.Net Console Application in System tray

Question

Is there a way I can put a console application in the system tray when minimizing ?

Answer 1

Yes, you can do this. Create a Windows Forms application and add a NotifyIcon component.

Then use the following methods (found on MSDN) to allocate and display a Console

[DllImport("kernel32.dll")]
public static extern Boolean AllocConsole();

[DllImport("kernel32.dll")]
public static extern Boolean FreeConsole();

[DllImport("kernel32.dll")]
public static extern Boolean AttachConsole(Int32 ProcessId);

When your console is onscreen, capture the minimize button click and use it to hide the console window and update the Notify icon. You can find your window using the following methods (found on MSDN):

[DllImport("user32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
static extern IntPtr FindWindow(string lpClassName, string lpWindowName);

// Find window by Caption only. Note you must pass IntPtr.Zero as the first parameter.
// Also consider whether you're being lazy or not.
[DllImport("user32.dll", EntryPoint="FindWindow", SetLastError = true)]
static extern IntPtr FindWindowByCaption(IntPtr ZeroOnly, string lpWindowName);

Be sure to call FreeConsole whenever you're ready to close the app.

Answer 2

using System.Windows.Forms;
using System.Drawing;

static NotifyIcon notifyIcon = new NotifyIcon();
static bool Visible = true;
static void Main(string[] args)
{
    notifyIcon.DoubleClick += (s, e) =>
    {
        Visible = !Visible;
        SetConsoleWindowVisibility(Visible);
    };
    notifyIcon.Icon = Icon.ExtractAssociatedIcon(Application.ExecutablePath);
    notifyIcon.Visible = true;
    notifyIcon.Text = Application.ProductName;

    var contextMenu = new ContextMenuStrip();
    contextMenu.Items.Add("Exit", null, (s, e) => { Application.Exit(); });
    notifyIcon.ContextMenuStrip = contextMenu;

    Console.WriteLine("Running!");

    // Standard message loop to catch click-events on notify icon
    // Code after this method will be running only after Application.Exit()
    Application.Run(); 

    notifyIcon.Visible = false;
}

[DllImport("user32.dll")]
public static extern IntPtr FindWindow(string lpClassName, string lpWindowName);
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
static extern bool ShowWindow(IntPtr hWnd, int nCmdShow);
public static void SetConsoleWindowVisibility(bool visible)
{
    IntPtr hWnd = FindWindow(null, Console.Title);
    if (hWnd != IntPtr.Zero)
    {
        if (visible) ShowWindow(hWnd, 1); //1 = SW_SHOWNORMAL           
        else ShowWindow(hWnd, 0); //0 = SW_HIDE               
    }
}