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Message back from windows API

I am trying to receive messages from QCollector as explained in the QCollector Data Interface developer guide. The process consists of registering predefined messages, finding the QCollector server window, and exchanging data through the registered messages.
My WndProc callback receives lost of messages, but none of those are recognized as one of the registered messages. I'm passing my Form's this.Handle in the request, but I'm unsure if this is correct.
What am I doing wrong?
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.Linq;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
using System.Text;
using System.Threading;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
using System.Windows.Forms;
namespace HistDataManager
{
public partial class Form1 : Form
{
[DllImport("user32.dll", EntryPoint = "FindWindow")]
private static extern int FindWindow(string sClass, string sWindow);
[DllImport("user32.dll", SetLastError = true, CharSet = CharSet.Auto)]
static extern uint RegisterWindowMessage(string lpString);
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
static extern IntPtr SendMessage(IntPtr hWnd, uint Msg, UIntPtr wParam, IntPtr lParam);
int nWinHandle = FindWindow("QCDataInterfaceWndClass", null);
uint wm_QCollectorClientDataRequest = RegisterWindowMessage("QCOLLECTOR_CLIENT_DATA_REQUEST");
uint wm_QCollectorClientPortfolioListRequest = RegisterWindowMessage("QCOLLECTOR_CLIENT_PORTFOLIO_LIST_REQUEST");
uint wm_QCollectorPortfolioListRequestComplete = RegisterWindowMessage("QCOLLECTOR_PORTFOLIO_LIST_REQUEST_COMPLETE ");
public void TestQC()
{
SendMessage(new IntPtr(nWinHandle), wm_QCollectorClientPortfolioListRequest, UIntPtr.Zero, this.Handle);
}
protected override void WndProc(ref Message m)
{
Console.WriteLine(m.HWnd + "," + m.Msg + "," + m.LParam + "," + m.WParam);
base.WndProc(ref m);
if (m.Msg == wm_QCollectorClientPortfolioListRequest || m.Msg == wm_QCollectorPortfolioListRequestComplete)
{
Console.WriteLine("Message from specified application found!");
}
}
}
}
EDIT 1:
Just to be sure that I have the basics working in c# I created a second version of this app and got them to talk to each other. This works, so I know my handles and message structures are correct.
BUT I never get a response from qCollector. Does anyone have experience of using this in any other language perhaps? I suspect qCollector was written in c++.

I dont know if it is fine in .Net but i would like to suggest you to call all the functions in either constructor or in init() function.
Suggested Design
int nWinHandle=0;
uint wm_QCollectorClientDataRequest=0;
uint wm_QCollectorClientPortfolioListRequest=0;
uint wm_QCollectorPortfolioListRequestComplete=0;
void init()
{
nWinHandle = FindWindow("QCDataInterfaceWndClass", null);
wm_QCollectorClientDataRequest = RegisterWindowMessage("QCOLLECTOR_CLIENT_DATA_REQUEST");
wm_QCollectorClientPortfolioListRequest = RegisterWindowMessage("QCOLLECTOR_CLIENT_PORTFOLIO_LIST_REQUEST");
wm_QCollectorPortfolioListRequestComplete = RegisterWindowMessage("QCOLLECTOR_PORTFOLIO_LIST_REQUEST_COMPLETE ");
}

Cyclic sending of messages to different procces using SendMessage()

UPD: added MCVE.
This is an educational task. I have to use SendMessage() function:
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
public static extern IntPtr SendMessage(IntPtr hWnd,
uint wMsg, UIntPtr wParam, IntPtr lParam);
I have to make two different applications with GUI communicationg by messages. After getting message like "start" 1 app have to start sendinding message "Ask value" to 2 app each 5 seconds. And 2 app send to 1 app message "Send value" with some data.
1 app is WinForms program:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Data;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.Threading;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
namespace Oven_Monitor
{
public partial class Form1 : Form
{
[DllImport("user32.dll", SetLastError = true, CharSet = CharSet.Unicode)]
public static extern IntPtr FindWindow(string lpClassName, string lpWindowName);
[DllImport("kernel32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto, SetLastError = true)]
public static extern int GetCurrentProcessId();
[DllImport("user32.dll", SetLastError = true, CharSet = CharSet.Auto)]
static extern uint RegisterWindowMessage(string lpString);
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
public static extern IntPtr SendMessage(IntPtr hWnd, uint wMsg, UIntPtr wParam, IntPtr lParam);
private uint askMessageID = RegisterWindowMessage("Ask value");
private uint dataMessageID = RegisterWindowMessage("Send value");
private uint registerMessageID = RegisterWindowMessage("Register sensor");
public Form1() {
InitializeComponent();
this.Text = "Really rare title";
}
public void checkSensors() {
while (true) {
SendMessage(secondAppHWnd, askMessageID, (UIntPtr)0, (IntPtr)0);
System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(500);
}
}
private IntPtr secondAppHWnd;
protected override void WndProc(ref Message m) {
if (m.Msg == registerMessageID) {
secondAppHWnd = m.LParam;
Thread tr = new Thread(checkSensors);
tr.Start();
} else if (m.Msg == dataMessageID) {
//do some stuff
}
base.WndProc(ref m);
}
}
}
2 app is console project, but it requires System.Windows.Forms referens:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.Threading;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
using System.Windows;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
namespace HeatSensor
{
class Program
{
[DllImport("user32.dll", SetLastError = true, CharSet = CharSet.Unicode)]
public static extern IntPtr FindWindow(string lpClassName, string lpWindowName);
static void Main(string[] args)
{
IntPtr mainAppHandle = FindWindow(null, "Really rare title");
while (mainAppHandle == IntPtr.Zero)
{
Console.ReadKey();
mainAppHandle = FindWindow(null, "Really rare title");
}
HiddenForm form = new HiddenForm(mainAppHandle);
while (true) //it's actually not infinit
{
//do some stuff
}
}
}
}
And hidden form class:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Data;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
namespace HeatSensor
{
public partial class HiddenForm : Form
{
[DllImport("user32.dll", SetLastError = true, CharSet = CharSet.Unicode)]
public static extern IntPtr FindWindow(string lpClassName, string lpWindowName);
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
public static extern IntPtr SendMessage(IntPtr hWnd, uint wMsg, UIntPtr wParam, IntPtr lParam);
[DllImport("user32.dll", SetLastError = true, CharSet = CharSet.Auto)]
static extern uint RegisterWindowMessage(string lpString);
static private IntPtr mainAppHandle;
public HiddenForm(IntPtr mainAppHWnd)
{
InitializeComponent();
mainAppHandle = mainAppHWnd;
string title = System.DateTime.Now.ToLongDateString();
title += System.DateTime.Now.ToLongTimeString();
title += System.DateTime.Now.Ticks.ToString();
this.Text = title;
this.CreateHandle();
int currentWindowHandle = (int)FindWindow(null, title);
SendMessage(mainAppHandle, RegisterWindowMessage("Register sensor"),
(UIntPtr)0, currentWindowHandle);
}
private uint askMessageID = RegisterWindowMessage("Ask value");
private uint dataMessageID = RegisterWindowMessage("Send value");
private uint registerMessageID = RegisterWindowMessage("Register sensor");
protected override void WndProc(ref Message m)
{
if (m.Msg == askMessageID)
{
SendMessage(mainAppHandle, dataMessageID, (UIntPtr)1, (IntPtr)1);
}
base.WndProc(ref m);
}
}
}
For some reason this programs act strange. Almost everytime 2 app don't getting sended "Ask value" message, sometimes checkSensors() send 1-3 messages and stop.
What is wrong?
Both HWnd is correct.
Update: I tried to check error here:
public void checkSensors() {
while (true) {
SendMessage(secondAppHWnd, askMessageID, (UIntPtr)0, (IntPtr)0);
int error = Marshal.GetLastWin32Error();
System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(500);
}
}
And see. As SendMessage was performed, this thread was blocked (what means, SendMessage was not copleted. After i closed 2 app, thread was unblocked and i got 164 error (ERROR_MAX_THRDS_REACHED: No more threads can be created in the system.). What it's supposed to mean?
Also, added:
protected override void WndProc(ref Message m)
{
//here is all message checks
int erro2r = Marshal.GetLastWin32Error();
if (erro2r != 0) {
int j; //stop to debug here
}
base.WndProc(ref m);
}
And it just constantly return 1400 ERROR_INVALID_WINDOW_HANDLE (i don't send any messages at that moment).
So it looks totaly unclear to me.
update 2: If i call it from WndProc(), everything works:
SendMessage(secondAppHWnd, askMessageID, (UIntPtr)0, (IntPtr)0);
But i need to send this message from different thread each 5 seconds.

So, it finally works if both programs is WinForms projects. I can just run console window from 2 app and hide main window.

Is it possible to open an application within a panel of a form , like Google chrome

I don't know its possible or not
I can open it outside individually by
System.Diagnostics.Process.Start("FileName");
I tried this too
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Data;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
using System.Threading;
namespace wmpkhela
{
public partial class Form1 : Form
{
public Form1()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
private void button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
Process p = Process.Start(#"notepad.exe");
p.WaitForInputIdle();
SetParent(p.MainWindowHandle, panel1..Handle);
}![enter image description here][1]
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
static extern IntPtr SetParent(IntPtr hWndChild, IntPtr hWndNewParent);
private void Form1_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
}
}
}
but this doesn't work as I expected

I guess you are looking for this and probably it is a duplicate see this question

Use these two functions for placing any other process inside panels.
[DllImport("user32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
private static extern IntPtr SetParent(IntPtr hWndChild, IntPtr hWndNewParent);
[DllImport("user32.dll", EntryPoint = "SetWindowPos")]
public static extern IntPtr SetWindowPos(IntPtr hWnd, int hWndInsertAfter, int x, int Y, int cx, int cy, int wFlags);

Getting infos out of an activex plugin in C#

I'm using the Sopcast activex plugin (sopocx.ocx) in one of my C# applications.
I would like to retrieve the player status ("Buffering the channel", "Playing the channel", "Channel Offline...") and the buffering percentage. Both of these informationss are displayed on the player (I tried to post a picture but I don't have enough reputation yet).
The problem is the Sopcast activex plugin doesn't provide any methods in order to retrieve these informations.
Does someone has any idea on how this could be done??
GetWindowText results in an empty string...
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Data;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
namespace test
{
public partial class Form1 : Form
{
public Form1()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
[DllImport("user32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto, SetLastError = true)]
static extern int GetWindowText(IntPtr hWnd, StringBuilder lpString, int nMaxCount);
private void testToolStripMenuItem_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
IntPtr hwnd = sopcast.Handle;
StringBuilder lpString = new StringBuilder(256);
GetWindowText(hwnd, lpString, 256);
MessageBox.Show(lpString.ToString());
}
private void playToolStripMenuItem_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
sopcast.SetSopAddress("sop://broker.sopcast.com:3912/123456789");
sopcast.SetChannelName("Channel");
sopcast.Play();
}
}
}

You can identify Id control and get text with api windows

here a code sample (replace notepad by your application name) the most important for you is to get from your application a way to get ID control of your ocx window
using System;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
using System.Text;
using System.Security;
namespace Application
{
public class Program
{
public static void Main ( )
{
IntPtr hwnd = UnsafeNativeMethods.FindWindow("Notepad", null);
StringBuilder stringBuilder = new StringBuilder(256);
UnsafeNativeMethods.GetWindowText(hwnd, stringBuilder, stringBuilder.Capacity);
Console.WriteLine(stringBuilder.ToString());
}
}
[SuppressUnmanagedCodeSecurity]
internal static class UnsafeNativeMethods
{
[DllImport("user32.dll", SetLastError = true, CharSet = CharSet.Auto)]
internal static extern int GetWindowText ( IntPtr hWnd, [Out] StringBuilder lpString, int nMaxCount );
[DllImport("user32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
internal static extern IntPtr FindWindow ( string lpClassName, string lpWindowName );
}
}

I download sopcast and try to get status using spy++:
As you see, caption is status not the channel...
so you can not get it easier
the handle you have catched is for the whole control

Sopcast draws the status text using DrawText (i found out using API Monitor http://www.rohitab.com/apimonitor). So there is no way of getting the text using conventional GetWindowText function or similar. I was able to obtain the text by hooking DrawText function. For .NET EasyHook will enable you to do this.
My scenario:
I have a winforms app that hosts the activex control and i want to obtain the status text.
public class hooklocal : EasyHook.IEntryPoint
{
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
static extern int DrawText(IntPtr hDC, string lpString, int nCount, IntPtr lpRect, uint uFormat);
[UnmanagedFunctionPointer(CallingConvention.StdCall,CharSet = CharSet.Auto,SetLastError = true)]
delegate int DDrawText(IntPtr hDC, string lpString, int nCount, IntPtr lpRect, uint uFormat);
int DrawTextH(IntPtr hDC, string lpString, int nCount, IntPtr lpRect, uint uFormat)
{
//lpString contains the status text
return DrawText(hDC, lpString, nCount, lpRect, uFormat);
}
public hooklocal()
{
try
{
var CreateHook = LocalHook.Create(
LocalHook.GetProcAddress("user32.dll", "DrawTextW"),
new DDrawText(DrawTextH),
this);
CreateHook.ThreadACL.SetExclusiveACL(new Int32[] { 0 });
}
catch (Exception ExtInfo)
{
Debugger.Break();
}
}
}
To use, instantiate hooklocal class in a new thread at program startup.
EasyHook download
https://easyhook.github.io/downloads.html

Forms and Console

I'm Running a forms application and a console application in one application.
How can i run the forms application and keep the console closed until i click a button on the form?

You need to call a couple of win32app calls most specifically allocconsole. here is an msdn post with some sample code.

You'll need to do a little P/Invoke:
Add the appropriate methods:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Data;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using StackOverflow.Extensions;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
using System.IO;
using Microsoft.Win32.SafeHandles;
namespace StackOverflow
{
public partial class FormMain : Form
{
[DllImport("kernel32.dll",
EntryPoint = "GetStdHandle",
SetLastError = true,
CharSet = CharSet.Auto,
CallingConvention = CallingConvention.StdCall)]
private static extern IntPtr GetStdHandle(int nStdHandle);
[DllImport("kernel32.dll",
EntryPoint = "AllocConsole",
SetLastError = true,
CharSet = CharSet.Auto,
CallingConvention = CallingConvention.StdCall)]
private static extern int AllocConsole();
// Some constants
private const int STD_OUTPUT_HANDLE = -11;
private const int MY_CODE_PAGE = 437;
public FormMain()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
public void PrepareConsole()
{
AllocConsole();
IntPtr stdHandle = GetStdHandle(STD_OUTPUT_HANDLE);
SafeFileHandle safeFileHandle = new SafeFileHandle(stdHandle, true);
FileStream fileStream = new FileStream(safeFileHandle, FileAccess.Write);
Encoding encoding = System.Text.Encoding.GetEncoding(MY_CODE_PAGE);
StreamWriter standardOutput = new StreamWriter(fileStream, encoding);
standardOutput.AutoFlush = true;
Console.SetOut(standardOutput);
}
private void button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
// Console was not visible before this button click
Console.WriteLine("This text is written to the console that just popped up.");
MessageBox.Show("But we're still in a Windows Form application.");
}
}
}