Print console output in RichEdit

Question

Pretty simple question. I have C # .dll with a range of Console.Writeline code and you want to view this output in a forms application using this .dll. Is there a relatively simple way to bind console output to RichEdit (or another suitable control)? Alternatively, is it possible to insert a real console shell into a form? I found several similar questions, but in most cases, people wanted to get console input, which is not needed for me.

Thank.

Answer 1

You can use Console.SetOut () to redirect the output. Here is a sample form demonstrating the approach. Drop the RichTextBox and button in the form.

public partial class Form1 : Form {
    public Form1() {
        InitializeComponent();
        button1.Click += button1_Click;
        Console.SetOut(new MyLogger(richTextBox1));
    }
    class MyLogger : System.IO.TextWriter {
        private RichTextBox rtb;
        public MyLogger(RichTextBox rtb) { this.rtb = rtb; }
        public override Encoding Encoding { get { return null; } }
        public override void Write(char value) {
            if (value != '\r') rtb.AppendText(new string(value, 1));
        }
    }
    private void button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e) {
        Console.WriteLine(DateTime.Now);
    }
}

I guess it won't be very fast, but it looked fine when I tried. You can optimize by overriding more methods.

Answer 2

IMO, it would be better to reorganize the existing code, replacing the existing one Console.WriteLinewith some central method in your code, and then repeat this method, presumably providing another TextWriter:

private static TextWriter output = Console.Out;
public static TextWriter Output {
   get {return output;}
   set {output = value ?? Console.Out;}
}
public static void WriteLine(string value) {
    output.WriteLine(value);
}
public static void WriteLine(string format, params string[] args) {
    output.WriteLine(format, args);
}

Or (simpler and less hacky re static field), just pass it TextWriterinto your existing code and write to it?