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I want to block access to certain apps on my computer. I used the gpedit.msc tool on the computer in the category: dont run specific windows application.
I am now looking for a .netcore C # algorithm that can automatically block an app in gpedit.msc
i use this code:
public static class GPAwareHelper
{
private const String REG_PATH =
"Software\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Policies\\Explorer";
public static Object GetGPOverride(
String keyName, Object configValue)
{
Object keyValue = null;
RegistryKey demoKey = null;
//if (isHKLM)
// // open named key in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE section
// demoKey = Registry.LocalMachine.OpenSubKey(REG_PATH);
//else
// // open named key in HKEY_CURRENT_USER section
demoKey = Registry.CurrentUser.OpenSubKey(REG_PATH);
if (demoKey != null)
{
// get the specified value from this key
keyValue = demoKey.GetValue(keyName);
demoKey.Close();
// check that a value was found and, if not, return `enter code here`
// the value provided in method parameters
if (keyValue != null)
{
return keyValue;
}
else
return configValue;
}
else
{
// key not found, so return value provided
// in method parameters
return configValue;
}
}
Group Policies are registry entries. Just write those registry entries with .netcore.
You can block certain apps by adding keys in
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies
Here's a good introduction.
To write registry entries with dotnet core you have to add the package Microsoft.Win32.Registry
dotnet add package Microsoft.Win32.Registry
How to get the applications installed in the system using c# code?
Iterating through the registry key "SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall" seems to give a comprehensive list of installed applications.
Aside from the example below, you can find a similar version to what I've done here.
This is a rough example, you'll probaby want to do something to strip out blank rows like in the 2nd link provided.
string registry_key = #"SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall";
using(Microsoft.Win32.RegistryKey key = Registry.LocalMachine.OpenSubKey(registry_key))
{
foreach(string subkey_name in key.GetSubKeyNames())
{
using(RegistryKey subkey = key.OpenSubKey(subkey_name))
{
Console.WriteLine(subkey.GetValue("DisplayName"));
}
}
}
Alternatively, you can use WMI as has been mentioned:
ManagementObjectSearcher mos = new ManagementObjectSearcher("SELECT * FROM Win32_Product");
foreach(ManagementObject mo in mos.Get())
{
Console.WriteLine(mo["Name"]);
}
But this is rather slower to execute, and I've heard it may only list programs installed under "ALLUSERS", though that may be incorrect. It also ignores the Windows components & updates, which may be handy for you.
I wanted to be able to extract a list of apps just as they appear in the start menu. Using the registry, I was getting entries that do not show up in the start menu.
I also wanted to find the exe path and to extract an icon to eventually make a nice looking launcher. Unfortunately, with the registry method this is kind of a hit and miss since my observations are that this information isn't reliably available.
My alternative is based around the shell:AppsFolder which you can access by running explorer.exe shell:appsFolder and which lists all apps, including store apps, currently installed and available through the start menu. The issue is that this is a virtual folder that can't be accessed with System.IO.Directory. Instead, you would have to use native shell32 commands. Fortunately, Microsoft published the Microsoft.WindowsAPICodePack-Shell on Nuget which is a wrapper for the aforementioned commands. Enough said, here's the code:
// GUID taken from https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/shell/knownfolderid
var FOLDERID_AppsFolder = new Guid("{1e87508d-89c2-42f0-8a7e-645a0f50ca58}");
ShellObject appsFolder = (ShellObject)KnownFolderHelper.FromKnownFolderId(FOLDERID_AppsFolder);
foreach (var app in (IKnownFolder)appsFolder)
{
// The friendly app name
string name = app.Name;
// The ParsingName property is the AppUserModelID
string appUserModelID = app.ParsingName; // or app.Properties.System.AppUserModel.ID
// You can even get the Jumbo icon in one shot
ImageSource icon = app.Thumbnail.ExtraLargeBitmapSource;
}
And that's all there is to it. You can also start the apps using
System.Diagnostics.Process.Start("explorer.exe", #" shell:appsFolder\" + appModelUserID);
This works for regular Win32 apps and UWP store apps. How about them apples.
Since you are interested in listing all installed apps, it is reasonable to expect that you might want to monitor for new apps or uninstalled apps as well, which you can do using the ShellObjectWatcher:
ShellObjectWatcher sow = new ShellObjectWatcher(appsFolder, false);
sow.AllEvents += (s, e) => DoWhatever();
sow.Start();
Edit: One might also be interested in knowing that the AppUserMoedlID mentioned above is the unique ID Windows uses to group windows in the taskbar.
2022: Tested in Windows 11 and still works great. Windows 11 also seems to cache apps that aren't installed per se, portable apps that don't need installing, for example. They appear in the start menu search results and can also be retrieved from shell:appsFolder as well.
I agree that enumerating through the registry key is the best way.
Note, however, that the key given, #"SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall", will list all applications in a 32-bit Windows installation, and 64-bit applications in a Windows 64-bit installation.
In order to also see 32-bit applications installed on a Windows 64-bit installation, you would also need to enumeration the key #"SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall".
You can take a look at this article. It makes use of registry to read the list of installed applications.
public void GetInstalledApps()
{
string uninstallKey = #"SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall";
using (RegistryKey rk = Registry.LocalMachine.OpenSubKey(uninstallKey))
{
foreach (string skName in rk.GetSubKeyNames())
{
using (RegistryKey sk = rk.OpenSubKey(skName))
{
try
{
lstInstalled.Items.Add(sk.GetValue("DisplayName"));
}
catch (Exception ex)
{ }
}
}
}
}
While the accepted solution works, it is not complete. By far.
If you want to get all the keys, you need to take into consideration 2 more things:
x86 & x64 applications do not have access to the same registry.
Basically x86 cannot normally access x64 registry. And some
applications only register to the x64 registry.
and
some applications actually install into the CurrentUser registry instead of the LocalMachine
With that in mind, I managed to get ALL installed applications using the following code, WITHOUT using WMI
Here is the code:
List<string> installs = new List<string>();
List<string> keys = new List<string>() {
#"SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall",
#"SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall"
};
// The RegistryView.Registry64 forces the application to open the registry as x64 even if the application is compiled as x86
FindInstalls(RegistryKey.OpenBaseKey(RegistryHive.LocalMachine, RegistryView.Registry64), keys, installs);
FindInstalls(RegistryKey.OpenBaseKey(RegistryHive.CurrentUser, RegistryView.Registry64), keys, installs);
installs = installs.Where(s => !string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(s)).Distinct().ToList();
installs.Sort(); // The list of ALL installed applications
private void FindInstalls(RegistryKey regKey, List<string> keys, List<string> installed)
{
foreach (string key in keys)
{
using (RegistryKey rk = regKey.OpenSubKey(key))
{
if (rk == null)
{
continue;
}
foreach (string skName in rk.GetSubKeyNames())
{
using (RegistryKey sk = rk.OpenSubKey(skName))
{
try
{
installed.Add(Convert.ToString(sk.GetValue("DisplayName")));
}
catch (Exception ex)
{ }
}
}
}
}
}
it's worth noting that the Win32_Product WMI class represents products as they are installed by Windows Installer. not every application use windows installer
however "SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall" represents applications for 32 bit. For 64 bit you also need to traverse "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall" and since not every software has a 64 bit version the total applications installed are a union of keys on both locations that have "UninstallString" Value with them.
but the best options remains the same .traverse registry keys is a better approach since every application have an entry in registry[including the ones in Windows Installer].however the registry method is insecure as if anyone removes the corresponding key then you will not know the Application entry.On the contrary Altering the HKEY_Classes_ROOT\Installers is more tricky as it is linked with licensing issues such as Microsoft office or other products.
for more robust solution you can always combine registry alternative with the WMI.
string[] registryKeys = new string[] {
#"SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall",
#"SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall" };
public class InstalledApp
{
public string DisplayName { get; set; }
public string DisplayIcon { get; set; }
public string Version { get; set; }
public string InstallLocation { get; set; }
}
private void AddInstalledAppToResultView(RegistryHive hive, RegistryView view, string registryKey,Dictionary<string,InstalledApp> resultView)
{
using (var key = RegistryKey.OpenBaseKey(hive, view).OpenSubKey(registryKey))
{
foreach (string subKeyName in key.GetSubKeyNames())
{
using (RegistryKey subkey = key.OpenSubKey(subKeyName))
{
var displayName = subkey.GetValue("DisplayName");
var displayIcon = subkey.GetValue("DisplayIcon");
if (displayName == null || displayIcon == null)
continue;
var app = new InstalledApp
{
DisplayName = (string)displayName,
DisplayIcon = (string)displayIcon,
InstallLocation = (string)subkey.GetValue("InstallLocation"),
Version = (string)subkey.GetValue("DisplayVersion")
};
if(!resultView.ContainsKey(app.DisplayName))
{
resultView.Add(app.DisplayName,app);
}
}
}
}
}
void Main()
{
var result = new Dictionary<string,InstalledApp>();
var view = Environment.Is64BitOperatingSystem ? RegistryView.Registry64 : RegistryView.Registry32;
AddInstalledAppToResultView(RegistryHive.LocalMachine, view, registryKeys[0],result);
AddInstalledAppToResultView(RegistryHive.CurrentUser, view, registryKeys[0],result);
AddInstalledAppToResultView(RegistryHive.LocalMachine, RegistryView.Registry64, registryKeys[1],result);
Console.WriteLine("==============" + result.Count + "=================");
result.Values.ToList().ForEach(item => Console.WriteLine(item));
}
Iterate through "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall" keys and check their "DisplayName" values.
Use Windows Installer API!
It allows to make reliable enumeration of all programs. Registry is not reliable, but WMI is heavyweight.
The object for the list:
public class InstalledProgram
{
public string DisplayName { get; set; }
public string Version { get; set; }
public string InstalledDate { get; set; }
public string Publisher { get; set; }
public string UnninstallCommand { get; set; }
public string ModifyPath { get; set; }
}
The call for creating the list:
List<InstalledProgram> installedprograms = new List<InstalledProgram>();
string registry_key = #"SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall";
using (RegistryKey key = Registry.LocalMachine.OpenSubKey(registry_key))
{
foreach (string subkey_name in key.GetSubKeyNames())
{
using (RegistryKey subkey = key.OpenSubKey(subkey_name))
{
if (subkey.GetValue("DisplayName") != null)
{
installedprograms.Add(new InstalledProgram
{
DisplayName = (string)subkey.GetValue("DisplayName"),
Version = (string)subkey.GetValue("DisplayVersion"),
InstalledDate = (string)subkey.GetValue("InstallDate"),
Publisher = (string)subkey.GetValue("Publisher"),
UnninstallCommand = (string)subkey.GetValue("UninstallString"),
ModifyPath = (string)subkey.GetValue("ModifyPath")
});
}
}
}
}
As others have pointed out, the accepted answer does not return both x86 and x64 installs. Below is my solution for that. It creates a StringBuilder, appends the registry values to it (with formatting), and writes its output to a text file:
const string FORMAT = "{0,-100} {1,-20} {2,-30} {3,-8}\n";
private void LogInstalledSoftware()
{
var line = string.Format(FORMAT, "DisplayName", "Version", "Publisher", "InstallDate");
line += string.Format(FORMAT, "-----------", "-------", "---------", "-----------");
var sb = new StringBuilder(line, 100000);
ReadRegistryUninstall(ref sb, RegistryView.Registry32);
sb.Append($"\n[64 bit section]\n\n{line}");
ReadRegistryUninstall(ref sb, RegistryView.Registry64);
File.WriteAllText(#"c:\temp\log.txt", sb.ToString());
}
private static void ReadRegistryUninstall(ref StringBuilder sb, RegistryView view)
{
const string REGISTRY_KEY = #"SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall";
using var baseKey = RegistryKey.OpenBaseKey(RegistryHive.LocalMachine, view);
using var subKey = baseKey.OpenSubKey(REGISTRY_KEY);
foreach (string subkey_name in subKey.GetSubKeyNames())
{
using RegistryKey key = subKey.OpenSubKey(subkey_name);
if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(key.GetValue("DisplayName") as string))
{
var line = string.Format(FORMAT,
key.GetValue("DisplayName"),
key.GetValue("DisplayVersion"),
key.GetValue("Publisher"),
key.GetValue("InstallDate"));
sb.Append(line);
}
key.Close();
}
subKey.Close();
baseKey.Close();
}
Your best bet is to use WMI. Specifically the Win32_Product class.
Might I suggest you take a look at WMI (Windows Management Instrumentation).
If you add the System.Management reference to your C# project, you'll gain access to the class `ManagementObjectSearcher', which you will probably find useful.
There are various WMI Classes for Installed Applications, but if it was installed with Windows Installer, then the Win32_Product class is probably best suited to you.
ManagementObjectSearcher s = new ManagementObjectSearcher("SELECT * FROM Win32_Product");
I used Nicks approach - I needed to check whether the Remote Tools for Visual Studio are installed or not, it seems a bit slow, but in a seperate thread this is fine for me. - here my extended code:
private bool isRdInstalled() {
ManagementObjectSearcher p = new ManagementObjectSearcher("SELECT * FROM Win32_Product");
foreach (ManagementObject program in p.Get()) {
if (program != null && program.GetPropertyValue("Name") != null && program.GetPropertyValue("Name").ToString().Contains("Microsoft Visual Studio 2012 Remote Debugger")) {
return true;
}
if (program != null && program.GetPropertyValue("Name") != null) {
Trace.WriteLine(program.GetPropertyValue("Name"));
}
}
return false;
}
My requirement is to check if specific software is installed in my system. This solution works as expected. It might help you. I used a windows application in c# with visual studio 2015.
private void Form1_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
object line;
string softwareinstallpath = string.Empty;
string registry_key = #"SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall";
using (var baseKey = Microsoft.Win32.RegistryKey.OpenBaseKey(RegistryHive.LocalMachine, RegistryView.Registry64))
{
using (var key = baseKey.OpenSubKey(registry_key))
{
foreach (string subkey_name in key.GetSubKeyNames())
{
using (var subKey = key.OpenSubKey(subkey_name))
{
line = subKey.GetValue("DisplayName");
if (line != null && (line.ToString().ToUpper().Contains("SPARK")))
{
softwareinstallpath = subKey.GetValue("InstallLocation").ToString();
listBox1.Items.Add(subKey.GetValue("InstallLocation"));
break;
}
}
}
}
}
if(softwareinstallpath.Equals(string.Empty))
{
MessageBox.Show("The Mirth connect software not installed in this system.")
}
string targetPath = softwareinstallpath + #"\custom-lib\";
string[] files = System.IO.Directory.GetFiles(#"D:\BaseFiles");
// Copy the files and overwrite destination files if they already exist.
foreach (var item in files)
{
string srcfilepath = item;
string fileName = System.IO.Path.GetFileName(item);
System.IO.File.Copy(srcfilepath, targetPath + fileName, true);
}
return;
}
I am trying to save the path of an application to a variable by using the registry.
What i want to achieve is:
1) Check if this application has an entry in the registry? (if it was installed or not)
2) If yes, I want to save the path to a variable which I can use later to use a program which is located in this path
So far i got
public void Run1()
{
Console.WriteLine("Reading OCR path from registry");
string keyName = #"HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Tomcat\Common";
string valueName = "OCR_path";
string OCRPath = Microsoft.Win32.Registry.GetValue(keyName, valueName, null) as string;
if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(OCRPath))
{
string text = "3";
System.IO.File.WriteAllText(#"C:\Users\Public\TestFolder\OCR-Toolkit-Check.txt", text);
}
}
Console.WriteLine("Reading OCR path from Registry:");
string keyName = #"HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Tomcat\Common";
string valueName = "OCR_path";
if (Microsoft.Win32.Registry.GetValue(keyName, valueName, null) != null)
{
object variable = Microsoft.Win32.Registry.GetValue(keyName, valueName, null);
}
You might want to do the null-check, after reading it to a variable. Besides, you can cast the object variable to string afterwards.
I used a different approach and it works now. The path is saved into the variable OCRPath
public void Run1()
{
Console.WriteLine("Reading OCR path from registry");
string keyName = #"HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Tomcat\Common";
string valueName = "OCR_path";
string OCRPath = Microsoft.Win32.Registry.GetValue(keyName, valueName, null) as string;
if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(OCRPath))
{
string text = "3";
System.IO.File.WriteAllText(#"C:\Users\Public\TestFolder\OCR-Toolkit-Check.txt", text);
}
}
Holy moly, do not hardcode "Wow6432Node". You can get away with that on a 64 bit system opening the registry in 64-bit mode, but if you open the registry in 32-bit mode it will create a horrid thing you don't want to see. Also if you have a 32-bit OS, there is not supposed to be a "Wow6432Node" folder so you will end up creating stuff in places you shouldn't.
If you don't require opening the registry using only privileges and can rely on the permissions of the user to create/open/read keys then Microsoft already has Microsoft.Win32.Registry to help you.
string sPath = null;
RegistryKey hklm = RegistryKey.OpenBaseKey(RegistryHive.LocalMachine, RegistryView.Registry32);
RegistryKey appKey = hklm.OpenSubKey(#"SOFTWARE\Tomcat\Common");
if(appKey != null)
{
object oPath = appKey.GetValue("OCR_path", null);
if(oPath != null && oPath is string)
{
sPath = oPath.ToString();
}
}
I'd like to to associate a file extension to the current executable in C#.
This way when the user clicks on the file afterwards in explorer, it'll run my executable with the given file as the first argument.
Ideally it'd also set the icon for the given file extensions to the icon for my executable.
Thanks all.
There doesn't appear to be a .Net API for directly managing file associations but you can use the Registry classes for reading and writing the keys you need to.
You'll need to create a key under HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT with the name set to your file extension (eg: ".txt"). Set the default value of this key to a unique name for your file type, such as "Acme.TextFile". Then create another key under HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT with the name set to "Acme.TextFile". Add a subkey called "DefaultIcon" and set the default value of the key to the file containing the icon you wish to use for this file type. Add another sibling called "shell". Under the "shell" key, add a key for each action you wish to have available via the Explorer context menu, setting the default value for each key to the path to your executable followed by a space and "%1" to represent the path to the file selected.
For instance, here's a sample registry file to create an association between .txt files and EmEditor:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.txt]
#="emeditor.txt"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\emeditor.txt]
#="Text Document"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\emeditor.txt\DefaultIcon]
#="%SystemRoot%\\SysWow64\\imageres.dll,-102"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\emeditor.txt\shell]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\emeditor.txt\shell\open]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\emeditor.txt\shell\open\command]
#="\"C:\\Program Files\\EmEditor\\EMEDITOR.EXE\" \"%1\""
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\emeditor.txt\shell\print]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\emeditor.txt\shell\print\command]
#="\"C:\\Program Files\\EmEditor\\EMEDITOR.EXE\" /p \"%1\""
Also, if you decide to go the registry way, keep in mind that current user associations are under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes. It might be better to add your application there instead of local machine classes.
If your program will be run by limited users, you won't be able to modify CLASSES_ROOT anyway.
If you use ClickOnce deployment, this is all handled for you (at least, in VS2008 SP1); simply:
Project Properties
Publish
Options
File Associatons
(add whatever you need)
(note that it must be full-trust, target .NET 3.5, and be set for offline usage)
See also MSDN: How to: Create File Associations For a ClickOnce Application
Here's a complete example:
public class FileAssociation
{
public string Extension { get; set; }
public string ProgId { get; set; }
public string FileTypeDescription { get; set; }
public string ExecutableFilePath { get; set; }
}
public class FileAssociations
{
// needed so that Explorer windows get refreshed after the registry is updated
[System.Runtime.InteropServices.DllImport("Shell32.dll")]
private static extern int SHChangeNotify(int eventId, int flags, IntPtr item1, IntPtr item2);
private const int SHCNE_ASSOCCHANGED = 0x8000000;
private const int SHCNF_FLUSH = 0x1000;
public static void EnsureAssociationsSet()
{
var filePath = Process.GetCurrentProcess().MainModule.FileName;
EnsureAssociationsSet(
new FileAssociation
{
Extension = ".binlog",
ProgId = "MSBuildBinaryLog",
FileTypeDescription = "MSBuild Binary Log",
ExecutableFilePath = filePath
},
new FileAssociation
{
Extension = ".buildlog",
ProgId = "MSBuildStructuredLog",
FileTypeDescription = "MSBuild Structured Log",
ExecutableFilePath = filePath
});
}
public static void EnsureAssociationsSet(params FileAssociation[] associations)
{
bool madeChanges = false;
foreach (var association in associations)
{
madeChanges |= SetAssociation(
association.Extension,
association.ProgId,
association.FileTypeDescription,
association.ExecutableFilePath);
}
if (madeChanges)
{
SHChangeNotify(SHCNE_ASSOCCHANGED, SHCNF_FLUSH, IntPtr.Zero, IntPtr.Zero);
}
}
public static bool SetAssociation(string extension, string progId, string fileTypeDescription, string applicationFilePath)
{
bool madeChanges = false;
madeChanges |= SetKeyDefaultValue(#"Software\Classes\" + extension, progId);
madeChanges |= SetKeyDefaultValue(#"Software\Classes\" + progId, fileTypeDescription);
madeChanges |= SetKeyDefaultValue($#"Software\Classes\{progId}\shell\open\command", "\"" + applicationFilePath + "\" \"%1\"");
return madeChanges;
}
private static bool SetKeyDefaultValue(string keyPath, string value)
{
using (var key = Registry.CurrentUser.CreateSubKey(keyPath))
{
if (key.GetValue(null) as string != value)
{
key.SetValue(null, value);
return true;
}
}
return false;
}
There may be specific reasons why you choose not to use an install package for your project but an install package is a great place to easily perform application configuration tasks such registering file extensions, adding desktop shortcuts, etc.
Here's how to create file extension association using the built-in Visual Studio Install tools:
Within your existing C# solution, add a new project and select project type as Other Project Types -> Setup and Deployment -> Setup Project (or try the Setup Wizard)
Configure your installer (plenty of existing docs for this if you need help)
Right-click the setup project in the Solution explorer, select View -> File Types, and then add the extension that you want to register along with the program to run it.
This method has the added benefit of cleaning up after itself if a user runs the uninstall for your application.
To be specific about the "Windows Registry" way:
I create keys under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes (like Ishmaeel said)
and follow the instruction answered by X-Cubed.
The sample code looks like:
private void Create_abc_FileAssociation()
{
/***********************************/
/**** Key1: Create ".abc" entry ****/
/***********************************/
Microsoft.Win32.RegistryKey key1 = Microsoft.Win32.Registry.CurrentUser.OpenSubKey("Software", true);
key1.CreateSubKey("Classes");
key1 = key1.OpenSubKey("Classes", true);
key1.CreateSubKey(".abc");
key1 = key1.OpenSubKey(".abc", true);
key1.SetValue("", "DemoKeyValue"); // Set default key value
key1.Close();
/*******************************************************/
/**** Key2: Create "DemoKeyValue\DefaultIcon" entry ****/
/*******************************************************/
Microsoft.Win32.RegistryKey key2 = Microsoft.Win32.Registry.CurrentUser.OpenSubKey("Software", true);
key2.CreateSubKey("Classes");
key2 = key2.OpenSubKey("Classes", true);
key2.CreateSubKey("DemoKeyValue");
key2 = key2.OpenSubKey("DemoKeyValue", true);
key2.CreateSubKey("DefaultIcon");
key2 = key2.OpenSubKey("DefaultIcon", true);
key2.SetValue("", "\"" + "(The icon path you desire)" + "\""); // Set default key value
key2.Close();
/**************************************************************/
/**** Key3: Create "DemoKeyValue\shell\open\command" entry ****/
/**************************************************************/
Microsoft.Win32.RegistryKey key3 = Microsoft.Win32.Registry.CurrentUser.OpenSubKey("Software", true);
key3.CreateSubKey("Classes");
key3 = key3.OpenSubKey("Classes", true);
key3.CreateSubKey("DemoKeyValue");
key3 = key3.OpenSubKey("DemoKeyValue", true);
key3.CreateSubKey("shell");
key3 = key3.OpenSubKey("shell", true);
key3.CreateSubKey("open");
key3 = key3.OpenSubKey("open", true);
key3.CreateSubKey("command");
key3 = key3.OpenSubKey("command", true);
key3.SetValue("", "\"" + "(The application path you desire)" + "\"" + " \"%1\""); // Set default key value
key3.Close();
}
Just show you guys a quick demo, very easy to understand. You could modify those key values and everything is good to go.
The code below is a function the should work, it adds the required values in the windows registry. Usually i run SelfCreateAssociation(".abc") in my executable. (form constructor or onload or onshown) It will update the registy entry for the current user, everytime the executable is executed. (good for debugging, if you have some changes).
If you need detailed information about the registry keys involved check out this MSDN link.
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/dd758090(v=vs.85).aspx
To get more information about the general ClassesRoot registry key. See this MSDN article.
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/ms724475(v=vs.85).aspx
public enum KeyHiveSmall
{
ClassesRoot,
CurrentUser,
LocalMachine,
}
/// <summary>
/// Create an associaten for a file extension in the windows registry
/// CreateAssociation(#"vendor.application",".tmf","Tool file",#"C:\Windows\SYSWOW64\notepad.exe",#"%SystemRoot%\SYSWOW64\notepad.exe,0");
/// </summary>
/// <param name="ProgID">e.g. vendor.application</param>
/// <param name="extension">e.g. .tmf</param>
/// <param name="description">e.g. Tool file</param>
/// <param name="application">e.g. #"C:\Windows\SYSWOW64\notepad.exe"</param>
/// <param name="icon">#"%SystemRoot%\SYSWOW64\notepad.exe,0"</param>
/// <param name="hive">e.g. The user-specific settings have priority over the computer settings. KeyHive.LocalMachine need admin rights</param>
public static void CreateAssociation(string ProgID, string extension, string description, string application, string icon, KeyHiveSmall hive = KeyHiveSmall.CurrentUser)
{
RegistryKey selectedKey = null;
switch (hive)
{
case KeyHiveSmall.ClassesRoot:
Microsoft.Win32.Registry.ClassesRoot.CreateSubKey(extension).SetValue("", ProgID);
selectedKey = Microsoft.Win32.Registry.ClassesRoot.CreateSubKey(ProgID);
break;
case KeyHiveSmall.CurrentUser:
Microsoft.Win32.Registry.CurrentUser.CreateSubKey(#"Software\Classes\" + extension).SetValue("", ProgID);
selectedKey = Microsoft.Win32.Registry.CurrentUser.CreateSubKey(#"Software\Classes\" + ProgID);
break;
case KeyHiveSmall.LocalMachine:
Microsoft.Win32.Registry.LocalMachine.CreateSubKey(#"Software\Classes\" + extension).SetValue("", ProgID);
selectedKey = Microsoft.Win32.Registry.LocalMachine.CreateSubKey(#"Software\Classes\" + ProgID);
break;
}
if (selectedKey != null)
{
if (description != null)
{
selectedKey.SetValue("", description);
}
if (icon != null)
{
selectedKey.CreateSubKey("DefaultIcon").SetValue("", icon, RegistryValueKind.ExpandString);
selectedKey.CreateSubKey(#"Shell\Open").SetValue("icon", icon, RegistryValueKind.ExpandString);
}
if (application != null)
{
selectedKey.CreateSubKey(#"Shell\Open\command").SetValue("", "\"" + application + "\"" + " \"%1\"", RegistryValueKind.ExpandString);
}
}
selectedKey.Flush();
selectedKey.Close();
}
/// <summary>
/// Creates a association for current running executable
/// </summary>
/// <param name="extension">e.g. .tmf</param>
/// <param name="hive">e.g. KeyHive.LocalMachine need admin rights</param>
/// <param name="description">e.g. Tool file. Displayed in explorer</param>
public static void SelfCreateAssociation(string extension, KeyHiveSmall hive = KeyHiveSmall.CurrentUser, string description = "")
{
string ProgID = System.Reflection.Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().EntryPoint.DeclaringType.FullName;
string FileLocation = System.Reflection.Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().Location;
CreateAssociation(ProgID, extension, description, FileLocation, FileLocation + ",0", hive);
}
The file associations are defined in the registry under HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT.
There's a VB.NET example here that I'm you can port easily to C#.
There are two cmd tools that have been around since Windows 7 which make it very easy to create simple file associations. They are assoc and ftype. Here's a basic explanation of each command.
Assoc - associates a file extension (like '.txt') with a "file type."
FType - defines an executable to run when the user opens a given "file type."
Note that these are cmd tools and not executable files (exe). This means that they can only be run in a cmd window, or by using ShellExecute with "cmd /c assoc." You can learn more about them at the links or by typing "assoc /?" and "ftype /?" at a cmd prompt.
So to associate an application with a .bob extension, you could open a cmd window (WindowKey+R, type cmd, press enter) and run the following:
assoc .bob=BobFile
ftype BobFile=c:\temp\BobView.exe "%1"
This is much simpler than messing with the registry and it is more likely to work in future windows version.
Wrapping it up, here is a C# function to create a file association:
public static int setFileAssociation(string[] extensions, string fileType, string openCommandString) {
int v = execute("cmd", "/c ftype " + fileType + "=" + openCommandString);
foreach (string ext in extensions) {
v = execute("cmd", "/c assoc " + ext + "=" + fileType);
if (v != 0) return v;
}
return v;
}
public static int execute(string exeFilename, string arguments) {
ProcessStartInfo startInfo = new ProcessStartInfo();
startInfo.CreateNoWindow = false;
startInfo.UseShellExecute = true;
startInfo.FileName = exeFilename;
startInfo.WindowStyle = ProcessWindowStyle.Hidden;
startInfo.Arguments = arguments;
try {
using (Process exeProcess = Process.Start(startInfo)) {
exeProcess.WaitForExit();
return exeProcess.ExitCode;
}
} catch {
return 1;
}
}
How can I search for specific value in the registry keys?
For example I want to search for XXX in
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Installer\Products
any code sample in C# will be appreciated,
thanks
In case you don't want to take a dependency on LogParser (as powerful as it is): I would take a look at the Microsoft.Win32.RegistryKey class (MSDN). Use OpenSubKey to open up HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Installer\Products, and then call GetSubKeyNames to, well, get the names of the subkeys.
Open up each of those in turn, call GetValue for the value you're interested in (ProductName, I guess) and compare the result to what you're looking for.
Help here...
Microsoft has a great (but not well known) tool for this - called LogParser
It uses a SQL engine to query all kind of text based data like the Registry,
the Filesystem, the eventlog, AD etc...
To be usable from C#, you need to build an Interop Assembly from the
Logparser.dll COM server using following (adjust LogParser.dll path)
command.
tlbimp "C:\Program Files\Log Parser 2.2\LogParser.dll"
/out:Interop.MSUtil.dll
Following is a small sample, that illustrates how to query for the Value
'VisualStudio' in the \HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft tree.
using System;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
using LogQuery = Interop.MSUtil.LogQueryClass;
using RegistryInputFormat = Interop.MSUtil.COMRegistryInputContextClass;
using RegRecordSet = Interop.MSUtil.ILogRecordset;
class Program
{
public static void Main()
{
RegRecordSet rs = null;
try
{
LogQuery qry = new LogQuery();
RegistryInputFormat registryFormat = new RegistryInputFormat();
string query = #"SELECT Path from \HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft where
Value='VisualStudio'";
rs = qry.Execute(query, registryFormat);
for(; !rs.atEnd(); rs.moveNext())
Console.WriteLine(rs.getRecord().toNativeString(","));
}
finally
{
rs.close();
}
}
}
This method will search a specified registry key for the first subkey that contains a specified value. If the key is found then the specified value is returned. Searchign is only one level deep. If you require deeper searching then I suggest modifying this code to make use of recursion. Searching is case-sensitive but again you can modify that if required.
private string SearchKey(string keyname, string data, string valueToFind, string returnValue)
{
RegistryKey uninstallKey = Registry.LocalMachine.OpenSubKey(keyname);
var programs = uninstallKey.GetSubKeyNames();
foreach (var program in programs)
{
RegistryKey subkey = uninstallKey.OpenSubKey(program);
if (string.Equals(valueToFind, subkey.GetValue(data, string.Empty).ToString(), StringComparison.CurrentCulture))
{
return subkey.GetValue(returnValue).ToString();
}
}
return string.Empty;
}
Example usage
// This code will find the version of Chrome (32 bit) installed
string version = this.SearchKey("SOFTWARE\\WOW6432Node\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Uninstall", "DisplayName", "Google Chrome", "DisplayVersion");
#Caltor your solution gave me the answer I was looking for. I welcome improvements or a completely different solution that does not involve the registry. I am working with enterprise applications on Windows 10 with devices joined to Azure AD. I want/need to use Windows Hello for devices and for HoloLens 2 in a UWP app. My problem has been getting the AAD userPrincipal name from Windows 10. After a couple days searching and trying lots of code I searched the Windows Registry for my AAD account in the Current User key and found it. With some research it appears that this information is in a specific key. Because you can be joined to multiple directories there may be more than one entry. I was not trying to solve that issue, that is done with the AAD tenant Id. I just needed the AAD userPrincipal name.
My solution de-dups the return list so that I have a list of unique userPrincipal names. App users may have to select an account, this is tolerable for even HoloLens.
using Microsoft.Win32;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
namespace WinReg
{
public class WinRegistryUserFind
{
// Windows 10 apparently places Office/Azure AAD in the registry at this location
// each login gets a unique key in the registry that ends with the aadrm.com and the values
// are held in a key named Identities and the value we want is the Email data item.
const string regKeyPath = "SOFTWARE\\Classes\\Local Settings\\Software\\Microsoft\\MSIPC";
const string matchOnEnd = "aadrm.com";
const string matchKey = "Identities";
const string matchData = "Email";
public static List<string> GetAADuserFromRegistry()
{
var usersFound = new List<string>();
RegistryKey regKey = Registry.CurrentUser.OpenSubKey(regKeyPath);
var programs = regKey.GetSubKeyNames();
foreach (var program in programs)
{
RegistryKey subkey = regKey.OpenSubKey(program);
if(subkey.Name.EndsWith(matchOnEnd))
{
var value = (subkey.OpenSubKey(matchKey) != null)? (string)subkey.OpenSubKey(matchKey).GetValue(matchData): string.Empty;
if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(value)) continue;
if((from user in usersFound where user == value select user).FirstOrDefault() == null)
usersFound.Add(value) ;
}
}
return usersFound;
}
}
}