> wrote in message
news:%23Da6iSB6FHA.2888@tk2msftngp13.phx.gbl...
> Bob - This doesn't seem to work in 2005. RunningProcesses.Length always
> return 0
>
> Thanks,
> Brian
>
> Public Enum....
>
> <Runtime.InteropServices.DllImport("User32.dll")> _
> Public Shared Function ShowWindowAsync(ByVal hWnd As IntPtr, ByVal
> swCommand As Integer) As Integer
> End Function
>
>
> <STAThread()> _
> Public Shared Sub Main()
> Dim RunningProcesses As Process() = Process.GetProcessesByName("Test")
> 'Change the name above to suit your application
> If (RunningProcesses.Length = 1) Then
> Application.Run(New MainGUI.MDIMain)
> Else
> ShowWindowAsync(RunningProcesses(0).MainWindowHandle,
> ShowWindowConstants.SW_SHOWMINIMIZED)
> ShowWindowAsync(RunningProcesses(0).MainWindowHandle,
> ShowWindowConstants.SW_RESTORE)
> End If
> End Sub
>
> "Bob Powell [MVP]" <bob@_spamkiller_bobpowell.net> wrote in message
> news:eHX33A%235FHA.3416@TK2MSFTNGP15.phx.gbl...
>> See the article in Windows Forms Tips and Tricks.
>>
>> It doesn't use a mutex but it does bring the running application to the
>> foreground.
>>
>> --
>> Bob Powell [MVP]
>> Visual C#, System.Drawing
>>
>> Ramuseco Limited .NET consulting
>> http://www.ramuseco.com
>>
>> Find great Windows Forms articles in Windows Forms Tips and Tricks
>> http://www.bobpowell.net/tipstricks.htm
>>
>> Answer those GDI+ questions with the GDI+ FAQ
>> http://www.bobpowell.net/faqmain.htm
>>
>> All new articles provide code in C# and VB.NET.
>> Subscribe to the RSS feeds provided and never miss a new article.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> "Brian P. Hammer" <BrianHammer@community.nospam> wrote in message
>> news:uvSogH95FHA.4036@TK2MSFTNGP11.phx.gbl...
>>> All - I have used mtux to check for a running app and close it down if
>>> it a previous app instance is running. Now, when a user double clicks
>>> on one of the saved application files, I'd like for the existing
>>> instance of the application to come to the front and use the file the
>>> user double clicked. I have no issues doing this when no instance of the
>>> app is running but if it is already running, how do I go about this?
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>> Brian
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
>

Bob
Sun Nov 13 04:15:40 CST 2005

:-)

--
Bob Powell [MVP]
Visual C#, System.Drawing

Ramuseco Limited .NET consulting
http://www.ramuseco.com

Find great Windows Forms articles in Windows Forms Tips and Tricks
http://www.bobpowell.net/tipstricks.htm

Answer those GDI+ questions with the GDI+ FAQ
http://www.bobpowell.net/faqmain.htm

All new articles provide code in C# and VB.NET.
Subscribe to the RSS feeds provided and never miss a new article.





"Brian P. Hammer" <BrianHammer@community.nospam> wrote in message
news:%23YT%23amB6FHA.3136@TK2MSFTNGP09.phx.gbl...
> Never mind.... It's too late to miss the simple thing of my app name...
>
> Brian
>
> "Brian P. Hammer" <BrianHammer@community.nospam> wrote in message
> news:%23Da6iSB6FHA.2888@tk2msftngp13.phx.gbl...
>> Bob - This doesn't seem to work in 2005. RunningProcesses.Length always
>> return 0
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Brian
>>
>> Public Enum....
>>
>> <Runtime.InteropServices.DllImport("User32.dll")> _
>> Public Shared Function ShowWindowAsync(ByVal hWnd As IntPtr, ByVal
>> swCommand As Integer) As Integer
>> End Function
>>
>>
>> <STAThread()> _
>> Public Shared Sub Main()
>> Dim RunningProcesses As Process() = Process.GetProcessesByName("Test")
>> 'Change the name above to suit your application
>> If (RunningProcesses.Length = 1) Then
>> Application.Run(New MainGUI.MDIMain)
>> Else
>> ShowWindowAsync(RunningProcesses(0).MainWindowHandle,
>> ShowWindowConstants.SW_SHOWMINIMIZED)
>> ShowWindowAsync(RunningProcesses(0).MainWindowHandle,
>> ShowWindowConstants.SW_RESTORE)
>> End If
>> End Sub
>>
>> "Bob Powell [MVP]" <bob@_spamkiller_bobpowell.net> wrote in message
>> news:eHX33A%235FHA.3416@TK2MSFTNGP15.phx.gbl...
>>> See the article in Windows Forms Tips and Tricks.
>>>
>>> It doesn't use a mutex but it does bring the running application to the
>>> foreground.
>>>
>>> --
>>> Bob Powell [MVP]
>>> Visual C#, System.Drawing
>>>
>>> Ramuseco Limited .NET consulting
>>> http://www.ramuseco.com
>>>
>>> Find great Windows Forms articles in Windows Forms Tips and Tricks
>>> http://www.bobpowell.net/tipstricks.htm
>>>
>>> Answer those GDI+ questions with the GDI+ FAQ
>>> http://www.bobpowell.net/faqmain.htm
>>>
>>> All new articles provide code in C# and VB.NET.
>>> Subscribe to the RSS feeds provided and never miss a new article.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> "Brian P. Hammer" <BrianHammer@community.nospam> wrote in message
>>> news:uvSogH95FHA.4036@TK2MSFTNGP11.phx.gbl...
>>>> All - I have used mtux to check for a running app and close it down if
>>>> it a previous app instance is running. Now, when a user double clicks
>>>> on one of the saved application files, I'd like for the existing
>>>> instance of the application to come to the front and use the file the
>>>> user double clicked. I have no issues doing this when no instance of
>>>> the app is running but if it is already running, how do I go about
>>>> this?
>>>>
>>>> Thanks,
>>>> Brian
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
>

Brian
Sun Nov 13 21:42:53 CST 2005

Bob - Thanks for your help thus far. The only thing I cannot seem to
overcome is when I use ShowWindowAsync, how do I get a handle to the current
running app so I can pass the opening file as a string to a procedure in the
main form?

Thanks,
Brian



"Brian P. Hammer" <BrianHammer@community.nospam> wrote in message
news:uvSogH95FHA.4036@TK2MSFTNGP11.phx.gbl...
> All - I have used mtux to check for a running app and close it down if it
> a previous app instance is running. Now, when a user double clicks on one
> of the saved application files, I'd like for the existing instance of the
> application to come to the front and use the file the user double clicked.
> I have no issues doing this when no instance of the app is running but if
> it is already running, how do I go about this?
>
> Thanks,
> Brian
>
>

v-jetan
Sun Nov 13 23:49:19 CST 2005

Hi Brian,

I am not sure what your current problem is, can you provide a little more
context information of your problem so that I can understand it? Actually,
I did not find the article "Bob Powell [MVP]" pointed to in
http://www.bobpowell.net/tipstricks.htm, so I do not know how you solution
uses ShowWindowAsync.

I will wait for your further information. Thanks

Best regards,
Jeffrey Tan
Microsoft Online Partner Support
Get Secure! - www.microsoft.com/security
This posting is provided "as is" with no warranties and confers no rights.

Bob
Mon Nov 14 01:26:46 CST 2005

Hi Jeffrey and Brian.

Jeffry, this is the link: http://www.bobpowell.net/singleinstance.htm

Brian, the code clearly shows how to use the MainWindowHandle from the array
of running processes.

--
Bob Powell [MVP]
Visual C#, System.Drawing

Ramuseco Limited .NET consulting
http://www.ramuseco.com

Find great Windows Forms articles in Windows Forms Tips and Tricks
http://www.bobpowell.net/tipstricks.htm

Answer those GDI+ questions with the GDI+ FAQ
http://www.bobpowell.net/faqmain.htm

All new articles provide code in C# and VB.NET.
Subscribe to the RSS feeds provided and never miss a new article.





""Jeffrey Tan[MSFT]"" <v-jetan@online.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:P8odt8N6FHA.1240@TK2MSFTNGXA02.phx.gbl...
> Hi Brian,
>
> I am not sure what your current problem is, can you provide a little more
> context information of your problem so that I can understand it? Actually,
> I did not find the article "Bob Powell [MVP]" pointed to in
> http://www.bobpowell.net/tipstricks.htm, so I do not know how you solution
> uses ShowWindowAsync.
>
> I will wait for your further information. Thanks
>
> Best regards,
> Jeffrey Tan
> Microsoft Online Partner Support
> Get Secure! - www.microsoft.com/security
> This posting is provided "as is" with no warranties and confers no rights.
>

v-jetan
Mon Nov 14 02:11:04 CST 2005

Hi Bob,

Thanks for your good follow up and your information sharing. Let's wait
Brian to see if this meets his need. Thanks

Best regards,
Jeffrey Tan
Microsoft Online Partner Support
Get Secure! - www.microsoft.com/security
This posting is provided "as is" with no warranties and confers no rights.

Brian
Mon Nov 14 15:13:08 CST 2005

To an ole pro like you it does. ;-)

To a beginner like me, it doesn't say much but to copy it and paste into my
app. :-)

I'll play around with it a bit and see if I can figure out how to call a
procedure on a form of the existing running instance.

Thanks Bob,
Brian



"Bob Powell [MVP]" <bob@_spamkiller_bobpowell.net> wrote in message
news:e2qAowO6FHA.3804@TK2MSFTNGP14.phx.gbl...
> Hi Jeffrey and Brian.
>
> Jeffry, this is the link: http://www.bobpowell.net/singleinstance.htm
>
> Brian, the code clearly shows how to use the MainWindowHandle from the
> array of running processes.
>
> --
> Bob Powell [MVP]
> Visual C#, System.Drawing
>
> Ramuseco Limited .NET consulting
> http://www.ramuseco.com
>
> Find great Windows Forms articles in Windows Forms Tips and Tricks
> http://www.bobpowell.net/tipstricks.htm
>
> Answer those GDI+ questions with the GDI+ FAQ
> http://www.bobpowell.net/faqmain.htm
>
> All new articles provide code in C# and VB.NET.
> Subscribe to the RSS feeds provided and never miss a new article.
>
>
>
>
>
> ""Jeffrey Tan[MSFT]"" <v-jetan@online.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:P8odt8N6FHA.1240@TK2MSFTNGXA02.phx.gbl...
>> Hi Brian,
>>
>> I am not sure what your current problem is, can you provide a little more
>> context information of your problem so that I can understand it?
>> Actually,
>> I did not find the article "Bob Powell [MVP]" pointed to in
>> http://www.bobpowell.net/tipstricks.htm, so I do not know how you
>> solution
>> uses ShowWindowAsync.
>>
>> I will wait for your further information. Thanks
>>
>> Best regards,
>> Jeffrey Tan
>> Microsoft Online Partner Support
>> Get Secure! - www.microsoft.com/security
>> This posting is provided "as is" with no warranties and confers no
>> rights.
>>
>
>

v-jetan
Mon Nov 14 19:01:02 CST 2005

Hi Brian,

Thanks for your feedback.

Actually, I am not sure of what is the problem you are real facing. Bob's
code leverages Process.GetProcessesByName() method to determine if there
are more than 1 process in the system has the same name as your
application, if so, there must be a previous application running. So it
p/invokes Win32 api ShowWindowAsync to post a show-window event to the
message queue of the previous process' main window.

The first parameter passed to ShowWindowAsync API is the window we want to
active, which we obtained through RunningProcesses[0].MainWindowHandle,
that is Process.MainWindowHandle property(you can search this in MSDN for
more information).

Does this make this process clear? If you have any more concern, please
feel free to tell us, thanks

Best regards,
Jeffrey Tan
Microsoft Online Partner Support
Get Secure! - www.microsoft.com/security
This posting is provided "as is" with no warranties and confers no rights.

Brian
Mon Nov 14 20:40:37 CST 2005

Jeffery - Beginners pains....

My issue was Application.Run(new MDIMain). I declared frmMDI outside of the
procedure and just call Application.Run(frmMDI) if it is the first app or
just pass my data to frmMDI.SoProcedure...

Thanks for sticking with me.

Regards,
Brian


""Jeffrey Tan[MSFT]"" <v-jetan@online.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:clHMYAY6FHA.1236@TK2MSFTNGXA02.phx.gbl...
> Hi Brian,
>
> Thanks for your feedback.
>
> Actually, I am not sure of what is the problem you are real facing. Bob's
> code leverages Process.GetProcessesByName() method to determine if there
> are more than 1 process in the system has the same name as your
> application, if so, there must be a previous application running. So it
> p/invokes Win32 api ShowWindowAsync to post a show-window event to the
> message queue of the previous process' main window.
>
> The first parameter passed to ShowWindowAsync API is the window we want to
> active, which we obtained through RunningProcesses[0].MainWindowHandle,
> that is Process.MainWindowHandle property(you can search this in MSDN for
> more information).
>
> Does this make this process clear? If you have any more concern, please
> feel free to tell us, thanks
>
> Best regards,
> Jeffrey Tan
> Microsoft Online Partner Support
> Get Secure! - www.microsoft.com/security
> This posting is provided "as is" with no warranties and confers no rights.
>

Brian
Tue Nov 15 22:00:44 CST 2005

Jeffery - Did you have an opportunity to look at the sample app I posted?

Thanks,
Brian

""Jeffrey Tan[MSFT]"" <v-jetan@online.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:clHMYAY6FHA.1236@TK2MSFTNGXA02.phx.gbl...
> Hi Brian,
>
> Thanks for your feedback.
>
> Actually, I am not sure of what is the problem you are real facing. Bob's
> code leverages Process.GetProcessesByName() method to determine if there
> are more than 1 process in the system has the same name as your
> application, if so, there must be a previous application running. So it
> p/invokes Win32 api ShowWindowAsync to post a show-window event to the
> message queue of the previous process' main window.
>
> The first parameter passed to ShowWindowAsync API is the window we want to
> active, which we obtained through RunningProcesses[0].MainWindowHandle,
> that is Process.MainWindowHandle property(you can search this in MSDN for
> more information).
>
> Does this make this process clear? If you have any more concern, please
> feel free to tell us, thanks
>
> Best regards,
> Jeffrey Tan
> Microsoft Online Partner Support
> Get Secure! - www.microsoft.com/security
> This posting is provided "as is" with no warranties and confers no rights.
>

v-jetan
Tue Nov 15 23:18:27 CST 2005

Hi Brian,

I am sorry, but I have reviewed your sample project yesterday, and posted a
modified sample to you in a further reply. Can you see my further reply? If
you fail to get my reply, please feel free to send a email to
v-jetan@online.microsoft.com(remove "online."), I will email the modified
sample to you. Thanks

Best regards,
Jeffrey Tan
Microsoft Online Partner Support
Get Secure! - www.microsoft.com/security
This posting is provided "as is" with no warranties and confers no rights.

Brian
Wed Nov 16 16:54:21 CST 2005

Jeffery - I sent you an email. I can now see the post only on Microsoft's
web enable reader but unable from there to download attachments. Please
send me the modified sample app to bhamer@leas.nospamers.com. Please remove
nospammers.

Thanks for all the help,
Brian



""Jeffrey Tan[MSFT]"" <v-jetan@online.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:YI1n20m6FHA.1236@TK2MSFTNGXA02.phx.gbl...
> Hi Brian,
>
> I am sorry, but I have reviewed your sample project yesterday, and posted
> a
> modified sample to you in a further reply. Can you see my further reply?
> If
> you fail to get my reply, please feel free to send a email to
> v-jetan@online.microsoft.com(remove "online."), I will email the modified
> sample to you. Thanks
>
> Best regards,
> Jeffrey Tan
> Microsoft Online Partner Support
> Get Secure! - www.microsoft.com/security
> This posting is provided "as is" with no warranties and confers no rights.
>

Brian
Wed Nov 16 17:00:49 CST 2005

sorry, make that bhammer@leas.nospammers.com or
bhammer@le-aviation.nospammers.com


Thanks,
Brian



"Brian P. Hammer" <BrianHammer@community.nospam> wrote in message
news:%23yya0Cw6FHA.2264@TK2MSFTNGP11.phx.gbl...
> Jeffery - I sent you an email. I can now see the post only on Microsoft's
> web enable reader but unable from there to download attachments. Please
> send me the modified sample app to bhamer@leas.nospamers.com. Please
> remove nospammers.
>
> Thanks for all the help,
> Brian
>
>
>
> ""Jeffrey Tan[MSFT]"" <v-jetan@online.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:YI1n20m6FHA.1236@TK2MSFTNGXA02.phx.gbl...
>> Hi Brian,
>>
>> I am sorry, but I have reviewed your sample project yesterday, and posted
>> a
>> modified sample to you in a further reply. Can you see my further reply?
>> If
>> you fail to get my reply, please feel free to send a email to
>> v-jetan@online.microsoft.com(remove "online."), I will email the modified
>> sample to you. Thanks
>>
>> Best regards,
>> Jeffrey Tan
>> Microsoft Online Partner Support
>> Get Secure! - www.microsoft.com/security
>> This posting is provided "as is" with no warranties and confers no
>> rights.
>>
>
>

v-jetan
Wed Nov 16 18:53:45 CST 2005

Hi Brian,

Thanks for your feedback.

Yes, you can notget the attachment through IE, but you can get it through
Outlook Express. Anyway, I have replied your email with the modified sample
project. If you have any further issue, please feel free to feedback here.
Thanks

Best regards,
Jeffrey Tan
Microsoft Online Partner Support
Get Secure! - www.microsoft.com/security
This posting is provided "as is" with no warranties and confers no rights.

Brian
Wed Nov 16 19:44:09 CST 2005

Thanks, got your email. For what ever reason, the original message never
shows up in OE. Even after a reset of the folder.

Regards,
Brian

""Jeffrey Tan[MSFT]"" <v-jetan@online.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:IVhFiFx6FHA.3948@TK2MSFTNGXA02.phx.gbl...
> Hi Brian,
>
> Thanks for your feedback.
>
> Yes, you can notget the attachment through IE, but you can get it through
> Outlook Express. Anyway, I have replied your email with the modified
> sample
> project. If you have any further issue, please feel free to feedback here.
> Thanks
>
> Best regards,
> Jeffrey Tan
> Microsoft Online Partner Support
> Get Secure! - www.microsoft.com/security
> This posting is provided "as is" with no warranties and confers no rights.
>

v-jetan
Wed Nov 16 20:00:25 CST 2005

Ok, if you have any further issue, please feel free to feedback. Thanks

Best regards,
Jeffrey Tan
Microsoft Online Partner Support
Get Secure! - www.microsoft.com/security
This posting is provided "as is" with no warranties and confers no rights.

v-jetan
Sun Nov 20 23:58:06 CST 2005

Hi Brian,

Does my sample project meet your need? If you still have any concern,
please feel free to tell me, thanks

Best regards,
Jeffrey Tan
Microsoft Online Partner Support
Get Secure! - www.microsoft.com/security
This posting is provided "as is" with no warranties and confers no rights.