How to get the process name in C++ - c++

Question

How do I get the process name from a PID using C++ in Windows?

Answer 1

I guess the OpenProcess function should help, given that your process possesses the necessary rights. Once you obtain a handle to the process, you can use the GetModuleFileNameEx function to obtain full path (path to the .exe file) of the process.
#include "stdafx.h"
#include "windows.h"
#include "tchar.h"
#include "stdio.h"
#include "psapi.h"
// Important: Must include psapi.lib in additional dependencies section
// In VS2005... Project > Project Properties > Configuration Properties > Linker > Input > Additional Dependencies
int _tmain(int argc, _TCHAR* argv[])
{
HANDLE Handle = OpenProcess(
PROCESS_QUERY_INFORMATION | PROCESS_VM_READ,
FALSE,
8036 /* This is the PID, you can find one from windows task manager */
);
if (Handle)
{
TCHAR Buffer[MAX_PATH];
if (GetModuleFileNameEx(Handle, 0, Buffer, MAX_PATH))
{
// At this point, buffer contains the full path to the executable
}
else
{
// You better call GetLastError() here
}
CloseHandle(Handle);
}
return 0;
}

Answer 2

You can obtain the process name by using the WIN32 API GetModuleBaseName after having the process handle. You can get the process handle by using OpenProcess.
To get the executable name you can also use GetProcessImageFileName.

Answer 3

All the above methods require psapi.dll to be loaded (Read the remarks section) and iterating through process snapshot is an option one should not even consider for getting a name of the executable file from an efficiency standpoint.
The best approach, even according to MSDN recommendation, is to use QueryFullProcessImageName.
std::string ProcessIdToName(DWORD processId)
{
std::string ret;
HANDLE handle = OpenProcess(
PROCESS_QUERY_LIMITED_INFORMATION,
FALSE,
processId /* This is the PID, you can find one from windows task manager */
);
if (handle)
{
DWORD buffSize = 1024;
CHAR buffer[1024];
if (QueryFullProcessImageNameA(handle, 0, buffer, &buffSize))
{
ret = buffer;
}
else
{
printf("Error GetModuleBaseNameA : %lu", GetLastError());
}
CloseHandle(handle);
}
else
{
printf("Error OpenProcess : %lu", GetLastError());
}
return ret;
}

Answer 4

If you are trying to get the executable image name of a given process, take a look at GetModuleFileName.

Answer 5

Check out the enumprocess functions in the tool help library:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms682629(v=vs.85).aspx
Good example # http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms682623(v=vs.85).aspx

Answer 6

Try this function :
std::wstring GetProcName(DWORD aPid)
{
PROCESSENTRY32 processInfo;
processInfo.dwSize = sizeof(processInfo);
HANDLE processesSnapshot = CreateToolhelp32Snapshot(TH32CS_SNAPPROCESS, NULL);
if (processesSnapshot == INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE)
{
std::wcout << "can't get a process snapshot ";
return 0;
}
for(BOOL bok =Process32First(processesSnapshot, &processInfo);bok; bok = Process32Next(processesSnapshot, &processInfo))
{
if( aPid == processInfo.th32ProcessID)
{
std::wcout << "found running process: " << processInfo.szExeFile;
CloseHandle(processesSnapshot);
return processInfo.szExeFile;
}
}
std::wcout << "no process with given pid" << aPid;
CloseHandle(processesSnapshot);
return std::wstring();
}