Can C # manage another program?

Question

Can C # manage another program?
How much worse or better than C ++ in this regard?
Will VB.NET cope with this task?

Required.

Resize a third-party application window.
Send the application to the lowest Z level so that it does not
Appeared on top of other open windows, while some actions will take place on it, for example button presses.
You need to select the desired item in the drop-down list and then click the button to apply the settings.

I understand that all this can be done through WinApi but I do not understand where to get the descriptions of functions (preferably in Russian) and how to embed them in C # code.
For example, I remember how it was done in VB 6.0.

vitidev vitidev 2,829 one ten 18 · Accepted Answer · 2016-04-04T11:34:55

c # handle it. Any language can handle winapi
The only worse thing is to declare winapi functions and possibly structures.
vb has the same features as c #

You are here http://www.pinvoke.net/ for how to declare winapi functions in c # and vb.net

Something higher-level might be suitable, like Cruciatus from 2GIS

Answer 2 · 2016-04-04T12:05:26

A standard micro-UI Automation is quite suitable for your task. Here is an example without P / Invoke:

var notepadProcess = Process.GetProcessesByName("Notepad").FirstOrDefault(); var window = AutomationElement.FromHandle(notepadProcess.MainWindowHandle); var transformPattern = (TransformPattern)window.GetCurrentPattern(TransformPattern.Pattern); transformPattern.Resize(300, 300);

(changes the size of the notepad.exe window to 300x300).

Do not forget to connect the UIAutomationClient and UIAutomationTypes assemblies and add error control.

MSDN has documentation on the rest of the UI Automation functionality. For example, how to activate the control (click on the button, select the menu item, etc.).

The list of all subwindows and their available properties can be easily found using the Inspect.exe utility from the Windows SDK.

After a little exercise in a google search on a stack flow, here’s a more serious example:

 // находим бегущий notepad var notepadProcess = Process.GetProcessesByName("Notepad").FirstOrDefault(); var window = AutomationElement.FromHandle(notepadProcess.MainWindowHandle); // меняем размер окна window.GetPattern<TransformPattern>().Resize(300, 300); // получаем старый текст var edit = window.FirstChildByType(ControlType.Document); TextPattern textPattern = edit.GetPattern<TextPattern>(); var oldText = textPattern.DocumentRange.GetText(-1); // заменяем его на новый. для этого придётся посылать нажатия на клавиатуру // основано на этом примере: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms750582.aspx textPattern.DocumentRange.Select(); edit.SetFocus(); Thread.Sleep(100); System.Windows.Forms.SendKeys.SendWait("{DEL}"); System.Windows.Forms.SendKeys.SendWait( "Тормозите прямо в папу. Папа мягкий. Он простит."); // сохраним изменённый файл под новым именем // вызовем File -> Save as... (на русскоязычной системе понадобятся другие строки!) var menuBar = window.FirstChildByType(ControlType.MenuBar); var fileMenu = menuBar.FirstDescendantByTypeAndName(ControlType.MenuItem, "File"); // раскрыли меню File: fileMenu.GetPattern<ExpandCollapsePattern>().Expand(); Thread.Sleep(100); // нашли пункт Save As var saveAsMenu = fileMenu.FirstDescendantByTypeAndName(ControlType.MenuItem, "Save As..."); // и выполнили его saveAsMenu.GetPattern<InvokePattern>().Invoke(); Thread.Sleep(100); // запомнили элемент с фокусом, это edit box для ввода имени файла var saveAsEditBox = AutomationElement.FocusedElement; // поменяем ещё кодировку через комбобокс Encoding // нашли окно: var saveAsDialog = AutomationHelpers.FindWindowFrom(saveAsEditBox); // и комбобокс var encodingCombobox = saveAsDialog.FirstDescendantByTypeAndName(ControlType.ComboBox, "Encoding:"); // раскрыли его: encodingCombobox.GetPattern<ExpandCollapsePattern>().Expand(); // нашли пункт UTF-8 и выбрали его: var utf8item = encodingCombobox.FirstDescendantByTypeAndName(ControlType.ListItem, "UTF-8"); utf8item.GetPattern<SelectionItemPattern>().Select(); // вернули фокус в edit box saveAsEditBox.SetFocus(); Thread.Sleep(100); // послали название файла и Enter System.Windows.Forms.SendKeys.SendWait(@"{%}TEMP{%}\oster.txt{ENTER}");

The code uses the following simple helper:

 static class AutomationHelpers { static public T GetPattern<T>(this AutomationElement element) where T : BasePattern { var pattern = (AutomationPattern)typeof(T).GetField("Pattern").GetValue(null); return (T)element.GetCurrentPattern(pattern); } static public AutomationElement FirstChildByType( this AutomationElement element, ControlType ct) { return element.FindFirst( TreeScope.Children, new PropertyCondition(AutomationElement.ControlTypeProperty, ct)); } static public AutomationElement FirstDescendantByTypeAndName( this AutomationElement element, ControlType ct, string name) { return element.FindFirst( TreeScope.Descendants, new AndCondition( new PropertyCondition(AutomationElement.ControlTypeProperty, ct), new PropertyCondition(AutomationElement.NameProperty, name))); } static public AutomationElement FindWindowFrom(AutomationElement control) { var walker = TreeWalker.ControlViewWalker; while (control.Current.ControlType != ControlType.Window) control = walker.GetParent(control); return control; } }

VB.NET will do the same; UI Automation functionality is available in both languages.

Added pauses per second between actions and adapted to the Russian system (other menu item names), the result:

How much does WinApi have in this respect richer opportunities compared to UI Automation?
@ iluxa1810: Well, UI Automation cannot do something, but I didn’t make a detailed comparison.
For example, with UI Automation, you cannot register someone else’s window.
But with WinAPI, you can’t click on the WPF-ov button so easily (although you can probably do it somehow).
A similar (or very similar) thing is in jscript (or rather, in ActiveX WSchipt.Shell).

Can C # manage another program?

2 answers 2

More articles: