How to control an exe from another exe.

[okdeshpande]

Hi All, Assume that you have an exe. Now you are creating a new application which opens or launches the existing exe. Launching an exe from your application can be done using Shell command. Now my question is with out opening that exe you have to do operations what you are doing in that exe. eg: If are able to create new record in that exe then from your application you should be able to activate the new button in that exe.? Thanks Omprakash

[Christian Graus]

Basically, if you're writing both apps, you need to write code to create communication between them, probably using WCF, named pipes, or the WM_COPYDATA message.

Christian Graus Please read this if you don't understand the answer I've given you "also I don't think "TranslateOneToTwoBillion OneHundredAndFortySevenMillion FourHundredAndEightyThreeThousand SixHundredAndFortySeven()" is a very good choice for a function name" - SpacixOne ( offering help to someone who really needed it ) ( spaces added for the benefit of people running at < 1280x1024 )

[okdeshpande]

Hi Christian Thanks for reply. I am using VB6 to do this. The exe what i am using is not developed by me. So i don't have source code of that exe also.

[Dave Kreskowiak]

What you want to do is very problematic. Using SendKeys and posting mouse messages to another window depends on the input focus NOT being touched by the user using your application. If they click off your target application during an interactive operation, that operation will fail. You'll have no way of knowing it and no way of resetting the target app back to a known state so you can retry the operation.

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Dave Kreskowiak Microsoft MVP Visual Developer - Visual Basic
     2006, 2007, 2008

[okdeshpande]

Hi Dave Thanks Dave. Even i tried to send the keys but problem is when you are using send keys if target exe don't have any shortcut keys then it will not work. Thanks once again.