How do I change the current Windows theme programmatically? - windows

I want to allow my users to toggle the current user theme between Aero and Windows Classic(1). Is there a way that I can do this programatically?
I don't want to pop up the "Display properties", and I'm dubious about just changing the registry. (This requires a log out and a log back in for the changes to take effect).
Application skinning (using the Codejock libraries) doesn't work either.
Is there a way of doing this?
The application is hosted/run on a Windows Server 2008 over RDP.
(1) The application in question is a hosted "Remote App", and I want users to be able to change the look of the displayed application to match their desktop.

You can set it using the following command:
rundll32.exe %SystemRoot%\system32\shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL %SystemRoot%\system32\desk.cpl desk,#Themes /Action:OpenTheme /file:"C:\Windows\Resources\Themes\aero.theme"
Caveat is that this will show the theme selector dialog. You could kill that dialog straight after.

There are certainly good reasons for wanting to change the current theme programmatically. E.g. an automated test tool may need to switch between various themes to make sure the application works correctly with all of them.
As a user, you can change the theme by double-clicking a .theme file in Windwos Explorer and then closing the Control Panel applet that pops up. You can easily do the same from code. The steps below work just fine for me. I've only tested on Windows 7.
Use SHGetKnownFolderPath() to get the "Local AppData" folder for the user. Theme files are stored in the Microsoft\Windows\Themes subfolder. Theme files stored there are applied directly, while theme files stored elsewhere are duplicated when you execute them. So it's best to use files from that folder only.
Use ShellExecute() to execute the .theme file you located in step 1.
Wait for the theme to be applied. I simply let my app sleep for 2 seconds.
Call FindWindow('CabinetWClass', 'Personalization') to get the handle of the Control Panel window that popped up when the theme was applied. The "Personalization" caption will likely be different on non-US-English versions of Windows.
Call PostMessage(HWND, WM_CLOSE, 0, 0) to close the Control Panel window.
This isn't a very elegant solution, but it does the job.

I know this is an old ticket, but somebody asked me how to do this today. So starting from Mike's post above I cleaned things up, added comments, and will post full C# console app code:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.Globalization;
using System.IO;
using System.Linq;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
using System.Text;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
using Microsoft.Win32;
namespace Windows7Basic
{
class Theming
{
/// Handles to Win 32 API
[DllImport("user32.dll", EntryPoint = "FindWindow")]
private static extern IntPtr FindWindow(string sClassName, string sAppName);
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
private static extern IntPtr SendMessage(IntPtr hWnd, uint Msg, IntPtr wParam, IntPtr lParam);
/// Windows Constants
private const uint WM_CLOSE = 0x10;
private String StartProcessAndWait(string filename, string arguments, int seconds, ref Boolean bExited)
{
String msg = String.Empty;
Process p = new Process();
p.StartInfo.WindowStyle = ProcessWindowStyle.Minimized;
p.StartInfo.FileName = filename;
p.StartInfo.Arguments = arguments;
p.Start();
bExited = false;
int counter = 0;
/// give it "seconds" seconds to run
while (!bExited && counter < seconds)
{
bExited = p.HasExited;
counter++;
System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(1000);
}//while
if (counter == seconds)
{
msg = "Program did not close in expected time.";
}//if
return msg;
}
public Boolean SwitchTheme(string themePath)
{
try
{
//String themePath = System.Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.Windows) + #"\Resources\Ease of Access Themes\basic.theme";
/// Set the theme
Boolean bExited = false;
/// essentially runs the command line: rundll32.exe %SystemRoot%\system32\shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL %SystemRoot%\system32\desk.cpl desk,#Themes /Action:OpenTheme /file:"%WINDIR%\Resources\Ease of Access Themes\classic.theme"
String ThemeOutput = this.StartProcessAndWait("rundll32.exe", System.Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.System) + #"\shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL " + System.Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.System) + "\\desk.cpl desk,#Themes /Action:OpenTheme /file:\"" + themePath + "\"", 30, ref bExited);
Console.WriteLine(ThemeOutput);
/// Wait for the theme to be set
System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(1000);
/// Close the Theme UI Window
IntPtr hWndTheming = FindWindow("CabinetWClass", null);
SendMessage(hWndTheming, WM_CLOSE, IntPtr.Zero, IntPtr.Zero);
}//try
catch (Exception ex)
{
Console.WriteLine("An exception occured while setting the theme: " + ex.Message);
return false;
}//catch
return true;
}
public Boolean SwitchToClassicTheme()
{
return SwitchTheme(System.Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.Windows) + #"\Resources\Ease of Access Themes\basic.theme");
}
public Boolean SwitchToAeroTheme()
{
return SwitchTheme(System.Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.Windows) + #"\Resources\Themes\aero.theme");
}
public string GetTheme()
{
string RegistryKey = #"HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Themes";
string theme;
theme = (string)Registry.GetValue(RegistryKey, "CurrentTheme", string.Empty);
theme = theme.Split('\\').Last().Split('.').First().ToString();
return theme;
}
// end of object Theming
}
//---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
class Program
{
[DllImport("dwmapi.dll")]
public static extern IntPtr DwmIsCompositionEnabled(out bool pfEnabled);
/// ;RunProgram("%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Themes\themeName.theme") ;For User Themes
/// RunProgram("%WINDIR%\Resources\Ease of Access Themes\classic.theme") ;For Basic Themes
/// ;RunProgram("%WINDIR%\Resources\Themes\aero.theme") ;For Aero Themes
static void Main(string[] args)
{
bool aeroEnabled = false;
Theming thm = new Theming();
Console.WriteLine("The current theme is " + thm.GetTheme());
/// The only real difference between Aero and Basic theme is Composition=0 in the [VisualStyles] in Basic (line omitted in Aero)
/// So test if Composition is enabled
DwmIsCompositionEnabled(out aeroEnabled);
if (args.Length == 0 || (args.Length > 0 && args[0].ToLower(CultureInfo.InvariantCulture).Equals("basic")))
{
if (aeroEnabled)
{
Console.WriteLine("Setting to basic...");
thm.SwitchToClassicTheme();
}//if
}//if
else if (args.Length > 0 || args[0].ToLower(CultureInfo.InvariantCulture).Equals("aero"))
{
if (!aeroEnabled)
{
Console.WriteLine("Setting to aero...");
thm.SwitchToAeroTheme();
}//if
}//else if
}
// end of object Program
}
}

I'm not sure if this is a new thing, but you can just double click the .theme file and Windows 10 will apply the theme. Hence, you can do this with PowerShell easily:
$Windows10Theme = "C:\Windows\Resources\Themes\aero.theme"
Invoke-Expression $Windows10Theme

The command for newer Windows versions (Windows 8 and 8.1, haven't tried it on W10 yet) is:
rundll32.exe themecpl.dll,OpenThemeAction %1
or with full paths:
C:\WINDOWS\system32\rundll32.exe C:\WINDOWS\system32\themecpl.dll,OpenThemeAction %LocalAppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Themes\yourtheme.theme
Basically it's the Personalisation CPL "open" command for .theme & .themepack extensions taken from registry...
You'll still end up with the Personalisation window beeing open after using this command so to close it down programatically you'll have to use one of the suggested methods mentioned above... (I personally prefer the Powershell script)

I have been experimenting about changing the windows theme via command line and I learned that by executing the theme file it is being applied by the Windows 10 as well. So in your batch file, you could use one of the following lines:
C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Themes\Dark_Mode.theme
or
C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Themes\Light_Mode.theme
Please note the path to the theme files might be needed to adjust depending on your system user configuration. I strongly advise saving your themes with names excluding spaces as it makes much easier moving forward. Executing such line leaving you with the Settings window opened. To deal with I considered using VBS script instead. Thanks to Patrick Haugh user1390106 there is a much easier way to close the Settings window.
taskkill /F /IM systemsettings.exe
So the updated version of batch file could look like this:
#echo off
if %1 == dark (
REM ================== Go Dark ==================
color 09
echo.
echo Applying DARK MODE
echo Windows Theme ...
C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Themes\Dark_Mode.theme
timeout /T 1 /nobreak > nul
taskkill /F /IM systemsettings.exe > nul
echo DONE
) else (
REM ============== Return to Light ==============
color 30
echo.
echo Applying LIGHT MODE
echo Windows Theme ...
C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Themes\Light_Mode.theme
timeout /T 1 /nobreak > nul
taskkill /F /IM systemsettings.exe > nul
echo DONE
)
REM ================== Goodbye ==================
echo.
echo Goodbye
cls
exit
Please note the path to the theme files might be needed to adjust depending on your system user configuration. Save above script with the name theme.bat somewhere in your drive.
This batch file taking one parameter which needs to be either dark or any other string. Then you could prepare two shortcuts to this batch file each with one of the following in the box called “Target” on the “Shortcut” tab in its properties:
C:\full-path-to-your-batch-file\theme.bat dark
or
C:\full-path-to-your-batch-file\theme.bat light
Please replace “full-path-to-your-batch-file” with actual path to that file.
Here are links to the videos showing how this works:
a) Going Dark – https://youtu.be/cBcDNhAmfyM
b) Returning to the Light – https://youtu.be/2kYJaJHubi4
Please note that my script in those videos also activating/deactivating the Stylish plug-in for chrome. I have omitted to explain how I accomplished that part as it is not a subject of this article.

I believe the best you can do is open your target .msstyles file (in c:\windows\resources\themes), which will pop up the display properties box. At this point you could use window subclassing to programmatically click the right buttons.

In addition of the post of "Jan Goyvaerts":
I use SendMessage instead of PostMessage. The difference is that SendMessage waits for the command to be taken in by the window. Meaning that in the SendMessages returns, you know that the theme dialog is closed.
So if you start it with the monstrous (but genious) rundll32.exe method suggested by "Campbell". You should wait a sec before sending WM_CLOSE. Otherwise the theme will not be set and the application closes right away.
The code snippet below extracts a file from resource (a themepack). Then executes the desk.cpl with rundll32.exe, waits 3 sceonds, then sends WM_CLOSE (0x0010), waits for the command to be process (the time it takes for the theme to be set).
private Boolean SwitchToClassicTheme()
{
//First unpack the theme
try
{
//Extract the theme from the resource
String ThemePath = System.Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.Windows) + #"\Resources\Themes\ClassicTheme.themepack";
//WriteFileToCurrentDirectory("ClassicTheme.theme", TabletConfigurator.Resources.ClassicTheme);
if(File.Exists(ThemePath))
{
File.Delete(ThemePath);
}
if(File.Exists(ThemePath))
{
throw new Exception("The file '" + ThemePath + "' exists and can not be deleted. You can try to delete it manually.");
}
using (BinaryWriter sw = new BinaryWriter(new FileStream(ThemePath, FileMode.OpenOrCreate)))
{
sw.Write(TabletConfigurator.Resources.ClassicTheme);
sw.Flush();
sw.Close();
}
if(!File.Exists(ThemePath))
{
throw new Exception("The resource theme file could not be extracted");
}
//Set the theme file as like a user would have clicked it
Boolean bTimedOut = false;
String ThemeOutput = StartProcessAndWait("rundll32.exe", System.Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.System) + #"\shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL " + System.Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.System) + "\\desk.cpl desk,#Themes /Action:OpenTheme /file:\"" + ThemePath + "\"", ref bTimedOut);
System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(3000);
//Wait for the theme to be set
IntPtr hWndTheming = FindWindow("CabinetWClass", null);
SendMessage(hWndTheming, (uint)WM_CLOSE, 0, 0);
//using (Bitmap bm = CaptureScreenShot())
//{
// Boolean PixelIsGray = true;
// while (PixelIsGray)
// {
// System.Drawing.Color pixel = bm.GetPixel(0, 0)
// }
//}
}
catch(Exception ex)
{
ShowError("An exception occured while setting the theme: " + ex.Message);
return false;
}
return true;
}

I just realized you can double click the theme and it autoswitches it - much simpler, so just executing the theme works, ex batch file:
:: Reactivate my theme after an remote desktop session
:: We must select another theme first before we can select ours again and hence re-activate Aero, please wait..."
#echo Off
"C:\Windows\Resources\Themes\aero.theme"
::echo "Simulating a pause while"
ping 127.0.0.1 -n 10 > null && "D:\Users\danielsokolowski\Windows 7 Aero Themes\`danielsokolowski` Theme (without Glass).theme"
::or ping 127.0.0.1 -n 3 > null && "%userprofile%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Themes\`danielsokolowski` Theme (without Glass).theme"

For Windows 10 I wrote this simple solution (it can also be used in DSC) in PowerShell
# Apply your theme
& "C:\Windows\Resources\Themes\Brand.theme"
# We need to wait for the theme to be applied
Start-Sleep -s 5
# Close the settings window that is opened by the action above
$window = Get-Process | Where-Object {$_.Name -eq "SystemSettings"}
Stop-Process -Id $window.Id

Okay so here is my take on this - a VB script. It's a bit nasty but the best I could come up with (sadly).
For a user that logs in, we simply run ChangeTheme.vbs as the user logs in (e.g. autorun). The script starts desk.cpl and passes the required parameters to it as well as the name of the selected theme.
One can run the script with or without parameters:
> ChangeTheme.vbs
> ChangeTheme.vbs AnyThemeName
The script:
' ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
'
' Changes the theme.
'
' Name:
' ChangeTheme.vbs
' Parameter 1:
' Theme name e.g. aero or anything
' located in in C:\Windows\Resources\Themes.
' If not present, a default theme will be used.
'
' Example:
' Inside a command line run
' > ChangeTheme.vbs TheThemeName
'
' ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
If(Wscript.Arguments.Count <= 0) Then
' If no parameter was given we set the following theme as default
selectedTheme = "aero"
Else
' Get theme via the first argument
selectedTheme = Wscript.Arguments(0)
End If
' Create WScript shell object
Set WshShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
' Run the command to open the "theme application" (or whatever)
Set process = WshShell.Exec("rundll32.exe %SystemRoot%\system32\shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL %SystemRoot%\system32\desk.cpl desk,#Themes /Action:OpenTheme /file:""C:\Windows\Resources\Themes\" & selectedTheme & ".theme""")
' Wait for the application to start
Wscript.Sleep 250
Success = False
maxTries = 20
tryCount = 0
Do Until Success = True
Wscript.Sleep 1000
' Set focus to our application
' If this fails, or the application loses focus, it won't work!
Success = WshShell.AppActivate(process.ProcessId)
tryCount = tryCount + 1
If (tryCount >= maxTries) Then
' If it does not work after maxTries we give up ..
MsgBox("Cannot change theme - max tries exceeded ..")
Exit Do
End If
Loop
' The crucial part: Send keys ALT + B for applying the theme
WshShell.Sendkeys "%(B)"
' Send key "escape" to close the window
WshShell.Sendkeys "{ESCAPE}"
Hope that helps.

It works on Windows 10.
this is my script. It changes the theme and closes the window. I save it to a batch file and run this patch file from TaskScheduler:
C:\WINDOWS\system32\rundll32.exe C:\WINDOWS\system32\themecpl.dll,OpenThemeAction C:\Users\xxx\Misc_computer_stuff\themes\my_fav_gr.theme
TIMEOUT 1 & REM Waits 1 seconds before executing the next command
TASKKILL /F /IM systemsettings.exe & close window
exit

You can simply open any of the .theme files present in C:\Windows\Resources\Themes\ to change the theme.
The only catch is that the settings app is also opened after this. But we can kill it using Stop-Process in PowerShell
Invoke-Expression "C:\Windows\Resources\Themes\<theme_name>.theme"
Start-Sleep -Seconds 2
Stop-Process -Name SystemSettings
For Example:
Invoke-Expression "C:\Windows\Resources\Themes\dark.theme"

Related

Open file explorer at coordinates

When I boot up my computer I open several file explorers and sort them around the screen to help speed up my workflow. It's not time consuming, only tedious, and I'd like a small program to do it for me. I know how to open an explorer, but I don't see any positional arguments.
Is there a way to spawn a file explorer at a set of screen coordinates, or move it programatically after it opens? Preferably with python 3+, but batch will work as well.
That was simultaneously easier and harder than I thought it was going to be. Everything is commented, let me know if you have any more questions. This is a PowerShell/batch hybrid script (so save it as a .bat file) because PowerShell is disabled on systems by default or something.
<# :
:: Based on https://gist.github.com/coldnebo/1148334
:: Converted to a batch/powershell hybrid via http://www.dostips.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=37780#p37780
:: Array comparison from http://stackoverflow.com/a/6368667/4158862
#echo off
setlocal
set "POWERSHELL_BAT_ARGS=%*"
if defined POWERSHELL_BAT_ARGS set "POWERSHELL_BAT_ARGS=%POWERSHELL_BAT_ARGS:"=\"%"
endlocal & powershell -NoLogo -NoProfile -Command "$_ = $input; Invoke-Expression $( '$input = $_; $_ = \"\"; $args = #( &{ $args } %POWERSHELL_BAT_ARGS% );' + [String]::Join( [char]10, $( Get-Content \"%~f0\" ) ) )"
goto :EOF
#>
# Create an instance of the Win32 API object to handle and manipulate windows
Add-Type #"
using System;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
public class Win32 {
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
[return: MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.Bool)]
public static extern bool MoveWindow(IntPtr hWnd, int X, int Y, int nWidth, int nHeight, bool bRepaint);
}
"#
# Get a list of existing Explorer Windows
$previous_array = #()
$shell_object = New-Object -COM 'Shell.Application'
foreach($old_window in $shell_object.Windows())
{
$previous_array += $old_window.HWND
}
# Open four more Explorer Windows in the current directory
explorer
explorer
explorer
explorer
# Pause for 1 second so that the windows have time to finish opening
sleep 1
# Get the list of new Explorer Windows
$new_array = #()
foreach($new_window in $shell_object.Windows())
{
$new_array += $new_window.HWND
}
# Compare the two arrays and only process the new windows
$only_new = Compare-Object -ReferenceObject $previous_array -DifferenceObject $new_array -PassThru
# MoveWindow takes HWND value, X-position on screen, Y-position on screen, window width, and window height
# I've just hard-coded the values, adjust them to suit your needs
[Win32]::MoveWindow($only_new[0],0,0,960,540,$true)
[Win32]::MoveWindow($only_new[1],960,0,960,540,$true)
[Win32]::MoveWindow($only_new[2],0,540,960,540,$true)
[Win32]::MoveWindow($only_new[3],960,540,960,540,$true)

How to close the personalization window after specified time via command prompt

I have some vbs code that will automatically change my windows theme via cmd as well as close it after the operation completes. The personalization window opens, Windows changes the theme, and then the personalization window closes. The problem is, sometimes the window doesn't close after changing the theme and I'm wondering why. Also, is there a one-liner code in cmd (or vbs that can execute through cmd) that just closes the personalization window? Thanks in advance for your help! My code used is as follows:
Set WshShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
WshShell.Run "rundll32.exe %SystemRoot%\system32\shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL %SystemRoot%\system32\desk.cpl desk,#Themes /Action:OpenTheme /file:""C:\Windows\Resources\Ease of Access Themes\basic.theme"""
Wscript.Sleep 1600
WshShell.AppActivate("Desktop Properties")
WshShell.Sendkeys "%FC"
WshShell.Sendkeys "{F4}"
Your Run call is being done asynchonously so your script will continue without waiting for Run to complete. This is fine, and it's what you need in your situation. But if it takes longer than 1600ms to launch the Desktop Properties dialog then AppActivate and your SendKeys commands are being sent to a nonexistent window. Have you tried increasing the sleep time to see if it works?
You can also test the availability of the window in a loop. AppActivate returns True if the window is found and False otherwise. For example, here's a snippet that tries for 10 seconds to see if the window appears (checking each second)...
For i = 1 To 10
WScript.Sleep 1000
If WshShell.AppActivate("Desktop Properties") Then
WshShell.Sendkeys "%FC"
WshShell.Sendkeys "{F4}"
Exit For
End If
Next
' If i > 10, it failed to find the window.
After trying a similar solution, I came up with the following powershell:
Function Get-WindowHandle($title,$class="") {
$code = #'
[System.Runtime.InteropServices.DllImport("User32.dll")]
public static extern IntPtr FindWindow(string lpClassName, string lpWindowName);
'#
Add-Type -MemberDefinition $code -Namespace MyWinAPI -Name GetWindowHandle
return [MyWinAPI.GetWindowHandle]::FindWindow($class, $title)
}
Function Close-WindowHandle($windowHandle) {
$code = #'
[System.Runtime.InteropServices.DllImport("User32.dll")]
public static extern bool PostMessage(IntPtr hWnd, int flags, int idk, int idk2);
'#
Add-Type -MemberDefinition $code -Namespace MyWinAPI -Name CloseWindowHandle
#https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/ms632617(v=vs.85).aspx
$WM_CLOSE = 0x0010
return [MyWinAPI.CloseWindowHandle]::PostMessage($windowHandle, $WM_CLOSE, 0, 0)
}
Close-WindowHandle $(Get-WindowHandle 'Personalization' 'CabinetWClass')

Navigate Shell command not working when the path includes an hash

I'm having problem using the Navigate Shell command when the path include an # sign.
; this will create 2 folders at the root of your C: drive
myPath1 := "C:\delete_me\"
myPath2 := "C:\delete#me\"
if !FileExist(myPath1)
FileCreateDir, %myPath1%
if !FileExist(myPath2)
FileCreateDir, %myPath2%
; make an Explorer active and press Alt-1 and Alt-2
return
!1::
strWinId := WinExist("A")
TrayTip, %myPath1%, %strWinId%
For pExp in ComObjCreate("Shell.Application").Windows
if (pExp.hwnd = strWinId)
try pExp.Navigate(myPath1)
return
!2::
strWinId := WinExist("A")
TrayTip, %myPath2%, %strWinId%
For pExp in ComObjCreate("Shell.Application").Windows
if (pExp.hwnd = strWinId)
try pExp.Navigate(myPath2)
return
Alt-1 works well. But, with Alt-2, the Navigate command returns "file:///C:/delete#me/ » not found.".
If there is no "/" after the "#" (eg myPath := "C:\delete#me"), it works. But this cannot be a solution because the destination path can be deeper in a subfolder (eg. "C:\delete#me\xyz").
I tried to encode the "#", replacing it with "%23", without success. Found nothing on the web or MSDN about that. Any idea?
[keywords: haskmark, hashtag, number sign or pound]
I have what looks to be a working solution for this, which I've also posted here:
4 options to change the current folder in Windows Explorer - Page 3 - AutoHotkey Community
https://autohotkey.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=526&p=153676#p153676
;links:
;Explorer Windows Manipulations - Page 5 - Scripts and Functions - AutoHotkey Community
;https://autohotkey.com/board/topic/19039-explorer-windows-manipulations/page-5#entry297581
;Navigate2 Method (IWebBrowser2)
;https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa752134(v=vs.85).aspx
;4 options to change the current folder in Windows Explorer - AutoHotkey Community
;https://autohotkey.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=526
;windows - Navigate Shell command not working when the path includes an hash - Stack Overflow
;https://stackoverflow.com/questions/22868546/navigate-shell-command-not-working-when-the-path-includes-an-hash
;an AutoHotkey v1.1 script
;note: will create folder: %A_Desktop%\abc#def\abc#def
;q:: ;explorer - navigate to folder (tested on Windows 7)
WinGet, hWnd, ID, A
WinGetClass, vWinClass, % "ahk_id " hWnd
if !(vWinClass = "CabinetWClass") && !(vWinClass = "ExploreWClass")
return
vDir = %A_Desktop%\abc#def\abc#def
;vDir = %A_Desktop%\abc def\abc def
if !FileExist(vDir)
FileCreateDir, % vDir
DllCall("shell32\SHParseDisplayName", WStr,vDir, Ptr,0, PtrP,vPIDL, UInt,0, Ptr,0)
for oWin in ComObjCreate("Shell.Application").Windows
if (oWin.HWND = hWnd)
{
if !InStr(vDir, "#")
oWin.Navigate(vDir)
else
{
VarSetCapacity(SAFEARRAY, A_PtrSize=8?32:24, 0)
NumPut(1, SAFEARRAY, 0, "UShort")
NumPut(1, SAFEARRAY, 4, "UShort")
NumPut(vPIDL, SAFEARRAY, A_PtrSize=8?16:12, "Ptr")
NumPut(DllCall("shell32\ILGetSize", Ptr,vPIDL, UInt), SAFEARRAY, A_PtrSize=8?24:16, "Int")
oWin.Navigate2(ComObject(0x2011,&SAFEARRAY))
DllCall("shell32\ILFree", Ptr,vPIDL)
}
break
}
return
If you want to open a new window, there's no need for COM or unreliable workarounds: just run the folder.
Run C:\delete#me
If you want to open the path in an existing window which is already active, the simplest and most effective workaround is this:
SendInput {F4}{Esc}{Raw}C:\delete#me`n
So in the context of your script, you could use the following function to work around the # when it is present:
Navigate(pExp, myPath2)
;...
Navigate(Exp, Path)
{
if RegExMatch(Path, "#.*\\")
SendInput {F4}{Esc}{Raw}%Path%`n
else
Exp.Navigate(Path)
}
Unfortunately, there does not seem to be a solution to this. Shell.Application Navigate command fails if the path includes a hash (# as in C:\C#Projects).
Using AutoHotkey, the workaround would be to rely on the "second best" approach as identified by the tests in this thread: http://ahkscript.org/boards/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=526.
run, Explorer.exe
Sleep, 500
strFolder := A_ScriptDir
Send, {F4}{Esc}
Sleep, 500
ControlSetText, Edit1, C:\delete#me, A
ControlSend, Edit1, {Enter}, A
When I saw that Navigate couldn't handle hash, I was shocked,
but sure enough I replicated the error.
I thought I'd try the short form path just in case. It works!
if vDir contains #
Loop, %vDir%, 2, 0 ;(0/1/2=files/both/folders, 0/1=recurse no/yes)
vDir := A_LoopFileShortPath
The following approach doesn't require a visible address bar, or SendInput,
also the previous navigation history is maintained.
In the worst-case scenario of a hash in the short-form path of the dir above the target dir,
a go-between folder is used which is navigated to.
A link is created there, invoked, and deleted.
Below, the workaround code is indented, to separate it from the standard code.
A hotkey of ctrl+q, when an Explorer window is active, launches the script.
-
^q:: ;explorer - navigate to directory (use go-between dir if short-form path of dir above target contains #)
WinGet, hWnd, ID, A
WinGetClass, vWinClass, ahk_id %hWnd%
if vWinClass not in CabinetWClass,ExploreWClass
Return
vDir2 = %A_Desktop%\Go-Between ;go-between dir
vDir3 = C:\delete#me ;target dir
if (SubStr(vDir3, 1-1) = "\")
vDir3 := SubStr(vDir3, 1, -1)
if !InStr(FileExist(vDir3), "D")
Return
vPathLnk := ""
if vDir3 contains #
Loop, %vDir3%, 2, 0 ;(0/1/2=files/both/folders, 0/1=recurse no/yes)
vDir3 := A_LoopFileShortPath
;vDir4 is the short-form path of the dir above the target
;paths of problem target dirs are of the form: *#*\*
;where there is at least one hash with a backslash to its right
SplitPath, vDir3, , vDir4
if vDir4 contains #
{
if !InStr(FileExist(vDir2), "D")
FileCreateDir, %vDir2%
if !InStr(FileExist(vDir2), "D")
{
MsgBox error`, go-between dir not found:`r`n%vDir2%
Return
}
vNameLnk = Go-Between.lnk
vPathLnk = %vDir2%\%vNameLnk%
FileCreateShortcut, %vDir3%, %vPathLnk%
}
for oWin in ComObjCreate("Shell.Application").Windows
if (hWnd = oWin.Hwnd)
{
vDir1 := oWin.Document.Folder.Self.Path
if (vDir1 = vDir3)
break
if vDir3 contains #
{
if !(vDir1 = vDir2)
oWin.Navigate(vDir2)
while !(oWin.ReadyState = 4)
Sleep 10
oItem := oWin.Document.Folder.Items.Item(vNameLnk)
oItem.InvokeVerbEx("open")
break
}
oWin.Navigate(vDir3)
break
}
oWin := ""
if !(vPathLnk = "")
FileRecycle, %vPathLnk% ;send to recycle bin
;if !(vPathLnk = "")
;FileDelete, %vPathLnk% ;delete
Return

How can I get the current active window at the time a batch script is run?

I have a batch script I want to run with hotkeys, and this script is supposed to make some actions in the active window (for example, creating a particular set of folders, or lowercase all names of the files inside the folder). So the script needs to refer to the active window when it's called.
I have tried to leave the "Start in" field of the alias empty, but echoing %cd% always print "C:\Windows\System32" instead of the current active window.
You can lookup which process got the window in foreground using pinvoke of user32.dll.
I've used this trick for system.window.forms.sendkeys method in a script:
Add-Type #"
using System;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
public class Tricks {
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
public static extern IntPtr GetForegroundWindow();
}
"#
$a = [tricks]::GetForegroundWindow()
get-process | ? { $_.mainwindowhandle -eq $a } # in my case:
Handles NPM(K) PM(K) WS(K) VM(M) CPU(s) Id ProcessName
------- ------ ----- ----- ----- ------ -- -----------
161 7 13984 15820 91 9,75 7720 Console
For anyone looking for a non-Powershell solution, here's a batch script that uses cscript to invoke a block of JScript. The JScript creates a new child process, gets its PID, then walks up the ParentProcessID line of ancestors until it gets to explorer.exe, then returns the PID of the direct child. It ought to return the correct PID for the console window in which the script runs, even if there are multiple instances of cmd.exe or cscript.exe running.
What can I say? I was feeling creative today.
#if (#a==#b) #end /* JScript multiline comment
:: begin batch portion
#echo off
setlocal
for /f "delims=" %%I in ('cscript /nologo /e:Jscript "%~f0"') do (
echo PID of this console window is %%I
)
goto :EOF
:: end batch portion / begin JScript */
var oShell = WSH.CreateObject('wscript.shell'),
johnConnor = oShell.Exec('%comspec% /k #echo;');
// returns PID of the direct child of explorer.exe
function getTopPID(PID, child) {
var proc = GetObject("winmgmts:Win32_Process=" + PID);
// uncomment the following line to watch the script walk up the ancestor tree
// WSH.Echo(proc.name + ' has a PID of ' + PID);
return (proc.name == 'explorer.exe') ? child : getTopPID(proc.ParentProcessID, PID);
}
var PID = getTopPID(johnConnor.ProcessID);
johnConnor.Terminate();
// send the console window to the back for a second, then refocus, just to show off
oShell.SendKeys('%{ESC}');
WSH.Sleep(1000);
oShell.AppActivate(PID);
// output PID of console window
WSH.Echo(PID);

Open a file in Visual Studio at a specific line number

I have a utility (grep) that gives me a list of filenames and a line numbers. After I have determined that devenv is the correct program to open a file, I would like to ensure that it is opened at the indicated line number. In emacs, this would be:
emacs +140 filename.c
I have found nothing like this for Visual Studio (devenv). The closest I have found is:
devenv /Command "Edit.Goto 140" filename.c
However, this makes a separate instance of devenv for each such file. I would rather have something that uses an existing instance.
These variations re-use an existing devenv, but don't go to the indicated line:
devenv /Command "Edit.Goto 140" /Edit filename.c
devenv /Command /Edit filename.c "Edit.Goto 140"
I thought that using multiple "/Command" arguments might do it, but I probably don't have the right one because I either get errors or no response at all (other than opening an empty devenv).
I could write a special macro for devenv, but I would like this utility to be used by others that don't have that macro. And I'm not clear on how to invoke that macro with the "/Command" option.
Any ideas?
Well, it doesn't appear that there is a way to do this as I wanted. Since it looks like I'll need to have dedicated code to start up Visual Studio, I've decided to use EnvDTE as shown below. Hopefully this will help somebody else.
#include "stdafx.h"
//-----------------------------------------------------------------------
// This code is blatently stolen from http://benbuck.com/archives/13
//
// This is from the blog of somebody called "BenBuck" for which there
// seems to be no information.
//-----------------------------------------------------------------------
// import EnvDTE
#pragma warning(disable : 4278)
#pragma warning(disable : 4146)
#import "libid:80cc9f66-e7d8-4ddd-85b6-d9e6cd0e93e2" version("8.0") lcid("0") raw_interfaces_only named_guids
#pragma warning(default : 4146)
#pragma warning(default : 4278)
bool visual_studio_open_file(char const *filename, unsigned int line)
{
HRESULT result;
CLSID clsid;
result = ::CLSIDFromProgID(L"VisualStudio.DTE", &clsid);
if (FAILED(result))
return false;
CComPtr<IUnknown> punk;
result = ::GetActiveObject(clsid, NULL, &punk);
if (FAILED(result))
return false;
CComPtr<EnvDTE::_DTE> DTE;
DTE = punk;
CComPtr<EnvDTE::ItemOperations> item_ops;
result = DTE->get_ItemOperations(&item_ops);
if (FAILED(result))
return false;
CComBSTR bstrFileName(filename);
CComBSTR bstrKind(EnvDTE::vsViewKindTextView);
CComPtr<EnvDTE::Window> window;
result = item_ops->OpenFile(bstrFileName, bstrKind, &window);
if (FAILED(result))
return false;
CComPtr<EnvDTE::Document> doc;
result = DTE->get_ActiveDocument(&doc);
if (FAILED(result))
return false;
CComPtr<IDispatch> selection_dispatch;
result = doc->get_Selection(&selection_dispatch);
if (FAILED(result))
return false;
CComPtr<EnvDTE::TextSelection> selection;
result = selection_dispatch->QueryInterface(&selection);
if (FAILED(result))
return false;
result = selection->GotoLine(line, TRUE);
if (FAILED(result))
return false;
return true;
}
With VS2008 SP1, you can use the following command line to open a file at a specific line in an existing instance :
devenv /edit FILE_PATH /command "edit.goto FILE_LINE"
Source
Elaborating on Harold question and answer, I adapted the C++ solution (that I first adopted) to C#. It is much simpler (that is my first C# program!). One just need to create a project, add references to "envDTE" and "envDTE80" and drop the following code:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Text;
namespace openStudioFileLine
{
class Program
{
[STAThread]
static void Main(string[] args)
{
try
{
String filename = args[0];
int fileline;
int.TryParse(args[1], out fileline);
EnvDTE80.DTE2 dte2;
dte2 = (EnvDTE80.DTE2)System.Runtime.InteropServices.Marshal.GetActiveObject("VisualStudio.DTE");
dte2.MainWindow.Activate();
EnvDTE.Window w = dte2.ItemOperations.OpenFile(filename, EnvDTE.Constants.vsViewKindTextView);
((EnvDTE.TextSelection)dte2.ActiveDocument.Selection).GotoLine(fileline, true);
}
catch (Exception e)
{
Console.Write(e.Message);
}
}
}
}
One then just calls openStudioFileLine path_to_file numberOfLine.
Hope that may help !
Based on reder answer I have published repository with source, here is binary(.net2.0)
I also add support for multiple VS versions
usage: <version> <file path> <line number>
Visual Studio version value
VisualStudio 2002 2
VisualStudio 2003 3
VisualStudio 2005 5
VisualStudio 2008 8
VisualStudio 2010 10
VisualStudio 2012 12
VisualStudio 2013 13
Example using from GrepWin:
VisualStudioFileOpenTool.exe 12 %path% %line%
Pretty old thread, but it got me started so here's another example. This AutoHotkey function opens a file, and puts the cursor on a particular rowand column.
; http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/envdte.textselection.aspx
; http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/envdte.textselection.movetodisplaycolumn.aspx
VST_Goto(Filename, Row:=1, Col:=1) {
DTE := ComObjActive("VisualStudio.DTE.12.0")
DTE.ExecuteCommand("File.OpenFile", Filename)
DTE.ActiveDocument.Selection.MoveToDisplayColumn(Row, Col)
}
Call with:
VST_Goto("C:\Palabra\.NET\Addin\EscDoc\EscDoc.cs", 328, 40)
You could translate it pretty much line by line to VBScript or JScript.
Here is Python variation of Harold's solution:
import sys
import win32com.client
filename = sys.argv[1]
line = int(sys.argv[2])
column = int(sys.argv[3])
dte = win32com.client.GetActiveObject("VisualStudio.DTE")
dte.MainWindow.Activate
dte.ItemOperations.OpenFile(filename)
dte.ActiveDocument.Selection.MoveToLineAndOffset(line, column+1)
It shows how to go to specified line + column.
Here is VBS variation of Harold's solution: link to .vbs script.
open-in-msvs.vbs full-path-to-file line column
Windows supports VBScript natively - no need for compilation or any additional interpreters.
These C# dependencies on project references are completely unecessary. Indeed much of the code here is overly verbose. All you need is this.
using System.Reflection;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
private static void OpenFileAtLine(string file, int line) {
object vs = Marshal.GetActiveObject("VisualStudio.DTE");
object ops = vs.GetType().InvokeMember("ItemOperations", BindingFlags.GetProperty, null, vs, null);
object window = ops.GetType().InvokeMember("OpenFile", BindingFlags.InvokeMethod, null, ops, new object[] { file });
object selection = window.GetType().InvokeMember("Selection", BindingFlags.GetProperty, null, window, null);
selection.GetType().InvokeMember("GotoLine", BindingFlags.InvokeMethod, null, selection, new object[] { line, true });
}
Simples eh?
This is my working C# solution for Visual Studio 2017 (15.9.7)
For other versions of VS just change the version number (i.e. "VisualStudio.DTE.14.0")
todo:
Add Reference->Search 'envdte'->Check Checkbox for envdte->Click OK
using EnvDTE;
private static void OpenFileAtLine(string file, int line)
{
DTE dte = (DTE) Marshal.GetActiveObject("VisualStudio.DTE.15.0");
dte.MainWindow.Visible = true;
dte.ExecuteCommand("File.OpenFile", file);
dte.ExecuteCommand("Edit.GoTo", line.ToString());
}
For reference here is the ENVDE written in C# (using O2 Platform inside VisualStudio to get a reference to the live DTE object)
var visualStudio = new API_VisualStudio_2010();
var vsDTE = visualStudio.VsAddIn.VS_Dte;
//var document = (Document)vsDTE.ActiveDocument;
//var window = (Window)document.Windows.first();
var textSelection = (TextSelection)vsDTE.ActiveDocument.Selection;
var selectedLine = 1;
20.loop(100,()=>{
textSelection.GotoLine(selectedLine++);
textSelection.SelectLine();
});
return textSelection;
This code does a little animation where 20 lines are selected (with a 100ms interval)
The correct wingrep command line syntax to force a new instance and jump to a line number is:
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0\Common7\IDE\devenv.exe" $F /command "edit.goto $L"
Replace the studio version number with the correct version for your setup.
The version posted by #Mungo64 worked for me, but of course the version number is always changing, so I made a version that automatically searches until we find it.
Add Reference->Search 'envdte'->Check Checkbox for envdte->Click OK
//using EnvDTE; //I didn't use the using directive as it causes ambiguity in another module I'm using.
private static void OpenFileAtLine(string file, int line)
{
//The number needs to be rolled to the next version each time a new version of visual studio is used...
EnvDTE.DTE dte = null;
for (int i = 25; i > 8; i--) {
try
{
dte = (EnvDTE.DTE)Marshal.GetActiveObject("VisualStudio.DTE." + i.ToString() + ".0");
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
//don't care... just keep bashing head against wall until success
}
}
//the following line works fine for visual studio 2019:
//EnvDTE.DTE dte = (EnvDTE.DTE)Marshal.GetActiveObject("VisualStudio.DTE.16.0");
dte.MainWindow.Visible = true;
dte.ExecuteCommand("File.OpenFile", file);
dte.ExecuteCommand("Edit.GoTo", line.ToString());
}
I can't figure out a way to do this with straight command-line options. It looks like you will have to write a macro for it. Supposedly, you can invoke them like so.
devenv /command "Macros.MyMacros.Module1.OpenFavoriteFiles"
So, you can probably create a macro that takes a filename and a line number, then opens the file and jumps to the proper place. But, I don't know that you can specify a same-instance flag somewhere, or not.
I was about to ask this question because when you get the "yellow screen of death" when debugging a web application, you want to quickly go to the file and line that it gives you in the stacktrace e.g:
[ContractException: Precondition failed: session != null]
System.Diagnostics.Contracts.__ContractsRuntime.TriggerFailure(ContractFailureKind kind, String msg, String userMessage, String conditionTxt, Exception inner) in C:\_svn\IntegratedAdaptationsSystem\Source\IntegratedAdaptationsSystem\IAS_UI\Controllers\CustomErrorsPageController.cs:0
System.Diagnostics.Contracts.__ContractsRuntime.ReportFailure(ContractFailureKind kind, String msg, String conditionTxt, Exception inner) in C:\_svn\IntegratedAdaptationsSystem\Source\IntegratedAdaptationsSystem\IAS_UI\Controllers\CustomErrorsPageController.cs:0
System.Diagnostics.Contracts.__ContractsRuntime.Requires(Boolean condition, String msg, String conditionTxt) in C:\_svn\IntegratedAdaptationsSystem\Source\IntegratedAdaptationsSystem\IAS_UI\Controllers\CustomErrorsPageController.cs:0
IAS_UI.Web.IAS_Session..ctor(HttpSessionStateBase session) in C:\_svn\IntegratedAdaptationsSystem\Source\IntegratedAdaptationsSystem\IAS_UI\Web\IAS_Session.cs:15
IAS_UI.Controllers.ServiceUserController..ctor() in C:\_svn\IntegratedAdaptationsSystem\Source\IntegratedAdaptationsSystem\IAS_UI\Controllers\ServiceUserController.cs:41
Say I want to go to ServiceUserController.cs at line 41. Usually I would open Visual Studio and do it manually but then I wrote a little Autohotkey script which does it.
To open it, you will highlight the filename and line number e.g. ServiceUserController.cs:41 and thereafter press your shortcut Alt + v. Here is the code for it:
$!v::
if (NOT ProcessExists("devenv.exe"))
{
MsgBox, % "Visual Studio is not loaded"
}
else
{
IfWinExist, Microsoft Visual Studio
{
ToolTip, Opening Visual Studio...
c := GetClip()
if (NOT c) {
MsgBox, % "No text selected"
}
else
{
WinActivate ; now activate visual studio
Sleep, 50
; for now assume that there is only one instance of visual studio - handling of multiple instances comes in later
arr := StringSplitF(c, ":")
if (arr.MaxIndex() <> 2) {
MsgBox, % "Text: '" . c . "' is invalid."
}
else {
fileName := arr[1]
lineNumber := arr[2]
; give focus to the "Find" box
SendInput, ^d
; delete the contents of the "Find" box
SendInput, {Home}
SendInput, +{End}
SendInput, {Delete}
; input *** >of FILENAME *** into the "Find" box
SendInput, >of{Space}
SendInput, % fileName
; select the first entry in the drop down list
SendInput, {Down}
SendInput, {Enter}
; lineNumber := 12 remove later
; open the go to line dialog
SendInput, ^g
Sleep, 20
; send the file number and press enter
SendInput, % lineNumber
SendInput {Enter}
}
}
ToolTip
}
}
return
You will want to paste the following "utility functions" before it:
GetClip()
{
ClipSaved := ClipboardAll
Clipboard=
Sleep, 30
Send ^c
ClipWait, 2
Sleep, 30
Gc := Clipboard
Clipboard := ClipSaved
ClipSaved=
return Gc
}
ProcessExists(procName)
{
Process, Exist, %procName%
return (ErrorLevel != 0)
}
StringSplitF(str, delimeters)
{
Arr := Object()
Loop, parse, str, %delimeters%,
{
Arr.Insert(A_LoopField)
}
return Arr
}
Using this command works for me, as long as Visual Studio is NOT open already.
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0\Common7\IDE\devenv.exe" /edit "ABSOLUTEFILEPATH_FILENAME.CPP" /command "Edit.GoTo 164"
If it is already open, then sometimes it works and goes to the right line, but then it just stops working and I have never figured out why. Looks like Microsoft is aware of the issue but have said they "Will Not Fix" it, unless more people complain. So if it's still an issue I'd suggest commenting here: https://connect.microsoft.com/VisualStudio/Feedback/Details/1128717
Slightly simplified version of the answer from OnceUponATimeInTheWest:
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
private static void OpenFileAtLine(string file, int line) {
dynamic vs = Marshal.GetActiveObject("VisualStudio.DTE");
dynamic window = vs.ItemOperations.OpenFile(path);
window.Selection.GotoLine(line, true);
}
It uses dynamics instead of Reflection to make the code a bit shorter and more readable.

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