using System;
using System.Drawing;
using System.IO;

string fileName, newFileName;
fileName = "C:\Sample.jpg";
newFileName = Path.ChangeExtension(fileName, ".ico");
using (Bitmap bitmap = Image.FromFile(fileName, true) as Bitmap)
{
    using (Icon icon = Icon.FromHandle(bitmap.GetHicon()))
    {
        using (Stream imageFile = File.Create(newFileName))
        {
            icon.Save(imageFile);
            Console.WriteLine("Converted - {0}", newFileName);
        }
    }
}

Code it pretty self explanatory. Let me know if you have faced any issues.

Creating a DLL using C++
For creating a DLL in C++, I was used cl.exe, which comes with .net framework. For the implementation I just wrote simple C++ file.(Simple.cpp)

#include <iostream>

extern "C" __declspec(dllexport) char* Hello();
char* Hello()
{
	return "Hello world";
}

I think this is pretty much clear.The extern “C” __declspec(dllexport) allows generate export names automatically. For more details :Exporting from a DLL Using __declspec(dllexport)(MSDN)

After creating this Simple.cpp file, go to Visual Studio Tools > Visual Studio 2008 Command Prompt. Go to the location where you have stored the Simple.cpp file and for compiling and linking C++ file you can use “cl.exe /LD Simple.cpp”.(For more details about cl.exe options checkout : Compiler Options Listed Alphabetically(MSDN) It will compile and Link, and gives a DLL as output.

Consuming a C++ library in C#
When I try to add the DLL by Add Reference, Visual Studio will not allows to add C++ library as Reference. So I tried it with Interop option, by using DLLImportAttribute.

[DllImport(@"D:\Simple.dll", EntryPoint = "Hello")]
public extern static string Hello();

Then you can call this function in C# like the following

private void button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
            MessageBox.Show(Hello());
}

It will display a Messagebox with “Hello World”. Thats it you consumed a C++ DLL in C#.

Issue in the implementation

1. I can’t use the DllImport function without the full location. To avoid this I tried to Register the DLL using RegSvr32.But I got some error from RegSvr like this.

The module “D:\Simple.dll” was loaded but the entry-point DllRegisterServer was not found.

Make sure that “D:\Simple.dll” is a valid DLL or OCX file and then try again.

I still exploring the things, I will update once I got the solution for this. Happy Coding

Here is the implementation.

'API
Public QueryCancelAutoPlay As Integer = 0
Public Shared Function RegisterWindowMessage(ByVal strMessage As String) As Integer
'No implementation required.
End Function

'Modified implementation of WndProc() method

Protected Overrides Sub WndProc(ByRef m As System.Windows.Forms.Message)
If QueryCancelAutoPlay = 0 Then
QueryCancelAutoPlay = RegisterWindowMessage("QueryCancelAutoPlay")
End If

If m.Msg = WM_DEVICECHANGE Then
Select Case m.WParam
Case WM_DEVICECHANGE_WPPARAMS.DBT_DEVICEARRIVAL
lblMessage.Text = "USB Inserted"
Case WM_DEVICECHANGE_WPPARAMS.DBT_DEVICEREMOVECOMPLETE
lblMessage.Text = "USB Removed"
End Select
ElseIf m.Msg = QueryCancelAutoPlay Then
m.Result = CType(1, IntPtr)
Return
End If
MyBase.WndProc(m)
End Sub

I implemented it in C#, and I re-wrote it in VB.Net, and I didn’t tested it If you are facing any issues, let me know.

    Private WM_DEVICECHANGE As Integer = &H219

    Public Enum WM_DEVICECHANGE_WPPARAMS As Integer
        DBT_CONFIGCHANGECANCELED = &H19
        DBT_CONFIGCHANGED = &H18
        DBT_CUSTOMEVENT = &H8006
        DBT_DEVICEARRIVAL = &H8000
        DBT_DEVICEQUERYREMOVE = &H8001
        DBT_DEVICEQUERYREMOVEFAILED = &H8002
        DBT_DEVICEREMOVECOMPLETE = &H8004
        DBT_DEVICEREMOVEPENDING = &H8003
        DBT_DEVICETYPESPECIFIC = &H8005
        DBT_DEVNODES_CHANGED = &H7
        DBT_QUERYCHANGECONFIG = &H17
        DBT_USERDEFINED = &HFFFF
    End Enum

    Protected Overrides Sub WndProc(ByRef m As System.Windows.Forms.Message)
        If m.Msg = WM_DEVICECHANGE Then
            Select Case m.WParam
                Case WM_DEVICECHANGE_WPPARAMS.DBT_DEVICEARRIVAL
                    lblMessage.Text = "USB Inserted"
                Case WM_DEVICECHANGE_WPPARAMS.DBT_DEVICEREMOVECOMPLETE
                    lblMessage.Text = "USB Removed"
            End Select
        End If
        MyBase.WndProc(m)
    End Sub

The code is pretty clear; I am overriding the WndProc method. When a USB inserted or removed, Windows will send some message (WM_DEVICECHANGE) to all the applications. And the WParam property of that message will contains the details of the device event. The system broadcasts the DBT_DEVICEARRIVAL device event when a device or piece of media has been inserted and becomes available. The system broadcasts the DBT_DEVICEREMOVECOMPLETE device event when a device or piece of media has been physically removed.

Now I am looking into how can remove a USB programmatically.

Imports System
Imports System.Runtime.InteropServices
Namespace Win32
    <StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)gt; _
 Public Class SHELLEXECUTEINFO
        Public cbSize As Integer
        Public fMask As Integer
        Public hwnd As IntPtr
        Public lpVerb As String
        Public lpFile As String
        Public lpParameters As String
        Public lpDirectory As String
        Public nShow As Integer
        Public hInstApp As Integer
        Public lpIDList As Integer
        Public lpClass As String
        Public hkeyClass As Integer
        Public dwHotKey As Integer
        Public hIcon As Integer
        Public hProcess As Integer
    End Class
    Public Class Shell
        Public Const SEE_MASK_INVOKEIDLIST As Integer = 12

        <DllImport("shell32.dll")gt; _
        Public Shared Function ShellExecuteEx(<[In](), Out()> _
      ByVal execInfo As SHELLEXECUTEINFO) As Boolean
        End Function
    End Class
End Namespace

And you can call the function like this

        Dim fileInfo As New Win32.SHELLEXECUTEINFO
        fileInfo.cbSize = System.Runtime.InteropServices.Marshal.SizeOf(fileInfo)
        fileInfo.lpVerb = "properties"
        fileInfo.fMask = Win32.Shell.SEE_MASK_INVOKEIDLIST
        fileInfo.nShow = 1
        fileInfo.lpFile = filename		'File name to display properties.
        Win32.Shell.ShellExecuteEx(fileInfo)

There is one issue I am facing right now with the code, the Dialog is not displayed as Modal window. I have to do R&D on it, and will update later.


Private Declare Auto Function FindWindow Lib "user32" (ByVal lpClassName As String, ByVal lpWindowName As String) As IntPtr

And in the code it is very simple to use.

Dim App1 As IntPtr = FindWindow("Notepad", Nothing)


If notepad application is not running, App1 will return an IntPtr.Zero as the result. While working on this I got an idea to combine InsertSystemMenu ( Add items to system menu )api with this. And I got some nice stuff like this

But I am unable to find, how can I get click events from the menu item
If anyone knows please let me know.