I am trying to make my app stay the way I left it after closing the app. Therefore I want to save set of items from ListView to the settings and I can't figure out how to do that. I've found some solutions but I believe they are outdated as they don't seem to work.
Image shows set of items in ListView which I want to save so they appear there after restarting the app:
Items
This is where I want them to appear:
Settings
And this is part of code that I've tried out so far
private void btn_SaveConfig_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
int i = 0;
Settings.Default["IP"] = tBox_discoverServerFrom.Text;
Settings.Default["DiscoveredServers"] = cBox_discoveredServers.Text;
foreach (var item in lV_groups.Items)
{
var property = new System.Configuration.SettingsProperty("Group"+i);
property.PropertyType = typeof(string);
property.Name = "Group " + i;
Settings.Default.Properties.Add(property);
Settings.Default.Save();
i++;
}
}
I do not think using the Settings API is a great idea if you want to save any significant amount of data.
I would recommend the following
Create a class describing all the data you want to save. To make serialization easier it should have a parameter less constructor and public setters for all properties. This is sometimes called a Data-Transfer-Object (DTO)
Use json to serialize the object to a file. You would normally place the file in a subfolder in the local app data folder: Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.LocalApplicationData).
Do the reverse when you start the application. If there is a file, use Json to deserialize it and use it however you want.
You may optionally add logic to save the file periodically, this would allow recovery in case of application crashes. You might also want some system to keep more than one file, in case the application or computer crashes in the middle of a save operation, and the file becomes corrupt.
Related
First of all I am a newbie in C# Programming, and I need to create a simple MRU as fast as i could.
Well the thing is I've tried looking at some online examples but however I found them to be quite a bit too confusing...
So is there anyway that anyone can create a "Recently Used" section in the toolstripmenuitem without going into those complicated codes??
E.g I will not be able to understand this stuff...
Registry key:
KEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\VCExpress\9.0\FileMRUList
Code:
Application.UserAppDataRegistry.DeleteSubKey("MRU", false);
RegistryKey appKey = Application.UserAppDataRegistry.CreateSubKey("MRU");
dictionary
microsoft.win32
I will only need something as simple as shown in this link below http://www.codeproject.com/KB/menus/MRUHandler.aspx
So you want to create a submenu like in the screenshot? For this, you will have to:
Store the list of recently-used files somewhere. This could be the registry, or it could just be a simple textfile, which I’ll do now to keep it simple.
Learn how to generate menu items at runtime instead of in the designer.
1. Store the MRU in a file
You will probably have already declared a private field to contain your MRU, right?
private List<string> _mru = new List<string>();
Every time someone opens a file, you add this file to the beginning of the MRU, right?
_mru.Insert(0, fullFilePath);
Now, of course when the application closes, you need to save this MRU to a file. Let’s do that in the Form’s FormClosed event. Double-click the FormClosed event in the properties and write some code which looks somewhat like this:
var appDataPath = Application.UserAppDataPath;
var myAppDataPath = Path.Combine(appDataPath, "MyApplication");
var mruFilePath = Path.Combine(myAppDataPath, "MRU.txt");
File.WriteAllLines(mruFilePath, _mru);
Now we have saved the MRU in a file. Now obviously when the application starts, we need to load it again, so do something like this in the form’s Load event:
var appDataPath = Application.UserAppDataPath;
var myAppDataPath = Path.Combine(appDataPath, "MyApplication");
var mruFilePath = Path.Combine(myAppDataPath, "MRU.txt");
if (File.Exists(mruFilePath))
_mru.AddRange(File.ReadAllLines(mruFilePath));
2. Create the menu items
Now that _mru contains the file paths that we want in our menu, we need to create a new menu item for each. I’ll be assuming here that you already have a menu item in the File menu (the item called “Most Recently Used” in your screenshot) and that it is called mnuRecentlyUsed, and that we only need to create sub-items:
foreach (var path in _mru)
{
var item = new ToolStripMenuItem(path);
item.Tag = path;
item.Click += OpenRecentFile;
mnuRecentlyUsed.DropDownItems.Add(item);
}
Now all we need is the method that actually opens a file, which I called OpenRecentFile:
void OpenRecentFile(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
var menuItem = (ToolStripMenuItem) sender;
var filepath = (string) menuItem.Tag;
// Proceed to open the file
// ...
}
Disclaimer
Please don’t use any of this code unless you understand it and you are sure that it is written to do what you intended. If it needs to do something slightly different, I’m sure you can make the necessary changes yourself.
Also, I’m sure you will have noticed that the above doesn’t update the sub-menu while the program is running. If you understand how the above code works, then I’m sure you’ll be able to figure out the rest for yourself.
http://www.codeproject.com/Tips/680088/Recent-Items-Tool-Strip-Menu-Item
This project does exactly what you want
I have a checkbox(Name:tarahi_algouritm) and a button(Name:button1) on my form(Name:frm_choose).I want to save the latest changes on my checkbox as user clicked on the button.it means user run the program and check the checkbox and then click on button and then close the program.when he/she Rerun it,checkbox should be checked.or someway he disable the checkbox and click on button and after another run,checkbox should be disabled.
for this, in application setting(table part) put a checkbox (Name:s_tarahi_algouritm)and choose USER in scope part..as I said changes are apply on checkbox and s_tarahi_algouritm is used for save the latest changes on checkbox.I wrote these codes:
private void frm_choose_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
if (Properties.Settings.Default.s_tarahi_algouritm!=null)
tarahi_algouritm= Properties.Settings.Default.s_tarahi_algouritm;
}
private void button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
Properties.Settings.Default.s_tarahi_algouritm = tarahi_algouritm;
Properties.Settings.Default.Save();
}
but When I make changes on checkbox and close the debug and Rerun it,changes are not applied.
what should I do?where is wrong?I am partly beginner so explain explicit.
thank you all
The problem is the settings files are written out in two parts: one to the application settings (which you can't save to) and the other to the user settings (which you can save to). You need to save the user settings (it gets written to your c:\users{userid}... directory).
Look at the most up-voted response to Farzin's link. It explains the issue as well.
Here's a more thorough explanation: App.config: User vs Application Scope
Here's an example.
I created a webform app and added a Settings file to it (called TestSettings.settings). I added two values:
When you run this application it creates a file in the application directory named the same as your executable with .config appended that contains (among other things) a element and a element. But this file only contains the initial values. If you change the value under the element and call Save() it will not update this file. It will create a file:
c:\Users{username}\AppData\Local{appname}{random_dir_name}{version}\user.config
My code to demonstrate this was:
Console.WriteLine(TestSettings.Default["UserValue"]);
TestSettings.Default["UserValue"] = "def";
TestSettings.Default.Save();
I tested many things like:
Properties.Settings.Default.Properties.Add(new System.Configuration.SettingsProperty("a"));
Properties.Settings.Default.Properties["a"].DefaultValue = "b";
Properties.Settings.Default.Save();
it has not error but do not save. In this link:
C# Settings.Default.Save() not saving?
Answered you must add Properties.Settings.Default.Reload(); after saving, I did that but not changed. It seems no one knows the answer.(I read many articles).
It looks like a cancer to me! I suggest you to easily save your settings to a xml file.
Below i add an easy xml saving method:
using System.Xml.Linq;
And
XElement settings;
try
{
settings = XElement.Load("settings.xml"); //beside the app .exe file
}
catch (Exception) // it is first time and you have not file yet.
{
settings = new XElement("settings");
settings.Save("settings.xml");
}
If you want to add new element:
settings.Add(new XElement("firstKey", tarahi_algouritm.Checked.ToString()));
settings.Save("settings.xml");
If you want to read or edit element:
XElement settings = XElement.Load("settings.xml");
string firstKey = settings.Element("firstKey").Value; //reading value
settings.Element("firstKey").Value = "New Value"; //Edit
settings.Save("settings.xml"); //Save
Remember that firstKey is only a name and you can use another names instead.
I am trying to iterate through application properties in C# using reflection (.NET 3.5 using VS 2010). The code "works" in that it successfully gets properties. However, it always gets the property values that were defined at design time and does not see the current values in myapp.exe.config. Properties that I access directly by name do reflect what is in the .config file. Here is the reflection-based code which only sees design-time properties:
List<StringDictionary> dictList = new List<StringDictionary>();
StringCollection bogus = new StringCollection();
foreach (PropertyInfo info in Properties.Settings.Default.GetType().GetProperties())
{
if (!("logLevel".Equals(info.Name) || "eventURL".Equals(info.Name)))
{
if (bogus.GetType().IsAssignableFrom(info.PropertyType))
{
StringCollection rawConfig = (StringCollection)info.GetValue(Properties.Settings.Default, null);
// do something
}
}
}
This code does pick up the current values in myapp.exe.config.
String logLevelStr = Properties.Settings.Default.logLevel
What am I doing wrong in my reflection code that causes me to pull only the properties defined at design time and not what is currently in myapp.exe.config?
To get the current value you need to use something like this which looks at Default.PropertyValues instead of Default.Properties
foreach (SettingsPropertyValue property in Properties.Settings.Default.PropertyValues)
{
Debug.WriteLine(string.Format("Property {0}'s value is {1}",property.Name,property.PropertyValue));
}
// note: the above may not work in some multi-form app, even if the applicaton prefix is prepended in front of Properties esp for visual studio 2010 compiled app with .net frame work 4
I think that there is a fundamental misunderstanding here. Settings can be one of two types- Application settings and User settings.
Application settings are intended to be written only at design time. As Henk points out it is possible to edit them after deployment if you are admin, but that isn't really the intent. Also, it should be noted that while Application settings are stored in the .config file, they are only read once and then cached in memory. That's why you don't see the new values when you edit the file.
User settings can be overwritten at run time by application code and saved, but they are saved at a user scope, so a different user running the same application can have different values. The intention there was things like user preferences. There is a drop down in the settings designer grid to switch between Application and User scope for each Setting.
Either way, you shouldn't be accessing them via reflection.
There must be some kind of misunderstanding here.
If you want to read the configurations from myapp.exe.config you should use ConfigurationManager. This class allows you to access AppSettings and ConnectionString directly through static properties or read custom sections by the GetSection method.
Beside, application configurations are meant to be design-time only. You shouldn't alter myapp.exe.config at runtime. Never. This file must be the same for each execution of your application.
Beside, what is Properties.Settings.Default.logLevel ???
Consider:
foreach (SettingsProperty sp in Settings.Default.Properties)
{
Console.WriteLine(sp.Name + "=" + Settings.Default.Properties.Default[sp.Name].ToString());
}
First of all I am a newbie in C# Programming, and I need to create a simple MRU as fast as i could.
Well the thing is I've tried looking at some online examples but however I found them to be quite a bit too confusing...
So is there anyway that anyone can create a "Recently Used" section in the toolstripmenuitem without going into those complicated codes??
E.g I will not be able to understand this stuff...
Registry key:
KEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\VCExpress\9.0\FileMRUList
Code:
Application.UserAppDataRegistry.DeleteSubKey("MRU", false);
RegistryKey appKey = Application.UserAppDataRegistry.CreateSubKey("MRU");
dictionary
microsoft.win32
I will only need something as simple as shown in this link below http://www.codeproject.com/KB/menus/MRUHandler.aspx
So you want to create a submenu like in the screenshot? For this, you will have to:
Store the list of recently-used files somewhere. This could be the registry, or it could just be a simple textfile, which I’ll do now to keep it simple.
Learn how to generate menu items at runtime instead of in the designer.
1. Store the MRU in a file
You will probably have already declared a private field to contain your MRU, right?
private List<string> _mru = new List<string>();
Every time someone opens a file, you add this file to the beginning of the MRU, right?
_mru.Insert(0, fullFilePath);
Now, of course when the application closes, you need to save this MRU to a file. Let’s do that in the Form’s FormClosed event. Double-click the FormClosed event in the properties and write some code which looks somewhat like this:
var appDataPath = Application.UserAppDataPath;
var myAppDataPath = Path.Combine(appDataPath, "MyApplication");
var mruFilePath = Path.Combine(myAppDataPath, "MRU.txt");
File.WriteAllLines(mruFilePath, _mru);
Now we have saved the MRU in a file. Now obviously when the application starts, we need to load it again, so do something like this in the form’s Load event:
var appDataPath = Application.UserAppDataPath;
var myAppDataPath = Path.Combine(appDataPath, "MyApplication");
var mruFilePath = Path.Combine(myAppDataPath, "MRU.txt");
if (File.Exists(mruFilePath))
_mru.AddRange(File.ReadAllLines(mruFilePath));
2. Create the menu items
Now that _mru contains the file paths that we want in our menu, we need to create a new menu item for each. I’ll be assuming here that you already have a menu item in the File menu (the item called “Most Recently Used” in your screenshot) and that it is called mnuRecentlyUsed, and that we only need to create sub-items:
foreach (var path in _mru)
{
var item = new ToolStripMenuItem(path);
item.Tag = path;
item.Click += OpenRecentFile;
mnuRecentlyUsed.DropDownItems.Add(item);
}
Now all we need is the method that actually opens a file, which I called OpenRecentFile:
void OpenRecentFile(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
var menuItem = (ToolStripMenuItem) sender;
var filepath = (string) menuItem.Tag;
// Proceed to open the file
// ...
}
Disclaimer
Please don’t use any of this code unless you understand it and you are sure that it is written to do what you intended. If it needs to do something slightly different, I’m sure you can make the necessary changes yourself.
Also, I’m sure you will have noticed that the above doesn’t update the sub-menu while the program is running. If you understand how the above code works, then I’m sure you’ll be able to figure out the rest for yourself.
http://www.codeproject.com/Tips/680088/Recent-Items-Tool-Strip-Menu-Item
This project does exactly what you want
c# windows forms: How do you create new settings at run time so that they are permanently saved as Settings.Default.-- values?
Just in case that still matters to anyone:
You can dynamically add settings through Settings.Default.Properties.Add(...) and have these also persisted in the local storage after saving (I had those entries reflected in the roaming file).
Nevertheless it seems that the dynamically added settings keep missing in the Settings.Default.Properties collecion after loading again.
I could work around this problem by adding the dynamic property before first accessing it.
Example (notice that I "create" my dynamic setting from a base setting):
// create new setting from a base setting:
var property = new SettingsProperty(Settings.Default.Properties["<baseSetting>"]);
property.Name = "<dynamicSettingName>";
Settings.Default.Properties.Add(property);
// will have the stored value:
var dynamicSetting = Settings.Default["<dynamicSettingName>"];
I don't know if this is supported by Microsoft as the documentation is very rare on this topic.
Problem is also described here http://www.vbdotnetforums.com/vb-net-general-discussion/29805-my-settings-run-time-added-properties-dont-save.html#post88152 with some solution offered here http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/saa62613(v=VS.100).aspx (see Community Content - headline "How to Create / Save / Load Dynamic (at Runtime) Settings"). But this is VB.NET.
In addition to John's solution for saving, the proper method for loading is add the property, and then do a Reload() on your settings.
Your dynamic setting will be there!
For a full example, valid for using in library code, as you can pass the settings in ..
ApplicationSettingsBase settings = passed_in;
SettingsProvider sp = settings.Providers["LocalFileSettingsProvider"];
SettingsProperty p = new SettingsProperty("your_prop_name");
your_class conf = null;
p.PropertyType = typeof( your_class );
p.Attributes.Add(typeof(UserScopedSettingAttribute),new UserScopedSettingAttribute());
p.Provider = sp;
p.SerializeAs = SettingsSerializeAs.Xml;
SettingsPropertyValue v = new SettingsPropertyValue( p );
settings.Properties.Add( p );
settings.Reload();
conf = (your_class)settings["your_prop_name"];
if( conf == null )
{
settings["your_prop_name"] = conf = new your_class();
settings.Save();
}
Since the Settings class is generated at build time (or, actually, whenever you update the settings file from within the designer), you can't use this mechanism for dynamic scenarios. You can, however, add some collection or dictionary to the application settings and modify that dynamically.
You can't add settings directly (at least not without editing the config XML at runtime), but you can fake it.
In my case, I had a group of identical custom controls on the form, and I wanted to store the runtime state of each control. I needed to store the state of each control, since each one had different data it.
I created a new StringCollection setting named ControlData and placed my own data in there. I then load the data from that list and use it to initialize my controls.
The list looks like this:
Box1Text=A
Box1List=abc;def;foo;bar;
Box2Text=hello
Box2List=server1;server2;
In my startup code, I read through the key/value pairs like this:
foreach (string item in Properties.Settings.Default.ControlData) {
string[] parts=item.split('=');
parts[0] will have the key and parts[1] will have the value. You can now do stuff based on this data.
During the shutdown phase, I do the inverse to write the data back to the list. (Iterate through all the controls in the form and add their settings to ControlData.
How would you access the new settings that you have created? The point of the Visual Studio settings designer is that you can write code that uses these settings with compile-time checking of your code. If you want to dynamically create new settings for your app to use, you will also need to dynamically load them. For dynamic settings, you may want to look at the System.Configuration assembly, notably ConfigurationSection. You can create a custom configuration section with that, which you could use for dynamic setting addition/removal. You might use a ConfigurationCollection for that dynamic addition/removal.
INI files eh? Google turned up this INI library for .NET.
What you could do is create a new registry key.
Name the new key "Your program settings".
RegistryKey ProgSettings = Registry.CurrentUser.OpenSubKey("Software", true);
ProgSettings.CreateSubKey("Your Program settings");
ProgSettings.Close();
Now you can add String Identifiers and values.
RegistryKey ProgSettings = Registry.CurrentUser.OpenSubKey("Software\\Your Program settings", true);
ProgSettings.SetValue("Setting Name", value); // store settings
string settings = ProgSettings.GetValue("Setting Name", false); // retreave settings
ProgSettings.DeleteValue("Setting Name", false);
Besure to close the registry key when you are done to avoid conflicts with other parts of your program that may write to the registry.
Many comercial software applications use these methods.
stackoverflow has many examples about writing and reading to the registry.
This is much easyer then modifying the appconfig.xml file that is used when you create settings.
It took me a long time using the top two answers here plus this link (Create new settings on runtime and read after restart) to get it to finally work.
First of all, set your expectations. The answer here will create a new user setting and you can get its value the next time you launch your app. However, the setting you created this way will not appear in the Settings designer. In fact, when you relaunch the app and try to access the setting in your code, it will not find it. However, the setting you have created through code is saved in the user.config file (say jDoe.config) somewhere in your file system. For you to access this value, you have to add the setting again.
Here is a working example I have:
private void FormPersistence_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
StartPosition = FormStartPosition.Manual;
// Set window location
var exists = Settings.Default.Properties.OfType<SettingsProperty>().Any(p => p.Name == Name + "Location");
if (exists)
{
this.Location = (Point)Settings.Default[Name + "Location"];
}
else
{
var property = new SettingsProperty(Settings.Default.Properties["baseLocation"]);
property.Name = Name + "Location";
Settings.Default.Properties.Add(property);
Settings.Default.Reload();
this.Location = (Point)Settings.Default[Name + "Location"];
}
}
Note:
My new setting's name will be resolved at run time. Name is really this.Name, which is the form's name. This is a base form that other forms can inherit from, so all the child forms will be able to remember their locations.
baseLocation is a setting I have manually created in Settings designer. The new setting I have is the same type. This way I don't have to worry about things like provider, type, etc. in code.
I see how what I wanted was the wrong idea. I'm porting a c++ app over to c# and it has a lot of ini file settings and I was looking for a shortcut to add them in. I'm lazy.