c# - Run one instance from the application

Question

I have a windows application (C#) and i need to configure it to run one instance from the application at the time , It means that one user clicked the .exe file and the application is run and the user didn't close the first instance of the application that is being run and need to run a next instance so it should appear the first instance and not opening new one.

can any one help me how to do that?

thanks in advance

Answer 1

I often solve this by checking for other processes with the same name. The advantage/disadvantage with this is that you (or the user) can "step aside" from the check by renaming the exe. If you do not want that you could probably use the Process-object that is returned.

  string procName = Process.GetCurrentProcess().ProcessName;
  if (Process.GetProcessesByName(procName).Length == 1)
  {
      ...code here...
  }

It depends on your need, I think it's handy to bypass the check witout recompiling (it's a server process, which sometimes is run as a service).