How to open multiple files in single instance of application?

Question

0.00/5 (No votes)

See more:

Hello All,
I wants to add multiple selected files in a single ListView.
My program creates context menu "Add To Program" for all files in Explorer. When I select single file this menu works fine but, when I select multiple files and clickes on "Add To Program" It Opens Multiple instances of program containing single-single file.
I have attached sample code from my project.

What I have tried:

private void Form1_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
        {
            string fileName = Environment.GetCommandLineArgs()[1];
            FileInfo f = new FileInfo(fileName);
            //AddFileIconToImageList(fileName);
            listView1.Items.Add(f.Name, listView1.Items.Count);
        }

and In Registry
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT->*->shell->Add To Program->command->(Default)C:\Program Files (x86)\TestProject\AddToProgram\AddToProgram.exe "%1"

Posted 4-Oct-20 22:25pm

Shruti91

Updated 5-Oct-20 6:14am

v2

Add a Solution

2 solutions

Add a Solution

Add your solution here

Treat my content as plain text, not as HTML

Preview 0

…

Existing Members

Sign in to your account

...or Join us

Download, Vote, Comment, Publish.

Your Email
Password
Forgot your password?

Your Email
This email is in use. Do you need your password?
Optional Password

I have read and agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
Please subscribe me to the CodeProject newsletters

When answering a question please:

Read the question carefully.
Understand that English isn't everyone's first language so be lenient of bad spelling and grammar.
If a question is poorly phrased then either ask for clarification, ignore it, or edit the question and fix the problem. Insults are not welcome.
Don't tell someone to read the manual. Chances are they have and don't get it. Provide an answer or move on to the next question.

Let's work to help developers, not make them feel stupid.

This content, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under The Code Project Open License (CPOL)

OriginalGriff · Answer 1 · 2020-10-04T22:38:00

Solution 1

That's complicated: your apps command line arguments never change once the program is running, and there is no "built in" way for Windows to pass new information to an existing instance. And each instance of your app runs as a separate process, so they do not share memory or forms at all.

It's possible though: Double Clicking a File in Explorer and Adding It to Your App while it's Running[^]

Posted 4-Oct-20 22:38pm

OriginalGriff

Comments

Shruti91 5-Oct-20 5:49am

Thank you sir, for solution. but can we add multiple file at a time? like winzip which allows to add multiple files in it?

OriginalGriff 5-Oct-20 6:12am

Are you talking about drag'n'drop? because that's trivial ...

Shruti91 5-Oct-20 6:54am

No, Drag n Drop implemented, no issue. I wants to add menu like Winzip and WinRar "Add to Archieve" which allows for multiple files also.

OriginalGriff 5-Oct-20 7:01am

So what's the problem?
Remember we only get exactly what you type to work with - we get no further context at all.

Try explaining in more detail where you are stuck, and what help you need.

Richard Deeming 5-Oct-20 10:11am

Sounds like you're trying to add a shell context menu handler:
.NET Shell Extensions - Shell Context Menus[^]

Dave Kreskowiak · Answer 2 · 2020-10-05T06:15:00

I think I know what you're trying to do. You're app is trying to launch an external application with a command line specifying which file that application should open.

Now you want that application to open multiple files.

Well, That's a problem. The app you're launching has to support doing that. If this external app is something you wrote, you can modify it so that an already running instance can be told by a new instance that it needs to open another file. An example of how to do that has already been given to you.

If the external app is NOT an app that you wrote, there is no way for you to control that yourself. The external app would have to be re-written by its vendor to support it. That's not likely to happen.