Process.GetProcessesByName Method (String) (System.Diagnostics)

GetProcessesByName Method (String)

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Microsoft Visual Studio 2008/.NET Framework 3.5

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.NET Framework Class Library

Process..::.GetProcessesByName Method (String)

Updated: November 2007

Creates an array of new Process components and associates them with all the process resources on the local computer that share the specified process name.

Namespace: System.Diagnostics
Assembly: System (in System.dll)

Syntax

Visual Basic (Declaration)

Public Shared Function GetProcessesByName ( _
    processName As String _
) As Process()

Visual Basic (Usage)

Dim processName As String
Dim returnValue As Process()

returnValue = Process.GetProcessesByName(processName)

public static Process[] GetProcessesByName(
    string processName
)

Visual C++

public:
static array<Process^>^ GetProcessesByName(
    String^ processName
)

public static Process[] GetProcessesByName(
    String processName
)

JScript

public static function GetProcessesByName(
    processName : String
) : Process[]

Parameters

processName: Type: System..::.String
The friendly name of the process.

Return Value

Type: array<System.Diagnostics..::.Process>[]()[]

An array of type Process that represents the process resources running the specified application or file.

Exceptions

Exception	Condition
InvalidOperationException	There are problems accessing the performance counter API's used to get process information. This exception is specific to Windows NT, Windows 2000, and Windows XP.

Remarks

Use this method to create an array of new Process components and associate them with all the process resources that are running the same executable file on the local computer. The process resources must already exist on the computer, because GetProcessesByName does not create system resources but rather associates them with application-generated Process components. A processName can be specified for an executable file that is not currently running on the local computer, so the array the method returns can be empty.

The process name is a friendly name for the process, such as Outlook, that does not include the .exe extension or the path. GetProcessesByName is helpful for getting and manipulating all the processes that are associated with the same executable file. For example, you can pass an executable file name as the processName parameter, in order to shut down all the running instances of that executable file.

Although a process Id is unique to a single process resource on the system, multiple processes on the local computer can be running the application specified by the processName parameter. Therefore, GetProcessById returns one process at most, but GetProcessesByName returns an array containing all the associated processes. If you need to manipulate the process using standard API calls, you can query each of these processes in turn for its identifier. You cannot access process resources through the process name alone but, once you have retrieved an array of Process components that have been associated with the process resources, you can start, terminate, and otherwise manipulate the system resources.

Examples

The following example retrieves information of the current process, all instances of Notepad running on the local computer, all instances of Notepad running on a specific computer using the computer alias and an IP address, all processes running on the local computer and a remote computer, a specific process on the local computer or a remote computer using the process id.

Visual Basic

Imports System
Imports System.Diagnostics
Imports System.ComponentModel


Namespace MyProcessSample
    _
   '/ <summary>
   '/ Shell for the sample.
   '/ </summary>
   Class MyProcess




      Sub BindToRunningProcesses()
         ' Get the current process.
         Dim currentProcess As Process = Process.GetCurrentProcess()


         ' Get all instances of Notepad running on the local
         ' computer.
         Dim localByName As Process() = Process.GetProcessesByName("notepad")


         ' Get all instances of Notepad running on the specifiec
         ' computer.
         ' 1. Using the computer alias (do not precede with "\\").
         Dim remoteByName As Process() = Process.GetProcessesByName("notepad", "myComputer")

         ' 2. Using an IP address to specify the machineName parameter. 
         Dim ipByName As Process() = Process.GetProcessesByName("notepad", "169.0.0.0")


         ' Get all processes running on the local computer.
         Dim localAll As Process() = Process.GetProcesses()


         ' Get all processes running on the remote computer.
         Dim remoteAll As Process() = Process.GetProcesses("myComputer")


         ' Get a process on the local computer, using the process id.
         Dim localById As Process = Process.GetProcessById(1234)


         ' Get a process on a remote computer, using the process id.
         Dim remoteById As Process = Process.GetProcessById(2345, "myComputer")
      End Sub 'BindToRunningProcesses




      Shared Sub Main()

         Dim myProcess As New MyProcess()


         myProcess.BindToRunningProcesses()
      End Sub 'Main 
   End Class 'MyProcess
End Namespace 'MyProcessSample

using System;
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.ComponentModel;

namespace MyProcessSample
{
    /// <summary>
    /// Shell for the sample.
    /// </summary>
    class MyProcess
    {
        
       
        
        void BindToRunningProcesses()
        {
            // Get the current process.
            Process currentProcess = Process.GetCurrentProcess();

            
            // Get all instances of Notepad running on the local
            // computer.
            Process [] localByName = Process.GetProcessesByName("notepad");

            
            // Get all instances of Notepad running on the specifiec
            // computer.
            // 1. Using the computer alias (do not precede with "\\").
            Process [] remoteByName = Process.GetProcessesByName("notepad", "myComputer");
            
            // 2. Using an IP address to specify the machineName parameter. 
            Process [] ipByName = Process.GetProcessesByName("notepad", "169.0.0.0");
            
            
            // Get all processes running on the local computer.
            Process [] localAll = Process.GetProcesses();

            
            // Get all processes running on the remote computer.
            Process [] remoteAll = Process.GetProcesses("myComputer");

            
            // Get a process on the local computer, using the process id.
            Process localById = Process.GetProcessById(1234);

            
            // Get a process on a remote computer, using the process id.
            Process remoteById = Process.GetProcessById(2345, "myComputer");
            
        }
        


        static void Main()
        {

                   MyProcess myProcess = new MyProcess();
            

            myProcess.BindToRunningProcesses();

            }    
    }
}

Visual C++

#using <System.dll>

using namespace System;
using namespace System::Diagnostics;
using namespace System::ComponentModel;
int main()
{

   // Get the current process.
   Process^ currentProcess = Process::GetCurrentProcess();

   // Get all instances of Notepad running on the local
   // computer.
   array<Process^>^localByName = Process::GetProcessesByName( "notepad" );

   // Get all instances of Notepad running on the specific
   // computer.
   // 1. Using the computer alias (do not precede with "\\").
   array<Process^>^remoteByName = Process::GetProcessesByName( "notepad", "myComputer" );

   // 2. Using an IP address to specify the machineName parameter. 
   array<Process^>^ipByName = Process::GetProcessesByName( "notepad", "169.0.0.0" );

   // Get all processes running on the local computer.
   array<Process^>^localAll = Process::GetProcesses();

   // Get all processes running on the remote computer.
   array<Process^>^remoteAll = Process::GetProcesses( "myComputer" );

   // Get a process on the local computer, using the process id.
   Process^ localById = Process::GetProcessById( 1234 );

   // Get a process on a remote computer, using the process id.
   Process^ remoteById = Process::GetProcessById( 2345, "myComputer" );
}

Permissions

LinkDemand
for full trust for the immediate caller. This member cannot be used by partially trusted code.

Platforms

Windows Vista, Windows XP SP2, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows XP Starter Edition, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2000 SP4, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows 98

The .NET Framework and .NET Compact Framework do not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see .NET Framework System Requirements.

Version Information