Checking whether a program is running or not

While performing installation, sometimes, we need to check whether the instance of a particualr program exist or not.

I got this problem while installing my plug-in. Outlook should be closed before the installation starts. So, I need to check for the existance of Outlook before installation. After so many days and lot of efforts, finally I have got a solution for this.

While Process.GetProcessesByName(“Outlook”).Length > 0

MsgBox(“Notepad is open”)

End While

MsgBox(“Outlook is still open. Please close it”)

End While

This loop will iterate until the Outlook is closed.

We can also close a program forcibly using the following code.

Dim myProcesses() As Process

Dim instance As Process

myProcesses = Process.GetProcessesByName(“Outlook”)

For Each instance In myProcesses

instance.CloseMainWindow() ‘ This will close the application that is running

Next