Windows Service & Clipboard

Thread view:

Enable EMail Alerts

Start New Thread

Thread rating:

Humam - 25 Feb 2008 13:38 GMT

I am developing a windows service that read data from a device attached to a
PC via serial port, then service should put the data in the clipboard.
I am writing this code:

Clipboard.Clear();
Clipboard.SetText("Some Text");

but for some reason, no data is sent to the clipboard!
Is it because Windows Service run on a seperate thread?
Can any one help?

Reply to this Message

Jon Skeet [C# MVP] - 25 Feb 2008 13:55 GMT

> I am developing a windows service that read data from a device attached to a
> PC via serial port, then service should put the data in the clipboard.
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> Is it because Windows Service run on a seperate thread?
> Can any one help?

Have you allowed the service to interact with the desktop? I believe
the clipboard is inherently tied to the desktop, and services aren't
normally meant to interact with the UI at all.

(I have to say, it does seem a very odd thing to do.)

Signature

Jon Skeet - <skeet@pobox.com>
http://www.pobox.com/~skeet Blog: http://www.msmvps.com/jon.skeet
World class .NET training in the UK: http://iterativetraining.co.uk

Reply to this Message

Humam - 25 Feb 2008 14:33 GMT

I tried that, but I am still having the same odd result.

> > I am developing a windows service that read data from a device attached to a
> > PC via serial port, then service should put the data in the clipboard.
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
>
> (I have to say, it does seem a very odd thing to do.)

Reply to this Message

Willy Denoyette [MVP] - 25 Feb 2008 18:08 GMT

Only STA threads can access the clipboard, Windows Services threads enter
the MTA by default. Even if you run your clipboard stuff on a new thread
initialized to enter an STA, you will encounter following issues:
1) STA threads must create a Window and pump it's message queue.
2) The clipboard is a shared memory section, mapped in all the processes
memory space running in the same WindowsStation\Desktop pair sharing the
same Session. Windows Services and Interactive applications run in distinct
pairs (unless you set "Access Interactive Desktop", which is a bad idea),
so, by default, they don't share the clipboard.
On Vista ( and on systems where FUS is enabled/used) it's no longer
possible to use the clipboard to pass data across the session boundaries.
Services and user applications do no longer share the same session on Vista.

Willy.

>I tried that, but I am still having the same odd result.
>
[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]
>>
>> (I have to say, it does seem a very odd thing to do.)

Reply to this Message

Mr. Arnold - 25 Feb 2008 13:56 GMT

>I am developing a windows service that read data from a device attached to
>a
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
> Is it because Windows Service run on a seperate thread?
> Can any one help?

I would think because it's not a Windows Desktop solution, forms based, that
you might have a problem doing that.

Reply to this Message

Windows Service & Clipboard

Free Magazines