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How to show a pdf file from c# code on Win11?

I need to show a PDF file in a browser, by pressing a button in my C# app.
So the browser is eternal to my app.
On Win 10 I do it like this:
....
var process = new Process
{
StartInfo = new ProcessStartInfo
{
FileName = FindBrowser(),
Arguments = $"\"file:///{PDF_File}\""
}
process.Start();
....
private static string FindBrowser()
{
GroupCollection groups;
try
{
// finding the default browser in the registry is a two-step process:
using var key = Registry.CurrentUser.OpenSubKey(
#"SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\Associations\URLAssociations\http\UserChoice");
var s = (string) key?.GetValue("ProgId");
using var command = Registry.ClassesRoot.OpenSubKey($"{s}\\shell\\open\\command");
var browserCommand = (string) command?.GetValue(null);
var regexpr = new Regex("^\"([^\"]*)\"");
groups = regexpr.Match(browserCommand).Groups;
if (!File.Exists(groups[1].Value))
{
throw new FileNotFoundException("NoBrowser");
}
}
but my customer says this does not work on Win 11 (I have no Win 11)
Is there a foolproof way to program this?
I use VS 2019 myself to develop and debug.
My solution works OK there.

How can I retrieve items and their details from the shell:AppsFolder virtual folder using c#?

I am trying to get all the items from the FOLDERID_AppsFolder, which you can access by running explorer.exe shell:appsFolder command, and their details, specifically the AppUserModelID.
I can get the name of the items using the code below but I am not sure how to get the AppUserModelID. Can I get this value somehow?
IShellItem appsFolder;
string str;
var res = ShellItemUtilities.SHGetKnownFolderItem(ShellItemUtilities.FOLDERID_AppsFolder,
0, IntPtr.Zero, typeof(IShellItem).GUID, out appsFolder);
if (res < 0) return;
try
{
var pidl = default(PIDLIST_ABSOLUTE);
foreach (var app in appsFolder.Enumerate())
{
try
{
recyleBin.GetDisplayName(2, out ptr);
// Get the actual name of the item
str = Marshal.PtrToStringUni(ptr);
}
finally
{
if (ptr != IntPtr.Zero)
{
Marshal.FreeCoTaskMem(ptr);
ptr = IntPtr.Zero;
}
}
}
}
...
Perhaps the IShellItem::GetAttributes method is what I need but it can only retrieve the attribute that I specify through the sfgaoMask parameter and the documentation regarding the values for this parameter does not include anything related to the AppUserModelID.
And for reference, this is what the apps folder looks like:

Can you hear the crickets chirping?
I was eventually able to find a solution to this problem when I stumbled upon the Microsoft.WindowsAPICodePack-Shell nuget package which wraps all the shell commands I needed so that I don't have to P/Ivoke them. The code now becomes:
// GUID taken from https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/shell/knownfolderid
var FODLERID_AppsFolder = new Guid("{1e87508d-89c2-42f0-8a7e-645a0f50ca58}");
ShellObject appsFolder = (ShellObject)KnownFolderHelper.FromKnownFolderId(FODLERID_AppsFolder);
foreach (var app in (IKnownFolder)appsFolder)
{
string name = app.Name;
// The ParsingName property is the AppUserModelID
string appUserModelID = app.ParsingName; // or app.Properties.System.AppUserModel.ID
ImageSource icon = app.Thumbnail.MediumBitmapSource;
}
The ShellObject object actually contains a whole lot more proeprties available through it's Properties.System props.
In case you are wondering why I am casting the appsFolder to a ShellObject at instantiation only to cast it back to an IKnownFolder when enumerating, that's because the API code pack actually comes with a ShellObjectWatcher which takes a ShellObject and monitors it for changes. If a new app is installed and it is listed in this virtual folder, the watcher can be used to monitor for this:
ShellObjectWatcher sow = new ShellObjectWatcher(appFolder, false);
sow.AllEvents += (s, e) => DoWhatever();
sow.Start();

Hows the following code run in autocad?

Hello this is my code and i don't know how to run and get output of this code. Please suggest me the answer for this.And I want to create command for autocad using this code so suggest me according to this requirement.
using System;
using System.IO;
using System.Globalization;
using UDC;
using AutoCAD = Autodesk.AutoCAD.Interop;
namespace AutoCADtoPDF
{
class Program
{
static void PrintAutoCADtoPDF(string AutoCADFilePath)
{
//Create a UDC object and get its interfaces
IUDC objUDC = new APIWrapper();
IUDCPrinter Printer = objUDC.get_Printers("Universal Document Converter");
IProfile Profile = Printer.Profile;
//Use Universal Document Converter API to change settings of converterd drawing
//Load profile located in folder "%APPDATA%\UDC Profiles".
//Value of %APPDATA% variable should be received using Environment.GetFolderPath method.
//Or you can move default profiles into a folder you prefer.
string AppDataPath = Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.ApplicationData);
string ProfilePath = Path.Combine(AppDataPath, #"UDC Profiles\Drawing to PDF.xml");
Profile.Load(ProfilePath);
Profile.OutputLocation.Mode = LocationModeID.LM_PREDEFINED;
Profile.OutputLocation.FolderPath = #"c:\UDC Output Files";
Profile.PostProcessing.Mode = PostProcessingModeID.PP_OPEN_FOLDER;
AutoCAD.AcadApplication App = new AutoCAD.AcadApplicationClass();
double Version = double.Parse(App.Version.Substring(0, 4), new CultureInfo("en-US"));
//Open drawing from file
Object ReadOnly = false;
Object Password = Type.Missing;
AutoCAD.AcadDocument Doc = App.Documents.Open(AutoCADFilePath, ReadOnly, Password);
//AutoCAD.Common.AcadPaperSpace ActiveSpace;
AutoCAD.Common.AcadLayout Layout;
//Change AutoCAD preferences for scaling the drawing to page
if (Doc.ActiveSpace == 0)
Layout = Doc.PaperSpace.Layout;
else
Layout = Doc.ModelSpace.Layout;
Layout.PlotType = AutoCAD.Common.AcPlotType.acExtents;
Layout.UseStandardScale = true;
Layout.StandardScale = AutoCAD.Common.AcPlotScale.acScaleToFit;
Layout.CenterPlot = true;
Object nBACKGROUNDPLOT = 0, nFILEDIA = 0, nCMDDIA = 0;
if (Version >= 16.1f)
{
nBACKGROUNDPLOT = Doc.GetVariable("BACKGROUNDPLOT");
nFILEDIA = Doc.GetVariable("FILEDIA");
nCMDDIA = Doc.GetVariable("CMDDIA");
Object xNull = 0;
Doc.SetVariable("BACKGROUNDPLOT", xNull);
Doc.SetVariable("FILEDIA", xNull);
Doc.SetVariable("CMDDIA", xNull);
}
Doc.Plot.QuietErrorMode = true;
//Plot the drawing
Doc.Plot.PlotToDevice("Universal Document Converter");
if (Version >= 16.1f)
{
//Restore AutoCAD default preferences
Doc.SetVariable("BACKGROUNDPLOT", nBACKGROUNDPLOT);
Doc.SetVariable("FILEDIA", nFILEDIA);
Doc.SetVariable("CMDDIA", nCMDDIA);
}
//Close drawing
Object SaveChanges = false;
Doc.Close(SaveChanges, Type.Missing);
//Close Autodesk AutoCAD
App.Quit();
}
static void Main(string[] args)
{
string TestFilePath = Path.Combine(AppDomain.CurrentDomain.BaseDirectory, "TestFile.dwg");
PrintAutoCADtoPDF(TestFilePath);
}
}
}

Did you read the comments in the original source ?
This code is a example of using a third part application name Universal Document Converter (UDC) to build a standalone application (exe) to print the active space of a dwg file into a pdf file.
It requires the UDC software to be installed.
It cannot be transformed into an AutoCAD plugin (dll with CommandMethod).
You certainly can get more informations about this with the UDC Support.
You will not learn .NET and AutoCAD API by copying codes found on the web that you do not understand and asking someone here or elsewhere to modify them to suit your needs.

first: add a using to the runtime.
using Autodesk.AutoCAD.Runtime;
next: Add an attribute to your method.
[CommandMethod("YOURCOMMANDNAMEINAUTOCAD")]
Last: Your class and method need to be public, for AutoCAD to see them.
Update: (Very last): your Method cannot take parameters.

Formatting a Linux path in C#

So I am making a file browser using the WinSCP library in C#. The files and folders from the remote server are loaded into a ListView, and I have an event on the ListView_DoubleClick event that will go and get the files for that folder. However my problem is, the "CurrentPath" returned from WinSCP is built like so;
"/eddata/T". Now if a user goes back up a directory, the path returned is "/eddata/T/../". If the user then goes into another folder called "Bob", the path now looks like; "/eddata/T/../Bob".
I want a way so I can display the current path in a user friendly way. So when a user is in the directory; "/eddata/T/" and they go up a level, a label should tell them they are in; "/eddata/";
This is my attempt but isn't working as expected, it doesn't deal the event where a user goes back up two directories at the same time;
private string FormatPathString(string input)
{
String working = input;
bool replacement = true;
while (replacement)
{
string[] splits = working.Split('/');
splits = splits.AsEnumerable().Where(x => x != String.Empty).ToArray();
int? found_index = null;
for (int i = splits.Count() - 1; i > 0; i--)
{
if (splits[i] == "..")
{
found_index = i;
break;
}
}
if (found_index.HasValue)
{
replacement = true;
splits = splits.Where((val, idx) => (idx != found_index) && (idx != found_index - 1)).ToArray();
working = String.Join("/", splits);
}
else
{
replacement = false;
}
}
return working;
}

You can use the Path class.
string pathWithDots= "/eddata/T/../Bob";
string pathWithoutDots = Path.GetFullPath(pathWithDots); // Result: c:\eddata\Bob
however the Path class assumes that you are using a windows path and adds C: and changes slashes to backslashes so you will need to remove the C: at the start and replace all back slashes with forward slashes.
string pathNx = pathWithoutDots.Substring(2).Replace("\\", "/"); // Result: /eddata/Bob

MS Paint shortcut exist on desktop or not?

i want to find out that mspaint shortcut exist in desktop or no? if its exist, user score is 7 else its 0. i use this code:
string path = Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.Desktop);
if (Directory.Exist (path + #"\mspaint.exe"))
{
Controller.ExamController.AddExam(1, n, 7, time, Session.currentUserId);
}
else
{
Controller.ExamController.AddExam(1, n, 0, time, Session.currentUserId);
}
but anyway the result is "0".but this code works for directory and folders and return 7.
also i try "File.Exist" but it has same problem.
How can i check a shortcut of specific program exist in desktop or no?
if (questionNumber == 2)
{
string path = Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.Desktop);
var list = Directory.EnumerateFiles(path);
foreach (var v in list)
{
var extension = Path.GetExtension(v);
if (extension.Equals(".lnk", StringComparison.InvariantCultureIgnoreCase))
{
WshShell shell = new WshShell();
IWshShortcut link = (IWshShortcut)shell.CreateShortcut(v);
if (Path.GetFileName(link.TargetPath).Equals("mspaint.exe", StringComparison.InvariantCultureIgnoreCase))
{
Controller.ExamController.AddExam(1, n, 7, time, Session.currentUserId);
}
else
{
Controller.ExamController.AddExam(1, n, 0, time, Session.currentUserId);
}
}
}
}
when i use this, its ok, but it returns 0 for not exist and return both of 0 and 7 for exist

Shortcut is just another type of files, as MSDN says:
When the user creates a shortcut to an object by choosing the Create
Shortcut command from the object's shortcut menu, Windows stores the
information it needs to access the object in a link file—a binary file
that has the .lnk file name extension.
It mean that you should refer exactly to shortcut: with exact name and .lnk extension.
You need to check shortcut for example like this:
File.Exist(Path.Combine(path, "Paint.lnk"))
But in my opinion right solution is to get all shortcuts from desktop and examine target path for each one for mspaint.exe path.
For reading shortcut information read this SO post: Get target of shortcut folder

This needs explicit coding and you cannot look for names of the file in deskTop since it can be changed to anything because its just a short cut,
Include the COM addin reference Windows Script Host Object Model - Interop.IWshRuntimeLibrary
using IWshRuntimeLibrary;
public string test()
{
string path = Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.Desktop);
var list = Directory.EnumerateFiles(path);
foreach(var v in list)
{
var extension = Path.GetExtension(v);
if (extension.Equals(".lnk", StringComparison.InvariantCultureIgnoreCase))
{
WshShell shell = new WshShell();
IWshShortcut link = (IWshShortcut) shell.CreateShortcut(v);
if (Path.GetFileName(link.TargetPath).Equals("mspaint.exe", StringComparison.InvariantCultureIgnoreCase))
{
return link.TargetPath;
}
}
}
return null;
}

A Shortcut is a special kind of file
A shortcut is a special kind of file. It contains data which points to a location (for example mspaint.exe), but that doesn't mean it needs to be named the same as the exe it's pointing to. For example, it can have a name of "HappyPaint.lnk" and point to "mspaint.exe".
Reading Shortcut Destination
Therefore you need to look for all "*.lnk" files on the desktop and read their destination paths. Here's how you can go about it:
First, add a reference to Microsoft Shell Controls And Automation:
Second, add some code along the lines of:
string desktopDirectoryPath = Environment.GetFolderPath(
Environment.SpecialFolder.DesktopDirectory);
string msPaintPath = Environment.ExpandEnvironmentVariables(
#"%windir%\system32\mspaint.exe");
// add reference to COM --> Microsoft Shell controls and Automation
Shell shell = new Shell();
Folder folder = shell.NameSpace(desktopDirectoryPath);
var shortcutFilePaths = Directory.GetFiles(desktopDirectoryPath, "*.lnk");
bool msPaintShortcutExists = false;
foreach (string shortcutFilePath in shortcutFilePaths)
{
FolderItem folderItem = folder.ParseName(Path.GetFileName(shortcutFilePath));
Shell32.ShellLinkObject link = (Shell32.ShellLinkObject) folderItem.GetLink;
var shortcutDestination = Environment.ExpandEnvironmentVariables(link.Path);
if (string.Compare(
msPaintPath, shortcutDestination, StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase) == 0)
{
msPaintShortcutExists = true;
break;
}
}
if (msPaintShortcutExists)
{
Controller.ExamController.AddExam(1, n, 7, time, Session.currentUserId);
}
else
{
Controller.ExamController.AddExam(1, n, 0, time, Session.currentUserId);
}
Needs to be run in an STAThread
Note: In case an InvalidCastException with a message
Unable to cast COM object of type 'System.__ComObject' to interface type 'Shell32.Shell'. This operation failed because the QueryInterface call on the COM component for the interface with IID '{286E6F1B-7113-4355-9562-96B7E9D64C54}' failed due to the following error: No such interface supported (Exception from HRESULT: 0x80004002 (E_NOINTERFACE)).
occurs on new Shell(); you're not running the code in an STAThread but it needs to be run in an STAThread. An easy work around is to add the following method:
private static void ExecuteInStaThread(Action a)
{
var thread = new Thread(() => a());
thread.SetApartmentState(ApartmentState.STA);
thread.Start();
if (!thread.Join(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(30)))
{
thread.Abort();
}
}
and wrap the code in a call to it:
ExecuteInStaThread(() =>
{
string desktopDirectoryPath = ...
...
});