Checking if my Windows application is running

Question

How do I check if my C# Windows application is running ?

I know that I can check the process name but the name can be changed if the exe changes.

Is there any way to have a hash key or something to make my application unique?

Answer 1

public partial class App : System.Windows.Application {     public bool IsProcessOpen(string name)     {         foreach (Process clsProcess in Process.GetProcesses())          {             if (clsProcess.ProcessName.Contains(name))             {                 return true;             }         }          return false;     }      protected override void OnStartup(StartupEventArgs e)     {         // Get Reference to the current Process         Process thisProc = Process.GetCurrentProcess();          if (IsProcessOpen("name of application.exe") == false)         {             //System.Windows.MessageBox.Show("Application not open!");             //System.Windows.Application.Current.Shutdown();         }         else         {             // Check how many total processes have the same name as the current one             if (Process.GetProcessesByName(thisProc.ProcessName).Length > 1)             {                 // If ther is more than one, than it is already running.                 System.Windows.MessageBox.Show("Application is already running.");                 System.Windows.Application.Current.Shutdown();                 return;             }              base.OnStartup(e);         }     } 

Answer 2

The recommended way is to use a Mutex. You can check out a sample here : http://www.codeproject.com/KB/cs/singleinstance.aspx

In specific the code:

         ///          /// check if given exe alread running or not         ///          /// returns true if already running         private static bool IsAlreadyRunning()         {             string strLoc = Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().Location;             FileSystemInfo fileInfo = new FileInfo(strLoc);             string sExeName = fileInfo.Name;             bool bCreatedNew;              Mutex mutex = new Mutex(true, "Global\\"+sExeName, out bCreatedNew);             if (bCreatedNew)                 mutex.ReleaseMutex();              return !bCreatedNew;         }