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How to get position of c# console application

I am a beginner at coding and I want to create an application that says the width, height, and position of the window.
The problem is that I don't know how to GET the position of the window.
I searched the internet but couldn't find the answer to my question.
Here is the code I have:
using System;
namespace WindowSizeChecker
{
class Program
{
const bool alwaysTrue = true;
static void Main(string[] args)
{
while (alwaysTrue == true)
{
Console.Write("Set your console window to your prefered size and position. Then press Enter");
Console.ReadLine();
screenSizeAndPosition();
Console.WriteLine("\n\nPress enter to repeat\n\n");
Console.ReadLine();
}
}
public static void screenSizeAndPosition()
{
int consoleWidth = Console.WindowWidth;
int consoleHeight = Console.WindowHeight;
string consoleWidthString = consoleWidth.ToString();
string consoleHeightString = consoleHeight.ToString();
Console.WriteLine("\nThe width of the window is: {0}\nAnd the height of the window is: {1}", consoleWidthString, consoleHeightString);
int largestWindowWidth = Console.LargestWindowWidth;
int largestWindowHeight = Console.LargestWindowHeight;
string largestWindowWidthString = largestWindowWidth.ToString();
string largestWindowHeightString = largestWindowHeight.ToString();
Console.WriteLine("\nThe largest width of the window is: {0}\nAnd the largest height of the window is: {1}", largestWindowWidthString, largestWindowHeightString);
}
}
}
Here is the program running:
enter image description here

I am a beginner at coding and I want to create an application that says the width, height, and position of the window. The problem is that I don't know how to GET the position of the window. I searched the internet but couldn't find the answer to my question.
The information is out there, but I admit, it's not necessarily presented in the easiest to understand manner, especially for a beginner.
IMHO, two of the most relevant Stack Overflow questions you probably should read are these:
Position a small console window to the bottom left of the screen?
DwmGetWindowAttribute returns 0 with PInvoke
They aren't really duplicates of your question, and for a beginner it's probably hard to see how they answer it. But they do in fact contain almost all of the information you would need.
There are a couple of things you need to understand, besides the "how":
The Console properties you're looking at now are not pixel dimensions, but rather are in terms of character columns and rows. That is, how many characters can fit across the window in a single row, and how many rows of those characters can fit vertically.
When it comes to pixels, there are actually (at least) two different ways to look at the window size: raw screen coordinates, and "DPI-adjusted". The latter is IMHO a misnomer, because it's not taking into account any actual screen resolution (i.e. "dots per inch"), but rather the scaling factor that is set for your desktop. It's considered "DPI-adjusted" because setting the scaling factor is the Windows mechanism for attempting to keep the visual presentation of a program consistent across displays of different resolution.
As you already have seen, you can get the character-oriented dimensions straight from the .NET Console class. But to get the pixel information, you need to use .NET's native interop support to call the Windows API directly. Here are some helper classes I put together, based on available documentation and Stack Overflow posts, to do that for your scenario:
[StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)]
struct Rect
{
public int Left;
public int Top;
public int Right;
public int Bottom;
public int Width => Right - Left;
public int Height => Bottom - Top;
}
class NativeConsole
{
[DllImport("kernel32")]
public static extern IntPtr GetConsoleWindow();
}
class Winuser
{
[DllImport(#"user32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
[return: MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.Bool)]
private static extern bool GetWindowRect(IntPtr hWnd, out Rect lpRect);
public static Rect GetWindowRect(IntPtr handle)
{
if (!GetWindowRect(handle, out Rect rect))
{
throw Marshal.GetExceptionForHR(Marshal.GetLastWin32Error());
}
return rect;
}
}
class DwmApi
{
private const int DWMWA_EXTENDED_FRAME_BOUNDS = 9;
[DllImport(#"dwmapi.dll")]
private static extern int DwmGetWindowAttribute(IntPtr hwnd, int dwAttribute, out Rect pvAttribute, int cbAttribute);
public static Rect GetExtendedFrameBounds(IntPtr hwnd)
{
int hresult = DwmGetWindowAttribute(hwnd, DWMWA_EXTENDED_FRAME_BOUNDS, out Rect rect, Marshal.SizeOf(typeof(Rect)));
if (hresult != 0)
{
throw Marshal.GetExceptionForHR(hresult);
}
return rect;
}
}
You could, of course, lump all of the above together in a single class, but I prefer to keep things organized. The above groups the various parts of the API into the same organization used in the native Win32 API itself.
With those pieces in hand, now we can put together a program similar to the one you have above, except that it will display the window position (which is what you want), along with the width and height as well (since those come for free from the native API anyway).
That looks like this:
using static System.Console;
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
Clear();
string prompt = "Set your console window to your preferred size and position. Press X to exit";
while (true)
{
if (KeyAvailable && ReadKey(intercept: true).Key == ConsoleKey.X)
{
break;
}
ScreenSizeAndPosition(prompt);
System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(0.25));
}
}
static void ScreenSizeAndPosition(string prompt)
{
string format = $"{{0, {-WindowWidth}}}";
SetCursorPosition(0, 0);
Write(format, prompt);
Write(format, $"Window is {WindowWidth} columns wide and {WindowHeight} rows high");
Write(format, $"The largest window that can fit on the screen is {LargestWindowWidth} columns wide and {LargestWindowHeight} rows high");
IntPtr consoleHwnd = NativeConsole.GetConsoleWindow();
Rect winuserRect = Winuser.GetWindowRect(consoleHwnd),
dwmRect = DwmApi.GetExtendedFrameBounds(consoleHwnd);
Write(format, $"DPI-adjusted screen values: location is {{{winuserRect.Left}, {winuserRect.Top}}}, window is {winuserRect.Width} pixels wide, {winuserRect.Height} pixels high");
Write(format, $"Desktop Window Manager values: location is {{{dwmRect.Left}, {dwmRect.Top}}}, window is {dwmRect.Width} pixels wide, {dwmRect.Height} pixels high");
for (int i = 0; i < WindowHeight - 5; i++)
{
Write(format, "");
}
}
}
I did change your basic logic in the program a bit, so that it just checks every quarter second rather than waiting for the user to press a key, displaying whatever the current values are as the user changes the window size and position.
For more details on the Windows functions used above, you should read the documentation:
GetConsoleWindow()
GetWindowRect()
DwmGetWindowAttribute()
There are some additional subtleties in the ways that GetWindowRect() and DwmGetWindowAttribute() work, so it's worth checking out the docs so that you understand better what they are returning in terms of the window dimensional values.

You should call a Win32 API DwmGetWindowAttribute via PInovke to the current window position. Refer to the document and see how to use it.

Windows forms MenuStrip DropDown inside a desktop application bar

This is a duplicate of a question I posted at Windows Dev Center. Still awaiting replies, so I thought I would try it here. My apologies if the formatting goes awry.
This is currently being written and debugged using Windows 7 Professional, SP1.
The application is located at the top of the desktop, and the working area is appropriately resized via a hook into the SystemParametersInfo function. The MenuStrip appears as it should, with the exception that any dropdown from the MenuStrip shows as detached from the MenuStrip itself (as if it is being drawn on the new working area, as opposed to the form containing the MenuStrip). For example:
Application TopLevel: true
Application Height: 150
Application Location: 0,0 on Desktop (prior to working area's resize)
MenuStrip Height: 25
MenuStrip Location: 0,0 inside Parent Form
MenuStrip DropDown Location: x,2 (where x is a valid and acceptable value) this is being drawn on the resized working area (i.e. beneath the form)
I have attempted correcting this with a custom Renderer to no present avail. I tried to override WndProc (as follows) so as to see what exactly was occurring, but that resulted in a stackoverflow halfway through drawing the application.
protected override void WndProc(ref Message m)
{
if (mainForm.Visible)
{
MessageBox.Show("ID: " + m.Msg.ToString() + "\n" + m.ToString());
}
base.WndProc(ref m);
}
I suspect I've run this into the ground by now, but if you require any further explanation, just let me know. Just hoping someone can point me in the appropriate direction as to where I should look.
Hopefully this will answer the question regarding why I used SystemParametersInfo:
#region TEMPORARY FIX TO ACHIEVE APPBAR
public RECT normalWorkingRECT = new RECT();
public RECT newWorkingRECT = new RECT();
public struct RECT
{
public int left;
public int top;
public int right;
public int bottom;
};
[DllImport("user32.dll", EntryPoint="SystemParametersInfo")]
public static extern bool SystemParametersInfo(uint uiAction, uint uiParam, ref RECT pvParam, uint fWinIni);
//call after scale is set
private void setAppBar()
{
//make the parent = the desktop
if (!this.GetTopLevel())
{
this.SetTopLevel(true);
}
this.Width = SystemInformation.PrimaryMonitorSize.Width;
//set old Working Area
SystemParametersInfo(0x0030, 0, ref normalWorkingRECT, 0);
//change work area based on size of main form
newWorkingRECT.left = normalWorkingRECT.left;
newWorkingRECT.top = normalWorkingRECT.top + this.DesktopBounds.Height + 4;
newWorkingRECT.right = normalWorkingRECT.right;
newWorkingRECT.bottom = normalWorkingRECT.bottom;
SystemParametersInfo(0x002F, 0, ref newWorkingRECT, 0x0002);
}
//called on close
private void unsetAppBar()
{
//get current work area to compare
RECT testRECT = new RECT();
SystemParametersInfo(0x0030, 0, ref testRECT, 0);
//if no change, resize to normal working rect
if (newWorkingRECT.top == testRECT.top &&
newWorkingRECT.bottom == testRECT.bottom &&
newWorkingRECT.left == testRECT.left &&
newWorkingRECT.right == testRECT.right)
{
SystemParametersInfo(0x002F, 0, ref normalWorkingRECT, 0x0002);
}
//if there is a change, resize to current working rect - this.height
else
{
testRECT.top -= this.DesktopBounds.Height + 4;
SystemParametersInfo(0x002F, 0, ref testRECT, 0x0002);
}
}
#endregion
EDIT: Added image as requested and code to show reason for SystemParametersInfo.

Highlight Current Line of RichTextBox

This highlights the entire width of each line by painting a transparent color as the backcolor on the current line. When the line switches, the original background color is restored.
So, what we want to do is:
Verify the previous and current rectangles don't match, so not to paint the same area twice
Replace the last line's highlight using the controls backcolor
Highlight the current line using a transparent color
Set mLastHighlight with the index and rectangle for each applied line
However, when removing the highlight, the text is painted over. This does not occur when applying the highlight.
One solution would be to repaint the text back on the control after resetting the back color. though the text formatting, selection colors, font styles, hyperlinks, etc would be tedious to filter. Not very elegant.
This leads to a simpler solution, refreshing the control. Though that would cause massive flickering. Not acceptable either.
Is there an elegant solution? I'm completely baffled why this occurs.
EDIT: Edited to reflect Code Gray's response.
using System;
public class RTBHL : RichTextBox
{
private LastHighlight mLastHighlight = new LastHighlight(0, Rectangle.Empty);
private class LastHighlight
{
public int mCharIndex;
public Rectangle mRectangle;
public LastHighlight(int index, Rectangle r)
{
mCharIndex = index;
mRectangle = r;
}
}
public void PaintLineHighlight()
{
using (Graphics g = this.CreateGraphics)
{
// highlight color
Color c = Color.Beige;
// current pen color
Pen cp = new Pen(Color.Beige);
// color for removing highlight
Pen lp = new Pen(this.BackColor);
// brush for removing highlight
SolidBrush lb = new SolidBrush(this.BackColor);
// brush for applying highlight
SolidBrush cb = new SolidBrush(Color.FromArgb(64, c.R, c.G, c.B));
// index of the current line
int index = this.GetFirstCharIndexOfCurrentLine;
// rectangle to specify which region to paint too
Rectangle r = new Rectangle();
// specify dimensions
r.X = 0;
r.Y = this.GetPositionFromCharIndex(index).Y;
r.Width = this.HorizontalScrollBarWidth;
r.Height = Convert.ToInt32(this.Font.Height * this.ZoomFactor);
// this will always be true unless the current line remains the same
if (!(mLastHighlight.mCharIndex == index) && !(mLastHighlight.mRectangle == r))
{
// remove the last highlight. regardless of the brush specified, white is always applied, and the text is painted over
g.DrawRectangle(lp, mLastHighlight.mRectangle);
g.FillRectangle(lb, mLastHighlight.mRectangle);
// apply highlight to the current line
g.DrawRectangle(cp, r);
g.FillRectangle(cb, r);
}
mLastHighlight = new LastHighlight(index, r);
}
}
#region RichScrollBars
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
[return: MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.Bool)]
private static extern bool GetScrollInfo(IntPtr hWnd, int fnBar, ref SCROLLINFO si);
[StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)]
public class SCROLLINFO
{
public int cbSize;
public int fMask;
public int nMin;
public int nMax;
public int nPage;
public int nPos;
public int nTrackPos;
public SCROLLINFO()
{
this.cbSize = Marshal.SizeOf(typeof(SCROLLINFO));
}
public SCROLLINFO(int mask, int min, int max, int page, int pos)
{
this.cbSize = Marshal.SizeOf(typeof(SCROLLINFO));
this.fMask = mask;
this.nMin = min;
this.nMax = max;
this.nPage = page;
this.nPos = pos;
}
}
private const int SIF_ALL = 0X17;
private const int SB_HORZ = 0;
private const int SB_VERT = 1;
public int HorizontalScrollBarWidth()
{
SCROLLINFO si = new SCROLLINFO() {fMask = SIF_ALL};
GetScrollInfo(this.Handle, SB_HORZ, si);
return Math.Max(si.nMax, this.Width);
}
public int VerticalScrollBarHeight()
{
SCROLLINFO si = new SCROLLINFO() {fMask = SIF_ALL};
GetScrollInfo(this.Handle, SB_VERT, si);
return Math.Max(si.nMax, this.Height);
}
#endregion
}

The problem here is that the code you're copying is designed for Scintilla. The SCI_* constants are defined internally by the Scintilla headers, and the messages they refer to only have meaning to the Scintilla controls.
Sending those messages to the native Win32 rich edit control isn't going to do anything because it wasn't designed to process those messages. (Or worse, one or more of the SCI_* constants happen to clash with one or more of the message identifiers that the rich edit control does recognize, producing some potentially interesting behavior.)
Unless you're actually using a Scintilla edit control in your project (which you said you don't want to do), that code isn't going to do anything interesting. It isn't written for the Win32 rich edit control, it's written to interface with the Scintilla control.
The Scintilla control is far more than just a wrapper around the Win32 rich edit control. It has to do a lot of custom drawing to make its magic, and all of that code is hard to get right on your own. That's why so many people use Scintilla in the first place. If you need its feature set, I highly recommend that you follow suit.
Anyway, I don't actually know if this is possible with the Win32 rich edit control. I don't think it is, but I couldn't swear to that fact. I guess you could hack it by setting the selection color, but that doesn't seem like a very good solution. Something like Daniel suggests here. I'm not a Scintilla expert, but to my untrained eyes, this looks kind of like the moral equivalent of your Scintilla-based code, but written for the Win32 rich edit control (through the .NET WinForms wrapper thereof).

Two Problems with scroll bars in C#

I hate two richTextBoxs.
I have two problems:
no matter how I define the scroll bar - it doesn't apear. if I write more than the length of the line - the cursor goes to the line below - I want everything to be writen in the same row and the user could move right-left with the scroll bar.
I want one scroll bar to control both richtextboxes.
one horizontal for both, and one vertical for both.

You'll need to set the MultiLine property to false (the default is true for RichTextBoxes) if you just want one line, or else set the WordWrap property to false (this also defaults to true).
I guess you'll need to handle the HScroll and VScroll events of each RichTextBox, and in the event handlers scroll the other textbox by the same amount. Not sure how easy this would be, though...

Best way to solve your second Problem is to use GetScrollInfo and SetScrollInfo. I think you should be able to handle the HScrolland VScrollevents, when they fire you'll have to set the new ScrollInfo in the second RichTextBox.
You'll need WM_SendMessage too for this job. (All usuable with imports of User32.dll)
Usual work to do:
Getting informed when the user scrolls (Scrollevents), and setting the new ScrollInfo to the second RichTextBox. After setting the ScrollInfo you'll need to send a Message to the Scrollbar / Control to Scroll.
First of all you need your "own" SCROLLINFO struct
[StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)]
struct SCROLLINFO
{
public uint cbSize;
public uint fMask;
public int nMin;
public int nMax;
public uint nPage;
public int nPos;
public int nTrackPos;
}
Then get the Scrollinfo at ScrollingEvent in the first TextBox:
GetScrollInfo(this.Handle, SB_VERT, ref _si);
(where _si is your SCROLLINFO-instance). Then send the message to the scrollbar
_si.nPos = 0815; //Your wanted new ScrollbarPosition (I think you can use the value of the first Scrollbar)
//// Reposition scroller
SetScrollInfo(Handle, SB_VERT, ref _si, true);
//// Send a WM_VSCROLL scroll message using SB_THUMBTRACK as wParam
//// SB_THUMBTRACK: low-order word of wParam, si.nPos high-order word of wParam
IntPtr ptrWparam = new IntPtr(SB_THUMBTRACK + 0x10000 * _si.nPos);
IntPtr ptrLparam = new IntPtr(0);
SendMessage(Handle, WM_VSCROLL, ptrWparam, ptrLparam);
Where HANDLE is the Handle of your RichTextBox that has to be scrolled - you can get the handle at anytime using
RichTextBox.Handle
You should really have a look at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb787537%28VS.85%29.aspx and http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms644950%28VS.85%29.aspx
There are also some good examples at pinvoke.net (for example GetScrollInfo)

Move a window on keypress + mouse (like linux ALT + mouse down)

Simple, i want to move a windows pressing ALT+MOUSE, like linux os (ALT+drag).
It's possible to pass a win32 api (move api) to the windows interested clicking on it?
I have a windows services that hook key pressed (ALT button in specific).
When ALT key is pressed and a mouse down event is verified, i want to move window clicking anywhere, not only on the title bar!
Currently i move my form windows in this way:
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
[DllImport( "user32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto, SetLastError = false )]
static extern IntPtr SendMessage( IntPtr hWnd, uint Msg, int wParam, int lParam );
[DllImportAttribute( "user32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto, SetLastError = false )]
public static extern bool ReleaseCapture();
private void Form1_MouseDown( object sender, MouseEventArgs e )
{
ReleaseCapture();
SendMessage( this.Handle, 0xa1, 0x2, 0 );
}
How can I get windows handle of the specific windows by clicking and after call SendMessage() on it?
It's possible?

You can do this by trapping the WM_NCHITTEST message that Windows sends to see what area of the window got clicked. You can fool it by returning HTCAPTION and it will dutifully perform the mouse actions you'd normally get when clicking the caption of a window. Including moving the window. Paste this code into your form:
protected override void WndProc(ref Message m) {
base.WndProc(ref m);
// Trap WM_NCHITTEST when the ALT key is down
if (m.Msg == 0x84 && (Control.ModifierKeys == Keys.Alt)) {
// Translate HTCLIENT to HTCAPTION
if (m.Result == (IntPtr)1) m.Result = (IntPtr)2;
}
}

I worked this out my self, came up with something interesting of my own calculations, worked perfectly for me, for any window (any active foreground window). Kinda long, but really easy to understand if you follow along the comments, hope it helps :)
The way it works, is that you press a certain registered key-combo, like Ctrl+Alt+M
and the mouse will stick in the center of an active window, you move the mouse, the windows follows it, press the SAME combo again, to release, no need for mouse clicks or anything.
public void MoveWindow_AfterMouse()
{
// 1- get a handle to the foreground window (or any window that you want to move).
// 2- set the mouse pos to the window's center.
// 3- let the window move with the mouse in a loop, such that:
// win(x) = mouse(x) - win(width)/2
// win(y) = mouse(y) - win(height)/2
// This is because the origin (point of rendering) of the window, is at its top-left corner and NOT its center!
// 1-
IntPtr hWnd = WinAPIs.GetForegroundWindow();
// 2- Then:
// first we need to get the x, y to the center of the window.
// to do this, we have to know the width/height of the window.
// to do this, we could use GetWindowRect which will give us the coords of the bottom right and upper left corners of the window,
// with some math, we could deduce the width/height of the window.
// after we do that, we simply set the x, y coords of the mouse to that center.
RECT wndRect = new RECT();
WinAPIs.GetWindowRect(hWnd, out wndRect);
int wndWidth = wndRect.right - wndRect.left;
int wndHeight = wndRect.bottom - wndRect.top; // cuz the more you go down, the more y value increases.
Point wndCenter = new Point(wndWidth / 2, wndHeight / 2); // this is the center of the window relative to itself.
WinAPIs.ClientToScreen(hWnd, out wndCenter); // this will make its center relative to the screen coords.
WinAPIs.SetCursorPos(wndCenter.X, wndCenter.Y);
// 3- Moving :)))
while (true)
{
Point cursorPos = new Point();
WinAPIs.GetCursorPos(out cursorPos);
int xOffset = cursorPos.X - wndWidth / 2;
int yOffset = cursorPos.Y - wndHeight / 2;
WinAPIs.MoveWindow(hWnd, xOffset, yOffset, wndWidth, wndHeight, true);
Thread.Sleep(25);
}
}
And now:
int moveCommandToggle = 0;
protected override void WndProc(ref Message m)
{
if (m.Msg == 0x0312)
{
int keyID = m.WParam.ToInt32();
if(keyID == some_key_combo_you_registered_for_the_moving)
{
if (moveCommandToggle++ % 2 == 0)
{
mover = new Thread(() => MoveWindow_AfterMouse());
mover.Start();
}
else mover.Abort();
}
}
}
If you're wondering about RECT:
public struct RECT
{
public int left; // xCoor of upper left corner.
public int top; // yCoor of upper left corner.
public int right; // xCoor of lower right corner.
public int bottom; // yCoor of lower right corner.
};
WinAPIs was just a static class that I did my DllImports in.