Creating WPF GUI Applications with Pure PowerShell

When creating a GUI application in PowerShell, I usually use Visual Studio, or Blend for Visual Studio, to design a WPF application, then copy and run the XAML code in PowerShell.  Designing in VS is generally easier and quicker and creates less code, but it is also perfectly possible to create a WPF GUI using pure PowerShell, which is more akin to the Windows Forms method of GUI creation.  For more complex applications that’s not the ideal way because it takes longer and creates a lot more code, but for simple applications, or if you are used to designing something in Windows Forms, why not give it a go?  You simply need to create a window from the [System.Windows] .Net namespace, then add some controls from the [System.Windows.Controls] namespace, and you’re away!

Here’s a simple example application that displays the running processes on your machine, the list of services, and a little game “Click the Fruit” as a bonus 😉

# Add required assembly
Add-Type -AssemblyName PresentationFramework

# Create a Window
$Window = New-Object Windows.Window
$Window.Height = "670"
$Window.Width = "700"
$Window.Title = "PowerShell WPF Window"
$window.WindowStartupLocation="CenterScreen"

# Create a grid container with 2 rows, one for the buttons, one for the datagrid
$Grid =  New-Object Windows.Controls.Grid
$Row1 = New-Object Windows.Controls.RowDefinition
$Row2 = New-Object Windows.Controls.RowDefinition
$Row1.Height = "70"
$Row2.Height = "100*"
$grid.RowDefinitions.Add($Row1)
$grid.RowDefinitions.Add($Row2)

# Create a button to get running Processes
$Button_Processes = New-Object Windows.Controls.Button
$Button_Processes.SetValue([Windows.Controls.Grid]::RowProperty,0)
$Button_Processes.Height = "50"
$Button_Processes.Width = "150"
$Button_Processes.Margin = "10,10,10,10"
$Button_Processes.HorizontalAlignment = "Left"
$Button_Processes.VerticalAlignment = "Top"
$Button_Processes.Content = "Get Processes"
$Button_Processes.Background = "Aquamarine"

# Create a button to get services
$Button_Services = New-Object Windows.Controls.Button
$Button_Services.SetValue([Windows.Controls.Grid]::RowProperty,0)
$Button_Services.Height = "50"
$Button_Services.Width = "150"
$Button_Services.Margin = "180,10,10,10"
$Button_Services.HorizontalAlignment = "Left"
$Button_Services.VerticalAlignment = "Top"
$Button_Services.Content = "Get Services"
$Button_Services.Background = "Aquamarine"

# Create a button to play Click the fruit
$Button_Cool = New-Object Windows.Controls.Button
$Button_Cool.SetValue([Windows.Controls.Grid]::RowProperty,0)
$Button_Cool.Height = "50"
$Button_Cool.Width = "150"
$Button_Cool.Margin = "350,10,10,10"
$Button_Cool.HorizontalAlignment = "Left"
$Button_Cool.VerticalAlignment = "Top"
$Button_Cool.Content = "Play 'Click the Fruit'"
$Button_Cool.Background = "Aquamarine"

# Create a datagrid
$DataGrid = New-Object Windows.Controls.DataGrid
$DataGrid.SetValue([Windows.Controls.Grid]::RowProperty,1)
$DataGrid.MinHeight = "100"
$DataGrid.MinWidth = "100"
$DataGrid.Margin = "10,0,10,10"
$DataGrid.HorizontalAlignment = "Stretch"
$DataGrid.VerticalAlignment = "Stretch"
$DataGrid.VerticalScrollBarVisibility = "Auto"
$DataGrid.GridLinesVisibility = "none"
$DataGrid.IsReadOnly = $true

# Add the elements to the relevant parent control
$Grid.AddChild($DataGrid)
$grid.AddChild($Button_Processes)
$grid.AddChild($Button_Services)
$grid.AddChild($Button_Cool)
$window.Content = $Grid

# Add an event on the Get Processes button
$Button_Processes.Add_Click({
    $Processes = Get-Process | Select ProcessName,HandleCount,NonpagedSystemMemorySize,PrivateMemorySize,WorkingSet,UserProcessorTime,Id
    $DataGrid.ItemsSource = $Processes
    })

# Add an event on the Get Services button
$Button_Services.Add_Click({
    $Services = Get-Service | Select Name,ServiceName,Status,StartType
    $DataGrid.ItemsSource = $Services
    })

# Add an event to play Click the fruit
$Button_Cool.Add_Click({

    $Fruit = @{
        Apples = "Green"
        Bananas = "Yellow"
        Oranges = "Orange"
        Plums = "Maroon"
    }

    $Fruit.GetEnumerator() | Foreach {
        # Create a transparent window at a random location on the screen
        $NewWindow = New-Object Windows.Window
        $NewWindow.SizeToContent = "WidthAndHeight"
        $NewWindow.AllowsTransparency = $true
        $NewWindow.WindowStyle = "none"
        $NewWindow.Background = "Transparent"
        $NewWindow.WindowStartupLocation = "Manual"
        $Height = Get-Random -Maximum (([System.Windows.SystemParameters]::PrimaryScreenHeight) - 100)
        $Width = Get-Random -Maximum (([System.Windows.SystemParameters]::PrimaryScreenWidth) - 100)
        $NewWindow.Left = $Width
        $NewWindow.Top = $Height

        # Add a label control for the fruit
        $NewLabel = New-Object Windows.Controls.Label
        $NewLabel.Height = "150"
        $NewLabel.Width = "400"
        $NewLabel.Content = $_.Name
        $NewLabel.FontSize = "100"
        $NewLabel.FontWeight = "Bold"
        $NewLabel.Foreground = $_.Value
        $NewLabel.Background = "Transparent"
        $NewLabel.Opacity = "100"

        # Add an event to close the window when clicked
        $NewWindow.Add_MouseDown({
            $This.Close()
        })

        # Add an event to change the cursor to a hand when the mouse goes over the window
        $NewWindow.Add_MouseEnter({
        $this.Cursor = "Hand"
        })

        # Display the window
        $NewWindow.Content = $NewLabel
        $NewWindow.ShowDialog()
    }
})

# Show the window
if (!$psISE)
{
    # Hide PS console window
    $windowcode = '[DllImport("user32.dll")] public static extern bool ShowWindowAsync(IntPtr hWnd, int nCmdShow);'
    $asyncwindow = Add-Type -MemberDefinition $windowcode -name Win32ShowWindowAsync -namespace Win32Functions -PassThru
    $null = $asyncwindow::ShowWindowAsync((Get-Process -PID $pid).MainWindowHandle, 0) 

    # Run as an application in it's own context
    $app = [Windows.Application]::new()
    $app.Run($Window)
}
Else
{
    [void]$window.ShowDialog()
}