Process.Start() working but no window is popping up

Question

I have a web API project that has a call that allows the user to basically start a separate application on the server.

Basically my web API is a gateway to remotely call this application from an MVC project.

Problem:

The problem I am facing is that the Process.Start() method is working perfectly (as in I can see the process starting on the server's task manager) but no window is popping up? I can run the application directly and see it start in its own window.

Web API Code:

public void ReconnectEPLAN()
{
    if (CheckEplanConnection() == false)
    {
        Process process = new Process();
        process.StartInfo.UseShellExecute = false;
        process.StartInfo.FileName = @"C:\Program Files\EPLAN\Pro Panel\2.8.3\Bin\W3u.exe"; //works but no ui poopup
        process.StartInfo.CreateNoWindow = false;
        process.Start();
    }
}

What can I do to force the started process's app window to appear as well?

Answer 1

On your server, IIS runs as a service (unlike IIS Express, which runs in the user space). Since Windows Vista, services can no longer interact with the user's desktop directly.

See:

• How to run console application from Windows Service?
• https://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/windowsdesktop/en-US/f8f91e8f-5954-43a7-8bc4-80ed2ff1e3b1/quotallow-service-to-interact-with-desktopquot-does-not-work-on-vista?forum=windowssdk
• https://www.codeproject.com/Questions/1239551/Why-does-process-start-goes-to-background-when-sta

Services cannot interact directly with the user at all: this is because services can run on a machine that doesn't have a user logged in at all, so there is no way to interact with them.