Check how an app has started (C#)

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Hello, i want to know how my app has started, for example, if it started by a command as "program.exe /p" and indicate in the code what should do the app in diverse cases (for example when it started by /open command, /edit,...).

I need a solution
Thanks in advance
Regards

Posted 1-May-11 11:15am

Ángel Manuel García Carmona

Updated 2-May-11 4:16am

v5

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Nagy Vilmos 2-May-11 4:22am

What have you tried?

3 solutions

Solution 2

Are you looking for command line arguments[^]? It seems so to me from your comment to Dave.

Posted 2-May-11 4:34am

dan!sh

Solution 1

There's no way to tell how your app was launched. There is no pointer to anything that says how are under what circumstances your app was launched.

Posted 2-May-11 4:20am

Dave Kreskowiak

Comments

Ángel Manuel García Carmona 2-May-11 10:25am

Hi. If i set in the registry -for example-, to the extension shell, a verb (f.e: play) and another key with a command (f.e: "app.exe /play), but indicate what should do the app in that case. This is what i want to do.

Dave Kreskowiak 2-May-11 10:34am

That made absolutely no sense at all. It doesn't matter how the app was launched. Unless you put specific command line arguments in the registry, like you described, that your app is looking for, it has no way of knowing how it was launched. You'd have to include some switch, that you define, into the command line of the verb that launches your app.

Ángel Manuel García Carmona 2-May-11 10:35am

I really am explaining that i want assign to those arguments/verbs (play,, open,...) some code.

Dave Kreskowiak 2-May-11 11:06am

That still doesn't make much sense, but I think you're saying that you want to tell the app what to do when launched based on command line arguments. Your code just has to look for the command line arguments and act appropriately. http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.environment.getcommandlineargs.aspx

Ángel Manuel García Carmona 2-May-11 13:29pm

Hello, i have assigned an extension to my app and a shell verb, but web i click in a verb (shortcut menu), i see an error that tells "{File} is not a Win32 valid app".

Also, in the link that you has given me, isn't explained how to tell the app what to do when launched based on command line arguments.

Regards

Dave Kreskowiak 2-May-11 14:12pm

What did you put in the Registry, under the "shell" key? You have to create a subkey, called "open" and in that key, create another subkey called "command". Under that, create a default value, of type REG_EXPAND_SZ, that contains the a default value, type REG_SZ, with the complete command line to launch your app with the appropriate command line options that your app will look for to execute whatever functionality you need. Usually, if you need to pass the filepath that was right-clicked, you have to include a "%1" (with the quotes!) in the command line of your app.

Like: %WinDir%\notepad.exe "%1"

Ángel Manuel García Carmona 2-May-11 14:13pm

I created the reg keys by code. Look this code and you will see what are the created keys. I created a subkey called "display" and not "open"

<pre>
Registry.ClassesRoot.CreateSubKey(".xap").SetValue("", "", Microsoft.Win32.RegistryValueKind.String); Registry.ClassesRoot.CreateSubKey(@".xap\shell\Display\command").SetValue("", Application.ExecutablePath + " %1", Microsoft.Win32.RegistryValueKind.String);
</pre>

Dave Kreskowiak 2-May-11 14:20pm

Your command line has to include double quotes around the %1, as well as the application path, otherwise any spaces in the filepath passed in will be interpeted as seperated command line options:

...SetValue("", "\"" + Application.ExecutablePath + "\" \"%1\"", RegistryValueKind.String);

Dave Kreskowiak 2-May-11 14:20pm

You also have to change Display to open.

Ángel Manuel García Carmona 2-May-11 14:28pm

Hello, having the entries as the follows, i have the same problem; i get the same error message "{FILE} isn't a WIN32 valid app".
Registry.ClassesRoot.CreateSubKey(".xap").SetValue("", "", Microsoft.Win32.RegistryValueKind.String);
Registry.ClassesRoot.CreateSubKey(@".xap\shell\open\command").SetValue("", Application.ExecutablePath + " "+"%1"+"", RegistryValueKind.String);

Dave Kreskowiak 2-May-11 14:35pm

Like I just said, you have to include the double-quotes around the application path too (Application.ExecutablePath). Your command line is probably attempting to run "C:\Program" as your application .EXE because of it.

Ángel Manuel García Carmona 2-May-11 15:22pm

Hi, i could solve the problem that i had with the shorcut menu, but now, i want to know how to tell the app what to do when launched based on command line arguments -in this case open-.

Dave Kreskowiak 2-May-11 15:26pm

We already gave you the links to how command line options work in C# and how the Environment class offers up the GetCommandLineArgs method. It's up to you to write the code to retrieve those options and check for those arguments.

Ángel Manuel García Carmona 2-May-11 15:33pm

Hi, but the link that you gave me, the steps to assign methods to the arguments aren't explained, but yes, how to show the length, etc.

Dave Kreskowiak 2-May-11 15:52pm

Length of what?? :confused:

There are no steps. How you find and interpret the arguments is entirely up to you and dictated by your requiresments. If can be as simple as seeing if a switch is specified on the command line and executing a method because of its existance. You may have to retrieve a value immediately after the switch. There was another link higher up the post chain that went over the basics of command lines. Parsing and acting on those lines is not a spelled out, step-by-step process. It's where you actually have to think about your arguments, the use-case rules for those arguments, any business rules they may have, your argument evaluation process, ...

Ángel Manuel García Carmona 2-May-11 17:07pm

Hi, i have read all links but those links doesn't explain what i want the app does if is opened by an argument. I have tried using an algorithm with Process.Start(file.exe, argument[0]) as a condition but i couldn't convert it to bool.
How to set an algorithm -with a condition based in the launchment of the app by args-?

Dave Kreskowiak 2-May-11 17:55pm

That launches another app. It doesn't tell your app what its command line arguments are. Did you seriously read the documentation on Environment.GetCommandLineArgs??? It doesn't appear so.

Ángel Manuel García Carmona 2-May-11 18:00pm

I read that but I want to know HOW O ASSIGN METHODS ACTIONS to the arguments.

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Dave Kreskowiak · Accepted Answer · 2011-05-02T14:53:00

Solution 3

You're kidding me, right? All you do is call the appropriate method in your code if you find an instance of the switch in the command line arguments. How hard is it to check for the existance of a string in a collection of them?

public void Main()
{
	List<string> argsCollection = new List<string>();

	argsCollection.AddRange(Environment.GetCommandLineArgs());

	if (argsCollection.Contains("/T")) {
		HandleTSwitch();
	}
}

private void HandleTSwitch()
{
}
</string></string>

Posted 2-May-11 14:53pm

Dave Kreskowiak

Comments

Ángel Manuel García Carmona 3-May-11 16:28pm

Hi Dave, thanks to your example, i could understand better how can i do what i want to do (i wasn't kidding you). "%1" reffers to the file and its path, but i want when i open a file by the argument, the app display that (f.e in a image control) but the problem is that i can't find a property to assign the opened file and its path. %1 reffers to file path (for example: C:\plazaaltaba.jpeg"; if i open this file, the command will be "C:\application -argument %1)

Dave Kreskowiak 3-May-11 18:12pm

You're still not making very much sense, so I'll take another guess at what you want. If you want to show the path to the file in the title bar of your form, you just have to set the Text property of the form to the path you got from the arguments.

If you're still trying to get the filepath from the command line arguments, then look at the eample I just posted. The argsCollection will contain the full path supplied on the command line. You just don't have to check for an argument switch. You just get the string from the collection, see if the file exists, and do whatever you want with that path.

Ángel Manuel García Carmona 4-May-11 9:29am

Hi! I know how to do this. I've written a foreach and some methods to get the file path string.
Thanks for your help.