I would like to configure a WPF application to function in a similar way to SlickRun. I would like to be able to minimize the application to the taskbar, then while in any other program, press a key command (ex: ALT + X) and have my application appear to the user.
Can someone point me in the right direction?
Your best bet is to use RegisterHotKey(). That works by sending the WM_HOTKEY message to the HWND you passed in. Since WPF doesn't expose its windows' message loop to developers, you'll probably need to get your hands dirty with some interop and create a message only window to receive the hot key messages.
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I'm newbie to "Electron" framework:
I need to create a POC showing communication between "Electron" browser window and a local windows forms application. I'm aware that the "Electron" has abilities of "investigating" the machine and maybe even understand what apps (form application, in my case) are up. I'm aware of the inter process communication (IPC) it has, but it doesn't seems to help me.
I would like to know if I have the ability to click on a button in the "Electron" Browser window (BrowserWindow) and make some response (write to a text box, for example) in an up and running form application.
Thanks
IPC is only for communicating within Electron's main process and render process. It can't be used to let Electron talk to other applications (like Firefox for example). Electron is basically a chromium browser that uses NodeJS to interact with local OS resources.
I am not sure it is possible to do what you want to do unless you create custom Addons in C/C++ to sit between the OS and all running applications. If that isn't your thing, check NPM for something that might exist already.
Out of the box, the closest things you will get are Node's Child Process and command line options, but they won't do what you want them to do based on my understanding of your question.
I have a running WIN32 application. There a window in this application where I want to show web content using CEF3. But, I am facing problems and the entire window becomes white without showing any web page content. So I have the following questions:
Is it possible to use CEF3 with existing message loop in application? I dont want to call the CEF message loop, it may impact other things in my application.
Is it absolutely necessary to use a message window as in the sample application? I am not able to understand its objective.
When CEF3 launches multiple processes, how does it show in the task manager? If my application name is A.exe, does it show A.exe multiple times in task manager?
Any help is much appreciated.
For windows users there is possible to use multi threaded message loop (CefSettings). It is allow maintain browser windows via own message loop. But there is good practice use single threaded message loop, - you can call CefDoMessageLoopWork periodiacally on idle or some additional events. It is possible even with existing message loop.
I'm not sure what you mean.
CefSettings.BrowserSubprocessPath specifies which executable will be used for child processes. While you are integrating it in other process, looks like it is one possible solution and in task manager you will see processes as you named it.
About the question number 2:
every windows application has its own "main window" and wndProc that receives all the messages sent by his children.
And the sample win32 cefclient shows how to integrate cef message loop inside the application's message loop.
And if you don't handle and dispatch cef messages in proper way the browser window becomes white.
I have a GUI application that is written using win API's
and we need to launch a new GUI application when the user selects some command menu items.
We decided to write the new application in PyQt and launch the PyQt application usig Python C Api.
Everything is working fine except that the Parent window, through which we launch the PyQt Application, is not responding to some of the events when PyQt application is open. Once we close the PyQt Application it starts responding again to the key events.
I guess, that once the PyQt Gui application is launched, somehow the messages are not passed to the Parent window.
Inspecting with Spy++ I've found the following result:
Receives messages for:
- ALT key
- F1, F2 keys
- Mouse events
Does NOT receive messages for:
- CTRL key
- All other Fn keys
- All letter keys
- SHIFT, CAPS keys
Any thoughts to solve this problem would be appreciated
I believe what you are trying to do -- operate two separate GUIs within a single process -- is not supported by any major operating system. A while back, I searched for a long time for ways to do this and never came up with any advice except "don't".
I'm surprised that missing keys are the only problem you have.. I recommend finding a different solution before you discover more trouble (unless you can find some good evidence that this is at least supposed to work).
Could you perhaps spawn a new process to run the Qt event loop instead? Since you already have python embedded in the main process, this should be fairly easy--use python's built-in IPC to handle the communication between processes.
One solution is to build the QtWinMigrate module to create a QWinHost which supports parenting to a native HWND but unfortunately it is not part of the PyQt distribution.
You can find some sources here: https://github.com/glennra/PyQtWinMigrate.
This is what had to be done for Python integration in 3ds Max by Blur studio. I am currently studying the C++ source code of QWinWidget too see if I can work out an alternative solution using Win32 calls.
I have a WPF app that uses a non-WPF vendor library. My app does not receive any events that the library fires. I've been told that this is because I need a message pump.
In another (very similar) question, the accepted answer suggested using System.Windows.Threading.Dispatcher.Run().
When I add in that call, however, my window won't pop up-- the app is effectively backgrounded and I have to shut it down with Task Manager.
I'm really stumped here, and I'm not even sure how to investigate it. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
You already have one if you use WPF, there's no other way that it can get any Windows notifications. Every WPF app starts life with a call to Application.Run() on the main thread. It is usually well hidden, auto-generated in the bin\debug\app.g.cs source code file. Application.Run() in turn calls Dispatcher.Run()
Your vendor is correct, without a message loop many COM components go catatonic. But since you have one you need to look for the problem elsewhere. Don't use the component on threads.
Update: We are still using XP at work and I got my solution working, but now knowing that Vista and beyond have the isolated session I am going to implement a WCF IPC...
I have a windows service that needs to notify the user of an event of some type occurring. I decided that something similar to email notification messages would make sense. It also makes sense to do such a simple UI using WPF. This would allow me to learn some basics.
I run a thread:
Thread thread = new Thread(new ThreadStart(RunUserNotificationOnIndependantThread));
thread.SetApartmentState(ApartmentState.STA);
thread.Start();
Then I set up the object and call the method that calls DoubleAnimation.BeginAnimation
private void RunUserNotificationOnIndependantThread()
{
UserNotificationWithImage test = new UserNotificationWithImage();
test.Title = _title;
test.Url = _url;
test.Message = _message;
test.LoadUserNotification();
}
public void LoadUserNotification()
{
Rect workAreaRectangle = System.Windows.SystemParameters.WorkArea;
Left = workAreaRectangle.Right - Width - BorderThickness.Right;
Top = workAreaRectangle.Bottom - Height - BorderThickness.Bottom;
_fadeInAnimation.Completed += new EventHandler(_fadeInAnimation_Completed);
// Start the fade in animation
BeginAnimation(UserNotificationBase.OpacityProperty, _fadeInAnimation);
}
The debugger reaches BeginAnimation(...) and no window appears. Is this even possible or what am I doing wrong in attempting this???
The UserNotification code is based on a blog by Nicke Andersson: WPF Desktop Alert blog
Thanks for any help!!
On XP a service that interact with the desktop has two serious problems to overcome - what to do when no users are logged in and what to do when several user are logged in (fast user switching and terminal services are the two most common ways to log in more then one user).
On Vista, for security reasons, services run on their own isolated desktop so any UI you show will go on that special desktop that no user can ever access.
You should write a small Gui program that runs on the user's desktop and communicate with the service using some type of IPC (Remoting, Soap, Rest, named pipes, files, whatever you like).
Generally speaking I would not recommend a Windows Service to interact with the user's desktop directly at all. As a simple example, problems arise because the service may start before any user is logged on. My suggestion would be to create a small app that start-up with the user session and communicated to the Windows Service via IPC (Interprocess Communication) such as WCF.
But if you do want to try to get it running, my hint would be switch on "Allow interaction with desktop" for the service and I seem to remember that this switch doesn't work at all under Vista, but someone else should confirm that.
HTH
alex