We Keep Coding

Run the current application as Single Instance and show the previous instance

I just implemented this code that is guarding the Single Instance of the Application, in order to not run the application twice.
Now I am wondering how I can show the original Application process that is already running.
Here is my code in the program class:
static class Program
{
[STAThread]
static void Main()
{
const string appName = "MyappName";
bool createdNew;
mutex = new Mutex(true, appName, out createdNew);
Application.EnableVisualStyles();
Application.SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault(false);
Form form = new Form1();
if (!createdNew)
{
form.Show(); <<=========================== NOT WORKING
form.Visible = true; <<===================== None
form.TopMost = true; <<===================== of
form.BringToFront(); <<===================== these working!
form.WindowState = FormWindowState.Maximized;
return;
}
Application.Run(form);
} private static Mutex mutex = null;
}

I propose you a different method, using a combination of the System.Threading.Mutex class and UIAutomation AutomationElement class.
A Mutex can be, as you already know, a simple string. You can assign an application a Mutex in the form of a GUID, but it can be anything else.
Let's assume this is the current Application Mutex:
string ApplicationMutex = "BcFFcd23-3456-6543-Fc44abcd1234";
//Or
string ApplicationMutex = "Global\BcFFcd23-3456-6543-Fc44abcd1234";
Note:
Use the "Global\" Prefix to define the scope of the Mutex. If no prefix is specified, the "Local\" prefix is assumed and used instead. This will prevent a single instance of the process when multiple desktops are active or Terminal Services is running on the server.
If we want to verify whether another running Process has already registered the same Mutex, we try to register our Mutex and if it fails, another instance of our Application is already running.
We let the user know that the Application supports only a single instance, then switch to the running process, showing its interface and finally exit the duplicate Application, disposing of the Mutex.
The method to activate a previous instance of the Application may vary based on the type of the Application, but only some details change.
We can use Process..GetProcesses() to retrieve a list of the running processes and verify if one of them has the same details as ours.
Here, you have a windowed Application (it has an UI), so it's already possible to filter the list, excluding those processes that do not have a MainWindowHandle.
Process[] windowedProcesses =
Process.GetProcesses().Where(p => p.MainWindowHandle != IntPtr.Zero).ToArray();
To identify the right one, we could test if the Process.ProcessName is the same.
But this name is tied to the executable name. If the file name changes (someone changes it for some reason), we will never identify the Process this way.
One possible way to identify the right Process is to test the Process.MainModule.FileVersionInfo.ProductName and check whether it's the same.
When found, it's possible to bring the original Application to front with an AutomationElement created using the MainWindowHandle of the identified Process.
The AutomationElement can automate different Patterns (sort of controls that provide automation functionalities for UI elements).
A WindowPattern allows to control a window-base control (the Platform is irrelevant, could be a WinForms' Form or a WPF's Window).
AutomationElement element = AutomationElement.FromHandle(process.MainWindowHandle);
WindowPattern wPattern = element.GetCurrentPattern(WindowPattern.Pattern) as WindowPattern;
wPattern.SetWindowVisualState(WindowVisualState.Normal);
To use the UIAutomation functionalities, you have to add these refereneces in your Project:
- UIAutomationClient
- UIAutomationTypes
UPDATE:
Since the Application's Form might be hidden, Process.GetProcesses() will not find it's Window handle, thus AutomationElement.FromHandle() cannot be used to identify the Form Window.
A possible workaround, without dismissing the UIAutomation "pattern", is to register an Automation event, using Automation.AddAutomationEventHandler, which allows to receive a notification when an UI Automation events occurs, such as a new Window is about to be shown (a Program is run).
The event is registerd only if the Application needs to run as Single Instance. When the event is raised, the new Process AutomationElement Name (the Windows Title Text) is compared to the current and, if it's the same, the hidden Form will un-hide and show itself in Normal state.
As a fail-safe measure, we present an information MessageBox. The MessageBox caption has the same caption as the Application MainForm.
(Tested with a Form with its WindowsState set to Minimized and its Visible property set to false).
After the orginal Process has been brought to front, we just neeed to close the current thread and release the resources we created (mainly the Mutex, in this case).
using System;
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.Linq;
using System.Threading;
using System.Windows.Automation;
using System.Windows.Forms;
static class Program
{
static Mutex mutex = null;
[STAThread]
static void Main()
{
Application.ThreadExit += ThreadOnExit;
string applicationMutex = #"Global\BcFFcd23-3456-6543-Fc44abcd1234";
mutex = new Mutex(true, applicationMutex);
bool singleInstance = mutex.WaitOne(0, false);
if (!singleInstance)
{
string appProductName = Process.GetCurrentProcess().MainModule.FileVersionInfo.ProductName;
Process[] windowedProcesses =
Process.GetProcesses().Where(p => p.MainWindowHandle != IntPtr.Zero).ToArray();
foreach (Process process in windowedProcesses.Where(p => p.MainModule.FileVersionInfo.ProductName == appProductName))
{
if (process.Id != Process.GetCurrentProcess().Id)
{
AutomationElement wElement = AutomationElement.FromHandle(process.MainWindowHandle);
if (wElement.Current.IsOffscreen)
{
WindowPattern wPattern = wElement.GetCurrentPattern(WindowPattern.Pattern) as WindowPattern;
#if DEBUG
WindowInteractionState state = wPattern.Current.WindowInteractionState;
Debug.Assert(!(state == WindowInteractionState.NotResponding), "The application is not responding");
Debug.Assert(!(state == WindowInteractionState.BlockedByModalWindow), "Main Window blocked by a Modal Window");
#endif
wPattern.SetWindowVisualState(WindowVisualState.Normal);
break;
}
}
}
Thread.Sleep(200);
MessageBox.Show("Application already running", "MyApplicationName",
MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Information,
MessageBoxDefaultButton.Button1, MessageBoxOptions.ServiceNotification);
}
if (SingleInstance) {
Application.EnableVisualStyles();
Application.SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault(false);
Application.Run(new MyAppMainForm());
}
else {
Application.ExitThread();
}
}
private static void ThreadOnExit(object s, EventArgs e)
{
mutex.Dispose();
Application.ThreadExit -= ThreadOnExit;
Application.Exit();
}
}
In the Application MainForm constructor:
(this is used in case the Application's Main Window is hidden when a new instance is run, hence the procedure in Program.cs cannot find its handle)
public partial class MyAppMainForm : Form
{
public MyAppMainForm()
{
InitializeComponent();
Automation.AddAutomationEventHandler(WindowPattern.WindowOpenedEvent,
AutomationElement.RootElement,
TreeScope.Subtree, (uiElm, evt) =>
{
AutomationElement element = uiElm as AutomationElement;
string windowText = element.Current.Name;
if (element.Current.ProcessId != Process.GetCurrentProcess().Id && windowText == this.Text)
{
this.BeginInvoke(new MethodInvoker(() =>
{
this.WindowState = FormWindowState.Normal;
this.Show();
}));
}
});
}
}

Run Only One time :
static class Program
{
[STAThread]
static void Main()
{
bool createdNew = true;
using (Mutex mutex = new Mutex(true, "samplename", out createdNew))
{
if (createdNew)
{
Application.EnableVisualStyles();
Application.SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault(false);
Application.ThreadException += new ThreadExceptionEventHandler(Application_ThreadException);
AppDomain.CurrentDomain.UnhandledException += new UnhandledExceptionEventHandler(CurrentDomain_UnhandledException);
Application.Run(new Form1());
}
else
{
ProcessUtils.SetFocusToPreviousInstance("samplename");
}
}
}
private static void CurrentDomain_UnhandledException(object sender, UnhandledExceptionEventArgs e)
{
}
private static void Application_ThreadException(object sender, ThreadExceptionEventArgs e)
{
}
}
ProcessUtils :
public static class ProcessUtils
{
[DllImport("user32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
static extern IntPtr FindWindow(string lpClassName, string lpWindowName);
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
[return: MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.Bool)]
static extern bool SetForegroundWindow(IntPtr hWnd);
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
static extern bool IsIconic(IntPtr hWnd);
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
static extern bool ShowWindow(IntPtr hWnd, int nCmdShow);
const int SW_RESTORE = 9;
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
static extern IntPtr GetLastActivePopup(IntPtr hWnd);
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
static extern bool IsWindowEnabled(IntPtr hWnd);
public static void SetFocusToPreviousInstance(string windowCaption)
{
IntPtr hWnd = FindWindow(null, windowCaption);
if (hWnd != null)
{
IntPtr hPopupWnd = GetLastActivePopup(hWnd);
if (hPopupWnd != null && IsWindowEnabled(hPopupWnd))
{
hWnd = hPopupWnd;
}
SetForegroundWindow(hWnd);
if (IsIconic(hWnd))
{
ShowWindow(hWnd, SW_RESTORE);
}
}
}
}
Normal Run :
static class Program
{
[STAThread]
static void Main()
{
Application.EnableVisualStyles();
Application.SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault(false);
Application.Run(new Form1());
}
}

If you are still looking for an answer. There is a good example here that
uses windows messages to restore the previous instance. It work even if the first instance is minimized contrary to FindWindow witch does not work in that case.

Activate a hidden wpf application when trying to run a second instance

I am working on a wpf application where instead of exiting the app when user closes the button I am minimizing it to the tray(similar to google talk).
void MainWindow_Closing(object sender, System.ComponentModel.CancelEventArgs e)
{
e.Cancel = true;
this.Hide();
}
What I need is if user forgets that there is an instance of the app and tries to open a new instance I have to shut down the second instance and set my application as the foreground app. If the app is in minimized state (not hidden) I am able to do this. I am using the following code
protected override void OnStartup(StartupEventArgs e)
{
Process currentProcess = Process.GetCurrentProcess();
var runningProcess = (from process in Process.GetProcesses()
where
process.Id != currentProcess.Id &&
process.ProcessName.Equals(
currentProcess.ProcessName,
StringComparison.Ordinal)
select process).FirstOrDefault();
if (runningProcess != null)
{
Application.Current.Shutdown();
ShowWindow(runningProcess.MainWindowHandle, 5);
ShowWindow(runningProcess.MainWindowHandle, 3);
}
}
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
private static extern Boolean ShowWindow(IntPtr hWnd, Int32 nCmdShow);
When the app is minimized it has some unique value for MainWindowHandle. When I hide the app, the MainWindowHandle of runningProcess is showing as 0. I think this is why my application is not opening when it is in hidden state, but don't know how to fix it.
Tell me if I need to post more code or clarify anything. Thank you in advance.

When I hide the app, the MainWindowHandle of runningProcess is showing as 0
You're right. If a process doesn't have a graphical interface associated with it (hidden/ minimized) then the MainWindowHandle value is zero.
As workaround, you could try getting the HANDLE for the hidden window by enumerating all open windows using EnumDesktopWindows function and compare its process id with the hidden/ minimized windows's process id.
Update
The WPF's WIN32 window has a bit different behavior than the standard WIN32 window. It has the class name composed of the word HwndWrapper, the name of AppDomain it was created in, and a unique random Guid (which changes on every launch), e.g., HwndWrapper[WpfApp.exe;;4d426cdc-31cf-4e4c-88c7-ede846ab6d44].
Update 2
When WPF's window is hidden by using the Hide() method, it internally calls UpdateVisibilityProperty(Visibility.Hidden), which in turns set the internal visibility flag for UIElement to false. When we call the Show() method of WPF Window, UpdateVisibilityProperty(Visibility.Visible) is called, and the internal visibility flag for UIElement is toggled.
When we show the WPF window using the ShowWindow(), the UpdateVisibilityProperty() method is not trigerred, thus the internal visibility flag does not get reversed (which causes the window to be displayed with black backround).
By looking at the WPF Window internal implementation, the only way to toggle the internal visiblity flag, without calling the Show() or Hide() method, is by sending a WM_SHOWWINDOW message.
const int GWL_EXSTYLE = (-20);
const uint WS_EX_APPWINDOW = 0x40000;
const uint WM_SHOWWINDOW = 0x0018;
const int SW_PARENTOPENING = 3;
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
static extern IntPtr SendMessage(IntPtr hWnd, UInt32 Msg, IntPtr wParam, IntPtr lParam);
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
private static extern bool EnumDesktopWindows(IntPtr hDesktop, EnumWindowsProc ewp, int lParam);
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
static extern uint GetWindowThreadProcessId(IntPtr hWnd, out int lpdwProcessId);
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
private static extern uint GetWindowTextLength(IntPtr hWnd);
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
private static extern uint GetWindowText(IntPtr hWnd, StringBuilder lpString, uint nMaxCount);
[DllImport("user32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto)]
static extern bool GetClassName(IntPtr hWnd, StringBuilder lpClassName, int nMaxCount);
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
static extern int GetWindowLong(IntPtr hWnd, int nIndex);
delegate bool EnumWindowsProc(IntPtr hWnd, int lParam);
static bool IsApplicationWindow(IntPtr hWnd) {
return (GetWindowLong(hWnd, GWL_EXSTYLE) & WS_EX_APPWINDOW) != 0;
}
static IntPtr GetWindowHandle(int pid, string title) {
var result = IntPtr.Zero;
EnumWindowsProc enumerateHandle = delegate(IntPtr hWnd, int lParam)
{
int id;
GetWindowThreadProcessId(hWnd, out id);
if (pid == id) {
var clsName = new StringBuilder(256);
var hasClass = GetClassName(hWnd, clsName, 256);
if (hasClass) {
var maxLength = (int)GetWindowTextLength(hWnd);
var builder = new StringBuilder(maxLength + 1);
GetWindowText(hWnd, builder, (uint)builder.Capacity);
var text = builder.ToString();
var className = clsName.ToString();
// There could be multiple handle associated with our pid,
// so we return the first handle that satisfy:
// 1) the handle title/ caption matches our window title,
// 2) the window class name starts with HwndWrapper (WPF specific)
// 3) the window has WS_EX_APPWINDOW style
if (title == text && className.StartsWith("HwndWrapper") && IsApplicationWindow(hWnd))
{
result = hWnd;
return false;
}
}
}
return true;
};
EnumDesktopWindows(IntPtr.Zero, enumerateHandle, 0);
return result;
}
Usage Example
...
if (runningProcess.MainWindowHandle == IntPtr.Zero) {
var handle = GetWindowHandle(runningProcess.Id, runningProcess.MainWindowTitle);
if (handle != IntPtr.Zero) {
// show window
ShowWindow(handle, 5);
// send WM_SHOWWINDOW message to toggle the visibility flag
SendMessage(handle, WM_SHOWWINDOW, IntPtr.Zero, new IntPtr(SW_PARENTOPENING));
}
}
...

Thanks IronGeek, This is great. I'm just learning c# and struggled for a while trying to get this to work. Also I cant 'add comment' as insufficient reputation here so hence this post. I'm using WPF .Net 5.0.
I searched around to implement this, so for other newbies they will also need something like the following in their program to receive the message (sorry, not sure what page I copied this from, so many of them (individuals will need to make their own Mainwindow_Loaded event handler).
private void Mainwindow_Loaded_Event(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
hwndSource = HwndSource.FromHwnd(new WindowInteropHelper(this).Handle);
hwndSource.AddHook(new HwndSourceHook(WndProc));
}
private IntPtr WndProc(IntPtr hwnd, int msg, IntPtr wParam, IntPtr lParam, ref bool handled)
{
if (msg == WM_SHOWWINDOW)
{
MessageBox.Show("I recieved WM_SHOWWINDOW");
handled = true;
}
return IntPtr.Zero;
}
The 'bring to front' tip you mentioned was also needed in my case, here is what is needed:
(from Bring Word to Front )
put this in the declarations section:
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
static extern bool SetForegroundWindow(IntPtr hWnd);
and put the following just after the 'SendMessage(handle, WM_SHOWWINDOW, IntPtr.Zero, new IntPtr(SW_PARENTOPENING));' statement:
SetForegroundWindow(handle);
Without this, the activated window just remains hidden behind other windows and it has to be found by manually fishing around in the taskbar.
So now I've finally got this going for a non-hidden window but now need to look at what is needed for a hidden one as that is my real goal.

Following on from my early post, and to quote an earlier comment from IronGeek the issue is ' If a process doesn't have a graphical interface associated with it (hidden/ minimized) then the MainWindowHandle value is zero'. Therefore any attempt to pass a hidden Window's handle is doomed as it doesn't exist.
So I have found a work-around, although it requires the target process to regularly check for the presence of a new message. Therefore this is still not ideal, but it works for me in 2021 (WPF, .Net 5.0) and doesn't need to import the user32.dll. Rather it carries out a makeshift type of Inter Process Communication (IPC) using the MainWindowTitle as a container to send a message passively.
The MainWindowTitle is settable at runtime and is viewable from other processes, therefore it can be used like an inter-process variable. This is my entire solution below, note it needs to be published to a local folder to see how it runs as the point is to run multiple instances.
<Window x:Class="TitleComsTest.MainWindow"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
xmlns:d="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008"
xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006"
xmlns:local="clr-namespace:TitleComsTest"
mc:Ignorable="d"
Name="TitleComsTest" Title="TitleComsTest" Height="400" Width="600"
WindowStartupLocation = "CenterScreen" Closing="TitleComsTest_Closing" Visibility="Hidden">
<Grid>
<TextBox Name ="TextBox1" HorizontalAlignment="Center" VerticalAlignment="Center" Height="230" Width="460"/>
<Button Name="QuitButton" Content=" Really Quit " HorizontalAlignment="Center" Margin="0,0,0,30" VerticalAlignment="Bottom" Click="QuitButton_Click"/>
</Grid>
The code behind:
using System;
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.Windows;
using System.Windows.Threading;
namespace TitleComsTest
{
public partial class MainWindow : Window
{
//string for MainWindowTitle when first instance and visible:
const string my_Visible_exe_Name = "TitleComstest";
//string for MainWindowTitle when first instance and Hidden:
const string my_Hidden_exe_Name = "TitleComstest...";
//string for MainWindowTitle when 2nd instance :
const string my_exe_Name_Flag = "TitleComstest, Please-Wait";
bool reallyCloseThisProgram = false;
private DispatcherTimer timer1, timer2;
public MainWindow()
{
InitializeComponent();
//Get an array of processes with the chosen name
Process[] TitleComstests = Process.GetProcessesByName(my_Visible_exe_Name);
if (TitleComstests.Length > 1)
{ //Then this is not the first instance
for (int i = 0; i < TitleComstests.Length; i++)
{
if (TitleComstests[i].MainWindowTitle == my_Visible_exe_Name)
{ //The first instance is visible as the MainWindowTitle has been set to the visible name
Close(); //Quit - nothing to do but close the new instance
}
}
//The first instance is hidden, so set MainWindowTitle so the first instance can see it and react
this.Title = my_exe_Name_Flag;
this.WindowState = WindowState.Minimized; //Minimize the window to avoid having two windows shown at once
this.Visibility = Visibility.Visible; //The second instance needs to be visible (minimized is enough) to be seen
StartTimerQuit(4000); //arbitrary time, needs to be longer than 2000ms which is the checking period - see StartTimerLook(2000);
}
else
{
TextBox1.Text = "This is Multi-instance demo using the 'MainWindowTitle' to send messages\r\nto the first (hidden) instance to wake it up.";
TextBox1.Text += "\r\n\r\nThis demo requires the program be published to a local folder and \r\nnot run in the debugger.";
TextBox1.Text += "\r\n\r\nYou can type here to mark this instance: _____________ \r\n\r\nand then hide me by clicking top right close window 'X'";
TextBox1.Text += "\r\n\r\nOnce closed then start the program again to see the 1st instance pop up.";
TextBox1.Text += "\r\n\r\nFinally use the 'Really Quit' button to end this demo.";
this.Visibility = Visibility.Visible;
}
}
private void StartTimerQuit(Int32 interval) //Timer to Quit setup and start
{
timer1 = new DispatcherTimer(); timer1.Tick += timerQuit_Tick;
timer1.Interval = new TimeSpan(0, 0, 0, 0, interval); timer1.Start();
}
private void timerQuit_Tick(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
reallyCloseThisProgram = true; Close();
}
private void TitleComsTest_Closing(object sender, System.ComponentModel.CancelEventArgs e)
{
if (!reallyCloseThisProgram)
{
e.Cancel = true;
this.Title = my_Hidden_exe_Name; //Set the Title text to flag a hidden state
this.Visibility = Visibility.Hidden;
//Start checking every 2 secs at the process names - could be faster but this is a constant background process
StartTimerLook(2000);
}
}
private void StartTimerLook(Int32 interval) //Timer to look for new instances setup and start
{
timer2 = new DispatcherTimer(); timer2.Tick += timerLook_Tick;
timer2.Interval = new TimeSpan(0, 0, 0, 0, interval); timer2.Start();
}
private void timerLook_Tick(object sender, EventArgs e)
{ //Every timer interval check to see if a process is present with the Ttile name flag
Process[] myNameFlagProcesses = Process.GetProcessesByName(my_Visible_exe_Name);
for (int i = 0; i < myNameFlagProcesses.Length; i++)
{
if (myNameFlagProcesses[i].MainWindowTitle == my_exe_Name_Flag) //If name flag is seen ...
{ //... then wake up
TextBox1.Text += "\r\n Saw the other window";
this.Visibility = Visibility.Visible;
this.Title = my_Visible_exe_Name; //Set the Title text to flag a visible state
this.Show();
this.Activate();
timer2.Stop();
}
}
}
private void QuitButton_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
reallyCloseThisProgram = true; Close();
}
}
}

Docking Window inside another Window

I have a winform application (.NET 2.0 C#). From this application, I want to start another process (another winform application) and dock it to my window (or at least make it look like it is docked). So far, I can only find information about docking controls, not windows in separate processes. My first thought is to get the handle of the window and use unmanaged system calls to set the height/width and position of the window to my docking area. But before I got started, I wanted to check to see if any of you good people have done something similar. I have access to the source code of the application I want docked but would rather not make any changes if I can avoid it. I have complete programming control over what will be the parent application. Any advice? Thanks in advance!

The solution I have used before is to set the application window as a child of the control you want to dock it in.
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
private Process pDocked;
private IntPtr hWndOriginalParent;
private IntPtr hWndDocked;
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
public static extern IntPtr SetParent(IntPtr hWndChild, IntPtr hWndNewParent);
[DllImport("user32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
public static extern bool MoveWindow(IntPtr hWnd, int X, int Y, int nWidth, int nHeight, bool bRepaint);
private void dockIt()
{
if (hWndDocked != IntPtr.Zero) //don't do anything if there's already a window docked.
return;
hWndParent = IntPtr.Zero;
pDocked = Process.Start(#"notepad");
while (hWndDocked == IntPtr.Zero)
{
pDocked.WaitForInputIdle(1000); //wait for the window to be ready for input;
pDocked.Refresh(); //update process info
if (pDocked.HasExited)
{
return; //abort if the process finished before we got a handle.
}
hWndDocked = pDocked.MainWindowHandle; //cache the window handle
}
//Windows API call to change the parent of the target window.
//It returns the hWnd of the window's parent prior to this call.
hWndOriginalParent = SetParent(hWndDocked, Panel1.Handle);
//Wire up the event to keep the window sized to match the control
Panel1.SizeChanged += new EventHandler(Panel1_Resize);
//Perform an initial call to set the size.
Panel1_Resize(new Object(), new EventArgs());
}
private void undockIt()
{
//Restores the application to it's original parent.
SetParent(hWndDocked, hWndOriginalParent);
}
private void Panel1_Resize(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
//Change the docked windows size to match its parent's size.
MoveWindow(hWndDocked, 0, 0, Panel1.Width, Panel1.Height, true);
}

* Adding some solution in Answer..**
This code has helped me to dock some executable in windows form. like NotePad, Excel, word, Acrobat reader n many more...
But it wont work for some applications.
As sometimes when you start process of some application.... wait for idle time... and the try to get its mainWindowHandle.... till the time the main window handle becomes null.....
so I have done one trick to solve this
If you get main window handle as null... then search all the runnning processes on sytem and find you process ... then get the main hadle of the process and the set panel as its parent.
ProcessStartInfo info = new ProcessStartInfo();
info.FileName = "xxxxxxxxxxxx.exe";
info.Arguments = "yyyyyyyyyy";
info.UseShellExecute = true;
info.CreateNoWindow = true;
info.WindowStyle = ProcessWindowStyle.Maximized;
info.RedirectStandardInput = false;
info.RedirectStandardOutput = false;
info.RedirectStandardError = false;
System.Diagnostics.Process p = System.Diagnostics.Process.Start(info);
p.WaitForInputIdle();
Thread.Sleep(3000);
Process[] p1 ;
if(p.MainWindowHandle == null)
{
List<String> arrString = new List<String>();
foreach (Process p1 in Process.GetProcesses())
{
// Console.WriteLine(p1.MainWindowHandle);
arrString.Add(Convert.ToString(p1.ProcessName));
}
p1 = Process.GetProcessesByName("xxxxxxxxxxxx");
//p.WaitForInputIdle();
Thread.Sleep(5000);
SetParent(p1[0].MainWindowHandle, this.panel2.Handle);
}
else
{
SetParent(p.MainWindowHandle, this.panel2.Handle);
}

This is a lot clunkier than I hoped for, but working so far. I am using system calls to force the child window in the location that reflects the docking area. It is not working perfectly yet. I get a few oddities caused by the HWND_TOPMOST and I still need to add logic preventing the user from moving the child window directly.
//This is my docking window
private System.Diagnostics.Process notepad;
private void windowDockTest()
{
/*
* Docking notepad to panel2 of the splitcontainer
*/
//if panel2 moves or is resized, call the docking function
spcScript.Panel2.Move += new EventHandler(Panel2_Resize);
spcScript.Panel2.SizeChanged += new EventHandler(Panel2_Resize);
//Call the docking function if main form is moved
this.LocationChanged += new EventHandler(Panel2_Resize);
//Start the notepad process
notepad = new System.Diagnostics.Process();
notepad.StartInfo.FileName = "notepad";
notepad.Start();
//Wait a second for notpad to fully load
notepad.WaitForInputIdle(1000);
//Dock it
Panel2_Resize(new Object(), new EventArgs());
}
void Panel2_Resize(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
//Get the screen location of panel2
Rectangle r = spcScript.Panel2.RectangleToScreen(spcScript.Panel2.ClientRectangle);
//Dock it
redock(notepad.MainWindowHandle, r.X, r.Y, r.Width, r.Height);
}
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
public static extern IntPtr SetWindowPos(IntPtr hWnd, IntPtr hWndInsertAfter, int x, int Y, int cx, int cy, int wFlags);
public static void redock(IntPtr handle, int x, int y, int width, int height)
{
IntPtr HWND_TOPMOST = new IntPtr(-1);
const short SWP_NOACTIVATE = 0x0010;
SetWindowPos(handle,HWND_TOPMOST, x, y, width, height,SWP_NOACTIVATE);
}

Problem with SendMessage

I am developing an application using C# having similar functionality of copy,paste as in Windows.
I have added menu items and linked with respective applications.
Please look at the following image for getting more idea.
Items added to shell menu http://softwaregenius.net/myimages/menu.jpg
Like we select multiple items in windows explorer, you need to select multiple files and/or folders and then select OS Util->FastCopy. A form is opened as shown below
Form shown on FastCopy http://softwaregenius.net/myimages/fastcopy1.jpg
The application is working perfectly. The major problem here is that after selecting the files all these files are opening up within there respective softwares. That is if i selected word document then the filename is added to FastCopy form but the is also opening up within Word also.
When i investigate i found that this problem is due to SendMessage. I have to use PostMessage instead of SendMessage. But when i do so the application is not working.
Below is my Main function coding in C# 2005
static class Program
{
static Mutex mutex = new Mutex(true, "{8F6F0AC4-B9A1-45fd-A8CF-72F04E6BDE92}");
[STAThread]
static void Main(string[] args)
{
string fileName = "";
if (args.Length > 0)
{
fileName = args[0];
}
if (mutex.WaitOne(TimeSpan.Zero, true))
{
Application.EnableVisualStyles();
Application.SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault(false);
frmFastCopy frm = new frmFastCopy();
frm.AddItemToList(fileName);
Application.Run(frm);
}
else
{
//The following message is sent just to show up the form
NativeMethods.PostMessage(
(IntPtr)NativeMethods.HWND_BROADCAST,
NativeMethods.WM_SHOWME,
IntPtr.Zero,
IntPtr.Zero);
//Send the filename
SendFileName(fileName);
}
}
static void SendFileName(string s)
{
Win32.CopyDataStruct cds = new Win32.CopyDataStruct();
cds.cbData = (s.Length + 1) * 2;
cds.lpData = Win32.LocalAlloc(0x40, cds.cbData);
Marshal.Copy(s.ToCharArray(), 0, cds.lpData, s.Length);
cds.dwData = (IntPtr)1;
Win32.SendMessage((IntPtr)NativeMethods.HWND_BROADCAST, Win32.WM_COPYDATA, IntPtr.Zero, ref cds);
//NativeMethods.PostMessage((IntPtr)NativeMethods.HWND_BROADCAST, Win32.WM_COPYDATA, cds.lpData, IntPtr.Zero);
}
}
}
Below is the copy for WndProc and other code from within the Form
public partial class frmFastCopy : Form
{
delegate void AddItemToListDelegate(string itm);
public frmFastCopy()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
public void AddItemToList(string itm)
{
if (lvFilesAndFolders.InvokeRequired)
{
AddItemToListDelegate m = new AddItemToListDelegate(AddItemToList);
this.Invoke(m, new object[] { itm });
}
else
{
lvFilesAndFolders.Items.Add(itm);
}
}
protected override void WndProc(ref Message m)
{
if (m.Msg==NativeMethods.WM_SHOWME)
{
ShowMe();
}
if (m.Msg==Win32.WM_COPYDATA)
{
//string s = Marshal.PtrToStringUni(m.LParam);
MessageBox.Show("Got message");
Win32.CopyDataStruct st = (Win32.CopyDataStruct)Marshal.PtrToStructure(m.LParam, typeof(Win32.CopyDataStruct));
string strData = Marshal.PtrToStringUni(st.lpData);
AddItemToList(strData);
}
base.WndProc(ref m);
}
private void ShowMe()
{
this.Show();
if (WindowState == FormWindowState.Minimized)
{
WindowState = FormWindowState.Normal;
}
// get our current "TopMost" value (ours will always be false though)
bool top = TopMost;
// make our form jump to the top of everything
TopMost = true;
// set it back to whatever it was
TopMost = top;
}
Here is the NativeCode class
internal class NativeMethods
{
public const int HWND_BROADCAST = 0xffff;
public static readonly int WM_SHOWME = RegisterWindowMessage("WM_SHOWME");
[DllImport("user32")]
public static extern bool PostMessage(IntPtr hwnd, int msg, IntPtr wparam, IntPtr lparam);
[DllImport("user32")]
public static extern int RegisterWindowMessage(string message);
}
I know you guys are genius. Could someone tell me where should i make changes to that the selected files should be opened or rather how i should use postmessage.
Thanks for sharing your valuable time.
Regards
Irfan

Please look at my comment (I wonder why you don't use the Clipboard class here). But ignoring that: Why do you broadcast the message?
Can you locate your application (by name, window class, whatever) and only send the message to your own application?
To elaborate on the message handling:
You say regarding HWND_BROADCAST in the comments below:
Thats nothing but the global handle to
my application.
No, it's not. It is a special value that tells Windows "this message is for all applications". You are sending a WM_SHOWME to all applications. Which is why I asked why you would want to do that?
Please see this post on the old new things blog regarding message broadcasts.

Bring a window to the front in WPF

How can I bring my WPF application to the front of the desktop? So far I've tried:
SwitchToThisWindow(new WindowInteropHelper(Application.Current.MainWindow).Handle, true);
SetWindowPos(new WindowInteropHelper(Application.Current.MainWindow).Handle, IntPtr.Zero, 0, 0, 0, 0, SWP_NOMOVE | SWP_NOSIZE);
SetForegroundWindow(new WindowInteropHelper(Application.Current.MainWindow).Handle);
None of which are doing the job (Marshal.GetLastWin32Error() is saying these operations completed successfully, and the P/Invoke attributes for each definition do have SetLastError=true).
If I create a new blank WPF application, and call SwitchToThisWindow with a timer, it works exactly as expected, so I'm not sure why it's not working in my original case.
Edit: I'm doing this in conjunction with a global hotkey.

myWindow.Activate();
Attempts to bring the window to the foreground and activates it.
That should do the trick, unless I misunderstood and you want Always on Top behavior. In that case you want:
myWindow.TopMost = true;

I have found a solution that brings the window to the top, but it behaves as a normal window:
if (!Window.IsVisible)
{
Window.Show();
}
if (Window.WindowState == WindowState.Minimized)
{
Window.WindowState = WindowState.Normal;
}
Window.Activate();
Window.Topmost = true; // important
Window.Topmost = false; // important
Window.Focus(); // important

In case you need the window to be in front the first time it loads then you should use the following:
private void Window_ContentRendered(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
this.Topmost = false;
}
private void Window_Initialized(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
this.Topmost = true;
}
Or by overriding the methods:
protected override void OnContentRendered(EventArgs e)
{
base.OnContentRendered(e);
Topmost = false;
}
protected override void OnInitialized(EventArgs e)
{
base.OnInitialized(e);
Topmost = true;
}

I know this question is rather old, but I've just come across this precise scenario and wanted to share the solution I've implemented.
As mentioned in comments on this page, several of the solutions proposed do not work on XP, which I need to support in my scenario. While I agree with the sentiment by #Matthew Xavier that generally this is a bad UX practice, there are times where it's entirely a plausable UX.
The solution to bringing a WPF window to the top was actually provided to me by the same code I'm using to provide the global hotkey. A blog article by Joseph Cooney contains a link to his code samples that contains the original code.
I've cleaned up and modified the code a little, and implemented it as an extension method to System.Windows.Window. I've tested this on XP 32 bit and Win7 64 bit, both of which work correctly.
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.Windows.Interop;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
namespace System.Windows
{
public static class SystemWindows
{
#region Constants
const UInt32 SWP_NOSIZE = 0x0001;
const UInt32 SWP_NOMOVE = 0x0002;
const UInt32 SWP_SHOWWINDOW = 0x0040;
#endregion
/// <summary>
/// Activate a window from anywhere by attaching to the foreground window
/// </summary>
public static void GlobalActivate(this Window w)
{
//Get the process ID for this window's thread
var interopHelper = new WindowInteropHelper(w);
var thisWindowThreadId = GetWindowThreadProcessId(interopHelper.Handle, IntPtr.Zero);
//Get the process ID for the foreground window's thread
var currentForegroundWindow = GetForegroundWindow();
var currentForegroundWindowThreadId = GetWindowThreadProcessId(currentForegroundWindow, IntPtr.Zero);
//Attach this window's thread to the current window's thread
AttachThreadInput(currentForegroundWindowThreadId, thisWindowThreadId, true);
//Set the window position
SetWindowPos(interopHelper.Handle, new IntPtr(0), 0, 0, 0, 0, SWP_NOSIZE | SWP_NOMOVE | SWP_SHOWWINDOW);
//Detach this window's thread from the current window's thread
AttachThreadInput(currentForegroundWindowThreadId, thisWindowThreadId, false);
//Show and activate the window
if (w.WindowState == WindowState.Minimized) w.WindowState = WindowState.Normal;
w.Show();
w.Activate();
}
#region Imports
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
private static extern IntPtr GetForegroundWindow();
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
private static extern uint GetWindowThreadProcessId(IntPtr hWnd, IntPtr ProcessId);
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
private static extern bool AttachThreadInput(uint idAttach, uint idAttachTo, bool fAttach);
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
public static extern bool SetWindowPos(IntPtr hWnd, IntPtr hWndInsertAfter, int X, int Y, int cx, int cy, uint uFlags);
#endregion
}
}
I hope this code helps others who encounter this problem.

To make this a quick copy-paste one -
Use this class' DoOnProcess method to move process' main window to foreground (but not to steal focus from other windows)
public class MoveToForeground
{
[DllImportAttribute("User32.dll")]
private static extern int FindWindow(String ClassName, String WindowName);
const int SWP_NOMOVE = 0x0002;
const int SWP_NOSIZE = 0x0001;
const int SWP_SHOWWINDOW = 0x0040;
const int SWP_NOACTIVATE = 0x0010;
[DllImport("user32.dll", EntryPoint = "SetWindowPos")]
public static extern IntPtr SetWindowPos(IntPtr hWnd, int hWndInsertAfter, int x, int Y, int cx, int cy, int wFlags);
public static void DoOnProcess(string processName)
{
var allProcs = Process.GetProcessesByName(processName);
if (allProcs.Length > 0)
{
Process proc = allProcs[0];
int hWnd = FindWindow(null, proc.MainWindowTitle.ToString());
// Change behavior by settings the wFlags params. See http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms633545(VS.85).aspx
SetWindowPos(new IntPtr(hWnd), 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, SWP_NOMOVE | SWP_NOSIZE | SWP_SHOWWINDOW | SWP_NOACTIVATE);
}
}
}
HTH

Why some of the answers on this page are wrong!
Any answer that uses window.Focus() is wrong.
Why? If a notification message pops up, window.Focus() will grab the focus away from whatever the user is typing at the time. This is insanely frustrating for end users, especially if the popups occur quite frequently.
Any answer that uses window.Activate() is wrong.
Why? It will make any parent windows visible as well.
Any answer that omits window.ShowActivated = false is wrong.
Why? It will grab the focus away from another window when the message pops up which is very annoying!
Any answer that does not use Visibility.Visible to hide/show the window is wrong.
Why? If we are using Citrix, if the window is not collapsed when it is closed, it will leave a weird black rectangular hold on the screen. Thus, we cannot use window.Show() and window.Hide().
Essentially:
The window should not grab the focus away from any other window when it activates;
The window should not activate its parent when it is shown;
The window should be compatible with Citrix.
MVVM Solution
This code is 100% compatible with Citrix (no blank areas of the screen). It is tested with both normal WPF and DevExpress.
This answer is intended for any use case where we want a small notification window that is always in front of other windows (if the user selects this in the preferences).
If this answer seems more complex than the others, it's because it is robust, enterprise level code. Some of the other answers on this page are simple, but do not actually work.
XAML - Attached Property
Add this attached property to any UserControl within the window. The attached property will:
Wait until the Loaded event is fired (otherwise it cannot look up the visual tree to find the parent window).
Add an event handler that ensures that the window is visible or not.
At any point, you can set the window to be in front or not, by flipping the value of the attached property.
<UserControl x:Class="..."
...
attachedProperties:EnsureWindowInForeground.EnsureWindowInForeground=
"{Binding EnsureWindowInForeground, Mode=OneWay}">
C# - Helper Method
public static class HideAndShowWindowHelper
{
/// <summary>
/// Intent: Ensure that small notification window is on top of other windows.
/// </summary>
/// <param name="window"></param>
public static void ShiftWindowIntoForeground(Window window)
{
try
{
// Prevent the window from grabbing focus away from other windows the first time is created.
window.ShowActivated = false;
// Do not use .Show() and .Hide() - not compatible with Citrix!
if (window.Visibility != Visibility.Visible)
{
window.Visibility = Visibility.Visible;
}
// We can't allow the window to be maximized, as there is no de-maximize button!
if (window.WindowState == WindowState.Maximized)
{
window.WindowState = WindowState.Normal;
}
window.Topmost = true;
}
catch (Exception)
{
// Gulp. Avoids "Cannot set visibility while window is closing".
}
}
/// <summary>
/// Intent: Ensure that small notification window can be hidden by other windows.
/// </summary>
/// <param name="window"></param>
public static void ShiftWindowIntoBackground(Window window)
{
try
{
// Prevent the window from grabbing focus away from other windows the first time is created.
window.ShowActivated = false;
// Do not use .Show() and .Hide() - not compatible with Citrix!
if (window.Visibility != Visibility.Collapsed)
{
window.Visibility = Visibility.Collapsed;
}
// We can't allow the window to be maximized, as there is no de-maximize button!
if (window.WindowState == WindowState.Maximized)
{
window.WindowState = WindowState.Normal;
}
window.Topmost = false;
}
catch (Exception)
{
// Gulp. Avoids "Cannot set visibility while window is closing".
}
}
}
Usage
In order to use this, you need to create the window in your ViewModel:
private ToastView _toastViewWindow;
private void ShowWindow()
{
if (_toastViewWindow == null)
{
_toastViewWindow = new ToastView();
_dialogService.Show<ToastView>(this, this, _toastViewWindow, true);
}
ShiftWindowOntoScreenHelper.ShiftWindowOntoScreen(_toastViewWindow);
HideAndShowWindowHelper.ShiftWindowIntoForeground(_toastViewWindow);
}
private void HideWindow()
{
if (_toastViewWindow != null)
{
HideAndShowWindowHelper.ShiftWindowIntoBackground(_toastViewWindow);
}
}
Additional links
For tips on how ensure that a notification window always shifts back onto the visible screen, see my answer: In WPF, how to shift a window onto the screen if it is off the screen?.

If the user is interacting with another application, it may not be possible to bring yours to the front. As a general rule, a process can only expect to set the foreground window if that process is already the foreground process. (Microsoft documents the restrictions in the SetForegroundWindow() MSDN entry.) This is because:
The user "owns" the foreground. For example, it would be extremely annoying if another program stole the foreground while the user is typing, at the very least interrupting her workflow, and possibly causing unintended consequences as her keystrokes meant for one application are misinterpreted by the offender until she notices the change.
Imagine that each of two programs checks to see if its window is the foreground and attempts to set it to the foreground if it is not. As soon as the second program is running, the computer is rendered useless as the foreground bounces between the two at every task switch.

I know that this is late answer, maybe helpful for researchers
if (!WindowName.IsVisible)
{
WindowName.Show();
WindowName.Activate();
}

I have had a similar problem with a WPF application that gets invoked from an Access application via the Shell object.
My solution is below - works in XP and Win7 x64 with app compiled to x86 target.
I'd much rather do this than simulate an alt-tab.
void Window_Loaded(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
// make sure the window is normal or maximised
// this was the core of the problem for me;
// even though the default was "Normal", starting it via shell minimised it
this.WindowState = WindowState.Normal;
// only required for some scenarios
this.Activate();
}

Well, since this is such a hot topic... here is what works for me. I got errors if I didn't do it this way because Activate() will error out on you if you cannot see the window.
Xaml:
<Window ....
Topmost="True"
....
ContentRendered="mainWindow_ContentRendered"> .... </Window>
Codebehind:
private void mainWindow_ContentRendered(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
this.Topmost = false;
this.Activate();
_UsernameTextBox.Focus();
}
This was the only way for me to get the window to show on top. Then activate it so you can type in the box without having to set focus with the mouse. control.Focus() wont work unless the window is Active();

Well I figured out a work around. I'm making the call from a keyboard hook used to implement a hotkey. The call works as expected if I put it into a BackgroundWorker with a pause. It's a kludge, but I have no idea why it wasn't working originally.
void hotkey_execute()
{
IntPtr handle = new WindowInteropHelper(Application.Current.MainWindow).Handle;
BackgroundWorker bg = new BackgroundWorker();
bg.DoWork += new DoWorkEventHandler(delegate
{
Thread.Sleep(10);
SwitchToThisWindow(handle, true);
});
bg.RunWorkerAsync();
}

To show ANY currently opened window import those DLL:
public partial class Form1 : Form
{
[DllImportAttribute("User32.dll")]
private static extern int FindWindow(String ClassName, String WindowName);
[DllImportAttribute("User32.dll")]
private static extern int SetForegroundWindow(int hWnd);
and in program We search for app with specified title (write title without first letter (index > 0))
foreach (Process proc in Process.GetProcesses())
{
tx = proc.MainWindowTitle.ToString();
if (tx.IndexOf("Title of Your app WITHOUT FIRST LETTER") > 0)
{
tx = proc.MainWindowTitle;
hWnd = proc.Handle.ToInt32(); break;
}
}
hWnd = FindWindow(null, tx);
if (hWnd > 0)
{
SetForegroundWindow(hWnd);
}

These codes will work fine all times.
At first set the activated event handler in XAML:
Activated="Window_Activated"
Add below line to your Main Window constructor block:
public MainWindow()
{
InitializeComponent();
this.LocationChanged += (sender, e) => this.Window_Activated(sender, e);
}
And inside the activated event handler copy this codes:
private void Window_Activated(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
if (Application.Current.Windows.Count > 1)
{
foreach (Window win in Application.Current.Windows)
try
{
if (!win.Equals(this))
{
if (!win.IsVisible)
{
win.ShowDialog();
}
if (win.WindowState == WindowState.Minimized)
{
win.WindowState = WindowState.Normal;
}
win.Activate();
win.Topmost = true;
win.Topmost = false;
win.Focus();
}
}
catch { }
}
else
this.Focus();
}
These steps will works fine and will bring to front all other windows into their parents window.

Just wanted to add another solution to this question. This implementation works for my scenario, where CaliBurn is responsible for displaying the main Window.
protected override void OnStartup(object sender, StartupEventArgs e)
{
DisplayRootViewFor<IMainWindowViewModel>();
Application.MainWindow.Topmost = true;
Application.MainWindow.Activate();
Application.MainWindow.Activated += OnMainWindowActivated;
}
private static void OnMainWindowActivated(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
var window = sender as Window;
if (window != null)
{
window.Activated -= OnMainWindowActivated;
window.Topmost = false;
window.Focus();
}
}

The problem could be that the thread calling your code from the hook hasn't been initialized by the runtime so calling runtime methods don't work.
Perhaps you could try doing an Invoke to marshal your code on to the UI thread to call your code that brings the window to the foreground.

If you are trying to hide the window, for example you minimize the window, I have found that using
this.Hide();
will hide it correctly, then simply using
this.Show();
will then show the window as the top most item once again.

Remember not to put the code that shows that window inside a PreviewMouseDoubleClick handler as the active window will switch back to the window who handled the event.
Just put it in the MouseDoubleClick event handler or stop bubbling by setting e.Handled to True.
In my case i was handling the PreviewMouseDoubleClick on a Listview and was not setting the e.Handled = true then it raised the MouseDoubleClick event witch sat focus back to the original window.

This is a combination of a few suggestions above that works well and is simple. It only comes to front when those events fire, so any window that pops up after the event will stay on top of course.
public partial class MainWindow : Window
{
protected override void OnContentRendered(EventArgs e)
{
base.OnContentRendered(e);
Topmost = true;
Topmost = false;
}
protected override void OnInitialized(EventArgs e)
{
base.OnInitialized(e);
Topmost = true;
Topmost = false;
}
....
}

I wanted to create a launcher with the keyboard hook and had the same problem.
After much trial and error, this solved the problem.
void Active()
{
MainWindow0.Show();
MainWindow0.Focus();
MainWindow0.Activate();
MainWindow0.WindowState = WindowState.Normal;
}
void Deactive()
{
MainWindow0.Hide();
MainWindow0.WindowState = WindowState.Minimized;
}

I built an extension method to make for easy reuse.
using System.Windows.Forms;
namespace YourNamespace{
public static class WindowsFormExtensions {
public static void PutOnTop(this Form form) {
form.Show();
form.Activate();
}// END PutOnTop()
}// END class
}// END namespace
Call in the Form Constructor
namespace YourNamespace{
public partial class FormName : Form {
public FormName(){
this.PutOnTop();
InitalizeComponents();
}// END Constructor
} // END Form
}// END namespace