My users must use one application that is made in Console. It is entirely copy and paste, but takes a very long time to finish every procedure.
My team, wanting to save time, created one application that does this with a bot. It does the entire work in more or less 15 minutes, which was around 5 hours before.
The problem is, the user can not use the machine while the bot is running, so even if the user is having less time lost, he keeps loosing time.
So I am wondering, is there a way to create an application which read data from an txt and write into the console (it just need that) in background? Without making the user stop using the machine to do other stuf?
If there is a way, could someone explain how to achieve that?
#EDIT
The user can not use the machine while the bot is working because it is programmed to click automatically in certain parts of the screen (like opening the program) and then write, so if the user move the cursor or write something, everything after will be wrong, so I wanted to create a program which write the things there from background, where the user can use the machine while that happens.
If your bot solution requires control of the mouse pointer and keyboard of the machine to "fake" user input, then there is no way to do what you ask if you think about it. There is only one mouse cursor and keyboard input read by the OS, and if the user should interfere with that by using the machine, while the bot is working i assume it will fail, as the bot probably relies on "move x, move y, click" type of scripting like AutoIT and AutoHotkey does.
However, a workaround i can think of is to set up a virtual machine environment on the actual machine, in which you run the console program and the bot. Then that machine, being virtualized, will have it's own input chain and can be left to it's own while the user uses the host OS at the same time.
This is not very elegant, but it WOULD work. It has some drawbacks:
You would need a license for the virtualized OS
You would need to replicate the toolchain in the virtualized setup
The user must be kept from seeing or interfering with the VM
The VM must be configured to access shared data as needed (shared folders)
Related
I need to develop a project using Visual Studio. The project will run constantly in the background, checking a file path. When the image is uploaded to the file path, the application will display the uploaded image as a pop-up on the computer screen. The application will not be triggered by a user. It will constantly run in the Background, checking the file path. Which project template should I use for this? I hope I was able to explain.
I thought of writing windows service. Because it can run in the background. But I couldn't open a picture with it
I see you're a new contributor, so it would be better if you posted a bit more context of what you have already tried. For instance, providing a minimal reproducible example. I ask you this because the way to write Windows Services or Console Applications in .Net Framework and .Net Core (and subsequent) are different. How to ask a question?
That being said, a windows service, by concept, does not have UI and is not allowed to have one. They're designed precisely to only run on the background, without user interaction (at least since Windows Vista).
These services can be automatically started when the computer boots, can be paused and restarted, and do not show any user interface.
From Microsoft Docs
So it seems that you need to either write your application as a different kind (for example), or create a secondary application that somehow communicates with your windows service. The decision would be up to you based on your requirements and/or possible limitations.
There are some possible alternatives in this possibly related question as well.
I'd like to make my own custom program run on windows 10 in replacement of the start screen and logon screen.
Is there any way I can do this? I've currently replaced the accessibility program (accessible from the logon screen) with a command prompt, if I accidentally lock myself out (it has happened once!).
I recall seeing a particular Winlogon.exe. Is this my starting point? Am I able to replace the program that windows runs with my own?
Also, wrapping up, If I manage to replace this program, can I logon to windows in my program? I'm writing it in c#.
Old post, but still relevant...
I don't know if you can, or should replace it, but you could write an overlaying app to cover it and do it's own thing, if you can use a little windows command-line magic combined with node.js. More of a work-around, but then you won't chance destroying any os-specific functionality, and it seems to be universal from Vista on up (to my knowledge at least). Here is how you can get your starting point to run a GUI app on the logon screen.
Node-Windows - Run GUI app on Logon screen
You can use this technique to run any app in any language that you can open it's window from a command-line.
There will be a brief period where the normal logon screen will be visible before your app starts, but this will let you do it.
Whatever language you use for your logon GUI, you will need to send simulated key input to the real logon screen, possibly mouse-clicks-- but you can likely use simulated tabs to get to the right logon. Likely MS has API's for C# as well as a variety of related dialects to programmatically logon to the desktop in a more elegant fashion than this last part, however.
Your app will be running as the SYSTEM user (unless you specify otherwise), therefore it will be running with the highest authority-- so you can basically do anything that is possible from there. Permissions won't stop you. Be careful with this.
I have a WPF application which will be used on tablets with Windows 10.
In my development environment, the application runs very fast. However, if I run the application on tablet without admin rights, the application responds very slow : all animations are slow, the scrolling is not smooth, and touch problems are visible (cannot move the caret). If the application has admin rights all things are working fine.
I tried to disable the logs, I tried to decrease the FPS, nothing seems to help.
My application is connected to a sqlite database, but even without accessing the database is very slow. There are no other connections that may require admin rights.
What could be the problem?
EDIT: Also in my dev environment the app is running slower without admin rights. I was running the VS2015 with admin rights and for that reason the application worked fine.
WPF has settings under HKEY_CURRENT_USER that can disable hardware acceleration:
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa970912(v=vs.110).aspx
If the Disable Hardware Acceleration Option or the Use Reference Rasterizer Option are set, a WPF application will run slowly for that user.
Try to trace your app with Process Monitor. Run 2 traces for app running with and without admin rights. Filter your app events only via Tools->Process Tree... -> right click on your process -> Add to Include filter and compare these trace logs (or just post them here). Pay attention on gaps between registry key readings or network access.
That literally could be anything.
Mark Russinovich make a presentation almost every year about finding some interesting cases. Here's one of them.
P.S. I'm sorry to post that as an answer, but I don't have enough points to add comments right now.
To offer an answer for people that might face the same issue, now, after I've searched a lot for something helpful, I can say that this problem it is mainly a problem related to rights.
If you encounter this issue, try to run Visual Studio without admin rights and try to isolate the region where the application begins to act very slow (or the place were it crashes) . In my case, wasn't the database, or the log files, but a file in AppData which was used by an external assembly. I've seen that, every time that dll was called, the application was freezing and using dotTrace, I've managed to find which file it is used. After setting the rights (r/w) on that file, everything was back to normal.
I have a small application which is a single executable. For context, this is deployed to Thin Client computers and runs automatically at boot. Users do not have the rights to close this application.
However, I need the application to be easy to update. I can't write my software to do any kind of auto-update routine, because these stations often have a write-blocker* which must be disabled beforehand.
The simplest solution as an administrator is to copy the new EXE over the old using the various tools provided with the Thin Client, or Group Policy / scripting where required. The update doesn't have to be instantly effective - the next reboot is fine.
The problem with this is that, of course, the executable is in use and can't be overwritten. What's the best way to allow this to happen? Load the software completely into memory and run from there? Do some kind of routine which copies the exe to a temporary folder and then executes it with a command line switch so it doesn't endlessly loop?
*This may have caused some confusion. These are Windows XP / Windows 7 Embedded machines. For the most part they work like normal computers, except file system writes are transparently redirected to a cache drive. On a reboot, all changes are completely reverted. A normal script to update the machine would go something like:
Disable Write Blocker
Reboot Machine
Copy Files
Reboot Machine
Enable Write Blocker
Reboot Machine
However, my application will autostart after every reboot as there's no mechanism to inform it. As such, when the scripts get run the executable is still in use.
You might be able to use Windows' MoveFileEx with the DelayUntilReboot option.
To do this from C#, see this answer which shows how to set up the call to the Windows API.
Note: I think the call needs administrator privileges.
You could make of use of something called Shadow copying assemblies. Search the net, you'll find lots of examples (also on SO and Codeproject).
Obviously the application can only update if your write protection is disabled. Are you using FBWF or EWF? You might even exclude the application folder from write protection.
I have to run my C# application that I wrote it recently on several computers with window 7 operating system. Here is a big challenge with it, Application must run on startup and user must not be able to work with anything else such as windows hotkeys, other applications, some directories and etc.
Considering I don’t want to kill any process or service as less as possible, Please give me the best solution.
Thanks and waiting
Maybe A little more information will help
did you see Devices like ATMs or Medical devices that window is running on? Those devices don't allow user to manipulate with desktop or anywhere else, I want their solution. . . my Application Will run as a device handler(A Medical Device in Operating room).
You probably shouldn't write such an application in the first place (nagware?).
Anyway. I think what you are looking for is actually "kiosk" software. Here is blog entry that describes how to lock down the computer to effectively run in "kiosk mode".
Note however, that not every application can (or should) be used in that mode. Either because it has loopholes that still allow you to do thing (for example the file open/save dialog still allows you to create directories or navigate the file system), or because they were simply not designed with that goal in mind.
This sounds actually like a (very) bad idea to me...
You could probably hook every Keyboard event so you disable OS shortcut (Windows + D, Windows + E...). See here.
Also hide the Windows taskbar.
Make sure your application starts with Windows.
This sounds a bit hacky to me...
A program with the properties you mention is called a (very restrictive flavour of) shell. So you need to register your program as a shell (instead of explorer.exe) for the poor, poor user you want to restrict.
You might look into using a local group policy to enforce this restriction. Check this out.