Tracking files of a particular extension

Question

I want to track the files which are opened by the user, and select them by one particular extension. If the opened file has that extension, then I want to assign it's file path to a variable for further processing. Example applications are very cpu demanding. Is there an easy, efficient way to do that?

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/14779616/filesystemwatcher-used-to-watch-for-folder-file-open/14779729#14779729 read this — Arindam Nayak, Oct 13 '14 at 16:51
I saw it. It looks for a particular folder, but I wanna watch the whole system, especially flash drives. And also the last answer suggests C++. I want to use C#. — , Oct 13 '14 at 16:53
Perhaps instead of monitoring the entire system, you could associate .ppt / .pptx files with your application. That sounds much simpler. — Moby Disk, Oct 13 '14 at 16:55
associate file extension to your app: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2681878/associate-file-extension-with-application — Jeff, Oct 13 '14 at 16:58
Otherwise, you will likely have to write a FS filter driver to watch for OpenFile(..) calls, similar to how Sysinternals ProcessMonitor works (however ProcessMonitor watches everything). — Jeff, Oct 13 '14 at 17:01
If that is the case, and you are certain you need to monitor opening files system wide, then you will likely be forced to write a file system filter driver. — Jeff, Oct 13 '14 at 17:19
Here is an example: http://www.codeproject.com/Articles/43586/File-System-Filter-Driver-Tutorial — Jeff, Oct 13 '14 at 17:21
perhaps there may be a way to hook onto Powerpoint, and get notifications through Powerpoint. Maybe look into Powerpoint automation. — Jeff, Oct 13 '14 at 17:26
Let us [continue this discussion in chat](http://chat.stackoverflow.com/rooms/62989/discussion-between-jeff-and-m1clee). — Jeff, Oct 13 '14 at 17:29

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Oct 13 '14 at 18:23

System wide monitoring of file-->open events (including network drives, thumb drives, etc) would require you to write a FS filter driver.

Since you have access to the machine, and you definitely need system wide access, you could simply write a simple app that will be associated with the Powerpoint extensions, perform the copy, then open Powerpoint using the filepath as a command line argument. It would look similar to the following:

using System;
using System.Windows;
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.IO;

namespace WpfApplication1
{
    internal class MainWindow : Window
    {
        public MainWindow()
        { }

        [STAThread()]
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            if (args.Length == 0)
            {
                // [ show error or print usage ]
                return;
            }

            if (!File.Exists(args[0]))
            {
                // [ show error or print usage ]
                return;
            }

            // Perform the copy
            FileInfo target = new FileInfo(args[0]);
            string destinationFilename = string.Format("X:\\ExistingFolder\\{0}", target.Name);
            File.Copy(target.FullName, destinationFilename);

            // You may need to place the filename in quotes if it contains spaces
            string targetPath = string.Format("\"{0}\"", target.FullName); 
            string powerpointPath = "[FullPathToPowerpointExecutable]";
            Process powerpointInstance = Process.Start(powerpointPath, targetPath);

            // This solution is using a wpf windows app to avoid 
            // the flash of the console window.  However if you did
            // wish to display an accumulated list then you may choose
            // to uncomment the following block to display your UI.

            /*
            Application app = new Application();
            app.MainWindow = new MainWindow();
            app.MainWindow.ShowDialog();
            app.Shutdown(0);
            */

            Environment.Exit(0);
        }
    }
}

Hope this helps.

if I change the default WPF function whose name is "public MainWindow()" to "static void Main(strings[] args)" then it gives an error. if I change it something else, the function doesnt start. — , Oct 13 '14 at 20:30
Create a new WPF application and delete generated files (App.config, App.xaml, App.xaml.cs, MainWindow.xaml, and MainWindow.xaml.cs). Next, add a new class called 'MainWindow' and clear all generated code. Paste the code above and it will compile. Modify paths, and begin testing. (I tested it prior to making the post) — Jeff, Oct 13 '14 at 20:37

Tracking files of a particular extension

1 Answers1