Window form textbox not updating from another file - c#

I have two files, form1.cs and parser.cs. When I called my update method for NPCLogger.Text in the form1.cs file it works. but when I call it from parser.cs it does not? I've tried a lot of other solutions online and can't seem to get it working.
form1.cs
public void updateConsole(string text)
{
NPCLogger.Text += text;
}
private void ParseButton_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
Parser parser = new Parser();
string link = UserLink.Text;
parser.Parsing(link);
updateConsole("12312"); // this works
}
parser.cs
public class Parser : Form
{
public bool debug = false;
public string aggroRadius = null;
public void Parsing(string userLink)
{
updateConsole("This does not work");

The compiler error you're seeing (but not including in the question...) is telling you that there is no updateConsole method in the Parser class. (Unless you've added one, and didn't include that in the question. In which case... what on Earth does that method do and why are you expecting a method on a different class to be invoked?)
When you attempt to call a method that's in the Parser class from the Form1 class, note how you do that:
parser.Parsing(link);
You don't just call Parsing(link) by itself, you call it on the parser variable, which is an instance of the Parser class. So, when you want to call a method that's in the Form1 class from the Parser class, why do you expect it to be any different?
You need a reference to your Form1 object. Given the code shown, probably the simplest way is to add it to the Parser constructor:
private Form1 form1Instance { get; set; }
public Parser(Form1 form1)
{
this.form1Instance = form1;
}
And pass the reference when calling the constructor:
Parser parser = new Parser(this);
Then, in Parser, you can use that property to reference the object:
this.form1Instance.updateConsole("This does not work");
As an aside... You're digging yourself into a rabbit hole. Now you have two forms trying to directly interact with each other's UI controls. It's going to get unwieldy quickly.
A form should be responsible for its own UI controls. Models/objects (not forms) should encapsulate the core logic of the application. Any given form would invoke that logic and use the returned result to update its UI.

Related

Passing Variable from another class into a form

I am struggling with passing a Variable (a string) in C# for a special problem:
Overview:
I am writing a plugin for a purchased program at my company. The program (or better: the programs support) gives the user basic C#-Code which basically just opens a form, and connects the program with whatever I write down in the forms code.
As it is a Visual-Studio-Solution I get some files: "MyUserInterface.cs" and "MyUserInterface.Designer.cs".
"MyUserInterface.Designer.cs" defines the look of my form, i thing the most importand parts for my problem are:
partial class MyUserInterface
{
[...]
private void InitializeComponent()
{
[...]
this.f_status = new System.Windows.Forms.Label();
this.SuspendLayout();
[...]
//
// status
//
this.f_status.Name = "status";
this.f_status.Text = "WELCOME TO MYPLUGIN v2";
[...]
this.Controls.Add(this.f_status);
this.ResumeLayout(false);
this.PerformLayout();
}
[...]
private System.Windows.Forms.Label f_status;
[...]
}
The most important code from "MyUserInterface.cs" is:
partial class MyUserInterface
{
[...]
public MyUserInterface()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
[...]
private void click_compute(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
//Basically everythings runs here!
//The code is opend in other classes and other files
}
}
Now as i marked in the code section, my whole code runs in the "click-compute" Function and is "outsourced" into other classes.
One important part of my code is found in "statushandler.cs":
class statushandler
{
[...]
public static void status_msg(string c_msg)
{
[...]
f_status.Text = c_msg; // And here is my problem!!
[...]
}
}
Problem:
In my special case, i try to change the text of the "f_status"-Lable while running my code by using the "status_msg" Function!
While I pass variables between classes a few times in my code. A cannot figure out, why this explicit one cant be found inside "statushandler". (It is no problem as long as I stay inside the original "click_compute", without going into a different class).
What I already tried:
1.) I tried to change basically everything in "MyUserInterface" into "public",
2.) Also I tried to call f_status in status_msg like MyUserInterface.f_status.Text,
3.) Write a Getter/Setter-Function in "MyUserInterface.(Designer.)cs" (both), which was catastrophic because i couldn't define the Label in the InitializeComponent anymore.
4.)
a.)Read a lot of Stackoverflow-Threads about passing variables between classes, which all didn't helped, all solutions I found, are working between classes, but not in this special case.
b.)Watched a lot of youTube tutorials, same result.
c.)Read some stackoverflow-Threds about passing variables between different Forms, but they all had in common, that the "displaying-form" was opend AFTER the variable was known. In my special case the form is opened all the time, and can't be closed, nor reopened...
And now I am out of ideas!
I wouldn't be surprised, if I do not see some details, but I can't found them... I would be very happy, when somebody could help me!
My question:
How can I change the text of my lable from another class?
Your method is static while your form has instance. So your static method does not know anything about your form. You can add MyUserInterface parameter to static method
public static void status_msg(MyUserInterface form, string c_msg)
{
[...]
form.f_status.Text = c_msg; // And here is my problem!!
[...]
}
If you have single instance form (only one instance is created at a time) you can have static property with it's reference:
partial class MyUserInterface
{
public static MyUserInterface Instance { get; private set; }
[...]
public MyUserInterface()
{
InitializeComponent();
Instance = this;
}
}
With this solution you can use your old method:
class statushandler
{
[...]
public static void status_msg(string c_msg)
{
[...]
MyUserInterface.Instance.f_status.Text = c_msg; // You have instance of yout form here
[...]
}
}
Of course you should protect against null/ Disposed form etc.
Create a public property on the specific class in your 1st Form that gets the label's value like this:
public string Name {get {return Label1.Text}; set {Label1.Text = value}; }
Then in your 2nd Form:
public Form2(Form1 form)
{
string name;
name = form.Name;
}

Accessing form controls from multiple forms

I have 2 forms and 1 file to upload to youtube. I am accessing them like so from both forms (both of the forms don't interact together)
await new UploadVideo().Run(video);
Now inside my uploadvideo class I am trying to get the percentage uploaded to use in my form
void videosInsertRequest_ResponseReceived(Video video)
{
//core.prog_up.Text = "Video id '{0}' was successfully uploaded." + video.Id;
}
In both of the forms, I have the exact same form controls, so the naming convention is exactly the same. So depending on which form I initiated the uploadvideo class I want the form component to be accessed from the uploadclass.
I have named my forms: Form1 and Form2
I can iniate one by doing :
Form1 frm = new Form1();
But then I can't access Form2 if I initiate it from that form
depedning on which form I initiate tge uploadvideo class I want the form component to be accessed from the uploadclass
No, not really. You only think you do.
Your UploadVideo class should not know anything about the Form classes. It has no need to, and it's exactly your effort to do otherwise that has led you into this trap. Instead, what you want to do is "decouple" your UploadVideo class from the other classes that use it. This avoids these kinds of difficulties and at the same time helps your UploadVideo class remain maximally reusable (you can even use it where there's no Form class involved).
One right way to do this is to implement an event, which each Form class can subscribe to as appropriate:
class UploadVideo
{
public event EventHandler<string> StatusTextChanged;
void videosInsertRequest_ResponseReceived(Video video)
{
StatusTextChanged?.Invoke(this, $"Video id '{video.Id}' was successfully uploaded.");
}
}
NOTE: your original text didn't really make sense. It used a format replacement specifier {0}, but didn't pass that to string.Format(), instead just appending the Id property value to the end of the string. I've changed the text expression to work as one would normally expect it to need to.
If you're not using the latest C# and don't have the "interpolated strings" feature, you can use string.Format("Video id '{0}' was successfully uploaded.", video.Id) instead.
Then a Form class can subscribe:
partial class Form1 : Form
{
async void button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
UploadVideo uv = new UploadVideo();
uv.StatusTextChanged += (sender, text) =>
{
Invoke((MethodInvoker)(() => label1.Text = text));
}
await uv.Run(video);
}
}
(You didn't offer enough code to know exactly what the expression core.prog_up is really supposed to be, so in the above I've just assumed an arbitrary label1 object that's used to display the text.)
Another alternative is to use the Progress<T> class:
class UploadVideo
{
private readonly IProgress<string> _progress;
public UploadVideo(IProgress<string> progress)
{
_progress = progress;
}
void videosInsertRequest_ResponseReceived(Video video)
{
_progress.Report($"Video id '{video.Id}' was successfully uploaded.");
}
}
and…
partial class Form1 : Form
{
async void button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
Progress<string> progress = new Progress(s => label1.Text = text);
await new UploadVideo(progress).Run(video);
}
}
Note that when using the Progress<T> class, there's no need to add the call to Control.Invoke() to get back on the UI thread, because it handles that automatically for you.
The above shows passing the IProgress<T> instance to the UploadVideo constructor, but you could of course pass it to the Run() method instead. Either way will work. It just depends on where you need to value.
Yet another approach avoids callbacks altogether. Again, your original code example is pretty vague, so it's not clear whether this would apply in your case. But assuming the callback would be handled just before the Run() method returns, and assuming the video object passed to the ResponseReceived event handler is the same one your code passes to the Run() method, then you could just use the completion of the call to the Run() method as the indication to update the UI:
partial class Form1 : Form
{
async void button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
await new UploadVideo().Run(video);
label1.Text = $"Video id '{video.Id}' was successfully uploaded.";
}
}
This is a particularly compelling approach, because it removes even the string literal from the UploadVideo class, putting it into the class that actually is directly involved in interacting with the user (i.e. the only place where a string value really matters).
If the above is not enough for you to get back headed in the right direction, you'll need to improve your question by editing it so that it includes a good Minimal, Complete, and Verifiable code example showing exactly how your scenario works.
You can use parameters to pass the reference of form.
private Form _frm;
public Form1(Form form)
{
_frm = form;
InitializeComponent();
}
And then you can simply call the form like this:
Form1 frm = new Form1(this)

Calling method from different namespace and class

I'm trying to put some stuff that I use a lot into separate classes so it's easier to implement when starting a new project.
One of the things that I would like to do, is dynamically create a statusbar on my mainform. I have done this in a previous project and there it worked fine. So I copied the code and I changed the NameSpace for the mainform.
When I run the code it stops at the line
MainForm.Controls.Add(status);
When I look, it says Mainform is null.
Other than the Namespace I haven't changed anything.
Does anybody have an idea why this is happening?
Thanks
Kenneth
//THIS IS THE SEPARATE CLASS
public class Tools
{
public Form MainForm;
public void setupForm()
{
// LINK THE FORM
MainForm = myNamespace.Form1.MainForm;
// CREATE A STATUSBAR
StatusStrip status = new StatusStrip();
status.Name = "status";
// I'VE REMOVED SOME OF THE DYNAMIC CREATION STUFF FOR READABILITY
// ADD THE STATUSSTRIP TO THE FORM
MainForm.Controls.Add(status);
}
//THIS IS THE MAINFORM
public static Form1 MainForm;
public myNameSpace.Tools tools;
private void setupForm()
{
this.KeyPreview = true;
// LINK THE TOOLS CLASS
tools = new myNameSpace.Tools();
// SETUP THE FORM
tools.setupForm();
}
You have to pass a refernece of your main form to the Tools class. You can do this when you initialize tools or when you call the method setupForm. I implemented the second possibility for you:
//the call:
tools.setupForm(this);
//the implementation of the method
private void setupForm(Form1 MainForm)
{
//your method code
}
The normal way to separate responsibility is to inject the object you want to affect - not hijack it with a hardcoded reference.
Try injecting the form when you create your tools object:
tools = new myNameSpace.Tools(this);
Its null because you don't initiate or have a refference to the main window. You just create an alias for the namespace but not for the instance.
Pass the mainWondow as a parameter to the setupForm function. Then it will work.

C# - Call a function in a parent form

I'm trying to call a function in a main form from another form... Already got to call a simple function, by declaring it public static in main form, yet I can't call the needed one.
The function to call:
public static void spotcall()
{
string dial = Registry.CurrentUser.OpenSubKey("SOFTWARE").OpenSubKey("INTERCOMCS").GetValue("DIAL").ToString();
MainForm.txtSendKeys.Text = dial;// Here it asks me for a reference to an object.
foreach (char c in txtSendKeys.Text)
{
sideapp.Keyboard.SendKey(c.ToString(), checkBoxPrivate.Checked);
}
txtSendKeys.Clear();
}
The procedure I use to call it from a child form:
private void button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
button1.Text = "Hoho";
MainForm.spotcall();
}
I completely admit that I lack some theory about C#, but as it often happens, I just have to do it for my work, so I expect to get help if by chance I don't get to the solution by myself. Thank you :)
You cannot reference instances of controls on your MainForm in a static method. Like the compiler is telling you, you need an instance of the form in order to update things like TextBoxes. Without an instance, where would the values you are trying to update go?
I'm not sure exactly how the child form is being created, but one way you could call methods on your MainForm would be to provide a reference to your MainForm instance directly to the child form. This could be through the constructor or some public property.
For example
public class ChildForm : Form {
public MainForm MyParent { get; set; }
private void button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
button1.Text = "Hoho";
// Now your child can access the instance of MainForm directly
this.MyParent.spotcall();
}
}
Assuming you are creating ChildForm inside of MainForm the code to give the child a reference is pretty simple:
var childForm = new ChildForm();
childForm.MyParent = this; // this is a `MainForm` in this case
childForm.Show();
You would also need to make spotcall an instance method and not a static method, and remove the static reference to MainForm in your code:
public void spotcall()
{
string dial = Registry.CurrentUser.OpenSubKey("SOFTWARE").OpenSubKey("INTERCOMCS").GetValue("DIAL").ToString();
// Now it no longer asks you for a reference, you have one!
txtSendKeys.Text = dial;
foreach (char c in txtSendKeys.Text)
{
sideapp.Keyboard.SendKey(c.ToString(), checkBoxPrivate.Checked);
}
txtSendKeys.Clear();
}
I think the correct way to do this is to use delegates. This way your form (window) does not have to know anything about the parent form (the form can be opened from different parent forms).
Let's say we want to call a function in the parent form when the child form is closed (not showing the form as modal).
At the top of your child form create a delegate:
public delegate void CloseEvent();
public CloseEvent WindowClosed;
Create the form closing event and have it call your delegate:
private void child_FormClosing(object sender, FormClosingEventArgs e)
{
WindowClosed();
}
A button in the parent form can show the child form and set the callback:
private ChildForm childform = null;
private void buttonShowChildForm_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
if (childform == null)
{
childform = new ChildForm();
childform.WindowClosed += childClosed;
childform.Show();
} else
{
childform.BringToFront();
}
}
private void childClosed()
{
childform = null;
}
In this example we use a button to open a new form that does not block the parent form. If the user tries to open the form a second time, we just bring the existing form to the front to show it to the user. When the form is closed we set the object to null so that next time we click the button a new form is opened because the old was disposed when closed.
Best regards
Hans Milling...
You can not access non-static members in static context, which means you have to made txtSendKeys static, or make your function non-static.
If you create a static function, you may not reference global variables inside the function that aren't static as well.
So in order for spotcall to be static, you have to remove the reference to the txtSendKeys (I'm assuming this is a text box that you have created elsewhere in the form) or txtSendKeys must be declared within the static function.
Additional:
You obtained the value for txtSendKeys.Text in the previous line, via variable dial. Instead of referencing txtSendKeys.Text at all, I imagine you could simply use the variable dial to complete the function and leave the function static (you clear it at the end anyway).
public static void spotcall()
{
string dial = Registry.CurrentUser.OpenSubKey("SOFTWARE").OpenSubKey("INTERCOMCS").GetValue("DIAL").ToString();
foreach (char c in dial)
{
sideapp.Keyboard.SendKey(c.ToString(), checkBoxPrivate.Checked);
}
}
Although, that wouldn't overcome the same issue you would likely run into with checkBoxPrivate.Checked.
You could change it to take a boolean argument.
public static void spotcall(Boolean PrivateChecked)
{
string dial = Registry.CurrentUser.OpenSubKey("SOFTWARE").OpenSubKey("INTERCOMCS").GetValue("DIAL").ToString();
foreach (char c in dial)
{
sideapp.Keyboard.SendKey(c.ToString(), PrivateChecked);
}
}
You can put the shared code in a third class that's visible to both forms. So, for example:
public class static HelperFunctions
{
public static void spotcall()
{
. . .
}
}
Then replace
MainForm.spotcall()
with
HelperFunctions.spotcall()
The MainForm is just a class. It has the structure of the class. But the only data you can get from it is static data.
But an instance of that class appears when you do: MainForm MyFormInstance = new MainForm();
The MainForm can be used only to access static members (methods, properties...).
When you want to get the txtSendKeys, you must get it from an instance (object reference). That's because the textbox is not static, so it only exists in instances of the form.
So, you should do the following:
Make spotcall NOT static.
Put in child form a variable MainForm MyParentMainForm;
When you call the child, set that MyParentMainForm with the instance of the mainform. If it's being called from the main form, you can get the instance with the this keyword.
Inside child form, call MyParentMainForm.spotcall
PS: I'm not sure if there's something like a real child form or if you just call new forms from another. If there's really a child form, you can get the Parent property to access the instance of the main form.
This is sort of a "design pattern" issue, which I'll elaborate on, but I can try to explain the most direct way to solve this if you don't expect this program to change very much. "Static" things only exist once - once in the entire application. When a variable or function is static, it's much easier to access from anywhere in the program; but you can't access an object's associated data, because you're not pointing to a particular instance of that object (ie, you have seven MainForms. Which one are you calling this function on?) Since standard WinForm design expects you could have seven copies of MainForm displaying, all variables associated are going to be instance variables, or non-static. However, if you expect never to have a second MainForm, then you can take the "singleton" approach, and have an easy way of accessing your one instance.
partial class MainForm {
// only including the code that I'm adding; I'm sure there's a lot of stuff in your form.
public static MainForm Instance { public get; private set; }
protected void onInitialize() { // You need to hook this part up yourself.
Instance = this;
}
}
partial class SubForm {
protected void onImportantButton() {
MainForm.Instance.doImportantThing()
}
}
Putting too much active data-changing logic in form classes is a pretty common issue with many beginners' code. That's not a horrible thing - you wouldn't want to be making 5 controlling classes just for a simple thing you're trying. As code gets more complex, you start to find some things would make more sense to move to a "sublevel" of classes that don't interact with the user (so, some day, if this is being re-coded as a server program, you could throw away the form classes, and just use the logic classes - theoretically speaking). It also takes some time for many programmers to understand the whole concept of object "instances", and the "context" that a function is called in.

C# Winforms: How to get a reference to Form1 design time

I have a form that has a public property
public bool cancelSearch = false;
I also have a class which is sitting in my bll (business logic layer), in this class I have a method, and in this method I have a loop. I would like to know how can I get the method to recognise the form (this custom class and form1 are in the same namespace).
I have tried just Form1. but the intellisense doesn't recognise the property.
Also I tried to instantialize the form using Form f1 = winSearch.Form1.ActiveForm; but this too did not help
Any ideas?
When you are calling the business logic that needs to know the information pass a reference of the form to the method.
Something like.
public class MyBLClass
{
public void DoSomething(Form1 theForm)
{
//You can use theForm.cancelSearch to get the value
}
}
then when calling it from a Form1 instance
MyBlClass myClassInstance = new MyBlClass;
myClassInstance.DoSomething(this);
HOWEVER
Really you shouldn't do this as it tightly couples the data, just make a property on your BL class that accepts the parameter and use it that way.
I think you should look at how to stop a workerthread.
I have a strong feeling that you have a Button.Click event handler that runs your business logic and another Button.Click that sets your cancelSearch variable. This won't work. The GUI thread which would run your business logic, won't see the other button being clicked. If I'm right you should very much use a worker thread.
Your question is really not clear. You might want to edit it.
Advice
The form shouldn't pass to your business logic layer...
Solutions to your problem
BUT if you really want to (BUT it's really not something to do), you need to pass the reference. You can do it by passing the reference in the constructor of your class, or by a property.
Method with Constructor
public class YourClass
{
private Form1 youFormRef;
public YourClass(Form1 youFormRef)
{
this.youFormRef = youFormRef;
}
public void ExecuteWithCancel()
{
//You while loop here
//this.youFormRef.cancelSearch...
}
}
Method with Property
public class YourClass
{
private Form1 youFormRef;
public int FormRef
{
set
{
this.youFormRef = value;
}
get
{
return this.youFormRef;
}
}
public void ExecuteWithCancel()
{
//You while loop here
//this.youFormRef.cancelSearch
}
}
As the other (very quick) responses indicate, you need to have an instance variable in order to get your intellisence to show you what you need.
Your app by default does not have a reference to the main form instance, if you look at your program.cs file you will see that the form is constructed like so...
Application.Run(new Form1());
so you have a couple options, you could create a global var (yuck) and edit your program.cs file to use it..
Form1 myForm = new Form1();
Application.Run(myForm);
Pass a reference to the business object from your running form like some others have suggested
myBusinessObj.DoThisThing(this);
or find your form in the Application.OpenForms collection and use it.

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