SystemInformation.ComputerName Property

Definition

Namespace:

System.Windows.Forms

Assembly:

System.Windows.Forms.dll

Source:

SystemInformation.cs

Gets the NetBIOS computer name of the local computer.

C#

public static string ComputerName { get; }

Property Value

String

The name of this computer.

Examples

The following code example lists all properties of the SystemInformation class in a ListBox and displays the current value of the property in a TextBox when a list item selected.

C#

using System;
using System.Collections;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Reflection;
using System.Windows.Forms;

namespace SystemInfoBrowser
{
    public class SystemInfoBrowserForm : System.Windows.Forms.Form
    {
        private System.Windows.Forms.ListBox listBox1;
        private System.Windows.Forms.TextBox textBox1;        
        
        public SystemInfoBrowserForm()
        {
            this.SuspendLayout();
            InitForm();
            
            // Add each property of the SystemInformation class to the list box.
            Type t = typeof(System.Windows.Forms.SystemInformation);            
            PropertyInfo[] pi = t.GetProperties();            
            for( int i=0; i<pi.Length; i++ )
                listBox1.Items.Add( pi[i].Name );            
            textBox1.Text = "The SystemInformation class has "+pi.Length.ToString()+" properties.\r\n";

            // Configure the list item selected handler for the list box to invoke a 
            // method that displays the value of each property.
            listBox1.SelectedIndexChanged += new EventHandler(listBox1_SelectedIndexChanged);
            this.ResumeLayout(false);
        }
        
        private void listBox1_SelectedIndexChanged(object sender, EventArgs e)
        {
            // Return if no list item is selected.
            if( listBox1.SelectedIndex == -1 ) return;
            // Get the property name from the list item.
            string propname = listBox1.Text;
            
            if( propname == "PowerStatus" )
            {
                // Cycle and display the values of each property of the PowerStatus property.
                textBox1.Text += "\r\nThe value of the PowerStatus property is:";                                
                Type t = typeof(System.Windows.Forms.PowerStatus);
                PropertyInfo[] pi = t.GetProperties();            
                for( int i=0; i<pi.Length; i++ )
                {
                    object propval = pi[i].GetValue(SystemInformation.PowerStatus, null);            
                    textBox1.Text += "\r\n    PowerStatus."+pi[i].Name+" is: "+propval.ToString();
                }
            }
            else
            {
                // Display the value of the selected property of the SystemInformation type.
                Type t = typeof(System.Windows.Forms.SystemInformation);
                PropertyInfo[] pi = t.GetProperties();            
                PropertyInfo prop = null;
                for( int i=0; i<pi.Length; i++ )
                    if( pi[i].Name == propname )
                    {
                        prop = pi[i];
                        break;           
                    }
                object propval = prop.GetValue(null, null);            
                textBox1.Text += "\r\nThe value of the "+propname+" property is: "+propval.ToString();
            }
        }

        private void InitForm()
        {
            // Initialize the form settings
            this.listBox1 = new System.Windows.Forms.ListBox();
            this.textBox1 = new System.Windows.Forms.TextBox();            
            this.listBox1.Anchor = ((System.Windows.Forms.AnchorStyles)((((System.Windows.Forms.AnchorStyles.Top | System.Windows.Forms.AnchorStyles.Bottom) 
                | System.Windows.Forms.AnchorStyles.Left) | System.Windows.Forms.AnchorStyles.Right)));
            this.listBox1.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(8, 16);
            this.listBox1.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(172, 496);
            this.listBox1.TabIndex = 0;            
            this.textBox1.Anchor = ((System.Windows.Forms.AnchorStyles)(((System.Windows.Forms.AnchorStyles.Top | System.Windows.Forms.AnchorStyles.Bottom) 
                | System.Windows.Forms.AnchorStyles.Right)));
            this.textBox1.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(188, 16);
            this.textBox1.Multiline = true;
            this.textBox1.ScrollBars = System.Windows.Forms.ScrollBars.Vertical;           
            this.textBox1.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(420, 496);
            this.textBox1.TabIndex = 1;            
            this.ClientSize = new System.Drawing.Size(616, 525);            
            this.Controls.Add(this.textBox1);
            this.Controls.Add(this.listBox1);            
            this.Text = "Select a SystemInformation property to get the value of";                   
        }

        [STAThread]
        static void Main() 
        {
            Application.Run(new SystemInfoBrowserForm());
        }
    }
}

Remarks

The ComputerName property retrieves the NetBIOS name of the local computer. This is accomplished with a call into the native System Information function GetComputerName. This name is established at system startup, when the system reads it from the registry. If the local computer is a node in a cluster, ComputerName returns the name of the cluster virtual server.

You can use the ComputerName method to determine the name of the computer that is displayed to other users on a network.

Applies to

See also

• UserName
• SystemParameter