How to use <DllImport> in VB.NET?

vb.net dllimport
MilMike picture MilMike · Feb 9, 2010 · Viewed 110.7k times · Source

How should I DLLImport things in VB.NET? An example would be:

<DllImport("user32.dll", SetLastError:=True, CharSet:=CharSet.Auto)> _
Private Shared Function GetWindowText(ByVal hwnd As IntPtr, ByVal lpString As StringBuilder, ByVal cch As Integer) As Integer

End Function

If I put it inside a Class or somewhere else, I get "DLLimport is not defined" I am using Visual Studio 2008 Professional

Answer

Anton Gogolev picture Anton Gogolev · Feb 9, 2010

You have to add Imports System.Runtime.InteropServices to the top of your source file.

Alternatively, you can fully qualify attribute name:

<System.Runtime.InteropService.DllImport("user32.dll", _
    SetLastError:=True, CharSet:=CharSet.Auto)> _

Related questions

DllImport vs Declare in VB.NET

I notice in the MSDN documentation that there are multiple ways to declare a reference to a function in an external DLL from within a VB.NET program. The confusing thing is that MSDN claims that you can only use …

Read More
What is a NullReferenceException, and how do I fix it?

I have some code and when it executes, it throws a NullReferenceException, saying: Object reference not set to an instance of an object. What does this mean, and what can I do to fix this error?

Read More
Converting string to byte array in C#

I'm converting something from VB into C#. Having a problem with the syntax of this statement: if ((searchResult.Properties["user"].Count > 0)) { profile.User = System.Text.Encoding.UTF8.GetString(searchResult.Properties["user"][0]); } I then see the following errors: Argument 1: cannot …

Read More