Using C# FormWindowState to restore up?

Question

I'd like to detect if my application is minimized under certain situations, and if it is, the window needs to be restored. I can do that easily as follows:

if(this.WindowState == FormWindowState.Minimized) {
    this.WindowState = FormWindowState.Normal;
}

However, what happens if the user first maximizes the form, then minimizes it? I don't know whether to set the WindowState to FormWindowState.Normal or FormWindowState.Maximized. Is there a method or API call I can check to solve this problem?

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Jan 11 '10 at 18:41

2

The code shown below does what you need. Overriding the user's choice is pretty unwise btw.

public partial class Form1 : Form {
    public Form1() {
        InitializeComponent();
        mLastState = this.WindowState;
    }
    FormWindowState mLastState;
    protected override void OnResize(EventArgs e) {
        base.OnResize(e);
        if (mLastState != this.WindowState) {
            if (this.WindowState == FormWindowState.Minimized) this.WindowState = mLastState;
            else mLastState = this.WindowState;
        }
    }
}

answered Jan 11 '10 at 18:41

Hans Passant

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I think you misinterpreted my question (or I didn't provide enough information). I'm not overriding the user's choice. This is a single-instance application with file associations. When the user opens a file, I want the existing instance to come to the front. Your code still solves my problem, though. – We Are All Monica Jan 11 '10 at 18:46

Maciej · Answer 2 · 2011-05-07T13:43:29.650

I use this solution to restore forms in MDI form. First you have to define:

[DllImport("user32.dll")]
private static extern bool ShowWindowAsync(IntPtr hWnd, int nCmdShow);

private const int SW_RESTORE = 9;

and when it comes to restore:

ShowWindowAsync(this.MdiChildren[i].Handle, this.SW_RESTORE);

This will restore form to the previous state without using additional state holders. Also you may find this article interesting

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Jan 11 '10 at 18:38

1

I think you should be able to call this.Show() and it will restore to the previous (visible) state.

answered Jan 11 '10 at 18:38

Michael Bray

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Calling `this.Show()` does not cause the window to be restored. Would be nice, though – We Are All Monica Jan 11 '10 at 18:41

score 0 · Answer 4 · edited Jun 20 '20 at 09:12

https://stackoverflow.com/a/6837421/578731:

Not sure this will work for everybody, but I ran into this today and someone on the team suggested "have you tried Normal"?

Turns out he was right. The following seems to nicely restore your window:
if (myWindow.WindowState == WindowState.Minimized)
    myWindow.WindowState = WindowState.Normal;
That works just fine, restoring the window to Maximized if needed. It seems critical to check for the minimized state first as calling WindowState.Normal a second time will "restore" your window to its non-maximized state.

Hope this helps.

This didn't seem to work when I tested it.. – Caius Jard Feb 19 '22 at 19:02 — Caius Jard, Feb 19 '22 at 19:02

score 0 · Answer 5 · answered Jan 11 '10 at 18:42

0

Here's an approach that utilizes the OnResize method of the form

answered Jan 11 '10 at 18:42

curtisk

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score 0 · Answer 6 · edited Nov 20 '22 at 20:00

0

I think this is the best option (Microsoft said):

this.WindowState = System.Windows.Forms.FormWindowState.Normal;

edited Nov 20 '22 at 20:00

Jeremy Caney

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answered Nov 18 '22 at 07:50

Samuel

11
1

Using C# FormWindowState to restore up?

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