Restrict an application to one occurrence

Hello @ColMac,

ColMac said:

I'd like to restrict my Family History software application to just one occurrence, to minimise the possibility of making different alts on two different occurrences of the program.

I'm a home (WIn10 64) user, with a single user, and no network access to the software I want to limit.

Is this possible?

Does the Software NOT automatically save periodically while in use?

If I understand you correctly, if you save and close the application after you have finished with it, there will always be ONLY one instance of it open at a time!

I hope this helps.

Hello @ColMac,

ColMac said:

No it does not save automatically.

When doing research it is easy to have 8 to 10 windows open at a time, and it is very easy to forget that the app is open, and to open a second copy.

Thats what I want to avoid.

I am just off to bed, but I found this which might give an option . . .

> How to Close Open App or Window in Windows 10

I hope this helps.

ColMac said:

I'd like to restrict my Family History software application to just one one occurrence....

The ability for an application to restrict itself to one instance has to be coded into the app itself. Without that, there's no way to make the app restrict itself to only one instance.

This thread suggests ways to use poweshell or vb scripts to launch the app that checks for an existing instance and won't let you open another one.

https://social.technet.microsoft.com...um=winserverTS

@Bree is correct - one adds a Mutex into the start up code which checks for the running app - ideally using the assembly class id - but some use the app name or process as well.

Either way try the code in the link posted - it could be made more robust IMHO but keeping things simple is always a good thing.

ColMac said:

Thanks for the response, I'll try them out later today.

And please do post your conclusions.

Best of luck,
Denis