Finding path of all installed software in C# having the same prefix name

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I am working on a project in C# where i need to find the paths of all the software installed starting with a same prefix name.
For example , if i have 10 software's installed in my computer and 5 of them start with the prefix name say "Microsoft" and then followed by some other suffixes, then i need to populate all the 5 software's starting with the name "Microsoft" and their installation path.

I am able to identify only 1 software at a time but not multiple and i cannot locate the path of the installation.
Any help will be of great motivation.
Thanks in advance!!!

C#

public  bool IsProgramInstalled(string programDisplayName)
        {

            Console.WriteLine(string.Format("Checking install status of: {0}", programDisplayName));
            foreach (var item in Registry.LocalMachine.OpenSubKey("SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Uninstall").GetSubKeyNames())
            {

                object programName = Registry.LocalMachine.OpenSubKey("SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Uninstall\\" + item).GetValue("DisplayName");

                Console.WriteLine(programName);

                if (string.Equals(programName, programDisplayName))
                {
                    Console.WriteLine("Install status: INSTALLED");
                    return true;
                }
            }
            Console.WriteLine("Install status: NOT INSTALLED");
            return false;
        }

Posted 23-Apr-14 1:27am

sovit agarwal

Updated 23-Apr-14 1:33am

v2

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Comments

[no name] 23-Apr-14 7:30am

Help with what?

ZurdoDev 23-Apr-14 7:30am

If you have code that is sort of working it would be helpful to add it to your question.

sovit agarwal 23-Apr-14 7:34am

Ryan please check the code added.I have added it now

sovit agarwal 23-Apr-14 7:34am

Wes : Help with the question mentioned "Finding path of all installed software in C# having the same prefix name"

[no name] 23-Apr-14 8:24am

That is not a question or any kind of a problem description. You are not keeping a list of the items found, you are only looking for one specific item and then returning if found. You are not looking for a group of anything. You are only returning a bool nothing to do with the path of items found. In short, this code presented does not even attempt to do anything you said you was trying.

sovit agarwal 23-Apr-14 8:31am

You are absolutely correct.This piece of code just checks for a particular Application and returns a value. I was just able to accomplish this much. And the further help is what i need. Your help will be greatly appreciated!!!

[no name] 23-Apr-14 8:53am

Again, help with what? You have done nothing to attempt what it is that you say you are trying to do. As this reads now, it looks more like "I found this code somewhere and it does not do what I want it to do and I want someone to rewrite it for me so I can turn it in and get credit for my homework." So, what specifically is it that you need help with?

sovit agarwal 23-Apr-14 9:13am

This is what i was working on. Accomplishes a part of my work

private string[] Installed(out string[] softwarePath)
{
string SoftwareKey = @"SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall";
RegistryKey rk = Registry.LocalMachine.OpenSubKey(SoftwareKey);
int count = rk.SubKeyCount, i = 0;
//Declare the string to hold the list of softwares and paths
string[] Software = new string[count];
softwarePath = new string[count];

using (rk)
{
foreach (string skName in rk.GetSubKeyNames())
{
using (RegistryKey sk = rk.OpenSubKey(skName))
{
try
{

if (!(sk.GetValue("DisplayName") == null))
{
//Is the install location known?
if (sk.GetValue("InstallLocation") == null)
{
Software[i] = (string)sk.GetValue("DisplayName");
softwarePath[i] = "Install path not known\n";
i++;
}
else
{
Software[i] = (string)sk.GetValue("DisplayName");
softwarePath[i]=(string)sk.GetValue("InstallLocation");
i++;
}
}
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
//No, that exception is not getting away... :P/>
}
}
}
}

I am now able to get the list of Softwares and their paths and to store it in a file. But now i need to find some specific softwares as mentioned in the Question relating to "Microsoft" and send those softwares x with their paths to the Server.

[no name] 23-Apr-14 9:30am

Okay so if the installed name starts with "Microsoft" then add it to your array.

sovit agarwal 23-Apr-14 9:52am

The point is i only want those values in the array which starts with "Microsoft" and not those that ends with or contains "Microsoft" in between.
I was first trying to write it to a file and then read from the file all those values that start with "Microsft". Is it a good idea?

Rob Philpott 23-Apr-14 7:50am

What do you mean by installed? One of the beauties of .NET is that you can do XCOPY deployment. It won't show up in your start menu, but its still 'there'.

sovit agarwal 23-Apr-14 7:53am

Hi Rob!!
installed here means the applications or softwares that you install , for example Mozilla,chrome,VlC,etc
all these are the applications that you install

2 solutions

Solution 1

First, I think you're copying and pasting code you found on the Internet and don't understand what it does or how it works.

The InstallLocation you're looking (in the registry) for does NOT have to be filled in, and in most cases isn't. This means that you're not going to be able to find where a package is installed for a lot of installations. That information, sadly, is coded into a lot of installers and there's no way to reliably get that information out of the installer.

Posted 23-Apr-14 3:23am

Dave Kreskowiak

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johannesnestler · Accepted Answer · 2014-04-23T04:04:00

Hi Member,

I think Dave Kreskowiak is correct that your approach won't catch all installed software reliably.
Anyway if you want to try this approach: here is some code that does the seaching part you asked for. (I don't think you will get the associated install paths easily, I even didn't try.., but the example code could be changed to give something else back than just the Display names...)

C#

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using Microsoft.Win32;

namespace GetInstalledSoftware
{
    class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            // Search for all installed software starting with "Microsoft"
            string[] astrMatches = GetAllInstalledSoftware("Microsoft");

            foreach (string strDisplayName in astrMatches)
            {
                Console.WriteLine(strDisplayName);
            }

            Console.ReadKey();
        }

        static string[] GetAllInstalledSoftware(string strPrefix)
        {
            const string strUNINSTALL_KEY = @"SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall";
            List<string> listMatches = new List<string>();

            // Enumerate all sub keys found under the "Uninstall" key, each sub key represents a installed software
            foreach (string strSubKey in Registry.LocalMachine.OpenSubKey(strUNINSTALL_KEY).GetSubKeyNames())
            {
                // try to get the "DisplayName" for the installed software
                object objValue = Registry.LocalMachine.OpenSubKey(strUNINSTALL_KEY + @"\" + strSubKey).GetValue("DisplayName");
                if (objValue != null)
                {
                    string strDisplayName = objValue.ToString();

                    // If display name starts with the desired prefix
                    if (strDisplayName.StartsWith(strPrefix))
                    {
                        // -> add it to the result list
                        listMatches.Add(strDisplayName);
                    }
                }
            }
            return listMatches.ToArray();
        }
    }
}

But be aware that I don't think this is a "good" solution: reading registry, relying on the "DisplayName" property (which isn't always set), relying on the prefix (not seaching inside the Display string) etc. Anyway, I hope you don't use that code for any real world scenario (It seemed you even had problems to understand the example code you gave - or copied... So my general advice for beginners: leave the registry alone :-)

If you have any further questions - feel free to ask.

Kind regards

Johannes