Poss.Win.Automation 1.0.5

Poss.Win.Automation

<em>Windows automation library</em> for keyboard and mouse input simulation, global hotkey registration, and window management. Targets .NET Standard 2.0.

Features

• InputSimulator — simulate keyboard and mouse input (key presses, clicks, cursor movement, Unicode text)
• Key parsing prechecks — validate key/chord strings with TryParse / TryParseKey before sending input or registering hotkeys
• GlobalHotKeyManager — register system-wide hotkeys with keyboard and mouse support
• Window utilities — activate windows, query titles, positions, process names

Installation

dotnet add package Poss.Win.Automation

Quick Start

Input simulation

using Poss.Win.Automation.Input;

var sim = new InputSimulator();
sim.SendText("Hello, World!");
sim.Click(100, 200, "LButton");
sim.Send("Ctrl");

Global hotkeys

using Poss.Win.Automation.GlobalHotKeys;

var manager = new GlobalHotKeyManager(new GlobalHotKeyManagerOptions { RunMessageLoop = true });
manager.Start();

manager.Register("save", async () => { /* save action */ }, "Ctrl+S");
manager.Register("custom", async () => { /* action */ }, "Shift+LButton Up");

// manager.Stop(); manager.Dispose();

Process filtering (input only when window is active)

using Poss.Win.Automation.Input;

// Restrict input to Notepad — SendText/Click/etc. are no-ops when another app is focused
var sim = new InputSimulator("notepad");
sim.SendText("Typed into Notepad only");
sim.Click(100, 100);

Console apps: use RunMessageLoop

using Poss.Win.Automation.GlobalHotKeys;

// Hooks require a Windows message loop. In WinForms/WPF it exists; in console apps you must enable it:
var manager = new GlobalHotKeyManager(new GlobalHotKeyManagerOptions { RunMessageLoop = true });
manager.Start();
manager.Register("quit", async () => { Environment.Exit(0); }, "Ctrl+Q");
// Keep running

Key actions: Down, Up, Press

sim.Send("Ctrl down");   // Hold Ctrl
sim.Send("A");          // Press A (with Ctrl held)
sim.Send("Ctrl up");    // Release Ctrl

// Trigger-on-release hotkey
manager.Register("onRelease", async () => { /* fires when key is released */ }, "F5 Up");

Validate key strings (precheck)

Use TryParse / TryParseKey to validate key names before calling Send, GetKeyState, or registering hotkeys — without throwing.

using Poss.Win.Automation.Common.Keys.Enums;
using Poss.Win.Automation.Common.Structs;
using Poss.Win.Automation.Input;
using Poss.Win.Automation.GlobalHotKeys.Structs;

// Single key name only (no action): "1", "D1", "Ctrl", "LButton", ";"
if (KeyStroke.TryParseKey("1", out VirtualKey key))
    Console.WriteLine(key);  // D1

// Raw VK code for a key name
if (KeyStroke.TryGetVirtualKeyCode("F5", out ushort vkCode)) { /* ... */ }

// Key + optional action: "A", "D1 Down", "LButton click"
if (KeyStroke.TryParse("Ctrl Down", out KeyStroke stroke))
    sim.Send(stroke);

// Same as KeyStroke.TryParse, with InputSimulator's parse cache
if (InputSimulator.TryParse("1 Down", out KeyStroke cached))
    sim.Send(cached);

// Chord (parts separated by '+'): "Ctrl + 1", "Shift + LButton Up"
if (HotkeyCombination.TryParse("Ctrl + S", out _))
    manager.Register("save", async () => { }, "Ctrl + S");

Accepted key formats:

• Enum names — D1, Ctrl, F5, LButton, NumPad3 (case-insensitive)
• Row digits — "0"–"9" map to D0–D9 (not mouse VK codes)
• Single letters — A / a
• Symbol literals — ; = , - . / ` [ \ ] '

Space in a stroke string separates key from action (Down, Up, Press, Click), not multiple keys. Use + for chords (HotkeyCombination). Multi-digit numeric strings (e.g. "17") are rejected.

Mouse and window utilities

sim.MouseSetPos(500, 300);
sim.MouseDeltaMove(600, 400, speed: 2.0);  // Smooth movement with easing
sim.MouseWheel(120);   // Scroll up (negative = down)

sim.WinActivate("notepad");  // Activate first window matching process or title
var pos = sim.MouseGetPos();
var title = sim.GetWindowTitle();

Limitations

• Windows only — Uses Win32 APIs (SendInput, SetWindowsHookEx, etc.). Does not run on Linux or macOS.
• UIPI — Input sent via SendInput may be blocked when targeting elevated processes from a non-elevated app (and vice versa).
• Message loop — Global hotkeys need a Windows message loop. In console apps, set RunMessageLoop = true.
• Process filter — InputSimulator with a process filter only simulates input when the matching window is foreground; calls are no-ops otherwise.

Keywords

windows, automation, input, keyboard, mouse, hotkey, global hotkey, keyboard hook, mouse hook, input simulation, SendInput, Win32, .NET Standard, C#

Documentation

• Public API Reference — full list of public types and members

Requirements

• .NET Standard 2.0
• Windows (uses Win32 APIs: SendInput, SetWindowsHookEx, etc.)