RedirectStandardOutput and the pause command in batch files

Question

In my C# code, I have to run some external processes. These could be batch files or executables. I redirect the output to a window of my own by having RedirectStandardOutput of the ProcessStartInfo be true. This allows the user to review the output even after the external process has finished. I also redirect the input so the user can press keys if necessary. This works very well in general.

However, I have one problem. Some of the batch files use the PAUSE command. Apparently the output isn't flushed by the command until a key has been pressed. Thus, the user never sees the prompt. So only after a key has been pressed will the user see that he should have pressed a key to continue. Is there a way to make this work (besides "Don't use PAUSE")?

EDIT: The batch files run the user's CAM post-processor and are usually created by the user (or the user's IT department). So requiring changes to these files or "hacking" by creating a pause.exe aren't really viable solutions (unless as very last resort).

Answer 1

In CMD, Try

batchWithPause.bat < nul

In C# that would be something like:

 Process.Start("batchWithPause.bat", "< nul");

EDIT So you simply want to the user to see "Press any key to continue"? Then add

@echo "Press any key to continue..."

before each pause call. You could also:

1. Write your own pause.bat that does that essentially

2. Write a simple pause.exe, say in c#:

   public static void Pause() { Console.WriteLine("Hit enter to continue."); Console.Read(); }

EDIT 2 I understand your problem now. Both the async OutputDataReceived and StreamReader.ReadLine() would read pause's "Press any key to continue" only after the user has pressed a key. However, if you were to loop StreamReader.Read() yourself, you would also get the "Press any key to continue". So this appears to be your only possible route.