How can I check if a program is running for the first time?

Question

My program sets its display based on if the program is running for the first time or not. In order to determine if the program is running for the first time I am currently u

Answer 1

Since your question appears to be concerned about each user that launches the application, then you should design a per-user solution.

Using Properties.Settings will actually work and be efficient as long as the setting in question is user-specific.

However, if this is not desired or appropriate for your application, you could also write a user-specific entry to the registry.

For example:

        const string REGISTRY_KEY = @"HKEY_CURRENT_USER\MyApplication";
        const string REGISTY_VALUE = "FirstRun";
        if (Convert.ToInt32(Microsoft.Win32.Registry.GetValue(REGISTRY_KEY, REGISTY_VALUE, 0)) == 0)
        {
            lblGreetings.Text = "Welcome New User";
            //Change the value since the program has run once now
            Microsoft.Win32.Registry.SetValue(REGISTRY_KEY, REGISTY_VALUE, 1, Microsoft.Win32.RegistryValueKind.DWord);
        }
        else
        {
            lblGreetings.Text = "Welcome Back User";
        }