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ProcessStartInfo.UseShellExecute Property

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Definition

Namespace:
System.Diagnostics
Assembly:
System.Diagnostics.Process.dll
Assembly:
System.dll
Assembly:
netstandard.dll

Gets or sets a value indicating whether to use the operating system shell to start the process.

public:
 property bool UseShellExecute { bool get(); void set(bool value); };
public bool UseShellExecute { get; set; }
member this.UseShellExecute : bool with get, set
Public Property UseShellExecute As Boolean

Property Value

Boolean

true if the shell should be used when starting the process; false if the process should be created directly from the executable file. The default is true on .NET Framework apps and false on .NET Core apps.

Exceptions

PlatformNotSupportedException

An attempt to set the value to true on Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps occurs.

Examples

// Run "cl.exe /cld stdstr.cpp /link /out:sample.exe". UseShellExecute is false because we're specifying
// an executable directly and in this case depending on it being in a PATH folder. By setting
// RedirectStandardOutput to true, the output of cl.exe is directed to the Process.StandardOutput stream
// which is then displayed in this console window directly.    
Process^ compiler = gcnew Process;
compiler->StartInfo->FileName = "cl.exe";
compiler->StartInfo->Arguments = "/clr stdstr.cpp /link /out:sample.exe";
compiler->StartInfo->UseShellExecute = false;
compiler->StartInfo->RedirectStandardOutput = true;
compiler->Start();

Console::WriteLine( compiler->StandardOutput->ReadToEnd() );

compiler->WaitForExit();

// Run "csc.exe /r:System.dll /out:sample.exe stdstr.cs". UseShellExecute is false because we're specifying
// an executable directly and in this case depending on it being in a PATH folder. By setting
// RedirectStandardOutput to true, the output of csc.exe is directed to the Process.StandardOutput stream
// which is then displayed in this console window directly.
using (Process compiler = new Process())
{
    compiler.StartInfo.FileName = "csc.exe";
    compiler.StartInfo.Arguments = "/r:System.dll /out:sample.exe stdstr.cs";
    compiler.StartInfo.UseShellExecute = false;
    compiler.StartInfo.RedirectStandardOutput = true;
    compiler.Start();

    Console.WriteLine(compiler.StandardOutput.ReadToEnd());

    compiler.WaitForExit();
}

' Run "vbc.exe /reference:Microsoft.VisualBasic.dll /out:sample.exe stdstr.vb". UseShellExecute is False 
' because we're specifying an executable directly and in this case depending on it being in a PATH folder. 
' By setting RedirectStandardOutput to True, the output of csc.exe is directed to the Process.StandardOutput 
' stream which is then displayed in this console window directly.    
Using compiler As New Process()
    compiler.StartInfo.FileName = "vbc.exe"
    compiler.StartInfo.Arguments = "/reference:Microsoft.VisualBasic.dll /out:sample.exe stdstr.vb"
    compiler.StartInfo.UseShellExecute = False
    compiler.StartInfo.RedirectStandardOutput = True
    compiler.Start()

    Console.WriteLine(compiler.StandardOutput.ReadToEnd())

    compiler.WaitForExit()
End Using

Remarks

Setting this property to false enables you to redirect input, output, and error streams.

The word "shell" in this context (UseShellExecute) refers to a graphical shell (similar to the Windows shell) rather than command shells (for example, bash or sh) and lets users launch graphical applications or open documents.

Note

UseShellExecute must be false if the UserName property is not null or an empty string, or an InvalidOperationException will be thrown when the Process.Start(ProcessStartInfo) method is called.

When you use the operating system shell to start processes, you can start any document (which is any registered file type associated with an executable that has a default open action) and perform operations on the file, such as printing, by using the Process object. When UseShellExecute is false, you can start only executables by using the Process object.

Note

UseShellExecute must be true if you set the ErrorDialog property to true.

If you set the WindowStyle to ProcessWindowStyle.Hidden, UseShellExecute must be set to true.

WorkingDirectory

The WorkingDirectory property behaves differently depending on the value of the UseShellExecute property. When UseShellExecute is true, the WorkingDirectory property specifies the location of the executable. If WorkingDirectory is an empty string, it is assumed that the current directory contains the executable.

When UseShellExecute is false, the WorkingDirectory property is not used to find the executable. Instead, it is used only by the process that is started and has meaning only within the context of the new process. When UseShellExecute is false, the FileName property can be either a fully qualified path to the executable, or a simple executable name that the system will attempt to find within folders specified by the PATH environment variable. The interpretation of the search path depends on the operating system. For more information, enter HELP PATH or man sh at a command prompt.

Applies to

See also