Bring Word to Front

Question

I want a Word application to come to front, see code below:

string caption = wordApp.Caption;
IntPtr handler = FindWindow(null, caption);
SetForegroundWindow(handler);
wordApp.Visible = true;

The errors I got are:

Error CS0103: The name 'FindWindow' does not exist in the current context  
Error CS0103: The name 'SetForegroundWindow' does not exist in the current context

I guess I miss a reference even though the compiler does not say so. Am I right?

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/13371836/findwindow-does-not-exist-in-current-context — JsonStatham, Dec 19 '13 at 14:05

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Dec 19 '13 at 14:17

Since you are using C#, use Process.GetProcessesByName(), something like this:

Process[] processes = Process.GetProcessesByName("WINWORD");
SetForegroundWindow(processes[0].Handle);

In order to use SetForegroundWindow(), you have to have this:

[DllImport("user32.dll")]
static extern bool SetForegroundWindow(IntPtr hWnd);

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Dec 19 '13 at 14:04

1

This might be of good help to your problem: FindWindow MSDN link

The library that contains it is under User32.lib

answered Dec 19 '13 at 14:04

vishnu

730
2
6
26

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Dec 19 '13 at 14:05

1

You need to declare your functions before using them, I'm assuming you want to call the Windows APIs: FindWindow and SetForeGroundWindow.

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

[DllImport("user32.dll")]
static extern bool SetForegroundWindow(IntPtr hWnd);

You can find more examples in MSDN documentation.

answered Dec 19 '13 at 14:05

Rodrigo Silva

432
1
6
18

Well, Word has activated but was not brought to front – user3041065 Dec 19 '13 at 15:33

Bring Word to Front

3 Answers3

Linked