I'm new to C# and I'm not getting around this trouble. Here is what I wanted to achieve.
Whenever I drag and drop a file on the .exe file (on the icon itself), the application should capture the filepath of dragged file.
Thanks.
If I understand correctly, you want to drop a file onto an icon of an exe, not an application itself. If that is so, it can be achieved easily using the parameters passed into the application. If you check your original boilerplate code when you make a console application it has the application entry point:
static void Main(string[] args)
If you drag drop a file onto the icon of the application, the args[0] will hold the name of the file being dropped. If the goal is to drop the file onto an EXE file, there are numerous tutorials on SO about that.
If you make this following code, then when you drag your file onto the exe icon, the args[0] will hold the path of it as an argument:
(I added the if statement that if you start the program without dragging anything
it shouldn't crash)
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
if (args.Length > 0)
{
Console.WriteLine(args[0]);
}
Console.ReadLine();
}
}
I was able to add drag and drop onto an executable/shortcut created using Windows Forms by adding in the default string[] args to the Main function in Program. And then, add the same parameter to Form1's constructor function, and pass in the same args gathered from Main.
Program.cs
static class Program
{
[STAThread]
//add in the string[] args parameter
static void Main(string[] args)
{
Application.EnableVisualStyles();
Application.SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault(false);
//pass in the args to the form constructor
Application.Run(new Form1(args));
}
}
Form1.cs
//add in the string[] args parameter to the form constructor
public Form1(string[] args)
{
InitializeComponent();
//if there was a file dropped..
if (args.Length > 0)
{
var file = args[0];
//do something with the file now...
}
}
Related
I'm making a Text Editor program. When clicking the Open button, the program will automatically do following steps:
Open another instance of current program
Load text into the richTextBox of that instance
But the problem is: How can I load the text into the richTextBox of another instance of my program? Instance, not form, so this is difficult.
Use command line arguments for example.
The entry point of your application could look like that:
static void Main(string[] args)
{
string filepath = args.Length > 0 ? args[0] : null;
if (filepath != null)
{
// load your text to control
}
}
And you could call the other instance with:
System.Diagnostics.Process.Start(Application.ExecutablePath, filepath);
Hope this helps.
I have been trying to get my arguments to be passed to my main method in C#. Mainly I just want to capture the file path that was double clicked. I have my files with custom extension and when it runs it open my program. That part works.
static string file = "";
[STAThread]
static void Main(string[] args)
{
Application.EnableVisualStyles();
if (args.Length > 0) file = args[0];
Application.Run(new Form1());
}
public Form1()
{
InitializeControls();
}
I also tried this way, which is not much different.
static string file = "";
[STAThread]
static void Main()
{
Application.EnableVisualStyles();
string[] args = Environment.GetCommandLineArgs();
if (args.Length > 0) file = args[0];
Application.Run(new Form1());
}
public Form1()
{
InitializeControls();
}
Its worth mentioning that I have this in a partial class. I don't know if that effects it directly or not.
I don't really need to get the args if I can just get the file that was double clicked but I feel as that is the only way, and now I am curious.
What am I missing that is preventing me from being able to pass args to my main?
if you run "ftype" in the command prompt your program type should appear as:
YOURTYPE="yourProgram.exe" "%1"
If the "%1" doesn't appear in exactly that way, then the association is wrong (it won't pass the name of the file as an argument). Give it a try.
I am programming, in Microsoft's Visual Studio 2015, in C#.
I am trying to make an Windows Forms application which would be used to open simple .txt, or other type files, and edit them.
But the point being is i want to open my program with : Right click on .txt file->Open with->My program.
The question I have is this, how am I supposed to do that, if I only have the solution file of my program?
And i don't really care, about opening the .txt files when my program is already running. I want to be able to start it, like i mentioned before.
I am using this program as a starting point, from where the next time i will be able to make a simple mp3 player, or such. And as far as i know, people don't usually start an mp3 player program, and then the mp3 player file they want to play. I hope that sheds some light on what i am trying to accomplish.
I have been searching for a solution, and i couldn't find it.
Perhaps it is really easy, but for me, for now, it isn't. Your help is appreciated.
My Program.cs looks like this :
static void Main(string[] args)
{
//with args(user open file with the program)
if(args != null && args.Length > 0)
{
string fileName = args[0];
//check file exists
if (File.Exists(fileName))
{
Application.EnableVisualStyles();
Application.SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault(false);
Form1 MainForm = new Form1();
MainForm.OpenFile(fileName);
Application.Run(MainForm);
}
//the file does not exist
else
{
MessageBox.Show("The file does not exist!", "Error!", MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Error);
Application.EnableVisualStyles();
Application.SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault(false);
Application.Run(new Form1());
}
}
//without args
else
{
Application.EnableVisualStyles();
Application.SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault(false);
Application.Run(new Form1());
}
}
If you're asking how to handle opening the file, try this:
-In your Form1.cs, overload your constructor by adding another definition.
public Form1(string fileName)
{
InitializeComponent();
openFileNow(fileName);
}
-Create the openFileNow method (async for extra goodness)
private async void openFileNow(string fileName)
{
try
{
if(fileName.EndsWith(".txt"))
{
//Obviously you'll do something different with an .mp3
using (StreamReader reader = new StreamReader(fileName))
{
txtEditBox.Text = await reader.ReadToEndAsync();
}
}
else
{
MessageBox.Show("Can't open that file.");
}
}
catch (IOException e)
{
Console.WriteLine(e.Message);
}
}
-Edit your Program.cs to simply:
static void Main(string[] args)
{
Application.EnableVisualStyles();
Application.SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault(false);
Form1 MainForm;
if (args != null && args.Length > 0)
{
MainForm = new Form1(args[0]);
}
else
{
MainForm = new Form1();
}
Application.Run(MainForm);
}
In Visual Studio, under the project's properties, you can add Command line arguments in the "Debug" section.
If you want to associate a file extension with your application, you do that in the registry. You can do it in C#, but the ClickOnce settings will be so much cleaner.
Go to your project properties -> Publish -> Options -> FileAssociations
Edit
- Note that if you intend to publish with ClickOnce, you'll need to change a few lines in your Program.cs:
string fileName = AppDomain.CurrentDomain.SetupInformation.ActivationArguments.ActivationData[0];
if (fileName != null && fileName.Length > 0)
{
MainForm = new Form1(fileName);
}
If you're simply looking to debug with file associations, try right-clicking a .txt file, Open With... (More Options) and navigate to your .exe from your project's debug folder, i.e.:
C:\VS Projects\MyProject\MyProject\bin\Debug\myProgram.exe
Obviously this is a temporary solution. Enjoy!
In your Form add a button1 (or change it to suit your need) and add the following logic.
whatever file you open, following logic will use your system default program to open them without further asking.
BTW, Form1 doesn't have OpenFile method , you may have gotten it from somewhere. you can remove it or add method definition.
MainForm.OpenFile(filename);
private void button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
var fileDialog1 = new OpenFileDialog
{
InitialDirectory = "c:\\",
RestoreDirectory = true
};
if (fileDialog1.ShowDialog() == DialogResult.OK)
{
System.Diagnostics.Process.Start(fileDialog1.FileName);
}
}
if this is not what you are trying to do then you may have to write to Registry for file association. I gave the link in the comment above.
I'm an amateur at c# and I've been unable to locate the answer to this.
Perhaps I am not aware of the correct terms to use.
When a video file is dragged onto my exe application, I would like the application to know that it was launched with a file and be able to know the path and filename of that file. This way, the user does not have to use the file>open menu.
Hope that makes sense.
Thanks
You can check the command line arguments which were used to launch the application.
If your application was started by dropping a file on the .exe file, there will be a single command line argument with the path of the file.
string[] args = System.Environment.GetCommandLineArgs();
if(args.Length == 1)
{
// make sure it is a file and not some other command-line argument
if(System.IO.File.Exists(args[0])
{
string filePath = args[0];
// open file etc.
}
}
As your question title states, you want the path and the file name. You can get the file name using:
System.IO.Path.GetFileName(filePath); // returns file.ext
When you drag a file into a C# application, it will goes as an command-line argument to that application. Like console applications, you can catch it on the Main method on the Program class.
I'll explain it using Windows Forms application.
Open your Program class on the solution. Your program class should look like this.
static class Program
{
/// <summary>
/// The main entry point for the application.
/// </summary>
[STAThread]
static void Main()
{
Application.EnableVisualStyles();
Application.SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault(false);
Application.Run(new Form1());
}
}
By default, when you create Windows Forms applications, they don't treat command line arguments. You have to make a tiny change on the signature of the Main method, so it can receive arguments:
static class Program
{
/// <summary>
/// The main entry point for the application.
/// </summary>
[STAThread]
static void Main(string[] args)
{
Application.EnableVisualStyles();
Application.SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault(false);
Application.Run(new Form1());
}
}
Now you can handle file name argument passed to the application. By default, Windows will put the file name as the first argument. Just do something like this:
static void Main(string[] args)
{
Application.EnableVisualStyles();
Application.SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault(false);
// Before Application.Run method, treat the argument passed.
// I created an overload of the constructor of my Form1, so
// it can receive the File Name and load the file on some TextBox.
string fileName = null;
if (args != null && args.Length > 0)
fileName = args[0];
Application.Run(new Form1(fileName));
}
In case you want to know the constructor overload of my Form1, here it is. Hope it helps!
public partial class Form1 : Form
{
public Form1()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
public Form1(string fileName) : this()
{
if (fileName == null)
return;
if (!File.Exists(fileName))
{
MessageBox.Show("Invalid file name.");
return;
}
textBox1.Text = File.ReadAllText(fileName);
}
}
You need your application's command-line arguments. When you drop a file on your application in Explorer, Explorer opens the application with the file you dropped on it. You can select as many files as you want, drop them on your application and using this line of code, files will be an array of those command line arguments.
string[] files = Environment.GetCommandLineArgs();
I am trying to write an app that makes use of the external tools functionality of SQL Server Management Studio.
To specify an external tool, you can enter a path to the app and specify some arguments to pass to the app via STDIN.
Currently I just have a form that displays the arguments. Every time I run the external tool I get a new instance of the application.
Ideally I would like for the first time I run the tool to load the application, and each subsequent running to take the arguments from STDIN and do something with them WITHOUT creating a new instance of the app.
Is there anything I can do that could allow this, or am I stuck with lots of windows?
Thanks in advance
As horrible as it sounds, you can leverage Microsoft.VisualBasic.ApplicationServices to make this really simple (you can add a reference to Microsoft.VisualBasic in your c# project).
As a quick example, you can create a new C# WinForms project and alter Program.cs to look something like this:
class Program : WindowsFormsApplicationBase
{
static Form1 mainForm = null;
/// <summary>
/// The main entry point for the application.
/// </summary>
[STAThread]
static void Main(string[] commandline)
{
Application.EnableVisualStyles();
Application.SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault(false);
Program prog = new Program();
prog.MainForm = mainForm = new Form1();
prog.Run(commandline);
}
public Program()
{
this.IsSingleInstance = true;
}
protected override void OnStartupNextInstance(StartupNextInstanceEventArgs eventArgs)
{
base.OnStartupNextInstance(eventArgs);
mainForm.Startup(eventArgs.CommandLine.ToArray());
}
}
Then in the Form1 throw a label on there and a little code to show it's working:
public void Startup(string[] commandLine)
{
string output = "";
foreach (string arg in commandLine)
output += arg + "\n";
label1.Text = output;
}
public Form1()
{
InitializeComponent();
Startup(Environment.GetCommandLineArgs());
}
The only gotcha with this little snippet is that the command line arguments you get on first launch include the application name, but it's not included on subsequent launches.