I have a working automation for a Microsoft Dynamics Business Center application. In one use case, we have to start the application under a different user (Start Menu -> right click -> run as different user).
In that mode, most controls are not identified and the automation fails. Inspect shows far less elements and seems to default to most things being a 'PaneControlType'.
Excerpts from the same component as shown in Inspect:
When run normally:
ControlType: UIA_TableControlTypeId (0xC374)
LocalizedControlType: "Tabelle"
AutomationId: "_DataGrid"
FrameworkId: "WinForm"
ClassName: "WindowsForms10.Window.8.app.0.190610d_r17_ad1"
ProviderDescription: "[pid:20968,hwnd:0x206E4 Main:Nested [pid:36060,hwnd:0x206E4 Main(parent link):Microsoft: MSAA Proxy (unmanaged:uiautomationcore.dll)]; Hwnd(parent link):Microsoft: HWND Proxy (unmanaged:uiautomationcore.dll)]"
When run as different user:
ControlType: UIA_PaneControlTypeId (0xC371)
LocalizedControlType: "Bereich"
AutomationId: "394512"
FrameworkId: "WinForm"
ClassName: "WindowsForms10.Window.8.app.0.190610d_r17_ad1"
ProviderDescription: "[pid:20968,hwnd:0x60510 Annotation:Microsoft: Annotation Proxy (unmanaged:uiautomationcore.dll); Main:Microsoft: MSAA Proxy (unmanaged:uiautomationcore.dll); Hwnd(parent link):Microsoft: HWND Proxy (unmanaged:uiautomationcore.dll)]"
Similar picture when I view MSAA. Apparently, running the program as a different user completely changes the reported structure. This is on a remote machine via Citrix. Locally I've run the automation either way without problems.
Has anyone seen this sort of behaviour before and could point me in the direction of the possible culprit?
Related
I'm running into an odd issue regarding the Online Subsystem NULL. I am able to create and join sessions just fine. Once I join the session all client's pawns are experiencing a rubber band effect upon movement. There is also other odd behavior such as clients returning null when getting the GameState class.
The odd thing is everything works fine and as expected using the Online Subsystem Steam. Testing on two separate computers logged into separate steam accounts the rubber band movement problem goes away and the odd behavior of clients getting null for the GameState class does not exist.
I release this would be a bigger issue if the cases were reversed. Development is just taking longer due to this issue.
When changing between the Steam and NULL Subsystems I change the following in the DefaultEngine.ini file
NULL
[/Script/Engine.GameEngine]
+NetDriverDefinitions=(DefName="GameNetDriver",DriverClassName="OnlineSubsystemSteam.SteamNetDriver",DriverClassNameFallback="OnlineSubsystemUtils.IpNetDriver")
[OnlineSubsystem]
DefaultPlatformService=NULL
[OnlineSubsystemSteam]
bEnabled=false
SteamDevAppId=480
[/Script/OnlineSubsystemSteam.SteamNetDriver]
NetConnectionClassName="OnlineSubsystemSteam.SteamNetConnection"
Steam
[/Script/Engine.GameEngine]
+NetDriverDefinitions=(DefName="GameNetDriver",DriverClassName="OnlineSubsystemSteam.SteamNetDriver",DriverClassNameFallback="OnlineSubsystemUtils.IpNetDriver")
[OnlineSubsystem]
DefaultPlatformService=Steam
[OnlineSubsystemSteam]
bEnabled=true
SteamDevAppId=480
[/Script/OnlineSubsystemSteam.SteamNetDriver]
NetConnectionClassName="OnlineSubsystemSteam.SteamNetConnection"
Are there any other settings in the DefaultEngine.ini file that need to be changed for the Null Subsystem for function correctly? Thanks!
I am toying with the FluidEnter/FluidExit. So in a simple form, here is what I am trying to do:
I created in Main an empty population of agent called Terminal. For now, in Terminal, there is only a fluidEnter connected to a fluidExit (very simple)
enter image description here
Now, on startup, I want to fill this population and set up the proper connections (the terminals are ordered).
So, on startup, I call a function init(), whose body start with Terminal t = add_terminals(); (I have only one terminal for now, just toying with things)
In Main, obviously, I also have a fluidEnter and a fluidExit. I would like to connect the fluidExit of Main to the fluidEnter of the terminal t, and the fluidExit of the terminal t to the fluidEnter of Main, so code (still in init()) looks like
fluidExit.set_fluidEnter(t.fluidEnter);
t.fluidExit.set_fluidEnter(fluidEnter);
I get an exception so obviously, I am doing something wrong. Any idea?
I think the set_fluidEnter function is deprecated or just non-functional.
Instead, you should do:
fluidExit.connect(t.fluidEnter);
So just replace set_fluidEnter with connect... nothing else.
That should do the trick
I was going down the same path as you a couple of months ago. Yes... .connect() works great. It even works as a gate. If it is disconnected, then fluid stops at the exit. Once connected, fluid starts to flow again. It is very slick.
I'm considering using Matlab Compiler to distribute software for a price. I'm investigating (very) simple methods to discourage re-distribution without annoying users. Any recommendations?
One thought is to email a user a license key and have them input this during the installation process to be verified on a license server. If the key matches what is on the server, the installation proceeds as usual, otherwise, a warning message is shown to inform the user to purchase another license. However, this method requires a specified function to run only during the installation process, and not thereafter (so as not to annoy the user). Is this possible using Matlab Compiler or otherwise?
I suppose I could create a file on the user's disk that the program looks for when it starts (if it exists, then it is not being run for the first time), but if the user copies the whole directory, that file would get copied too.
In order to create an effective licensing system, you have to link it to one or more properties of a user machine (MAC address, OS ID, hard disk serial numbers, CPU serial numbers, etc...).
If you don't to this, you are just going to release licenses that can be transferred from one user to another. If one user decides to spread his license file worldwide, you are doomed because everyone could potentially take that license file and use it to unlock your application.
But if you link your license files to one or more properties of a user machine, as mentioned above, you must be able to obtain these properties either:
before the user decides to buy your application;
when the user activates his license.
First Scenario
You release your software as a trial. When it is started for the first time, you set an expiration date in the registry or in a file well hidden somewhere. You check against the expiration date when the application starts and, once it is reached, you throw an error and you don't let the used play with your application anymore.
Within the application, you create a Register Now button somewhere. When it is clicked, the application retrieves the machine properties and passes them to the web page / form that will be opened to let the user perform the payment. That page will be in charge to validate the machine properties, receive the payment and, finally, deliver a valid license code based on these properties.
Within the application, you must implement the same logics that allowed your form to create the license code, because you will need to use them in order to validate the code itself every time your application starts. A pseudo-code example:
mp1 = GetMachineProperty1();
mp2 = GetMachineProperty2();
mp3 = GetMachineProperty3();
lc = GetLicenseCode();
if (~strcmp(sha1([mp1 mp2 mp3]),lc))
errordlg('Invalid license code!');
return;
end
This is the simplest path. But keep in mind that if one or more properties of the user machine change (because he changes a device or reinstalls his OS), his license will be invalidated and you will have to provide a customer assistance service that takes care of this kind of situations.
Second Scenario
This one is much harder. You will not be able to know the user's machine properties in advance. So your licensing system will work on a two-steps basis. You release a unique code (called LID for example) when the used purchases your application. Then, once the user inserts that it in your application, your application must send it back together with the machine properties. The final key (called LKey for example) is then computed and sent back to the user.
mp1 = GetMachineProperty1();
mp2 = GetMachineProperty2();
mp3 = GetMachineProperty3();
lkey = GetLicenseKey();
if (~strcmp(sha1([mp1 mp2 mp3]),lkey))
errordlg('Invalid license code!');
return;
end
Machine Properties
The first solution has been provided to you through a comment: the MachineGuid value located in the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Cryptography. It's pretty solid. But it will only work on Windows machines. Use winqueryreg to access the registry.
Another good alternative is the Window Domain Controller Security ID, which is another machine-specific unique identifier. You can retrieve it using Java code within Matlab:
wdc_sid = com.sun.security.auth.module.NTSystem.getDomainSID();
or through the Windows registry key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Group Policy\GroupMembership. The registry approach should be the one to use if you want to maintain a certain backward compatibility with old Matlab releases. Unfortunately, the Window Domain Controller Security ID is another identifier that is available only on machines that run under Windows.
If you want to adapt your licensing system to every possible OS and environment, you have to use a more generic approach, based on universally accessible hardware properties: MAC adresses, hard disk serials and such things. As far as I know, the most reliable property is the MAC address, because its uniqueness, althrough not granted, is almost certain and it's very unfrequent to change a network adapter (there are more chances to break an hard disk actually). Retrieve the MAC adresses of the machine network adapters using Java code as follows:
mac_addrs = '';
net_int = java.net.NetworkInterface.getNetworkInterfaces();
while (net_int.hasMoreElements)
mac_addr = net_int.nextElement.getHardwareAddress();
if (~isempty(mac_addr))
mac_addrs = [mac_addrs, '-', sprintf('%.2X',typecast(mac_addr,'uint8'))];
end
end
mac_addrs = mac_addrs(2:end);
The above computation produces a character array that represents the result of the concatenation of all the MAC addresses found on the machine. Again, for compatibility reasons, this may not work on old Matlab releases, so you have to use a much more complex approach, described here.
[EDIT]
This approach to retrieve the MAC address based on the underlying OS could be easier:
switch computer('arch')
case {'maci','maci64'}
[~,a]=system('ifconfig');
c=strfind(a,'en0');if ~isempty(c),a=a(c:end);end
c=strfind(a,'en1');if ~isempty(c),a=a(1:c-1);end
% find the mac address
b=strfind(a,'ether');
mac_add=a(1,b(1)+6:b(1)+22);
case {'win32','win64'}
[~,a]=system('getmac');b=strfind(a,'=');
mac_add=a(b(end)+1:b(end)+19);
case {'glnx86','glnxa64'}
[~,a]=system('ifconfig');b=strfind(a,'Ether');
mac_add=a(1,b(1)+17:b(1)+33);
otherwise,mac_add=[];
end
I found it in the comments of this article.
I have a multi-form application in which a child form is positioned on the second monitor on startup, at which time its BoundsRect is saved.
When the computer's display configuration changes, Windows moves the form to the first (primary) monitor. I can catch this change with WM_DISPLAYCHANGE:
procedure WMDisplayChange(var msg: TWMDisplayChange); message WM_DISPLAYCHANGE;
What I'm interested in doing is moving the child form back to the second monitor when it reappears in the configuration (i.e. Screen.MonitorCount goes from 1 to 2), e.g.:
childForm.BoundsRect := childForm.m_WorkingBounds;
// (or)
childForm.BoundsRect := Screen.Monitors[Screen.MonitorCount-1].BoundsRect;
However this assignment is have no affect -- the child form stays on monitor 0.
I've tried other approaches, such as SetWindowPos(), with no success ...
Root of your problem is in the fact that Delphi VCL does not refresh its internal list of monitors when they actually change. You have to force that refresh yourself.
Monitors are refreshed with TScreen.GetMonitors method that is unfortunately private method so you cannot call it directly.
However, TApplication.WndProc(var Message: TMessage) processes WM_WTSSESSION_CHANGE and upon receiving that message it calls Screen.GetMonitors - this is most benign way to achieve your goal.
When you receive notifications that monitors are changed just send it to Application:
SendMessage(Application.Handle, WM_WTSSESSION_CHANGE, 0, 0);
I tested this with old version Delphi5 and it worked easy just to:
Screen.Free;
Screen := TScreen.Create(Nil);
The screen handling has changed in later versions of Delphi, however a similar approach may work.
I'm writing an application that can be started either as a standard WinForms app or in unattended mode from the command-line. The application was built using the VS 2k5 standard WinForms template.
When the application is executed from the command-line, I want it to output information that can be captured by the script executing the application. When I do this directly from Console.WriteLine(), the output does not appear, although it can be captured by piping to a file.
On the other hand, I can force the application to pop up a second console by doing a P/Invoke on AllocConsole() from kernel32. This is not what I want, though. I want the output to appear in the same window the application was called from.
This is the salient code that allows me to pop up a console from the command line:
<STAThread()> Public Shared Sub Main()
If My.Application.CommandLineArgs.Count = 0 Then
Dim frm As New ISECMMParamUtilForm()
frm.ShowDialog()
Else
Try
ConsoleControl.AllocConsole()
Dim exMan As New UnattendedExecutionManager(ConvertArgs())
IsInConsoleMode = True
OutputMessage("Application started.")
If Not exMan.SetSettings() Then
OutputMessage("Execution failed.")
End If
Catch ex As Exception
Console.WriteLine(ex.ToString())
Finally
ConsoleControl.FreeConsole()
End Try
End If
End Sub
Public Shared Sub OutputMessage(ByVal msg As String, Optional ByVal isError As Boolean = False)
Trace.WriteLine(msg)
If IsInConsoleMode Then
Console.WriteLine(msg)
End If
If isError Then
EventLog.WriteEntry("ISE CMM Param Util", msg, EventLogEntryType.Error)
Else
EventLog.WriteEntry("ISE CMM Param Util", msg, EventLogEntryType.Information)
End If
End Sub
Raymond Chen recently posted (a month after the question was posted here on SO) a short article about this:
How do I write a program that can be run either as a console or a GUI application?
You can't, but you can try to fake it.
Each PE application contains a field
in its header that specifies which
subsystem it was designed to run
under. You can say
IMAGE_SUBSYSTEM_WINDOWS_GUI to mark
yourself as a Windows GUI application,
or you can say
IMAGE_SUBSYSTEM_WINDOWS_CUI to say
that you are a console application. If
you are GUI application, then the
program will run without a console.
The subsystem determines how the
kernel prepares the execution
environment for the program. If the
program is marked as running in the
console subsystem, then the kernel
will connect the program's console to
the console of its parent, creating a
new console if the parent doesn't have
a console. (This is an incomplete
description, but the details aren't
relevant to the discussion.) On the
other hand, if the program is marked
as running as a GUI application, then
the kernel will run the program
without any console at all.
In that article he points to another by Junfeng Zhang that discusses how a couple of programs (Visual Studio and ildasm) implement this behavior:
How to make an application as both GUI and Console application?
In VisualStudio case, there are actually two binaries: devenv.com and devenv.exe. Devenv.com is a Console app. Devenv.exe is a GUI app. When you type devenv, because of the Win32 probing rule, devenv.com is executed. If there is no input, devenv.com launches devenv.exe, and exits itself. If there are inputs, devenv.com handles them as normal Console app.
In ildasm case, there is only one binary: ildasm.exe. It is first compiled as a GUI application. Later editbin.exe is used to mark it as console subsystem. In its main method it determines if it needs to be run as console mode or GUI mode. If need to run as GUI mode, it relaunches itself as a GUI app.
In the comments to Raymond Chen's article, laonianren has this to add to Junfeng Zhang's brief description of how Visual Studio works:
devenv.com is a general purpose console-mode stub application. When it runs it creates three pipes to redirect the console's stdin, stdout and stderr. It then finds its own name (usually devenv.com), replaces the ".com" with ".exe" and launches the new app (i.e. devenv.exe) using the read end of the stdin pipe and the write ends of the stdout and stderr pipes as the standard handles. Then it just sits and waits for devenv.exe to exit and copies data between the console and the pipes.
Thus even though devenv.exe is a gui app it can read and write the "parent" console using its standard handles.
And you could use devenv.com yourself for myapp.exe by renaming it to myapp.com. But you can't in practise because it belongs to MS.
Update 1:
As said in Michael Burr answer, Raymond Chen recently posted a short article about this. I am happy to see that my guess was not totally wrong.
Update 0:
Disclaimer: This "answer" is mostly speculation. I post it only because enough time has passed to establish that not many people have the answer to what look like a fundamental question.
I think that the "decision" if the application is gui or console is made at compile time and not at runtime. So if you compile your application as gui application, even if you don't display the gui, its still a gui application and doesn't have console. If you choose to compile it as console application then at minimum you will have a console windows flashing before moving to gui "mode". And I don't know if it is possible in managed code.
The problem is fundamental, I think, Because a console application has to take "control" of the calling console application. And it has to do so before the code of the child application is running.
If you want to check if your app is started from the command line in .NET, you can use Console.GetCursorPosition().
The reason that this works is that when you start it from the command line, the cursor moves away from the initial point ((0, 0)) because you typed something in the terminal (the name of the app).
You can do this with an equality check (code in C#):
class Program
{
public static void Main
{
if (Console.GetCursorPosition() == (0, 0))
{
//something GUI
}
else
{
//something not GUI
}
}
}
Note: You must set the output type to Console Application as other output types will make Console.GetCursorPosition() throw an exception.