I have an exe that I would like to use by executing it with command line parameters.
var query = Path.Combine(path, calculator.ExeName + ".exe");
var p = new Process();
p.StartInfo.FileName = query;
//the command line parameter that causes the exe to start in an invisible mode
p.StartInfo.Arguments = "episrc"
p.Start();
This code works and it starts the exe but there's one problem : the exe is supposed to be writing on a file in its directory but that doesn't happen. The process exits successfully (Exitcode0). What could be the cause of this problem?
I have a Delphi code that executes successfully the exe and the exe writes to the file but it's using the ExecProcess from win32 API thus the exe is valid and working.
Also if I try to execute it from the command prompt like so : kowwinnt.exe episrc it writes to the file successfully.
You should set the Working Directory.
Your code would look like this:
var query = Path.Combine(path, calculator.ExeName + ".exe");
var p = new Process();
p.StartInfo.FileName = query;
p.StartInfo.WorkingDirectory = path;
//the command line parameter that causes the exe to start in an invisible mode
p.StartInfo.Arguments = "episrc"
p.Start();
I have tried to redirect the command prompt output to a file using Asp.Net C#.
System.Diagnostics.Process si = new System.Diagnostics.Process();
si.StartInfo.WorkingDirectory = "c:\\";
si.StartInfo.UseShellExecute = false;
si.StartInfo.FileName = "cmd.exe";
si.StartInfo.Arguments = #"/c dir" +">" + #"Myval.txt";
si.StartInfo.CreateNoWindow = true;
si.StartInfo.RedirectStandardInput = true;
si.StartInfo.RedirectStandardOutput = true;
si.StartInfo.RedirectStandardError = true;
si.Start();
string output = si.StandardOutput.ReadToEnd();
Response.Write(output);
si.Close();
The file is getting created successfully but no content present in it.
Even the variable Output returns nothing.
Help me to resolve this issue.
EDIT after being corrected:
I just tested on my machine and the code works perfectly. I apologize for not reading and testing carefully myself. Myval.txt is created and the DIR output is written into it.
The output variable is empty because you are rerouting any output by the DIR command into the txt file, so that's by design.
Please see if there are any locks on the txt file preventing it from being overwritten. Further than that, I can only guess that there is a security issue preventing the DIR command from running.
IIS7 - I tested this various ways including using a Batch file but the application isn't available on desktop. I can see the worker process and the exe running under my user name but with session id value of zero.
The following has worked for me through command prompt:
// Start the child process.
Process p = new Process();
// Redirect the output stream of the child process.
p.StartInfo.UseShellExecute = false;
p.StartInfo.RedirectStandardOutput = true;
p.StartInfo.FileName = "YOURBATCHFILE.bat";
p.Start();
// Do not wait for the child process to exit before
// reading to the end of its redirected stream.
// p.WaitForExit();
// Read the output stream first and then wait.
string output = p.StandardOutput.ReadToEnd();
p.WaitForExit();
Doxygen provides a way to pass in the contents of the .doxy file through stdin rather than passing a file name, but I don't know how to do it from C#.
For simplicity let's say the contents of my doxygen config file are simply stored in string[] lines so I want to execute doxygen.exe and feed this content in.
I got this working myself from the links mentioned in the comments, something along the lines of:
// Prepare the process to run
ProcessStartInfo start = new ProcessStartInfo();
// Enter in the command line arguments, everything you would enter after the executable name itself
start.Arguments = " -";
// Enter the executable to run, including the complete path
start.FileName = "doxygen.exe";
// Do you want to show a console window?
start.WindowStyle = ProcessWindowStyle.Normal;
start.CreateNoWindow = false;
start.RedirectStandardInput = true;
start.UseShellExecute = false;
// Run the external process & wait for it to finish
using (Process proc = Process.Start(start))
{
//doxygenProperties is just a dictionary
foreach (string key in doxygenProperties.Keys)
proc.StandardInput.WriteLine(key+" = "+doxygenProperties[key]);
proc.StandardInput.Close();
proc.WaitForExit();
// Retrieve the app's exit code
int exitCode = proc.ExitCode;
}
Is there any way to run command prompt commands from within a C# application? If so how would I do the following:
copy /b Image1.jpg + Archive.rar Image2.jpg
This basically embeds an RAR file within JPG image. I was just wondering if there was a way to do this automatically in C#.
this is all you have to do run shell commands from C#
string strCmdText;
strCmdText= "/C copy /b Image1.jpg + Archive.rar Image2.jpg";
System.Diagnostics.Process.Start("CMD.exe",strCmdText);
EDIT:
This is to hide the cmd window.
System.Diagnostics.Process process = new System.Diagnostics.Process();
System.Diagnostics.ProcessStartInfo startInfo = new System.Diagnostics.ProcessStartInfo();
startInfo.WindowStyle = System.Diagnostics.ProcessWindowStyle.Hidden;
startInfo.FileName = "cmd.exe";
startInfo.Arguments = "/C copy /b Image1.jpg + Archive.rar Image2.jpg";
process.StartInfo = startInfo;
process.Start();
EDIT 2:
It is important that the argument begins with /C, otherwise it won't work. As #scott-ferguson said: /C carries out the command specified by the string and then terminates.
Tried RameshVel's solution but I could not pass arguments in my console application. If anyone experiences the same problem here is a solution:
using System.Diagnostics;
Process cmd = new Process();
cmd.StartInfo.FileName = "cmd.exe";
cmd.StartInfo.RedirectStandardInput = true;
cmd.StartInfo.RedirectStandardOutput = true;
cmd.StartInfo.CreateNoWindow = true;
cmd.StartInfo.UseShellExecute = false;
cmd.Start();
cmd.StandardInput.WriteLine("echo Oscar");
cmd.StandardInput.Flush();
cmd.StandardInput.Close();
cmd.WaitForExit();
Console.WriteLine(cmd.StandardOutput.ReadToEnd());
var proc1 = new ProcessStartInfo();
string anyCommand;
proc1.UseShellExecute = true;
proc1.WorkingDirectory = #"C:\Windows\System32";
proc1.FileName = #"C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe";
proc1.Verb = "runas";
proc1.Arguments = "/c "+anyCommand;
proc1.WindowStyle = ProcessWindowStyle.Hidden;
Process.Start(proc1);
None of the above answers helped for some reason, it seems like they sweep errors under the rug and make troubleshooting one's command difficult. So I ended up going with something like this, maybe it will help someone else:
var proc = new Process
{
StartInfo = new ProcessStartInfo
{
FileName = #"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0\Common7\IDE\tf.exe",
Arguments = "checkout AndroidManifest.xml",
UseShellExecute = false,
RedirectStandardOutput = true,
CreateNoWindow = true,
WorkingDirectory = #"C:\MyAndroidApp\"
}
};
proc.Start();
Though technically this doesn't directly answer question posed, it does answer the question of how to do what the original poster wanted to do: combine files. If anything, this is a post to help newbies understand what Instance Hunter and Konstantin are talking about.
This is the method I use to combine files (in this case a jpg and a zip). Note that I create a buffer that gets filled with the content of the zip file (in small chunks rather than in one big read operation), and then the buffer gets written to the back of the jpg file until the end of the zip file is reached:
private void CombineFiles(string jpgFileName, string zipFileName)
{
using (Stream original = new FileStream(jpgFileName, FileMode.Append))
{
using (Stream extra = new FileStream(zipFileName, FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read))
{
var buffer = new byte[32 * 1024];
int blockSize;
while ((blockSize = extra.Read(buffer, 0, buffer.Length)) > 0)
{
original.Write(buffer, 0, blockSize);
}
}
}
}
if you want to run the command in async mode - and print the results. you can you this class:
public static class ExecuteCmd
{
/// <summary>
/// Executes a shell command synchronously.
/// </summary>
/// <param name="command">string command</param>
/// <returns>string, as output of the command.</returns>
public static void ExecuteCommandSync(object command)
{
try
{
// create the ProcessStartInfo using "cmd" as the program to be run, and "/c " as the parameters.
// Incidentally, /c tells cmd that we want it to execute the command that follows, and then exit.
System.Diagnostics.ProcessStartInfo procStartInfo = new System.Diagnostics.ProcessStartInfo("cmd", "/c " + command);
// The following commands are needed to redirect the standard output.
//This means that it will be redirected to the Process.StandardOutput StreamReader.
procStartInfo.RedirectStandardOutput = true;
procStartInfo.UseShellExecute = false;
// Do not create the black window.
procStartInfo.CreateNoWindow = true;
// Now we create a process, assign its ProcessStartInfo and start it
System.Diagnostics.Process proc = new System.Diagnostics.Process();
proc.StartInfo = procStartInfo;
proc.Start();
// Get the output into a string
string result = proc.StandardOutput.ReadToEnd();
// Display the command output.
Console.WriteLine(result);
}
catch (Exception objException)
{
// Log the exception
Console.WriteLine("ExecuteCommandSync failed" + objException.Message);
}
}
/// <summary>
/// Execute the command Asynchronously.
/// </summary>
/// <param name="command">string command.</param>
public static void ExecuteCommandAsync(string command)
{
try
{
//Asynchronously start the Thread to process the Execute command request.
Thread objThread = new Thread(new ParameterizedThreadStart(ExecuteCommandSync));
//Make the thread as background thread.
objThread.IsBackground = true;
//Set the Priority of the thread.
objThread.Priority = ThreadPriority.AboveNormal;
//Start the thread.
objThread.Start(command);
}
catch (ThreadStartException )
{
// Log the exception
}
catch (ThreadAbortException )
{
// Log the exception
}
catch (Exception )
{
// Log the exception
}
}
}
if you want to keep the cmd window open or want to use it in winform/wpf then use it like this
string strCmdText;
//For Testing
strCmdText= "/K ipconfig";
System.Diagnostics.Process.Start("CMD.exe",strCmdText);
/K
Will keep the cmd window open
Yes, there is (see link in Matt Hamilton's comment), but it would be easier and better to use .NET's IO classes. You can use File.ReadAllBytes to read the files and then File.WriteAllBytes to write the "embedded" version.
with a reference to Microsoft.VisualBasic
Interaction.Shell("copy /b Image1.jpg + Archive.rar Image2.jpg", AppWinStyle.Hide);
This can also be done by P/Invoking the C standard library's system function.
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
[DllImport("msvcrt.dll")]
public static extern int system(string format);
system("copy Test.txt Test2.txt");
Output:
1 file(s) copied.
Here is little simple and less code version. It will hide the console window too-
System.Diagnostics.Process process = new System.Diagnostics.Process();
process.StartInfo.WindowStyle = System.Diagnostics.ProcessWindowStyle.Hidden;
process.StartInfo.FileName = "cmd.exe";
process.StartInfo.Arguments = "/C copy /b Image1.jpg + Archive.rar Image2.jpg";
process.Start();
I have the following method, which I use to run the command prompt commands from C#
In first parameter pass the command you want to run
public static string RunCommand(string arguments, bool readOutput)
{
var output = string.Empty;
try
{
var startInfo = new ProcessStartInfo
{
Verb = "runas",
FileName = "cmd.exe",
Arguments = "/C "+arguments,
WindowStyle = ProcessWindowStyle.Hidden,
UseShellExecute = false,
CreateNoWindow = true,
RedirectStandardOutput = true,
RedirectStandardError = false
};
var proc = Process.Start(startInfo);
if (readOutput)
{
output = proc.StandardOutput.ReadToEnd();
}
proc.WaitForExit(60000);
return output;
}
catch (Exception)
{
return output;
}
}
You can achieve this by using the following method (as mentioned in other answers):
strCmdText = "'/C some command";
Process.Start("CMD.exe", strCmdText);
When I tried the methods listed above I found that my custom command did not work using the syntax of some of the answers above.
I found out more complex commands need to be encapsulated in quotes to work:
string strCmdText;
strCmdText = "'/C cd " + path + " && composer update && composer install -o'";
Process.Start("CMD.exe", strCmdText);
you can use simply write the code in a .bat format extension ,the code of the batch file :
c:/ copy /b Image1.jpg + Archive.rar Image2.jpg
use this c# code :
Process.Start("file_name.bat")
You can use RunProcessAsTask pacakge and run your process async and easily like this:
var processResults = await ProcessEx.RunAsync("git.exe", "pull");
//get process result
foreach (var output in processResults.StandardOutput)
{
Console.WriteLine("Output line: " + output);
}
This may be a bit of a read so im sorry in advance. And this is my tried and tested way of doing this, there may be a simpler way but this is from me throwing code at a wall and seeing what stuck
If it can be done with a batch file then the maybe over complicated work around is have c# write a .bat file and run it. If you want user input you could place the input into a variable and have c# write it into the file. it will take trial and error with this way because its like controlling a puppet with another puppet.
here is an example, In this case the function is for a push button in windows forum app that clears the print queue.
using System.IO;
using System;
public static void ClearPrintQueue()
{
//this is the path the document or in our case batch file will be placed
string docPath =
Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.MyDocuments);
//this is the path process.start usues
string path1 = docPath + "\\Test.bat";
// these are the batch commands
// remember its "", the comma separates the lines
string[] lines =
{
"#echo off",
"net stop spooler",
"del %systemroot%\\System32\\spool\\Printers\\* /Q",
"net start spooler",
//this deletes the file
"del \"%~f0\"" //do not put a comma on the last line
};
//this writes the string to the file
using (StreamWriter outputFile = new StreamWriter(Path.Combine(docPath, "test.bat")))
{
//This writes the file line by line
foreach (string line in lines)
outputFile.WriteLine(line);
}
System.Diagnostics.Process.Start(path1);
}
IF you want user input then you could try something like this.
This is for setting the computer IP as static but asking the user what the IP, gateway, and dns server is.
you will need this for it to work
public static void SetIPStatic()
{
//These open pop up boxes which ask for user input
string STATIC = Microsoft.VisualBasic.Interaction.InputBox("Whats the static IP?", "", "", 100, 100);
string SUBNET = Microsoft.VisualBasic.Interaction.InputBox("Whats the Subnet?(Press enter for default)", "255.255.255.0", "", 100, 100);
string DEFAULTGATEWAY = Microsoft.VisualBasic.Interaction.InputBox("Whats the Default gateway?", "", "", 100, 100);
string DNS = Microsoft.VisualBasic.Interaction.InputBox("Whats the DNS server IP?(Input required, 8.8.4.4 has already been set as secondary)", "", "", 100, 100);
//this is the path the document or in our case batch file will be placed
string docPath =
Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.MyDocuments);
//this is the path process.start usues
string path1 = docPath + "\\Test.bat";
// these are the batch commands
// remember its "", the comma separates the lines
string[] lines =
{
"SETLOCAL EnableDelayedExpansion",
"SET adapterName=",
"FOR /F \"tokens=* delims=:\" %%a IN ('IPCONFIG ^| FIND /I \"ETHERNET ADAPTER\"') DO (",
"SET adapterName=%%a",
"REM Removes \"Ethernet adapter\" from the front of the adapter name",
"SET adapterName=!adapterName:~17!",
"REM Removes the colon from the end of the adapter name",
"SET adapterName=!adapterName:~0,-1!",
//the variables that were set before are used here
"netsh interface ipv4 set address name=\"!adapterName!\" static " + STATIC + " " + STATIC + " " + DEFAULTGATEWAY,
"netsh interface ipv4 set dns name=\"!adapterName!\" static " + DNS + " primary",
"netsh interface ipv4 add dns name=\"!adapterName!\" 8.8.4.4 index=2",
")",
"ipconfig /flushdns",
"ipconfig /registerdns",
":EOF",
"DEL \"%~f0\"",
""
};
//this writes the string to the file
using (StreamWriter outputFile = new StreamWriter(Path.Combine(docPath, "test.bat")))
{
//This writes the file line by line
foreach (string line in lines)
outputFile.WriteLine(line);
}
System.Diagnostics.Process.Start(path1);
}
Like I said. It may be a little overcomplicated but it never fails unless I write the batch commands wrong.
I'm trying to run a batch file, as another user, from my web app. For some reason, the batch file hangs! I can see "cmd.exe" running in the task manager, but it just sits there forever, unable to be killed, and the batch file is not running. Here's my code:
SecureString password = new SecureString();
foreach (char c in "mypassword".ToCharArray())
password.AppendChar(c);
ProcessStartInfo psi = new ProcessStartInfo();
psi.WorkingDirectory = #"c:\build";
psi.FileName = Environment.SystemDirectory + #"\cmd.exe";
psi.Arguments = "/q /c build.cmd";
psi.UseShellExecute = false;
psi.UserName = "builder";
psi.Password = password;
Process.Start(psi);
If you didn't guess, this batch file builds my application (a different application than the one that is executing this command).
The Process.Start(psi); line returns immediately, as it should, but the batch file just seems to hang, without executing. Any ideas?
EDIT: See my answer below for the contents of the batch file.
The output.txt never gets created.
I added these lines:
psi.RedirectStandardOutput = true;
Process p = Process.Start(psi);
String outp = p.StandardOutput.ReadLine();
and stepped through them in debug mode. The code hangs on the ReadLine(). I'm stumped!
I believe I've found the answer. It seems that Microsoft, in all their infinite wisdom, has blocked batch files from being executed by IIS in Windows Server 2003. Brenden Tompkins has a work-around here:
http://codebetter.com/blogs/brendan.tompkins/archive/2004/05/13/13484.aspx
That won't work for me, because my batch file uses IF and GOTO, but it would definitely work for simple batch files.
Why not just do all the work in C# instead of using batch files?
I was bored so i wrote this real quick, it's just an outline of how I would do it since I don't know what the command line switches do or the file paths.
using System;
using System.IO;
using System.Text;
using System.Security;
using System.Diagnostics;
namespace asdf
{
class StackoverflowQuestion
{
private const string MSBUILD = #"path\to\msbuild.exe";
private const string BMAIL = #"path\to\bmail.exe";
private const string WORKING_DIR = #"path\to\working_directory";
private string stdout;
private Process p;
public void DoWork()
{
// build project
StartProcess(MSBUILD, "myproject.csproj /t:Build", true);
}
public void StartProcess(string file, string args, bool redirectStdout)
{
SecureString password = new SecureString();
foreach (char c in "mypassword".ToCharArray())
password.AppendChar(c);
ProcessStartInfo psi = new ProcessStartInfo();
p = new Process();
psi.WindowStyle = ProcessWindowStyle.Hidden;
psi.WorkingDirectory = WORKING_DIR;
psi.FileName = file;
psi.UseShellExecute = false;
psi.RedirectStandardOutput = redirectStdout;
psi.UserName = "builder";
psi.Password = password;
p.StartInfo = psi;
p.EnableRaisingEvents = true;
p.Exited += new EventHandler(p_Exited);
p.Start();
if (redirectStdout)
{
stdout = p.StandardOutput.ReadToEnd();
}
}
void p_Exited(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
if (p.ExitCode != 0)
{
// failed
StringBuilder args = new StringBuilder();
args.Append("-s k2smtpout.secureserver.net ");
args.Append("-f build#example.com ");
args.Append("-t josh#example.com ");
args.Append("-a \"Build failed.\" ");
args.AppendFormat("-m {0} -h", stdout);
// send email
StartProcess(BMAIL, args.ToString(), false);
}
}
}
}
Without seeing the build.cmd it's hard to tell what is going on, however, you should build the path using Path.Combine(arg1, arg2); It's the correct way to build a path.
Path.Combine( Environment.SystemDirectory, "cmd.exe" );
I don't remember now but don't you have to set UseShellExecute = true ?
Another possibility to "debug" it is to use standardoutput and then read from it:
psi.RedirectStandardOutput = True;
Process proc = Process.Start(psi);
String whatever = proc.StandardOutput.ReadLine();
In order to "see" what's going on, I'd suggest you transform the process into something more interactive (turn off Echo off) and put some "prints" to see if anything is actually happening. What is in the output.txt file after you run this?
Does the bmail actually executes?
Put some prints after/before to see what's going on.
Also add "#" to the arguments, just in case:
psi.Arguments = #"/q /c build.cmd";
It has to be something very simple :)
My guess would be that the build.cmd is waiting for some sort of user-interaction/reply. If you log the output of the command with the "> logfile.txt" operator at the end, it might help you find the problem.
Here's the contents of build.cmd:
#echo off
set path=C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727;%path%
msbuild myproject.csproj /t:Build > output.txt
IF NOT ERRORLEVEL 1 goto :end
:error
bmail -s k2smtpout.secureserver.net -f build#example.com -t josh#example.com -a "Build failed." -m output.txt -h
:end
del output.txt
As you can see, I'm careful not to output anything. It all goes to a file that gets emailed to me if the build happens to fail. I've actually been running this file as a scheduled task nightly for quite a while now. I'm trying to build a web app that allows me to run it on demand.
Thanks for everyone's help so far! The Path.Combine tip was particularly useful.
I think cmd.exe hangs if the parameters are incorrect.
If the batch executes correctly then I would just shell execute it like this instead.
ProcessStartInfo psi = new ProcessStartInfo();
Process p = new Process();
psi.WindowStyle = ProcessWindowStyle.Hidden;
psi.WorkingDirectory = #"c:\build";
psi.FileName = #"C:\build\build.cmd";
psi.UseShellExecute = true;
psi.UserName = "builder";
psi.Password = password;
p.StartInfo = psi;
p.Start();
Also it could be that cmd.exe just can't find build.cmd so why not give the full path to the file?
What are the endlines of you batch? If the code hangs on ReadLine, then the problem might be that it's unable to read the batch file…