Show the windows calculator on a winform

Question

0.00/5 (No votes)

See more:

Hello, I was able to show the notepad in the Winform by using a panel and inserting it in the form like this code below and using SetParent API:

C#

[DllImport("user32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
    static extern IntPtr SetParent(IntPtr hWndChild, IntPtr hWndNewParent);

Process proc = Process.Start(
    new ProcessStartInfo()
    {
                                                   //here I put notepad.exe and it works   
        FileName = Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("windir") + @"\system32\calc.exe", 
        WindowStyle = ProcessWindowStyle.Minimized
    });
            Thread.Sleep(200);
           
            SetParent(proc.MainWindowHandle, this.panel1.Handle);

What I have tried:

My problem is for the calculator, I can't show the Calcultator in the winform it shows me an error.(System.InvalidOperationException)
Thank you.

Posted 19-Aug-16 1:41am

TatsuSheva

Updated 24-Aug-16 9:34am

Add a Solution

Comments

Richard MacCutchan 19-Aug-16 8:05am

System.InvalidOperationException means some instruction in your code has done something illegal. Often caused by a jump to a location that does not contain a valid instruction, even though it is within your application's address space. The only way to fix it is to use your debugger to find out where and why it occurred.

TatsuSheva 19-Aug-16 8:19am

It is possible to show the calculator in a WinForm ? The error comes here SetParent(proc.MainWindowHandle, this.panel1.Handle); but when I remove the Thread.Sleep(200); the calculator appears but not on the winform

Richard MacCutchan 19-Aug-16 9:17am

I don't think Windows applications are designed with this in mind, so whether they work in such an environment is not guaranteed.

BillWoodruff 19-Aug-16 9:14am

Take a look at using the Windows Automation facility to do this; there's a complete article on CodeProject on automating Calc.exe:

http://www.codeproject.com/Articles/141842/Automate-your-UI-using-Microsoft-Automation-Framew

Richard Deeming 19-Aug-16 9:45am

Are you using Windows 10? AFAIK, the desktop calculator application no longer exists. If you run calc.exe, it launches the "modern app" calculator instead.

Win32 APIs almost certainly won't work with a "modern app".

TatsuSheva 19-Aug-16 10:36am

You are right... The last solution is to create my own calculator

Philippe Mori 19-Aug-16 10:07am

You should not do that. Windows applications are not designed to be used as child application of other application. If you need a calculator in your own application, then build your own one. Also using existing application, you might have display issue and the application might look weird if both application don't use same look (color, size, shape...) and thus make your application look very unprofessionnal.

Maciej Los 19-Aug-16 10:38am

Agree!

BillWoodruff 19-Aug-16 12:09pm

If you are using Windows 10, you can get the old Calc.exe back:

http://winaero.com/blog/get-calculator-from-windows-8-and-windows-7-in-windows-10/

However, while I think it might work as it did pre-Win 10, I am not totally certain of that.

TatsuSheva 19-Aug-16 13:06pm

Thank you, this works.

BillWoodruff 19-Aug-16 12:10pm

Fyi: CodeProject has some Calculator projects for WinForms you can use, like this one:

http://www.codeproject.com/Tips/853405/A-Simple-Calculator-in-Windows-Forms

1 solution

Add a Solution

Add your solution here

Treat my content as plain text, not as HTML

Preview 0

…

Existing Members

Sign in to your account

...or Join us

Download, Vote, Comment, Publish.

Your Email
Password
Forgot your password?

Your Email
This email is in use. Do you need your password?
Optional Password

I have read and agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
Please subscribe me to the CodeProject newsletters

When answering a question please:

Read the question carefully.
Understand that English isn't everyone's first language so be lenient of bad spelling and grammar.
If a question is poorly phrased then either ask for clarification, ignore it, or edit the question and fix the problem. Insults are not welcome.
Don't tell someone to read the manual. Chances are they have and don't get it. Provide an answer or move on to the next question.

Let's work to help developers, not make them feel stupid.

This content, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under The Code Project Open License (CPOL)

Clifford Nelson · Accepted Answer · 2016-08-24T09:34:00

Solution 1

This should help: C# Popup Calculator, Button, and Text Control[^]

Posted 24-Aug-16 9:34am

Clifford Nelson