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UnhandledExceptionMode Enum

Definition

Defines where a Windows Forms application should send unhandled exceptions.

C#
public enum UnhandledExceptionMode
Inheritance
UnhandledExceptionMode

Fields

Name Value Description
Automatic 0

Route all exceptions to the ThreadException handler, unless the application's configuration file specifies otherwise.

ThrowException 1

Never route exceptions to the ThreadException handler. Ignore the application configuration file.

CatchException 2

Always route exceptions to the ThreadException handler. Ignore the application configuration file.

Examples

The following code example sets event handlers for both errors that occur on Windows Forms threads and errors that occur on other threads. It sets SetUnhandledExceptionMode so that all errors are handled by the application, regardless of the settings in the application's user configuration file. It uses the ThreadException event for the former, and the UnhandledException event for the latter. Since UnhandledException cannot prevent an application from terminating, the example simply logs the error in the system Event Log prior to termination.

This sample assumes that you have defined two Button controls, button1 and button2, on your Form class.

C#
Thread newThread = null;

// Starts the application.
public static void Main(string[] args)
{
    // Add the event handler for handling UI thread exceptions to the event.
    Application.ThreadException += new ThreadExceptionEventHandler(ErrorHandlerForm.Form1_UIThreadException);

    // Set the unhandled exception mode to force all Windows Forms errors to go through
    // our handler.
    Application.SetUnhandledExceptionMode(UnhandledExceptionMode.CatchException);

    // Add the event handler for handling non-UI thread exceptions to the event.
    AppDomain.CurrentDomain.UnhandledException +=
        new UnhandledExceptionEventHandler(CurrentDomain_UnhandledException);

    // Runs the application.
    Application.Run(new ErrorHandlerForm());
}

// Programs the button to throw an exception when clicked.
private void button1_Click(object sender, System.EventArgs e)
{
    throw new ArgumentException("The parameter was invalid");
}

// Start a new thread, separate from Windows Forms, that will throw an exception.
private void button2_Click(object sender, System.EventArgs e)
{
    ThreadStart newThreadStart = new ThreadStart(newThread_Execute);
    newThread = new Thread(newThreadStart);
    newThread.Start();
}

// The thread we start up to demonstrate non-UI exception handling.
void newThread_Execute()
{
    throw new Exception("The method or operation is not implemented.");
}

// Handle the UI exceptions by showing a dialog box, and asking the user whether
// or not they wish to abort execution.
private static void Form1_UIThreadException(object sender, ThreadExceptionEventArgs t)
{
    DialogResult result = DialogResult.Cancel;
    try
    {
        result = ShowThreadExceptionDialog("Windows Forms Error", t.Exception);
    }
    catch
    {
        try
        {
            MessageBox.Show("Fatal Windows Forms Error",
                "Fatal Windows Forms Error", MessageBoxButtons.AbortRetryIgnore, MessageBoxIcon.Stop);
        }
        finally
        {
            Application.Exit();
        }
    }

    // Exits the program when the user clicks Abort.
    if (result == DialogResult.Abort)
        Application.Exit();
}

// Handle the UI exceptions by showing a dialog box, and asking the user whether
// or not they wish to abort execution.
// NOTE: This exception cannot be kept from terminating the application - it can only
// log the event, and inform the user about it.
private static void CurrentDomain_UnhandledException(object sender, UnhandledExceptionEventArgs e)
{
    try
    {
        Exception ex = (Exception)e.ExceptionObject;
        string errorMsg = "An application error occurred. Please contact the adminstrator " +
            "with the following information:\n\n";

        // Since we can't prevent the app from terminating, log this to the event log.
        if (!EventLog.SourceExists("ThreadException"))
        {
            EventLog.CreateEventSource("ThreadException", "Application");
        }

        // Create an EventLog instance and assign its source.
        EventLog myLog = new EventLog();
        myLog.Source = "ThreadException";
        myLog.WriteEntry(errorMsg + ex.Message + "\n\nStack Trace:\n" + ex.StackTrace);
    }
    catch (Exception exc)
    {
        try
        {
            MessageBox.Show("Fatal Non-UI Error",
                "Fatal Non-UI Error. Could not write the error to the event log. Reason: "
                + exc.Message, MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Stop);
        }
        finally
        {
            Application.Exit();
        }
    }
}

// Creates the error message and displays it.
private static DialogResult ShowThreadExceptionDialog(string title, Exception e)
{
    string errorMsg = "An application error occurred. Please contact the adminstrator " +
        "with the following information:\n\n";
    errorMsg = errorMsg + e.Message + "\n\nStack Trace:\n" + e.StackTrace;
    return MessageBox.Show(errorMsg, title, MessageBoxButtons.AbortRetryIgnore,
        MessageBoxIcon.Stop);
}

Remarks

This enumeration is used by SetUnhandledExceptionMode.

Note

In the .NET Framework version 2.0, the common language runtime behavior changed to allow unhandled exceptions to propagate up the call stack. This behavior can be disabled via the application configuration file. For more information, see Exceptions in Managed Threads.

Applies to

Product Versions
.NET Framework 2.0, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, 4.5.1, 4.5.2, 4.6, 4.6.1, 4.6.2, 4.7, 4.7.1, 4.7.2, 4.8, 4.8.1
Windows Desktop 3.0, 3.1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9