Develop Reference

Sending information from my listbox to different app textboxes

Ok I have an app named Sharknadoo that I created,what this app does it reads the value from a combobox from 1 to whatever number and creates that number of textboxes in the right of it.
Now let us presume I do not have the code for this sharknadoo app just the app installed on my desktop.My question is how can I send my listbox.items from "My amazing app" to the sharknadoo textboxes? Presuming I have the same number of items in my listbox as I have textboxes in my other app.I am sorry but I really want to learn how to do this ,someone told me it is possible to achieve but I have no idea on how to achieve it was thinking about using coordinates or something like that,but from what I understood you can even hang on to the fact that the sharknadoo app is using textboxes without even having access to its source code.Thank you in advance friends :D.
Process[] processes = Process.GetProcessesByName("Sharknadoo.exe");
int i = 0;
foreach (Process p in processes)
{
IntPtr windowHandle = p.MainWindowHandle;
string item = listBox1.Items[i].ToString();
listBox1.Items.Add(item);
i++;
}
I realize the logic of my code is not good but it's all I could come up with.

This answer follows similar logic to your code, but instead simulates keyboard strokes and relies on using TAB to navigate boxes, but it should work in your case.
First add some code that we will use later to grab a link to your Sharknadoo application:
// Get a handle to an application window.
[DllImport("USER32.DLL", CharSet = CharSet.Unicode)]
public static extern IntPtr FindWindow(string lpClassName, string lpWindowName);
// Activate an application window.
[DllImport("USER32.DLL")]
public static extern bool SetForegroundWindow(IntPtr hWnd);
Now assuming you have not touched anything in the app (Very dangerous assumption, it would be better to launch Sharknadoo from your code before doing any of this), the tab index should be at 0 so we can do something like the following when you click the "Send to Sharknadoo" button:
// Send a your array of names to the Sharknadoo application.
public void sendToSharknadoo(String[] detailsToSend)
{
// Get a handle to the Sharknadoo application. The window class
// and window name can be obtained from Sharknadoo using the
// Spy++ tool.
IntPtr windowHandle = FindWindow("SharknadooFrame","Sharknadoo");
// Verify that Sharknadoo is a running process.
if (windowHandle == IntPtr.Zero)
{
MessageBox.Show("Sharknadoo is not running.");
return;
}
// Make Sharknadoo the foreground application and set the number
// of text boxes for your info
SetForegroundWindow(windowHandle);
// Get to first box
SendKeys.SendWait("{TAB}");
// enter number of boxes
SendKeys.SendWait("{DOWN}");
SendKeys.SendWait((string)detailsToSend.Length);
// Now enter your details into each of those boxes
foreach (String s in detailsToSend)
{
// Get next textbox box
SendKeys.SendWait("{TAB}");
// enter text into box
SendKeys.SendWait(s);
}
}
With any luck that will do the trick. However you will probably need to mess with the order a bit put some checks in place.
Note: if you want a faster more aggressive approach that should execute before the user can interfere then try SendKeys.Send() instead of SendKeys.SendWait()
Source:
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms171548(v=vs.110).aspx
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.windows.forms.sendkeys(v=vs.110).aspx
Additional Stack Overflow questions like this one:
Insert text into the textbox of another application

SendKeys to inactive application

I am trying to figure out how I can make my C# application to send keys to another application window, without focusing on it.
I have a list of words and 3 notepads files.
Imagine I have all 3 notepad windows opened in order, and my program would take the first word in the listbox and write it in the first Notepad window. The second word in the second Notepad window and third one in the third Notepad window. Then start over and continue.
So I want it to post 1 word in each and continue like that over and over.
But I only figured out how to do it with 1 notepad window (while having it active).
int i = 0;
i = listBox1.SelectedIndex;
i = i + 1;
if (i > listBox1.Items.Count - 1)
i = 0;
listBox1.SelectedIndex = i;
string message = listBox1.SelectedItem.ToString();
SendKeys.Send(message);
SendKeys.Send("{ENTER}");
This would require me to first focus on the notepad window, start the timer and then keep focus on the notepad window. It would then just loop through the list and type the word (1 on each line). And it works fine. But I want to be able to do it on 3 windows.
And then I need to get the window title somehow, not the process name.
I would have 3 processes called Notepad then.
But if they are named Note1, Note2, Note3 how would I do that?
I need help to make some kind of list of what programs to write to:
listofprograms = ["Note1", "Note2", "Note3"];
And it would find the application windows opened with those names,
then somehow write the text into those windows.
Could anyone help me out? Haven't found anything about this so far and trust me I've looked around!

Unfortunately there is no great way to do this. SendKeys is a really simple and desirable API but it only applies to the active window. There is no way to make it work on an inactive window nor is there an API with the same ease of access that works on inactive windows.
Generally when people run up against this problem they have to go one of two routes
Physically active the apps you want to send the keys to one at a time
Drop down to a much lower level of SendMessage or PostMessage to send keyboard events
The second option is generally more reliable but harder to implement.

SendKeys is not made for this type of functionality. To do what you're looking for, you're going to need to use some Win32 API calls in your code. See How to send text to Notepad in C#/Win32? for reference.

If you're looking for a way to send keys to an application, using SendKeys.Send(keys) is an option, but you need to bring the window to the top via the SetForegroundWindow API.
So, if you continue using your approach, you could use FindWindow, SetForegroundWindow to force the Notepad windows to be activated and focused, so that you could send the keys.
[DllImportAttribute("User32.dll")]
private static extern int FindWindow(String ClassName, String WindowName);
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
private static extern IntPtr SetForegroundWindow(int hWnd);
public int Activate(int hWnd)
{
if (hWnd > 0) {
SetForegroundWindow(hWnd);
return hWnd;
}
else {
return -1;
}
}
public int GetWindowHwnd(string className, string windowName) {
int hwnd = 0;
string cls = className == string.Empty ? null : className;
string win = windowName == string.Empty ? null : windowName;
hwnd = FindWindow(cls , win );
return hwnd;
}
Although there is also another solution, which could help you out. Here all Notepad processes are handled:
How to send text to Notepad in C#/Win32?
With some adaptions it should work for your case, too (basically you would iterate and loop through the notepad instances found and place a word in each instance).
You might also want to take a look at the following information about FindWindow:
http://www.pinvoke.net/default.aspx/user32.findwindow
SetKeyboardState:
http://www.pinvoke.net/default.aspx/user32/SetKeyboardState.html
As well as SendMessage:
http://www.pinvoke.net/default.aspx/coredll/SendMessage.html
You should find some useful hints in the examples and descriptions.

Send fast textinput to another process (Window)

I am writing a C# WPF program which sends text messages to another program's window. I have a macro program as part of my keyboard drivers (Logitech g15) which already does this, though it does not send keystrokes directly to the process, but to the currently focused window. It works well but i need to be able to send inputs from my program as well. There are other people using the process so the input text messages from my program needs to be fast enough so that my text does not interfere with their input.
The problem is that when I try to do this with a c# program I get too much delay. The macro program (Logitech G-Series Profiler) sends a command instantly. I have tried the following three commands for sending messages to process. (Listed by order of slowest to fastest)
SetForegroundWindow(_hWnd);
SendKeys.SendWait("{Enter}This is a keystroke input.{Enter}");
It is probably in the name, but this performs the command so slowly that I can actually follow with my eyes the text as it is input letter by letter. I have tried using the “SendKeys.Send” method but I get an error saying: “SendKeys cannot run inside this application because the application is not handling Windows messages.”
PostMessage((IntPtr)_hWnd, (uint)WMessages.WM_KEYUP, (int)key, (int)key);
PostMessage is a bit faster but still not fast enough for the purpose of my program. Besides the method returns before the message has been read by the process, which means two sequential PostMessage calls may not send sequential messages.
SendMessage(_hWnd, 0x100, (int) VKeys.VK_2, (int) VKeys.VK_2);
This is faster than the PostMessage but not nearly as fast as the macro program from Logitech. Also, the receiving program handles the input strangely, apparently not treating it the same way it does "genuine" input from the keyboard.
SetForegroundWindow(_hWnd);
const string text = "This is a keystroke input.";
IInputElement target = Keyboard.FocusedElement;
IInputElement target = InputManager.Current.PrimaryKeyboardDevice.FocusedElement;
var routedEvent = TextCompositionManager.TextInputEvent;
target.RaiseEvent(new TextCompositionEventArgs(InputManager.Current.PrimaryKeyboardDevice, new TextComposition(InputManager.Current, target, text)) { RoutedEvent = routedEvent });
This is the last thing I have tried. It seems instant with the way the text is sent to a process. However, I have only been able to send this to my own program since Keyboard.FocusedElement returns null when I have another program set as foreground window.
If someone can tell me how to get an IInputElement of another window I would sure like to know. Alternatively, if someone has a suggestion for a better method of sending input, I would dearly like to hear it.
Specs: Windows 7, 64bit
Visual Studio 2010, Framework 4

First of all, are you intentionally using WM_KEYDOWN (0x0100) instead of WM_KEYUP (0x0101) in your SendMessage example? This would just press the keys, and never release them, so the application would not process them properly.
Another way worth trying would be to send WM_SETTEXT, assuming the control interprets it correctly (like edit controls or combo boxes).
A last option would be to use SendInput which synthesizes keyboard and mouse input on a very low level, but similarly to you keyboard's macro program, this requires you to activate the correct window and set the focus, which can be quite painful.

Depending on your other's program window type, you could use UI Automation. See this example here:
Add Content to a Text Box Using UI Automation

How can I run another application within a panel of my C# program?

I've been reading lots on how to trigger an application from inside a C# program (Process.Start()), but I haven t been able to find any information on how to have this new application run within a panel of my C# program. For example, I'd like a button click to open a notepad.exe WITHIN my application, not externally.

Using the win32 API it is possible to "eat" another application. Basically you get the top window for that application and set it's parent to be the handle of the panel you want to place it in. If you don't want the MDI style effect you also have to adjust the window style to make it maximised and remove the title bar.
Here is some simple sample code where I have a form with a button and a panel:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Data;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
using System.Threading;
namespace WindowsFormsApplication2
{
public partial class Form1 : Form
{
public Form1()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
private void button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
Process p = Process.Start("notepad.exe");
Thread.Sleep(500); // Allow the process to open it's window
SetParent(p.MainWindowHandle, panel1.Handle);
}
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
static extern IntPtr SetParent(IntPtr hWndChild, IntPtr hWndNewParent);
}
}
I just saw another example where they called WaitForInputIdle instead of sleeping. So the code would be like this:
Process p = Process.Start("notepad.exe");
p.WaitForInputIdle();
SetParent(p.MainWindowHandle, panel1.Handle);
The Code Project has a good article one the whole process: Hosting EXE Applications in a WinForm project

I don't know if this is still the recommended thing to use but the "Object Linking and Embedding" framework allows you to embed certain objects/controls directly into your application. This will probably only work for certain applications, I'm not sure if Notepad is one of them. For really simple things like notepad, you'll probably have an easier time just working with the text box controls provided by whatever medium you're using (e.g. WinForms).
Here's a link to OLE info to get started:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Object_Linking_and_Embedding

Another interesting solution to luch an exeternal application with a WinForm container is the follow:
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
static extern IntPtr SetParent(IntPtr hWndChild, IntPtr hWndNewParent);
private void Form1_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
ProcessStartInfo psi = new ProcessStartInfo("notepad.exe");
psi.WindowStyle = ProcessWindowStyle.Minimized;
Process p = Process.Start(psi);
Thread.Sleep(500);
SetParent(p.MainWindowHandle, panel1.Handle);
CenterToScreen();
psi.WindowStyle = ProcessWindowStyle.Normal;
}
The step to ProcessWindowStyle.Minimized from ProcessWindowStyle.Normal remove the annoying delay.

Adding some solution in Answer..**
This code has helped me to dock some executable in windows form. like NotePad, Excel, word, Acrobat reader n many more...
But it wont work for some applications. As sometimes when you start process of some application.... wait for idle time... and the try to get its mainWindowHandle.... till the time the main window handle becomes null.....
so I have done one trick to solve this
If you get main window handle as null... then search all the runnning processes on sytem and find you process ... then get the main hadle of the process and the set panel as its parent.
ProcessStartInfo info = new ProcessStartInfo();
info.FileName = "xxxxxxxxxxxx.exe";
info.Arguments = "yyyyyyyyyy";
info.UseShellExecute = true;
info.CreateNoWindow = true;
info.WindowStyle = ProcessWindowStyle.Maximized;
info.RedirectStandardInput = false;
info.RedirectStandardOutput = false;
info.RedirectStandardError = false;
System.Diagnostics.Process p = System.Diagnostics.Process.Start(info);
p.WaitForInputIdle();
Thread.Sleep(3000);
Process[] p1 ;
if(p.MainWindowHandle == null)
{
List<String> arrString = new List<String>();
foreach (Process p1 in Process.GetProcesses())
{
// Console.WriteLine(p1.MainWindowHandle);
arrString.Add(Convert.ToString(p1.ProcessName));
}
p1 = Process.GetProcessesByName("xxxxxxxxxxxx");
//p.WaitForInputIdle();
Thread.Sleep(5000);
SetParent(p1[0].MainWindowHandle, this.panel2.Handle);
}
else
{
SetParent(p.MainWindowHandle, this.panel2.Handle);
}

I notice that all the prior answers use older Win32 User library functions to accomplish this. I think this will work in most cases, but will work less reliably over time.
Now, not having done this, I can't tell you how well it will work, but I do know that a current Windows technology might be a better solution: the Desktop Windows Manager API.
DWM is the same technology that lets you see live thumbnail previews of apps using the taskbar and task switcher UI. I believe it is closely related to Remote Terminal services.
I think that a probable problem that might happen when you force an app to be a child of a parent window that is not the desktop window is that some application developers will make assumptions about the device context (DC), pointer (mouse) position, screen widths, etc., which may cause erratic or problematic behavior when it is "embedded" in the main window.
I suspect that you can largely eliminate these problems by relying on DWM to help you manage the translations necessary to have an application's windows reliably be presented and interacted with inside another application's container window.
The documentation assumes C++ programming, but I found one person who has produced what he claims is an open source C# wrapper library: https://bytes.com/topic/c-sharp/answers/823547-desktop-window-manager-wrapper. The post is old, and the source is not on a big repository like GitHub, bitbucket, or sourceforge, so I don't know how current it is.

If you want to run notepad inside your app you would probably be better of with a text editor component. There's obviously a basic text box that comes with WinForms, but I suspect more advanced components that offer Notepad functionality (or better) can be found on the interweb.

I know this is possible if the other application can attach itself to a win32 window handle. For example, we have a separate C# application that hosts a DirectX application inside one of its windows. I'm not familiar with the exact details of how this is implemented, but I think just passing the win32 Handle of your panel to the other application is enough for that application to attach its DirectX surface.

Short Answer:
No
Shortish Answer:
Only if the other application is designed to allow it, by providing components for you to add into your own application.

.NET (C#): Getting child windows when you only have a process handle or PID?

Kind of a special case problem:
I start a process with System.Diagnostics.Process.Start(..)
The process opens a splash screen -- this splash screen becomes the main window.
The splash screen closes and the 'real' UI is shown. The main window (splash screen) is now invalid.
I still have the Process object, and I can query its handle, module, etc. But the main window handle is now invalid.
I need to get the process's UI (or UI handle) at this point. Assume I cannot change the behavior of the process to make this any easier (or saner).
I have looked around online but I'll admit I didn't look for more than an hour. Seemed like it should be somewhat trivial :-(

If you don't mind using the Windows API, you could use EnumWindowsProc, and check each of the handles that that turns up using GetWindowThreadProcessId (to see that it's in your process), and then maybe IsWindowVisible, GetWindowCaption and GetWindowTextLength to determine which hWnd in your process is the one you want.
Though if you haven't used those functions before that approach will be a real pain, so hopefully there's a simpler way.

#ageektrapped is on the right track, however FindWindow will not search child windows.
For that you will need to use FindWindowEx

Thank you for your answers. Thanks to you here, I figured out how to know if the main window of a process is in front or not:
N.B : of course this needs System.Diagnostic and System.Runtime.Interrop
public bool IsWindowActive(Int32 PID)
{
return IsWindowActive(Process.GetProcessById(PID));
}
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
private static extern
IntPtr GetForegroundWindow();
public bool IsWindowActive(Process proc)
{
proc.Refresh();
return proc.MainWindowHandle.Equals(GetForegroundWindow());
}

You may find that if you call .Refresh() that you get the new top-level window.

If you know the window's title, you can use the Win32 call, FindWindow, through P/Invoke.
You can find the signature here on pinvoke.net

From what I understand MainWindowHandle property of the process you are starting is not valid. If that's the case, you can use FindWindow function (from Win32 SDK) which returns the window handle you need. All you need is the class name of target application's main window. You can obtain it using Spy++ or Winspector. You also need to ensure you have the right window by checking that window's process id using GetWindowThreadProcessId.
At last, I have to say I am not an expert on Win32 and there might be a better solution for your case.

Use Process.GetProcessById(proc.Id); where proc was your splash screen.
Works for me.
Now, how do you get to main window properties in System.Windows.Forms to give it focus w/o using win32?
After all .net is supposed to be a one-stop solution - is it not?

Somewhere in the code, the "real" main window is created. You can just save the window handle at that time and then after the splash screen closes you can set Application.MainWindow to the real window.

The MainWindowHandle property is cached after it is first accessed which is why you don't see it changing even after the handle becomes invalid. GregUzelac's information is correct. Calling Proces.Refresh will causes the next call to Process.MainWindowHandle to re-do the logic to find a new main window handle. Michael's logic also works because the new Process doesn't have a cached version of the MainWindowHandle.