Develop Reference

C# open a webpage and see if it was closed

I am trying to keep track of a webpage; whether it was closed, specifically. I use this code to open processes and keep track of close:
this.Process = new Process();
this.Process.EnableRaisingEvents = true;
this.Process.Exited += new EventHandler(Process_Exited);
this.Process.StartInfo.FileName = this.ProcessPath;
this.Process.StartInfo.Arguments = this.Arguments;
this.Process.Start();
private void Process_Exited(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
Console.WriteLine("Exiting...");
}
This works fine for other types of processes, like batch files (it'll print "Exiting..." when I close them). However, if I use it to open a webpage and then close that webpage, it'll never print "Exiting". I assume this is because the browser can have multiple tabs and it's waiting for the whole browser to close. How can I keep track of the specific tab being exited?

Application stays open due to processes

I'm rather new to C# so I'm not sure if this is even possible...
What I'm trying to do is use an application form to launch other programs via Process, such as Notepad, and then close my original application while Notepad is still running.
Process notePad = new Process();
notePad.StartInfo.FileName = "notepad.exe";
notePad.Start();
Application.Exit();
From what I've found, I have to close/kill the Notepad process in order to close the launching application. I'd like Notepad to remain open, however.
Is there any way to achieve this via C#?

Try this?
using(Process notePad = Process.Start("notepad.exe","")) { }
Application.Exit();

if you want notepad still open after close the form use this code
private void button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
Thread notepad_opener = new Thread(opener);
notepad_opener.Start();
}
public void opener()
{
Process.Start("notepad.exe");
Application.Exit();
}
i try this and notepad still open :D

You need to set the UseShellExecute property to True; see this page

You can save the Id of Process you have started:
int id = notePad.Id;
Then Kill it when you want:
Process.GetProcessById(id).Kill();

How to check a Window already opened when button is clicked?

I am Working in Visual Studio 2008 Winforms Application project in Windows 7 (32 bit).I am doing the project in C#.
I have placed some buttons in a tab and added actions for that once it is clicked. While clicking the button am just running a .exe file in its action part.
My problem is that, i opened a window by clicking one button(so the .exe file is running), now while am clicking the button again it is opening same window again irrespective of checking that it is open or not. I want to solve this issue,as when a window is opened it must not open again on another click on same button. How to solve this issue. ?
Please help....
Thanks in advance..

You could check if the process is already running, when re-clicking the button:
private void btnStartExecutable_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
Process[] processName = Process.GetProcessesByName("InsertProcessNameHere");
if (pname.Length == 0)
{
MessageBox.Show("Application isn't running yet.");
//Start application here
Process.Start("InsertProcessNameHere");
}
else
{
MessageBox.Show("Application is already running.");
//Don't start application, since it has been started already
}
}

You can try this:
bool processExited = true;
private void button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
if (processExited)
{
Process process = new Process();
process.EnableRaisingEvents = true;
process.Exited += MyProcessExited;
process.StartInfo = new ProcessStartInfo();
process.StartInfo.FileName = "notepad.exe";
process.Start();
processExited = false;
}
else
{
MessageBox.Show("Still running");
}
}
void MyProcessExited(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
processExited = true;
}

The right answer here IMHO is that unless the two application shares a common resource or can talk to each other through some channel, there is no safe and efficient way to achieve what you want. Since the process is external, it could already be running before your calling app starts, or even while it's already running. You won't be able to tell if the process has been started from your app or not.
By the time I'm writing this your question does not yet state if you are in liberty to modify the external app you are calling. If you are however, using a Mutex would be a quick and easy way to solve your problem.
In your external app, whenever you want to make the other app aware of whatever condition you want (be it that the process is running or that a specific window is opened), have a Mutex instance created like this:
var mutex = new Threading.Mutex(true, "mutex unique identifier");
And in your calling app, try to create a Mutex instance with the same identifier:
bool alreadyExists;
var mutex = new Threading.Mutex(false, "mutex unique identifier", out alreadyExists);
Here the alreadyExists variable will tell you whether or not the external process is running or not. This is much safer than trying to identify it via its name, as other processes could have the same or a new version could be of a different name. Of course, the mutex identifier must be as unique as possible (like a Guid), otherwise you may encounter the same problem. ;)
Whenever you feel like the mutex must be released (at external app level), release it:
mutex.ReleaseMutex();
Note that if the process ends the mutex will be automatically released by the OS.
If the external app isn't a .NET based app, you can still create a mutex with Win32 API functions.

Thanks for the support.. I got the answer like this..
1) Creating an event'Exit' for the process in function button click
2) Define a function for the exit event where you set a flag
3) Check the flag is set or not everytime while opening the process in the function button click
Event for Exit: 'P' is the name of process:
p.Exited += new EventHandler(p_Exited);
p_Exited will be the function name where we will set the flag.
Thanks all...

If you know the name of the process that gets started or the path the .exe is run from you can use the Process class to check to see if it is currently running.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.diagnostics.process(v=vs.110).aspx

Run a process for at least 5 seconds in C# WPF

My goal is to force a process to run for at least 5 seconds (any amount of time really). I am working of the .NET Framework 3.5, with Service Pack 1. The idea is that the document holds some information that the user must see, so to safe guard against them immediately clicking to close the document, we can force it to stay open for some time. I developed a small test UI, consisting of a button, and then three radio buttons (one for each document). Here is my code behind...
I define the strings for the file paths, the string for the chosen file's path, and int to store the process's ID, a boolean for if they can exit the program, and the thread and timer declarations such as..
string WordDocPath = #"Some file path\TestDoc_1.docx";
string PowerPointPath = #"Some file path\Test PowerPoint.pptx";
string TextFilePath = #"Some file path\TestText.txt";
string processPath;
int processID;
bool canExit = false;
System.Threading.Thread processThread;
System.Timers.Timer processTimer;
In the constructor, I initialize the thread and timer, setting the thread's start method to a method called TimerKeeper(), and then I start the thread.
processTimer = new System.Timers.Timer();
processThread = new System.Threading.Thread(new System.Threading.ThreadStart(timeKeeper));
processThread.Start();
I have the timer set to count to 5 seconds, upon which it will set the canExit boolean to true.
public void timeKeeper()
{
processTimer.Elapsed += new System.Timers.ElapsedEventHandler(processTimer_Elapsed);
processTimer.AutoReset = false;
processTimer.Interval = 5000; //5000 milliseconds = 5 seconds
}
void processTimer_Elapsed(object sender, System.Timers.ElapsedEventArgs e)
{
canExit = true;
}
The rest is my button's click event, which deicides which file path to use to start the process, starts the timer, and then starts the process itself..
private void button1_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
if ((bool)PowerPointRadioButton.IsChecked)
{
processPath = PowerPointPath;
}
if ((bool)WordDocRadioButton.IsChecked)
{
processPath = WordDocPath;
}
if ((bool)TextDocRadioButton.IsChecked)
{
processPath = TextFilePath;
}
try
{
canExit = false;
processTimer.Start();
while (!canExit)
{
processID = System.Diagnostics.Process.Start(processPath).Id;
System.Diagnostics.Process.GetProcessById(processID).WaitForExit();
if (!canExit)
{
processTimer.Stop();
MessageBox.Show("Document must remain open for at least 5 seconds.", "Error", MessageBoxButton.OK, MessageBoxImage.Error);
processTimer.Start();
}
}
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
MessageBox.Show("Error dealing with the process.\n" + ex.Message.ToString());
}
This actually works, for the most part. The user still can close the document, but if it has not been 5 seconds, it will reopen. Except for the word document (.docx). Things go smoothly for the powerpoint and text files, but the word document has some strange behavior (please note that all 3 files are in the same file directory). When I choose the word documents radio button and click the button, the word document opens, BUT I am also prompted with the message box from the catch block, alerting me that a "Object reference not set to an instance on an object" exception was thrown. This only occurs for the word document. Like I said, the word document still opens (I can see it's contents, just like the powerpoint or textfile). The exception causes the lines that check to see if they can exit to be skipped, so the document can close immediately, which is a problem.
Can anyone see my issue here? Or if there is a better way to doing all of this (I am a wpf/c# newbie)? I just don't understand why this only occurs for the word document, and not the powerpoint and text files.

If this is run on the user's desktop you are subject to the proper app being installed (e.g. Word) and how it is configured. If these are read only files on a share then I could convert them to XPS so you could show them in a DocumentViewer. And rather than force them to wait 5 seconds to click make them say yes to a dialog box that they have read and understand the document. Or have this on a page with an "I agree" button as MilkyWayJoe suggested.

The problem could be that the associated application is not the word application itself, but some intermediate application that launches word on your behalf.
To find out, keep a reference to the process object, and check if it has already terminated, what it's executable path is.
Having said that, why do you need this annoying behavior? You cant stop people from looking the other way. Is it supossed to fullfill some legal requirement or something?

MSWord automation:Get file contents after it was saved

I have an application that uses MSWord automation to edit some documents, after they save and close word I need to grab the modified file and put it back on the repository, there is only one scenario where I can't get it to work and that is
when the user makes changes to the file, selects to close word and selects yes to save the file
there are 2 events that I'm using:
DocumentBeforeSave
Quit
on the Quit event I'm trying to load the .docx file from disk but on this particular scenario I get an IOException because the file is still in use, somehow I need to wait until after the Quit event has been processed, which is when Word is actually closed and the file is no longer being used
right now I have it working using this
word.Visible = true;
while (!wordDone) { //gets changed to true on the Quit event
System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(100);
}
bool error = false;
do {
try { //need to load the contents of the modified file
ls.Content = System.IO.File.ReadAllBytes(provider.GetFileName());
error = false;
}
catch (System.IO.IOException) {
error = true;
System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(200);
}
} while (error);
while this works it is very ugly, I need a way to fire an event after the Quit event has been handled, or block the current thread while word is still running, or get an event after the document has been saved, the bottom line is I need a clean way to load the file after it has been saved and word is closed. DocumentAfterSave would be awesome, but doesn't seem to exist.
I Also tried unhooking the Quit handler and calling word.Quit on the Quit handler, that made no difference
I'm also investigating the use of ManualResetEvent or related classes, so far it almost works, but I still need to pause after it has been signaled to make sure word is closed and the file is no longer in use

I faced similar problem in the past as well. I dont think there is any nice clean way but instead of doing it like your above, how about considering this (will suit if you have a controlled environment)
Create word app
Get the Process ID immediately by using GetProcesses matching Winword and the last one in the list return should be the one you are after. This is not 100% reliable in multiuser environment.
After word quit, use the Thread.Sleep loop to ensure the PID no longer exist.
Reading the docx for your custom operations

I used to have the same problem. Using ReleaseComObject on all COM-related objects did the trick (that is, on your Word document object and your Word.Application object). That way you ensure that all dirty locks are removed after the COM object has been destroyed. Close the document and application with the Interop API. I use:
var localWordapp = new Word.Application();
localWordapp.Visible = false;
Word.Document doc = null;
// ...
if (doc != null)
{
doc.Close();
System.Runtime.InteropServices.Marshal.ReleaseComObject(doc);
}
localWordapp.Quit();
System.Runtime.InteropServices.Marshal.ReleaseComObject(localWordapp);