Possible to start seperate exe specific form?

[cmmorris1]

This may sound silly but is it possible to run a separate exe and call a specific form to load?

For example:

Let's say I have two exes one that checks licensing and then once that is done it calls another separate exe to load a specific form based on the type of license selected?

It sounds doable but can anyone share a snip it of code that may do the trick?

Is this possible?

-Chris

[opus]

Sure, you can call/run another .Exe.
As for loading a specific form in this other .Exe, this needs to be handled in this other .Exe. You can use CommandLine arguments to handover data to that .Exe.

[cmmorris1]

Thanks opus!

I can call the 2nd exe fine it is just that I can't figure out how to get a specific form opened with it. Is there sample code you can point me to that I may look over and see if I can make this work?

[jmcilhinney]

This is one situation where I would say that it may be advisable to disable the Application Framework in your project and create your own Main method. That would be the case if you want this selected form to be the main form for your application. If you will actually always be using the same main form and these different forms are just a precursor to the main form then I would say not. If you can answer that question then we can provide the best advice.

[cmmorris1]

Hey Jmcilhinney,

The main form IS the licensing app. The 2nd executable would be loaded upon successful license verification and depending on what version selected I would like it to load a specific form.

I thought it would be as simple as calling the 2nd app and passing an argument to it to load a specific form.

[jmcilhinney]

The main form IS the licensing app.

No it isn't.

The 2nd executable would be loaded upon successful license verification and depending on what version selected I would like it to load a specific form.

I thought it would be as simple as calling the 2nd app and passing an argument to it to load a specific form.

You have two separate applications. Each application has its own main form. The second application doesn;t know anything about the first. It is completely independent and has its own main form. Is that main form going to be the same every time or is it going to be the form that you show based on the commandline used to start it?

[cmmorris1]

Oh, I see what you're saying. Sorry about that. It's been a long night

Yes, you are correct and the 2nd application will show a specific form based on the command line used to start it...correct!

[opus]

As for the start of a second .exe:

    Sub WhatEver(LicenseInfo as Integer)
         Dim p As New ProcessStartInfo
        ' Specify the location of the second .exe
        p.FileName = "C:\second.exe"
        Select Case LicenseInfo
             Case 1
                  p.Arguments = "Type 1"
            CaseElse
                  p.Arguments = "Type 0"
        End Select
        ' Start the process
        Process.Start(p)
    End Sub

[cmmorris1]

This is what I had originally which isn't working

Dim startInfo As New ProcessStartInfo
        startInfo.FileName = "myprogram.EXE"
        startInfo.Arguments = (Form1.p)
        Process.Start(startInfo)

[jmcilhinney]

In that case, what I said before about disabling the Application Framework would be the way to go. Open the Application page of the project properties and uncheck the Application Framework box. The Startup Form field will then become Startup Object and you can select Sub Main.

Next, add a module to your project named Program.vb with a Main method something like this:

Module Program
 
    <STAThread()> Sub Main(ByVal args As String())
        Application.EnableVisualStyles()
        Application.SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault(False)
 
        Select Case args.Length
            Case 0
                'No form specified.  Either show default or error.
            Case 1
                Dim mainForm As Form
 
                Select Case args(0)
                    Case "Form1"
                        mainForm = New Form1
                    Case "Form2"
                        mainForm = New Form2
                    Case "Form3"
                        mainForm = New Form3
                    Case Else
                        'Invalid form name.  Either show default or error.
                End Select
 
                'Start the app with the appropriate main form.
                Application.Run(mainForm)
            Case Else
                'Too many arguments.  Either ignore from second or error.
        End Select
 
        MessageBox.Show("Hello World")
    End Sub
 
End Module

[jmcilhinney]

This is what I had originally which isn't working

Dim startInfo As New ProcessStartInfo
        startInfo.FileName = "myprogram.EXE"
        startInfo.Arguments = (Form1.p)
        Process.Start(startInfo)

You can't actually pass a form from one app to the other. Commandline arguments are just strings. The first app needs to pass some string that the second app will recognise and act upon accordingly. The strings can be anything at all, as long as both apps understand what they mean. I would suggest either meaningful words that describe the form to show and/or its purpose, or else just simple numbers that have no specific meaning other than that agreed to by the two apps.

One way to keep the two consistent would be to put the values into a simple DLL and have both apps reference that, or you can just rely on doing it manually and not making a mistake.

[cmmorris1]

Thanks guys for the tips. I will keep this open in case anyone has any other suggestions and to allow time to see what works best for me.

If the 2nd app knows what form1.p is then won't the code I used work?

[jmcilhinney]

If the 2nd app knows what form1.p is then won't the code I used work?

What is Form1.p and how is the second app using it?

[cmmorris1]

This is how it's handled right now in the 2nd exe

Private Shared Sub Main()
            MySql.Connect
            If Not LicensingEvents.CheckUserLicensing Then
                Dim mainForm As New FrmActivation
                Application.Run(mainForm)
            Else
                Form1.p = New Form1
                Application.Run(Form1.p)
            End If
        End Sub

[jmcilhinney]

Like I said, your second application doesn't know anything about the first. You aren't using commandline arguments at all there, so the second app is completely ignoring the information passed by the first app. The second app doesn't implicitly know about any information that the first app contained. The ONLY thing that the second app knows is what text was passed to it on the commandline, which you are ignoring. It doesn't even know where that text came from.

I have shown you how to get the commandline argument(s): use the 'args' parameter in the Main method. You now need to implement something similar. The value of Form1.p in the first app is passed as a string to the second app and you get that string as an array of commandline arguments. That is all you have to work with.

[cmmorris1]

Thanks jmcilhinney!

[n_minus_one]

How does the second program get the args sent to it, in the case where your first program is the most useful and the 2nd program is used temporarily (a.k.a. not using a main() )?


1st pgm:
p.arguments = "4"

2nd pgm's load should have a ???? stmt to say, "Ah, yes a received a "4" in the args list.