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Accessing controls in Form from a derived BackgroundWorker class results in cross-thread error

I'm working on writing a class which is derived from the System.ComponentModel.BackgroundWorker class. The reason I am doing so in my project is that I need a lot of information to be returned in different types of status update events, depending on which event is raised. When attempting to update any of the controls the main form from any of my update events, I am getting the following error:
System.InvalidOperationException: 'Cross-thread operation not valid:
Control '' accessed from a thread other than the thread it was created
on.'
The first control that I am attempting to update is a ToolStripStatusLabel, which does not have an .Invoke() method. I have created minimally verifiable example below. To recreate the error, simply create a new Windows Forms App (.NET Framework) project targeted to .NET 4.8 and copy paste the following code into the Form1.cs file:
using System;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Windows.Forms;
namespace WindowsFormsApp1
{
public partial class Form1 : Form
{
private StatusStrip statusStrip1;
private ToolStripStatusLabel toolStripStatusLabel1;
private ToolStripProgressBar toolStripProgressBar1;
private Button button1;
private MyBGW myBGW;
public Form1()
{
InitializeComponent();
this.statusStrip1 = new StatusStrip();
this.toolStripStatusLabel1 = new ToolStripStatusLabel() { Text = "Starting Text" };
this.toolStripProgressBar1 = new ToolStripProgressBar();
this.button1 = new Button();
this.myBGW = new MyBGW();
this.statusStrip1.Items.AddRange(new System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripItem[] {this.toolStripStatusLabel1, this.toolStripProgressBar1});
this.Controls.Add(this.statusStrip1);
this.Controls.Add(this.button1);
this.button1.Click += Button1_Click;
this.myBGW.OnMyBGW_StatusChanged += MyBGW_OnMyBGW_StatusChanged;
}
private void Button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e) { myBGW.RunWorkerAsync(); }
private void MyBGW_OnMyBGW_StatusChanged(object sender, MyBGW.MyBGW_StatusChanged_EventArgs e)
{
// The following two lines will throw the cross-threading exception
this.toolStripStatusLabel1.Text = e.StatusText;
if (e.PBarStyle != MyBGW.pBarStyles.NoChange) { this.toolStripProgressBar1.Style = (ProgressBarStyle)e.PBarStyle; }
}
}
public class MyBGW : BackgroundWorker
{
public enum pBarStyles { Block = 0, Continuous = 1, Marquee = 2, NoChange = -1 }
public delegate void MyBGW_StatusChanged_EventHandler(object sender, MyBGW_StatusChanged_EventArgs e);
public event MyBGW_StatusChanged_EventHandler OnMyBGW_StatusChanged;
public class MyBGW_StatusChanged_EventArgs : EventArgs
{
public string StatusText;
public pBarStyles PBarStyle;
public MyBGW_StatusChanged_EventArgs(string statusText, pBarStyles pBarStyle)
{
this.StatusText = statusText; this.PBarStyle = pBarStyle;
}
}
public new void RunWorkerAsync() { base.RunWorkerAsync(); }
private void myBGW_DoWork(object sender, DoWorkEventArgs e)
{
OnMyBGW_StatusChanged(this, new MyBGW_StatusChanged_EventArgs(DateTime.Now.ToString(), pBarStyles.Marquee));
System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(10000);
OnMyBGW_StatusChanged(this, new MyBGW_StatusChanged_EventArgs("Done", pBarStyles.Continuous));
}
public MyBGW() { base.DoWork += new DoWorkEventHandler(this.myBGW_DoWork); }
}
}
My best guess is that I am raising or consuming the event incorrectly which is causing the code to still be run on the worker thread instead of the main/UI thread, but I'm coming up short in my research on what I'm missing.
EDIT: this question is not related to Cross-thread operation not valid: Control accessed from a thread other than the thread it was created on as it is not directly relying on a BackgroundWorker but is rather attempting to add additional events to a derived class, of which the addition of those events are causing the Cross-Thread exception. Also, the answer does not apply as the control attempting to be updated does not have the .Invoke method as the solution to that question stated.
The problem for this question is in relation to how the event was being raised, which was incorrectly, causing the consumption of that event to be on the wrong thread and raising the cross-thread exception.

The BackgroundWorker.DoWork event handler is supposed to do background work, and it's not intended for interacting with the UI. This handler is invoked on a ThreadPool thread, and interacting with UI components from any thread other than the UI thread is not allowed. The BackgroundWorker class offers two events that are raised on the UI thread¹, the ProgressChanged and the RunWorkerCompleted. You could take advantage of this, by invoking your StatusChanged event on the ProgressChanged event handler (or overriding the OnProgressChanged method), and passing your StatusChangedEventArgs as an argument of the ReportProgress method:
public class MyBGW : BackgroundWorker
{
public enum BarStyles { Block = 0, Continuous = 1, Marquee = 2, NoChange = -1 }
public delegate void StatusChangedEventHandler(object sender,
StatusChangedEventArgs e);
public event StatusChangedEventHandler StatusChanged;
public MyBGW() { this.WorkerReportsProgress = true; }
public class StatusChangedEventArgs : EventArgs
{
public string StatusText;
public BarStyles PBarStyle;
public StatusChangedEventArgs(string statusText, BarStyles pBarStyle)
{
this.StatusText = statusText; this.PBarStyle = pBarStyle;
}
}
protected override void OnDoWork(DoWorkEventArgs e)
{
this.ReportProgress(-1,
new StatusChangedEventArgs(DateTime.Now.ToString(), BarStyles.Marquee));
base.OnDoWork(e);
this.ReportProgress(-1,
new StatusChangedEventArgs("Done", BarStyles.Continuous));
}
protected override void OnProgressChanged(ProgressChangedEventArgs e)
{
if (e.ProgressPercentage == -1 && e.UserState is StatusChangedEventArgs args)
StatusChanged?.Invoke(this, args);
else
base.OnProgressChanged(e);
}
}
¹ To be precise, the ProgressChanged and RunWorkerCompleted events are raised on the SynchronizationContext.Current which is captured when the BackgroundWorker.RunWorkerAsync is invoked.

Because toolStripStatusLabel1 And toolStripProgressBar1 runs inside a thread other than the main thread, it needs to be Invoke. And since ToolStripStatusLabel And ToolStripProgressBar itself does not have an Invoke method, we use its parent Invoke method.
change MyBGW_OnMyBGW_StatusChanged to :
private void MyBGW_OnMyBGW_StatusChanged(object sender, MyBGW.MyBGW_StatusChanged_EventArgs e)
{
InvokeIfRequired(this, ()=>
{
this.toolStripStatusLabel1.Text = e.StatusText;
});
if (e.PBarStyle != MyBGW.pBarStyles.NoChange)
{
InvokeIfRequired(this, () =>
{
this.toolStripProgressBar1.Style = (ProgressBarStyle)e.PBarStyle;
});
}
}
add InvokeIfRequired method
public void InvokeIfRequired(Control control, MethodInvoker action)
{
if (control.InvokeRequired)
control.Invoke(action);
else
action();
}

As mjwills has stated in the comments of the question, I was not raising the event properly, which was causing the event to be consumed on the same worker thread. After looking at the link for the .NET source code of the BackgroundWorker class, I can see that there is a bit of code, AsyncOperation.Post() that has the method protected virtual void OnStatusChangedin the code below raised in the main thread rather than the worker thread.
public class MyBGW : BackgroundWorker
{
public enum pBarStyles { Block = 0, Continuous = 1, Marquee = 2, NoChange = -1 }
private static readonly object statusChangedKey = new object();
private AsyncOperation asyncOperation = null;
public MyBGW() { base.DoWork += new DoWorkEventHandler(this.myBGW_DoWork); }
public delegate void StatusChanged_EventHandler(object sender, StatusChanged_EventArgs e);
public event StatusChanged_EventHandler StatusChanged
{
add { this.Events.AddHandler(statusChangedKey, value); }
remove { this.Events.RemoveHandler(statusChangedKey, value); }
}
protected virtual void OnStatusChanged(StatusChanged_EventArgs e) { ((StatusChanged_EventHandler)Events[statusChangedKey])?.Invoke(this, e); }
private void StatusReporter(object arg) { OnStatusChanged((StatusChanged_EventArgs)arg); }
public void UpdateStatus(StatusChanged_EventArgs e) { asyncOperation.Post(new System.Threading.SendOrPostCallback(StatusReporter), e); }
public class StatusChanged_EventArgs : EventArgs
{
public string StatusText;
public pBarStyles PBarStyle;
public StatusChanged_EventArgs(string statusText, pBarStyles pBarStyle)
{
this.StatusText = statusText; this.PBarStyle = pBarStyle;
}
}
public new void RunWorkerAsync() { asyncOperation = AsyncOperationManager.CreateOperation(null); base.RunWorkerAsync(); }
private void myBGW_DoWork(object sender, DoWorkEventArgs e)
{
UpdateStatus(new StatusChanged_EventArgs(DateTime.Now.ToString(), pBarStyles.Marquee));
System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(3000);
UpdateStatus(new StatusChanged_EventArgs("Done", pBarStyles.Continuous));
}
}
I don't fully understand the how and why, but it works. Hopefully someone can comment below with a better explanation.

Avoid requiring Dispatcher.BeginInvoke

I'm writing a library to control an application over TCP. The connections are handled asynchronously so I've added an event to the communication class to indicate a message has been received.
public event EventHandler<MessageRecievedEventArgs> MessageRecieved;
But when I raise the event the event handler in the main class executes the event handler on the TCP thread not the main thread.
How do I avoid requiring the user to update the GUI by invoking?
private void MessageRecieved(object sender, MessageRecievedEventArgs e)
{
Dispatcher.BeginInvoke((Action)(()=> { textBox1.Text = e.Message; }));
}

Using Hans Passant's comment above, I just modified my code as follows:
private SynchronizationContext MainUIThread; //as a class field
In the constructor:
public MyClass()
{
MainUIThread = SynchronizationContext.Current;
}
Modification to the event structure:
public event EventHandler<MessageRecievedEventArgs> MessageRecieved;
protected virtual void OnMessageReceived(object sender, MessageRecievedEventArgs args)
{
var handle = MessageRecieved;
if (handle == null)
return;
if(MainUIThread != null)
{
MainUIThread.Post(d => handle(sender, args), this);
}
else
{
handle(sender, args);
}
}

How to avoid duplication of event subscription?

I have 3 classes namely Login, Barcode, and the Main.
Login class just contains the authentication of the users.
Barcode class has the following snippet code:
class Barcode
{
public delegate void BarcodeReadHandler(object sender, BarcodeEventArgs e);
public event BarcodeReadHandler BarcodeReadOut;
public Barcode()
{
//.. some codes for getting data on the scanner
BarcodeEventArgs args = new BarcodeEventArgs(scannedData);
BarcodeReadOut(this, args);
}
}
While in Main class, the subsciption of the Barcode event is done:
public partial class Main : Form
{
private Barcode barcode = null;
public Main()
{
barcode.BarcodeReadOut += new barcode.BarcodeReadHandler(getBarcodeStr);
}
//This is called before log-out.
public void removeInstance()
{
barcode.BarcodeReadOut -= new barcode.BarcodeReadHandler(getBarcodeStr);
}
private void getBarcodeStr(object sender, BarcodeEventArgs e)
{
//some code
}
}
The duplication of event subscription happens when I try to logout and login again.
When I tried to debug, BarcodeReadOut is called twice.
In logout, the removeInstance() is called and the Main form is Close() and Dispose() before opening the login screen.
Can someone help me on how can I avoid the duplication of the said events?
I also have done this before registering the event but nothing happens:
public Main()
{
barcode.BarcodeReadOut -= new barcode.BarcodeReadHandler(getBarcodeStr);
barcode.BarcodeReadOut += new barcode.BarcodeReadHandler(getBarcodeStr);
}

You should add and remove the handler as follows:
public partial class Main : Form
{
private Barcode barcode = null;
public Main()
{
barcode.BarcodeReadOut += getBarcodeStr;
}
//This is called before log-out.
public void removeInstance()
{
barcode.BarcodeReadOut -= getBarcodeStr;
}
private void getBarcodeStr(object sender, BarcodeEventArgs e)
{
//some code
}
}
Also: You don't need to define a custom delegate, you can use the generic EventHandler:
public event EventHandler<BarcodeEventArgs> BarcodeReadOut;

It would be good to move all your logic that works with Barcode to a separate class. And it might be good to add a custom event that notifies other classes (a Form class in your case) that event has occurred :
class Barcode
{
public delegate void BarcodeReadHandler(object sender, BarcodeEventArgs e);
public event BarcodeReadHandler BarcodeReadOut;
public Barcode()
{
//.. some codes for getting data on the scanner
BarcodeEventArgs args = new BarcodeEventArgs(scannedData);
BarcodeReadOut(this, args);
}
}
class BarcodeWorker
{
private Barcode barcode = null;
private BarcodeReadHandler handler;
public event BarcodeEventArgs scanComplete;
BarcodeWorker(Barcode barcode)
{
if(barcode == null) this.barcode = barcode;
}
public AddEventHandler()
{
if(handler != null) return;
handler = new BarcodeReadHandler(getBarcodeStr);
barcode.BarcodeReadOut += handler;
}
//This is called before log-out.
public void RemoveEventHandler()
{
barcode.BarcodeReadOut -= handler;
handler = null;
}
private void getBarcodeStr(object sender, BarcodeEventArgs e)
{
scanComplete(sender, e);
}
}
And use it like this:
BarcodeWorker barcode = new BarcodeWorker();
barcode.scanComplete += // your delegate with event handler or with anonymous method here;

Having trouble changing event handler

It's for my irc bot, and I am trying to change the message receiver event to be linked to the method in my other class.
private static void client_Connected(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
gamebot.LocalUser.JoinedChannel += LocalUser_JoinedChannel;
gamebot.LocalUser.MessageReceived += LocalUser_MessageReceived;
}
// private static void newmessage(object sender, IrcChannelEventArgs e)
// {
// e.Channel.MessageReceived += Hangman.MessageReceivedHangman;
// }
private static void LocalUser_JoinedChannel(object sender, IrcChannelEventArgs e)
{
e.Channel.MessageReceived += Channel_MessageReceived;
Console.WriteLine("Joined " + e.Channel + "\n");
}
Just not sure how to get the channeleventargs outside of a method, so I can change the event. The commented method shows sort of what i need.
public static void MessageReceivedHangman(object sender, IrcMessageEventArgs e)
{
That is the method in a different class i would like to have execute when a message is received.
Thanks for the help and sorry if this is a really stupid question I'm pretty new to all of this still.

It's hard to know what would be best here, as you have provided so little context. All we really know is that you have one class (call it class A) handling specific events, and another class (call it class B) that wants to be able to handle events the first class already knows about.
Based on that, there are at least a couple of possibilities that might work for you.
Option #1:
Expose the "joined" event so that the second class can receive the same notifications and subscribe to the channel's event:
class JoinedChannelEventArgs : EventArgs
{
public Channel Channel { get; private set; }
public JoinedChannelEventArgs(Channel channel) { Channel = channel; }
}
class A
{
public static event EventHandler<JoinedChannelEventArgs> JoinedChannel;
private static void LocalUser_JoinedChannel(object sender, IrcChannelEventArgs e)
{
e.Channel.MessageReceived += Channel_MessageReceived;
Console.WriteLine("Joined " + e.Channel + "\n");
EventHandler<JoinedChannelEventArgs> handler = JoinedChannel;
if (handler != null)
{
handler(null, new JoinedChannelEventArgs(e.Channel);
}
}
}
class B
{
static void SomeMethod()
{
A.JoinedChannel += A_JoinedChannel;
}
private static void A_JoinedChannel(object sender, JoinedChannelEventArgs e)
{
e.Channel += MessageReceivedHangman;
}
}
Option #2:
Expose the "message received" event instead:
class A
{
public static event EventHandler<IrcMessageEventArgs> AnyChannelMessageReceived;
public static void Channel_MessageReceived(object sender, IrcMessageEventArgs e)
{
// Whatever other code you had here, would remain
EventHandler<IrcMessageEventArgs> handler = AnyChannelMessageReceived;
if (handler != null)
{
handler(null, e);
}
}
}
class B
{
static void SomeMethod()
{
A.AnyChannelMessageReceived += MessageReceivedHangman;
}
}
It's not clear from your post whether having the sender of the original event is important. If it is, then IMHO Option #1 is better, as it provides direct access to the event. However, you could modify Option #2 so that it passed sender to the handler (in Channel_MessageReceived()), instead of the null that's in the example (the null is more idiomatic for a static event, but not mandatory).
If neither of those options work for you, please provide better context. See https://stackoverflow.com/help/mcve and https://stackoverflow.com/help/how-to-ask.

Handling events after receiving a MSMQ message (thread issue?)

I created two separate Windows Forms applications in C# that use MSMQ for communicating. Here's how it works, it looked simple enough though:
App1 sends a details request to App2.
App2 creates an event to open the window.
App2 opens a "details" window.
The only problem I have is that when received the message, the "details" window freezes after appearing.
As I handle MSMQ messages handling in an object that uses threads, I suspect the problem comes from there... But I have no experience in handling MSMQ messages or specific events handling between parts of an application.
Here's part of the code I use for App2:
/*Class declared in the Core namespace*/
public class TaskMessageQueueHandler
{
public TaskMessageQueueHandler()
{
this.Start();
}
private Thread m_thread;
private ManualResetEvent m_signal;
public event System.EventHandler messageReceived;
public void Start()
{
m_signal = new ManualResetEvent(false);
m_thread = new Thread(MSMQReceiveLoop);
m_thread.Start();
}
public void Stop()
{
m_signal.Set();
}
protected virtual void SendEvent(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
if (messageReceived != null)
messageReceived(this.message, e);
}
public string message;
private void MSMQReceiveLoop()
{
bool running = true;
MessageQueue queue = new MessageQueue(#".\Private$\queue1");
while (running)
{
try
{
var message = queue.Receive();
message.Formatter = new XmlMessageFormatter(new String[] { "System.String,mscorlib" });
this.message = message.Body.ToString();
string m = this.message;
SendEvent(m, System.EventArgs.Empty);
if (m_signal.WaitOne(10))
{
running = false;
}
}
catch
{
Console.WriteLine("ERROR");
running = false;
}
}
}
}
/*Main process, in the Program namespace*/
[...]
Core.TaskMessageQueueHandler tmqh = new Core.TaskMessageQueueHandler();
EventListener el = new EventListener();
tmqh.messageReceived += new System.EventHandler(el.ShowDetails);
[...]
/* Class in the Program namespace */
class EventListener
{
public void ShowDetails(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
int numero = int.Parse(sender as string);
Details details = new Details(numero);
details.Show();
}
}
Where did I go wrong? Where did I go right?
Thanks a lot,
Stephane.P
EDIT: if the MSMQ handler is stopped with Stop() anywhere around the event sending, the details window appears then disappears right away...
EDIT2: After the workaround given by Slugart, I managed to make this work:
class EventListener
{
Main control;
public EventListener(Main main)
{
control = main;
}
public void ShowDetails(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
int numero = int.Parse(sender as string);
control.Invoke((Action)(() => ShowDetails(numero)));
}
private void ShowDetails(int numero)
{
Details details = new Details(numero);
details.Show();
}
}
Which is used like:
Core.TaskMessageQueueHandler tmqh = new Core.TaskMessageQueueHandler();
EventListener el = new EventListener(this);
tmqh.messageReceived += new System.EventHandler(el.ShowDetails);

You're creating and displaying a form Details on a thread other than the main GUI thread and not an STA thread at that.
Your EventListener should have a reference to a running form (your main form perhaps) and then call form.Invoke() on it.
class EventListener
{
Control control; // A valid running winforms control/form created on an STA thread.
public void ShowDetails(object sender, string message)
{
int numero = int.Parse(message);
control.Invoke(() => ShowDetails(numero))
}
private void ShowDetails(int numero)
{
Details details = new Details(numero);
details.Show();
}
}
Also sending your event data as the sender is not really following the Event pattern that has been put in front of you. You want to use the EventArgs parameter for this, use the EventHandler delegate (EventHandler in your case).