Check for running applications before installing software

[antmar904]

Hi

I use AutoIT to deploy software.  In my installation scripts I usually look for certain running applications the user might have open like Internet Explore, Lotus Notes, Microsoft Word, etc.

Lately one of my installation scripts seems to be looping during a process hang and the installation script will terminate or not functions properly.

Let's say I am looking to see if Microsoft Word is running (winword.exe).

I would use:

While ProcessExists("winword.exe")
    MsgBox(0, "Adobe Acrobat Reader DC", "You must close Microsoft Word before proceeding!" & @CRLF & @CRLF & "Please save your work and close Microsoft Word and click [OK]", 30)
WEnd

If I wanted to check If Internet Explore was running:

While ProcessExists("iexplore.exe")
    MsgBox(0, "Adobe Acrobat Reader DC", "You must close Internet Explorer before proceeding!" & @CRLF & @CRLF & "Please save your work and close Internet Explorer and click [OK]", 30)
    ProcessClose("iexplore.exe")
WEnd

When the users closes the specific application in question, sometimes the applications process can hang or get stuck causing my installation script to sometimes fail or even loop.

I just wanted to know how others go about checking for running applications.

Here is a code snippet of how I would search for running applications before proceeding to the application installation:

While ProcessExists("nlnotes.exe")
    MsgBox(0, "Adobe Acrobat Reader DC", "You must close IBM NOTES before proceeding!" & @CRLF & @CRLF & "Please save your work and close IBM NOTES and click [OK]", 30)
WEnd

While ProcessExists("iexplore.exe")
    MsgBox(0, "Adobe Acrobat Reader DC", "You must close Internet Explorer before proceeding!" & @CRLF & @CRLF & "Please save your work and close Internet Explorer and click [OK]", 30)
    ProcessClose("iexplore.exe")
WEnd

While ProcessExists("winword.exe")
    MsgBox(0, "Adobe Acrobat Reader DC", "You must close Microsoft Word before proceeding!" & @CRLF & @CRLF & "Please save your work and close Microsoft Word and click [OK]", 30)
WEnd

While ProcessExists("excel.exe")
    MsgBox(0, "Adobe Acrobat Reader DC", "You must close Microsoft Excel before proceeding!" & @CRLF & @CRLF & "Please save your work and close Microsoft Excel and click [OK]", 30)
WEnd

While ProcessExists("powerpnt.exe")
    MsgBox(0, "Adobe Acrobat Reader DC", "You must close Microsoft PowerPoint before proceeding!" & @CRLF & @CRLF & "Please save your work and close Microsoft PowerPoint and click [OK]", 30)
WEnd

While ProcessExists("msaccess.exe")
    MsgBox(0, "Adobe Acrobat Reader DC", "You must close Microsoft Access before proceeding!" & @CRLF & @CRLF & "Please save your work and close Microsoft Access and click [OK]", 30)
WEnd

While ProcessExists("AcroRd32.exe")
    MsgBox(0, "Adobe Acrobat Reader DC", "You must close Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat before proceeding!" & @CRLF & @CRLF & "Please save your work and close Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat and click [OK]", 30)
WEnd

 

[JLogan3o13]

For interactive installs I follow what you see in most commercial software - I prompt with a "retry" button three times and then fail gracefully. Put the onus on the end user to ensure the processes are closed, rather than killing processes through your install script.