Develop Reference

Bring calculator window to front in Windows 10

I would like to ask you a question about bringing calculator window to front in Windows 10. I have tested a lot of codes, but nothing is really working. I think the main problem is, that Calculator is part of "ApplicationFrameHost".
In my application (C# WinForm), I would like to start system Calculator, if it's not running. If it's running bring the window to front even if it's minimized or not.
public static class WindowHelper
{
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
private static extern void keybd_event(byte bVk, byte bScan, uint dwFlags, int dwExtraInfo);
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
private static extern bool SetForegroundWindow(IntPtr hWnd);
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
private static extern bool ShowWindow(IntPtr hWnd, int nCmdShow);
private const int ALT = 0xA4;
private const int EXTENDEDKEY = 0x01;
private const int KEYUP = 0x02;
private const int SW_MINIMIZE = 0x06;
private const int SW_RESTORE = 0x09;
public static void BringProcessToFront(IntPtr mainWindowHandle)
{
// check if window has focus already
//if (mainWindowHandle == GetForegroundWindow()) return;
ShowWindow(mainWindowHandle, SW_RESTORE);
// simulate ALT key down
keybd_event((byte)ALT, 0x45, EXTENDEDKEY | 0, 0);
// simulate ALT key up
keybd_event((byte)ALT, 0x45, EXTENDEDKEY | KEYUP, 0);
// bring window into foreground
SetForegroundWindow(mainWindowHandle);
}
}
private void btnCalc_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
// get all processes
System.Diagnostics.Process[] processes = System.Diagnostics.Process.GetProcesses();
// get ApplicationFrameHost for win10
System.Diagnostics.Process[] appFH = System.Diagnostics.Process.GetProcessesByName("ApplicationFrameHost");
IntPtr mWHandle = IntPtr.Zero;
foreach (System.Diagnostics.Process proc in processes)
{
if (proc.ProcessName == "calc" || proc.ProcessName == "Calculator" || proc.ProcessName == "win32calc")
{
// non-ApplicationFrameHost case
mWHandle = proc.MainWindowHandle;
if (appFH.Length > 0)
{
// if ApplicationFrameHost is running, find calculator MainWindowHandle
foreach (System.Diagnostics.Process app in appFH)
{
if ((app.MainWindowTitle == proc.MainWindowTitle) || (proc.MainWindowTitle.Length == 0))
mWHandle = app.MainWindowHandle;
}
}
// bring window to front
WindowHelper.BringProcessToFront(mWHandle);
return;
}
}
// calculator was not found, starts new one
System.Diagnostics.Process.Start("calc");
}
This code is working on Windows 7 as well, but not for 10 with no-english localization. There is a problem, when Calculator is minimized, it can't be restored.
As I said, I have tried lot of codes like:
public static extern IntPtr FindWindow(string lpClassName, string lpWindowName);
public static extern IntPtr FindWindowEx(IntPtr hwndParent, IntPtr hwndChildAfter, string lpszClass, string lpszWindow);
private static extern bool GetWindowPlacement(IntPtr hWnd, ref WINDOWPLACEMENT lpwndpl);
// this was working to bring focus on already displayed window
WindowHelper.FindWindowEx(app.MainWindowHandle, IntPtr.Zero, "Windows.UI.Core.CoreWindow", null);
The main problem is, that I didn't find the solution, which could unminimize window on non-english localized windows.
Do you have some example, how to deal with that?
Thank you.
EDIT:
After some testing, I have identified, why is not possible to bring this window to front. Win7 and Win10 with en (Maybe it isn't related to locale) has Calculator still activated even if it's minimized or not. On the other hand a second Win10 has process suspended when it's minimized (see picture attachment). So now the question is, how to un-suspend it. Then hopefully window could be bring to front.

You cannot force the foreground window if you are not the foreground window. There are actually a bunch of conditions that determine when you can force the foreground window. From the docs: (bottom one applies to you)
The system restricts which processes can set the foreground window.
A process can set the foreground window only if one of the following
conditions is true:
The process is the foreground process.
The process was started by the foreground process.
The process received the last input event.
There is no foreground process.
The process is being debugged.
The foreground process is not a Modern Application or the Start Screen. The foreground is not locked (see LockSetForegroundWindow)
The foreground lock time-out has expired (see SPI_GETFOREGROUNDLOCKTIMEOUT in SystemParametersInfo).
No menus are active.
An application cannot force a window to the foreground while the user is
working with another window. Instead, Windows flashes the taskbar button of the
window to notify the user.

After some time (little bit occupied by another projects) I have founded the solution, which is working for me.
public static class WindowHelper
{
public static Dictionary<IntPtr, String> appWins;
public static bool ThreadWindows(IntPtr handle, IntPtr param)
{
int size = WindowHelper.GetWindowTextLength(handle);
if (size > 0)
{
StringBuilder strbTitle = new StringBuilder(size + 1);
WindowHelper.GetWindowText(handle, strbTitle, strbTitle.Capacity);
if (strbTitle.Length > 0)
{
appWins.Add(handle, strbTitle.ToString());
return true;
}
}
return false;
}
public static void BringProcessToFront(IntPtr mainWindowHandle)
{
// check if window has focus already
//if (mainWindowHandle == GetForegroundWindow()) return;
ShowWindow(mainWindowHandle, SW_RESTORE);
// simulate ALT key down
keybd_event((byte)ALT, 0x45, EXTENDEDKEY | 0, 0);
// simulate ALT key up
keybd_event((byte)ALT, 0x45, EXTENDEDKEY | KEYUP, 0);
// bring window into foreground
SetForegroundWindow(mainWindowHandle);
}
//[DllImport("user32.dll")]
//private static extern IntPtr GetForegroundWindow();
[DllImport("user32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Unicode)]
public static extern int GetWindowTextLength(IntPtr hWnd);
[DllImport("user32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Unicode, SetLastError = true)]
public static extern int GetWindowText(IntPtr hWnd, StringBuilder lpString, int nMaxCount);
public delegate bool EnumThreadDelegate(IntPtr hWnd, IntPtr lParam);
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
public static extern bool EnumThreadWindows(int dwThreadId, EnumThreadDelegate lpfn, IntPtr lParam);
[DllImport("User32.dll")]
public static extern IntPtr FindWindowEx(IntPtr hwndParent, IntPtr hwndChildAfter, string lpszClass, string lpszWindow);
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
private static extern void keybd_event(byte bVk, byte bScan, uint dwFlags, int dwExtraInfo);
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
private static extern bool SetForegroundWindow(IntPtr hWnd);
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
private static extern bool ShowWindow(IntPtr hWnd, int nCmdShow);
private const int ALT = 0xA4;
private const int EXTENDEDKEY = 0x01;
private const int KEYUP = 0x02;
private const int SW_RESTORE = 0x09;
}
private void btnCalc_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
// get all processes
System.Diagnostics.Process[] processes = System.Diagnostics.Process.GetProcesses();
// get ApplicationFrameHost for win10
System.Diagnostics.Process[] appFH = System.Diagnostics.Process.GetProcessesByName("ApplicationFrameHost");
IntPtr mWHandle = IntPtr.Zero;
foreach (System.Diagnostics.Process proc in processes)
{
if (proc.ProcessName == "calc" || proc.ProcessName == "Calculator" || proc.ProcessName == "win32calc")
{
// save first handle
mWHandle = proc.MainWindowHandle;
// if ApplicationFrameHost is running, find calculator MainWindowHandle
foreach (System.Diagnostics.Process app in appFH)
{
// calculator is already running
if (mWHandle == (IntPtr)0x00)
{
mWHandle = WindowHelper.FindWindowEx(app.MainWindowHandle, IntPtr.Zero, "Windows.UI.Core.CoreWindow", null);
} else
{
// create new windows dictionary
WindowHelper.appWins = new Dictionary<IntPtr, String>();
// enumerate all windows in all AFH threads
foreach (System.Diagnostics.ProcessThread thread in app.Threads)
WindowHelper.EnumThreadWindows(thread.Id, new WindowHelper.EnumThreadDelegate(WindowHelper.ThreadWindows), IntPtr.Zero);
// check if proc window was found
if (WindowHelper.appWins.ContainsValue(proc.MainWindowTitle))
{
IntPtr hwnd;
// get key from value
if ((hwnd = WindowHelper.appWins.First(x => x.Value == proc.MainWindowTitle).Key) != (IntPtr)0)
mWHandle = hwnd;
}
// clear list
WindowHelper.appWins.Clear();
}
}
if (mWHandle != (IntPtr)(0x00))
{
// bring already running calc to front
WindowHelper.BringProcessToFront(mWHandle);
return;
}
// do not search for other processes
break;
}
}
// start new calc instance
System.Diagnostics.Process.Start("calc");
}
This solution is locale independent.
Thanks to everyone who pointing me to the right direction.

How to restore a minimized window having only its handle

Process[] procs = Process.GetProcesses();
IntPtr hWnd;
foreach (Process proc in procs)
{
if ((hWnd = proc.MainWindowHandle) != IntPtr.Zero)
{
Debug.WriteLine("{0} : {1}", proc.ProcessName, hWnd);
}
}
My question is, how can I restore minimized window having its handle (hWnd variable).
I would be grateful if you could also supply with some documentation of window handlers so I can see how to manipulate them.

Unless you're in the same application domain, you'll have to use an unmanaged API to do this.
private const int SW_SHOWNORMAL = 1;
private const int SW_SHOWMINIMIZED = 2;
private const int SW_SHOWMAXIMIZED = 3;
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
private static extern bool ShowWindowAsync(IntPtr hWnd, int nCmdShow);
private void restoreWindow(IntPtr hWnd)
{
if (!hWnd.Equals(IntPtr.Zero))
{
ShowWindowAsync(hWnd, SW_SHOWMAXIMIZED);
}
}
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms633549(VS.85).aspx

True minimizing for another application

I just want to do real minimized, all public codes are not minimizing in right way! It just minimize it as shown, but not minimize like if I click on Minimize button. How did I know that? Or what benefit will I get from that? When I press on minimize button, it reduce from CPU usage! (It's a game anyway.)
My code is :
[DllImport("User32.Dll", EntryPoint = "PostMessageA", SetLastError = true)]
public static extern bool PostMessage(IntPtr hWnd, uint msg, IntPtr wParam, IntPtr lParam);
List<int> ProcIDs = new List<int>();
private void timer1_Tick(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
foreach (Process process in Process.GetProcesses())
{
if (process.ProcessName == "League of Legends")
{
// MinimizeWindow((IntPtr)hProcess);
if (!ProcIDs.Contains(process.Id))
{
IntPtr hProcess = GetProcessWindow(process.Id);
ProcIDs.Add(process.Id);
PostMessage(hProcess, WM_SYSCOMMAND, (IntPtr)SC_MINIMIZE, IntPtr.Zero);
}
}
}
}
const int WM_SYSCOMMAND = 274;
const int SC_MINIMIZE = 0xF020;
I also tried other methods and it does the same, just minimize as show, but not real minimize! :)

You can try this
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
private static extern bool ShowWindow(IntPtr hWnd, WindowShowStyle nCmdShow);
with window style as ShowMinimized = 2,
http://www.pinvoke.net/default.aspx/user32.showwindow

Closing OpenFileDialog/SaveFileDialog

We have a requirement to close child form as part of auto logoff. We can close the child forms by iterating Application.OpenForms from the timer thread. We are not able to close OpenFileDialog/SaveFileDialog using Application.OpenForms as the OpenFileDialog is not listed.
How can I close OpenFileDialog and CloseFileDialog?

This is going to require pinvoke, the dialogs are not Forms but native Windows dialogs. The basic approach is to enumerate all toplevel windows and check if their class name is "#32770", the class name for all dialogs owned by Windows. And force the dialog to close by sending the WM_CLOSE message.
Add a new class to your project and paste the code shown below. Call DialogCloser.Execute() when the logout timer expires. Then close the forms. The code will work for MessageBox, OpenFormDialog, FolderBrowserDialog, PrintDialog, ColorDialog, FontDialog, PageSetupDialog and SaveFileDialog.
using System;
using System.Text;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
static class DialogCloser {
public static void Execute() {
// Enumerate windows to find dialogs
EnumThreadWndProc callback = new EnumThreadWndProc(checkWindow);
EnumThreadWindows(GetCurrentThreadId(), callback, IntPtr.Zero);
GC.KeepAlive(callback);
}
private static bool checkWindow(IntPtr hWnd, IntPtr lp) {
// Checks if <hWnd> is a Windows dialog
StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder(260);
GetClassName(hWnd, sb, sb.Capacity);
if (sb.ToString() == "#32770") {
// Close it by sending WM_CLOSE to the window
SendMessage(hWnd, 0x0010, IntPtr.Zero, IntPtr.Zero);
}
return true;
}
// P/Invoke declarations
private delegate bool EnumThreadWndProc(IntPtr hWnd, IntPtr lp);
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
private static extern bool EnumThreadWindows(int tid, EnumThreadWndProc callback, IntPtr lp);
[DllImport("kernel32.dll")]
private static extern int GetCurrentThreadId();
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
private static extern int GetClassName(IntPtr hWnd, StringBuilder buffer, int buflen);
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
private static extern IntPtr SendMessage(IntPtr hWnd, int msg, IntPtr wp, IntPtr lp);
}

i would not close all child forms in one thread but rather raise an event that every child form can/must subscribe to.
on raise your forms can decide what to do now. clean up something, persist state, send a message to the server
in the scope of your form you can access the openfiledialog and try to close that.

[workaround] here is example:
You should define fully transparent window ex. "TRANSP";
Every time you need to show dialog, you need to show TRANSP and pass TRANSP as a parameter to ShowDialog method.
When the application shuts down - call Close() Method of TRANSP window. Child dialogs will close.
public partial class MainWindow : Window
{
OpenFileDialog dlg;
TranspWnd transpWnd;
public MainWindow()
{
InitializeComponent();
Timer t = new Timer();
t.Interval = 2500;
t.Elapsed += new ElapsedEventHandler(t_Elapsed);
t.Start();
}
void t_Elapsed(object sender, ElapsedEventArgs e)
{
Dispatcher.BeginInvoke(new Action(() =>
{
transpWnd.Close();
}), null);
}
private void button1_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
transpWnd = new TranspWnd();
transpWnd.Visibility = System.Windows.Visibility.Hidden; //doesn't works right
transpWnd.Show();
dlg = new OpenFileDialog();
dlg.ShowDialog(transpWnd);
}
}

My answer is conceptually similar to Hans Passant's answer.
However, using GetCurrentThreadId() as the tid parameter to EnumThreadWindows did not work for me since I was calling it from another thread. If you're doing that, then either enumerate the process' thread IDs and try each one until you find the windows you need:
ProcessThreadCollection currentThreads = Process.GetCurrentProcess().Threads;
foreach (ProcessThread thread in currentThreads) {
CloseAllDialogs(thread.Id);
}
Or save off the thread IDs that do the ShowDialog to open the CommonDialog:
threadId = GetCurrentThreadId();
threadIds.Add(threadId);
result = dialog.ShowDialog()
threadIds.Remove(threadId);
and then:
foreach (int threadId in threadIds) {
CloseAllDialogs(threadId);
}
Where CloseAllDialogs looks like:
public void CloseAllDialogs(int threadId) {
EnumThreadWndProc callback = new EnumThreadWndProc(checkIfHWNDPointsToWindowsDialog);
EnumThreadWindows(threadId, callback, IntPtr.Zero);
GC.KeepAlive(callback);
}
private bool checkIfHWNDPointsToWindowsDialog(IntPtr hWnd, IntPtr lp) {
StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder(260);
GetClassName(hWnd, sb, sb.Capacity);
if (sb.ToString() == "#32770") {
SendMessage(hWnd, 0x0010, IntPtr.Zero, IntPtr.Zero);
}
return true;
}
private delegate bool EnumThreadWndProc(IntPtr hWnd, IntPtr lp);
[DllImport("user32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
private static extern bool EnumThreadWindows(int tid, EnumThreadWndProc callback, IntPtr lp);
[DllImport("kernel32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
private static extern int GetCurrentThreadId();
[DllImport("user32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
private static extern int GetClassName(IntPtr hWnd, StringBuilder buffer, int buflen);
[DllImport("user32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
private static extern IntPtr SendMessage(IntPtr hWnd, int msg, IntPtr wp, IntPtr lp);

send display to sleep mode in c#

it's a standard windows function that the display goes into sleep mode after the configured time. is it somehow possible to send the display into sleep mode immediately from a c# .net application in windows 7? i've already tried one thing i found but it didn't work for me.
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
static extern IntPtr SendMessage(IntPtr hWnd, UInt32 Msg, IntPtr wParam, IntPtr lParam);
[DllImport("user32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto, ExactSpelling = true)]
public static extern IntPtr GetDesktopWindow();
private const int SC_MONITORPOWER = 0xF170;
private const UInt32 WM_SYSCOMMAND = 0x0112;
private const int MONITOR_ON = -1;
private const int MONITOR_OFF = 2;
private const int MONITOR_STANBY = 1;
public static void DisplayToSleep()
{
var hWnd = GetDesktopWindow();
var ret = SendMessage(hWnd , Constants.WM_SYSCOMMAND, (IntPtr)Constants.SC_MONITORPOWER, (IntPtr)Constants.MONITOR_OFF);
}
hWnd seems to have a valid value but ret is always 0.
thx, kopi_b

This works fine in a WinForms application:
public partial class Form1 : Form
{
private int SC_MONITORPOWER = 0xF170;
private uint WM_SYSCOMMAND = 0x0112;
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
static extern IntPtr SendMessage(IntPtr hWnd, uint Msg, IntPtr wParam, IntPtr lParam);
public Form1()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
private void button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
SendMessage(this.Handle, WM_SYSCOMMAND, (IntPtr)SC_MONITORPOWER, (IntPtr)2);
}
}
The problem seems to come from the GetDesktopWindow function.

You need to use HWND_BROADCAST instead of the desktop window handle to ensure that the monitor powers off:
private const int HWND_BROADCAST = 0xFFFF;
var ret = SendMessage((IntPtr)HWND_BROADCAST, WM_SYSCOMMAND, (IntPtr)SC_MONITORPOWER, (IntPtr)MONITOR_OFF);

I have Visual Studio 2010 and Windows 7 and created a Windows Form Application with a 'Sleep' and 'Hibernate' button. The following worked for me:
private void Sleep_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
bool retVal = Application.SetSuspendState(PowerState.Suspend, false, false);
if (retVal == false)
MessageBox.Show("Could not suspend the system.");
}
private void Hibernate_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
bool retVal = Application.SetSuspendState(PowerState.Hibernate, false, false);
if (retVal == false)
MessageBox.Show("Could not hybernate the system.");
}
I found this here