C# - Drawing in a panel with "Paint" - c#

I've been working on a project for class where I need to display on screen polygons (drawed in a Panel), but I've been reading arround here that I should work with Paint event, tho I can't make it work (started learning C# a little ago).
private void drawView()
{
//"playerView" is the panel I'm working on
Graphics gr = playerView.CreateGraphics();
Pen pen = new Pen(Color.White, 1);
//Left Wall 1
Point lw1a = new Point(18, 7);
Point lw1b = new Point(99, 61);
Point lw1c = new Point(99, 259);
Point lw1d = new Point(18, 313);
Point[] lw1 = { lw1a, lw1b, lw1c, lw1d };
gr.DrawPolygon(pen, lw1);
}
I was doing something like this to draw it on screen, it would be possible to do this with a Paint method? (it is called method, or event? I'm really lost here).
Thanks!

I think you are referring to the Control.Paint event from windows forms.
Basically, you would attach a listener to the Paint event of a windows forms element, like this :
//this should happen only once! put it in another handler, attached to the load event of your form, or find a different solution
//as long as you make sure that playerView is instantiated before trying to attach the handler,
//and that you only attach it once.
playerView.Paint += new System.Windows.Forms.PaintEventHandler(this.playerView_Paint);
private void playerView_Paint(object sender, System.Windows.Forms.PaintEventArgs e)
{
// Create a local version of the graphics object for the playerView.
Graphics g = e.Graphics;
//you can now draw using g
//Left Wall 1
Point lw1a = new Point(18, 7);
Point lw1b = new Point(99, 61);
Point lw1c = new Point(99, 259);
Point lw1d = new Point(18, 313);
Point[] lw1 = { lw1a, lw1b, lw1c, lw1d };
//we need to dispose this pen when we're done with it.
//a handy way to do that is with a "using" clause
using(Pen pen = new Pen(Color.White, 1))
{
g.DrawPolygon(pen, lw1);
}
}

Related

Draw an arrow between 2 positions in an interval of 4 seconds in c#

I want to make an arrow in c#, which goes from A position to B position in 5 seconds for example. I want to put a map image in the form and when i click on a button i want to draw an arrow from A position to B position in an interval of seconds. i have made an arrow when it is in a horizontal position, but when i try to make it oblique it draws me a triangle instead of an arrow and i don't know how to fix it.
here i made an arrow from a position 12 with a width of 300
and i try to make the same with an oblique arrow but when i put different positions it draws me a triangle not an arrow.
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Data;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using System.Drawing.Drawing2D;
namespace WindowsFormsApp4
{
public partial class Form1 : Form
{
public Form1()
{
InitializeComponent();
this.AutoScaleBaseSize = new System.Drawing.Size(5, 13);
this.ClientSize = new System.Drawing.Size(400, 273);
this.Text = "";
this.Resize += new System.EventHandler(this.Form1_Resize);
this.Paint += new System.Windows.Forms.PaintEventHandler(this.Form1_Paint);
}
private void Form1_Paint(object sender, System.Windows.Forms.PaintEventArgs e)
{
Graphics g = e.Graphics;
g.SmoothingMode = SmoothingMode.AntiAlias;
g.FillRectangle(Brushes.White, this.ClientRectangle);
Pen p = new Pen(Color.Black, 5);
p.StartCap = LineCap.Round;
for(int i=1; i<=300;i++)
{
System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(2);
g.DrawLine(p, 12, 30, i, 30);
Cursor.Current = Cursors.Default;
}
p.EndCap = LineCap.ArrowAnchor;
g.DrawLine(p, 12, 30, 310, 30);
p.Dispose();
}
private void Form1_Resize(object sender, System.EventArgs e)
{
Invalidate();
}
}
}
The fundamental problem with your code is that you are doing the entire animation loop inside the Paint event handler. This means that the window is never clear out between each line you draw, so you get all of the copies of the line you're drawing, start to finish, laid on top of each other in the same view.
It is not clear from your question exactly what you expect to see on the screen. However, another potential problem with your code is that the moving end point of the line does not start at the start point of the line, but rather at a point with the same Y coordinate where you want the line to end. This means that the arrow end of the line traverses a horizontal line leading to the final end point, rather than gradually extending from the start point of the line.
There is also the minor point that you seem to be confused about what the DrawLine() method does. You state that the width of your line is 300, but in fact the second argument of the DrawLine() method is just another point. The width of the line is defined by the Pen you use to draw the line. The width of the box containing the line is defined by the start and end point, but in this case is not 300, but rather (at the final length of the line) the difference between your start X coordinate and end X coordinate (i.e. 288).
The fundamental problem described above can be addressed by running a loop outside of the Paint event handler, which updates values that describe the line, and then call Invalidate() so that the Paint event handler can be called to draw just the current state of the animation.
On the assumption that what you really wanted was for a line to extend out from the start point, rather than traverse a horizontal line, the example I show below implements the animation that way as well, in addition to fixing the fundamental issue. I did nothing to change the length or width of the line.
public Form1()
{
InitializeComponent();
this.DoubleBuffered = true;
this.AutoScaleBaseSize = new System.Drawing.Size(5, 13);
this.ClientSize = new System.Drawing.Size(400, 273);
this.Resize += new System.EventHandler(this.Form1_Resize);
this.Paint += new System.Windows.Forms.PaintEventHandler(this.Form1_Paint);
var task = AnimateLine();
}
private readonly Point _lineStart = new Point(12, 30);
private readonly Point _lineFinalEnd = new Point(300, 60);
private const int _animateSteps = 300;
private Point _lineCurrentEnd;
private bool _drawArrow;
private async Task AnimateLine()
{
Size size = new Size(_lineFinalEnd) - new Size(_lineStart);
for (int i = 1; i <= _animateSteps; i++)
{
await Task.Delay(2);
Size currentSize = new Size(
size.Width * i / _animateSteps, size.Height * i / _animateSteps);
_lineCurrentEnd = _lineStart + currentSize;
Invalidate();
}
_drawArrow = true;
Invalidate();
}
private void Form1_Paint(object sender, System.Windows.Forms.PaintEventArgs e)
{
Graphics g = e.Graphics;
g.SmoothingMode = SmoothingMode.AntiAlias;
using (Pen p = new Pen(Color.Black, 5))
{
p.StartCap = LineCap.Round;
p.EndCap = _drawArrow ? LineCap.ArrowAnchor : p.EndCap;
g.DrawLine(p, _lineStart, _lineCurrentEnd);
}
}
Note that the repeated erasing and redrawing of the window would make the window flicker. This is a basic issue with any sort of animation, and the fix is to enable double-buffering for the window, hence the this.DoubleBuffered = true; statement added to the constructor.
Some other points worth mentioning:
The await Task.Delay() call is used so that the loop can yield the UI thread with each iteration of the loop, which allows the UI thread to raise the Paint event, as well as allows any other UI activity to still work during the animation. You can find lots more information about that C# feature in the How and When to use async and await article, and of course by reading the documentation.
Whether you use Thread.Sleep() or Task.Delay(), specifying a delay of 2 ms isn't very useful. The Windows thread scheduler does not schedule threads to that degree of precision. A thread that sleeps for 2 ms could be woken up as much as 50 ms later in the normal case, and even later if the CPU is under heavy load. Nor does a 2 ms delay provide a useful animation frame rate; that would be a 500 Hz refresh rate, which is easily 10x or more faster than the human brain needs in order to perceive a smooth animation.My example above does nothing to try to address this issue, but you should explore implementing the loop slightly differently, such that instead of the number of animation steps, you specify a reasonable animation interval (say, every 50 or 100 ms), make an attempt to delay that interval, but then use a Stopwatch to actually measure what the real delay was and compute the progress within the animation based on the actual time elapsed. This will allow you to have precise control over the total duration of the animation, as well as somewhat precise control over the refresh rate used for the animation.

C# How do I draw a line between two objects on a windows form?

I've been trying to draw a line between two objects for a long time now, but it still won't work.
My program is supposed to make two picture boxes (Already made, called PB1 and PB2) and connect them with a line on the form.
I have this:
public void DrawStuff(object sender, PaintEventArgs e)
{
Pen blackPen = new Pen(Color.Black, 3);
Point point1 = new Point(PB[0].Location.X, PB[0].Location.Y);
Point point2 = new Point(PB[1].Location.X, PB[1].Location.Y);
e.Graphics.DrawLine(blackPen, point1, point2);
CreateGraphics();
}
But I can't call the function! Also, the Boxes are being created with a button, so it can't draw from the start, it has to do it after I push that button. If anyone has a working code, please let me know, I'm about to break down.
Do not (read NEVER EVER) call CreateGraphics() explicitly. This is a crime against humanity, except for very rare situations.
Handle Paint event (or override OnPaint()) of your Form. Write your line drawing code in there.
Something like this:
protected override void OnPaint(PaintEventArgs e)
{
base.OnPaint(e);
using(var blackPen = new Pen(Color.Black, 3))
e.Graphics.DrawLine(blackPen, PB[0].Location, PB[1].Location);
}
Whenever you need to refresh screen manually, call this.Invalidate().

WinForms create transparent clearable pictureBox overlays

I want to create 2 transparent overlays for pictureBox in WinFrom application so I can separately draw on both and I can also clear it when I want to blank transparent overlay.
On one overlay I draw rectangles. I want these rectangles there all time.
On second overlay I draw circles but I just want to draw 1 circle and after user input clear this circle and draw another.
For now I'm using
var transparentOverlay = pictureBox.createGraphics();
But I don't know how to clear an overlay to blank transparent graphics.
I tried
transparentOverlay.Clear(Color.Transparent) which turned all overlay to black
pictureBox.Invalidate() which cleared all graphics from both overlays so my rectangles remain where they were
use some backup graphics which I created before any drawing and clear my overlay by assigning this graphics to it transparentOverlay = transparentOverlayBackup but this did nothing, all rectangles and all circles remain at their places
Is there a way to create clearable transparent graphics sticked to pictureBox?
EDIT:
I have a picture with text in that picture box. And what I want to do is to draw rectangles around words of the text and this rectangles should remain all the time over the picture.
Than I want to draw a single circle and wait for user to click on a screen. This is all ok but when user click on a screen, I want to clear that circle and draw another.
//this method I call by click on a button to start annotation
private void ExpertAnnotate(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
var pen = new Pen(Color.Black, 1);
if (!annotationIsRunning) //check if annotation is in process or not
{
annotationIsRunning = true;
annotationOverlay = pictureBox.CreateGraphics(); //create transparent overlay for drawing
//draw rectangles around all words in text (AOIs)
annotationAOIs.ForEach(a =>
{
annotationOverlay.DrawRectangle(pen, a.Start.X, a.Start.Y, (a.End.X - a.Start.X), (a.End.Y - a.Start.Y));
});
//subscribe mouseMove and mouseClick events on pictureBox
pictureBox.MouseMove += HighlightAOI;
pictureBox.MouseClick += SelectAOI;
}
//define brushes for drawing circles (fixations)
var brush = new SolidBrush(Color.FromArgb(128, Color.BlueViolet));
var dotBrush = new SolidBrush(Color.DarkBlue);
pen.Color = Color.Blue;
long sizeOfFixation;
var f = Fixations[fixationCounter - 1]; //get current fixation to draw
sizeOfFixation = (int)f.Length / FIX_SIZE_COEFICIENT; //compute size of circle
annotationOverlay.FillEllipse(dotBrush, f.PosX - 1, f.PosY - 1, 3, 3);
//draw fixation on overlay
annotationOverlay.FillEllipse(brush, (f.PosX - sizeOfFixation), (f.PosY - sizeOfFixation), sizeOfFixation * 2, sizeOfFixation * 2);
}
//eventHandler for mouseMove - this method color rectangle over which mouse hover to red border
private void HighlightAOI(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
//this just draw last highlighted rect to black when we not yet hover mouse above it
if (lastHighlightedAOI != null)
{
annotationOverlay.DrawRectangle(new Pen(Color.Black, 1), lastHighlightedAOI.Start.X, lastHighlightedAOI.Start.Y, (lastHighlightedAOI.End.X - lastHighlightedAOI.Start.X), (lastHighlightedAOI.End.Y - lastHighlightedAOI.Start.Y));
}
//get position of mouse sursor
var x = pictureBox.PointToClient(Cursor.Position).X;
var y = pictureBox.PointToClient(Cursor.Position).Y;
var tempFix = new Fixation() { PosX = x, PosY = y };
//get rectangle over which mouse hover
lastHighlightedAOI = tempFix.LiesIn(annotationAOIs).FirstOrDefault();
if (lastHighlightedAOI != null)
{
//highlight rectangle by painting red border
annotationOverlay.DrawRectangle(new Pen(Color.Red, 1), lastHighlightedAOI.Start.X, lastHighlightedAOI.Start.Y, (lastHighlightedAOI.End.X - lastHighlightedAOI.Start.X), (lastHighlightedAOI.End.Y - lastHighlightedAOI.Start.Y));
}
}
//eventHandler for mouse click
private void SelectAOI(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
//get position of cursor
var x = MousePosition.X;
var y = MousePosition.Y;
var tempFix = new Fixation() { PosX = x, PosY = y };
//get rectangle which we selected by a mouse click
var aoi = tempFix.LiesIn(annotationAOIs).FirstOrDefault();
//assign last shown fixation to selected rectangle
if (aoi != null)
{
aoi.AssignedFixations.Add(Fixations[fixationCounter - 1]);
}
//if it wasn't last fixation again call ExpertAnnotation function to draw another Fixation over image (!!! here I need to clear last drawn fixation (circle) disappear and draw next fixation in ExpertAnnotate method)
if (fixationCounter != Fixations.Count)
{
ExpertAnnotate(sender, e);
}
else
{
TerminateExpertAnnotation("regular");
}
}
Thanks to #Reza Aghaei who guided me in chat to solution.
For me acceptable solution was in building multilayer image and assigning it to pictureBox.Image attribute.
I built image by loading image from file:
Image im = new Bitmap(path); // loads image from file
Then create graphics from this image:
var g = Graphics.FromImage(im); // creates graphics from loaded image
Draw all needed rectangles to this image and backup this image to some global Image instance:
var pen = new Pen(Color.Black, 1);
// draws all rectangles on the image
annotationAOIs.ForEach(a =>
{
g.DrawRectangle(pen, a.Start.X, a.Start.Y, (a.End.X - a.Start.X), (a.End.Y - a.Start.Y));
});
g.Dispose(); // disposes used graphics
ImageBackup = new Bitmap(im); // backup image with rectangles
In above part I created a static part of an image, which will not change and I backed it up so next time I will just create new Image instance from backup without any rectangle drawing.
Then when I want to show up new circle over this image I just:
var image = new Bitmap(ImageBackup); // creates new instance of image with rectangles from backup
var g = Graphics.FromImage(image); // creates graphics from image
// in this part draw circle at specific point
var f = Fixations[fixationIndex];
sizeOfFixation = (int)f.Length / FIX_SIZE_COEFICIENT;
g.FillEllipse(dotBrush, f.PosX - 1, f.PosY - 1, 3, 3);
g.FillEllipse(brush, (f.PosX - sizeOfFixation), (f.PosY - sizeOfFixation), sizeOfFixation * 2, sizeOfFixation * 2);
pictureBox.Image.Dispose(); // dispose old pictureBox image
pictureBox.Image = image; // set new image
imageOverlay = pictureBox.CreateGraphics(); // get transparent graphics overlay for pictureBox so we can draw anything else over picture (in my case highlighting rectangles over which I hover a mouse)
g.Dispose(); // dispose used graphics
Your best approach would be to use the OnPaint event handler for the PictureBox control and place all your drawing calls in there.
You can use the Graphics object passed to the event handler to get the surface you want to draw on (i.e. the Picture box) and then use the various methods to draw the shapes that you are after.
To draw a 'transparent' shape simply draw an outline rather than a filled shape.

Panel Control Paint Event not working for User Control

I created one Windows Forms User Control, I drag, dropped a panel inside it and over the panel I drew the graph in the Paint event of Panel.
private void pnlViewer_Paint(object sender, PaintEventArgs e)
{
e.Graphics.TranslateTransform(pnlViewer.AutoScrollPosition.X, pnlViewer.AutoScrollPosition.Y);
e.Graphics.FillRectangle(Brushes.Black, Screen.PrimaryScreen.Bounds);
//**draw Y Axis**
int y;
for (int i = 0; i <= 50; i++)
{
y = (i * cellHeight) + cellHeight;
e.Graphics.DrawLine(new Pen(Color.FromArgb(50, 50, 50)),
new Point(0, y), new Point(pageWidth, y));
}
//**draw X Axis**
int x;
for (int i = 0; i < 50; i++)
{
x = (i * cellWidth) + ribbonWidth;
e.Graphics.DrawLine(new Pen(Color.FromArgb(50, 50, 50)),
new Point(x, 0), new Point(x, pageHeight));
}
DrawWaveForm(e.Graphics); **// Here the actual data of graph will draw**
}
When I drag this user control onto a WinForm, it calls this paint event of User Control from windows form, but while calling to this event the graph is shown but after some time the graph becomes blank.
I tried Invalidate(true), Update(), Refresh() all such methods but they were of no use.
Actually it shows half of the graph over form and after next the same paint event is fired then it shows the full graph that I require, but actually I want on first Paint event instead of half graphs showing the full graph.
e.Graphics.DrawLine(new Pen(Color.FromArgb(50, 50, 50)),
new Point(0, y), new Point(pageWidth, y));
You are not disposing the System.Drawing object in this code. Possibly in other code as well. This can go unnoticed for a long time, the garbage collector tends to hide the problem. But if it doesn't run often enough then the operating system can get sulky about you using so many GDI handles and it won't allow your program to create any more of them. The quota is 10,000 handles, a very large number but easily consumed if you repaint often. Typical when you draw a constantly updating graph for example. What happens next varies, somewhere between an exception and noticing that your program doesn't paint correctly anymore.
Always use the using statement in painting code to avoid this failure mode:
using (var pen = new Pen(Color.FromArgb(50, 50, 50))) {
e.Graphics.DrawLine(pen, new Point(0, y), new Point(pageWidth, y));
}

How to stop Paint events from stacking up

I'm creating an application to schedule different tasks. These are displayed by drawing rectangles on a panel. This has to be responsive. So I need to draw and invalidate on every size change. When I reach a maximum height of my planning panel it autoscrolls.
The problem is when I grab the scrollbar and start scrolling away for a bit, when I release the scrollbar my whole application and computer freezes.
Most likely this is due to the onpaint event being called on every little scroll and stacking up, leaving the application to hang until they are all done.
Now my question is: How would I be able to fix this? Possibly by keeping the paint event from being called multiple times, but how?
The method called by the paint event:
private void panelPlanning_Paint(object sender, PaintEventArgs e)
{
for (int i = 0; i < userList.Count; i++)
{
Label temp = new Label();
temp.Text = userList[i].Text;
temp.Width = panelUsers.Width;
temp.Height = 50;
temp.BorderStyle = BorderStyle.FixedSingle;
temp.Location = new Point(0, i * 50);
temp.TextAlign = ContentAlignment.MiddleCenter;
panelUsers.Controls.Add(temp);
foreach (FullTask task in taskList)
{
if (task.AssignedTo == userList[i].Text && task.StartDate != "" && task.DueDate != "")
{
DateTime start = DateTime.ParseExact(task.StartDate, "dd/MM/yyyy", CultureInfo.InvariantCulture);
DateTime end = DateTime.ParseExact(task.DueDate, "dd/MM/yyyy", CultureInfo.InvariantCulture);
Brush brush;
if (task.Priority == Enums.priorities[2])
{
brush = Brushes.Yellow;
}
else if (task.Priority == Enums.priorities[1])
{
brush = new SolidBrush(Color.FromArgb(255, 0, 80, 123));
}
else
{
brush = Brushes.Red;
}
panelPlanning.CreateGraphics().FillRectangle(brush, new Rectangle((start.Subtract(dtPickerStart.Value).Days + 1) * labelDaysWidth, i * 50, (end.Subtract(start).Days + 1) * labelDaysWidth, 25));
}
}
}
}
You are adding new Label controls on every single paint event. Don't do this:
// Label temp = new Label();
// temp.Text = userList[i].Text;
// temp.Width = panelUsers.Width;
// temp.Height = 50;
// temp.BorderStyle = BorderStyle.FixedSingle;
// temp.Location = new Point(0, i * 50);
// temp.TextAlign = ContentAlignment.MiddleCenter;
// panelUsers.Controls.Add(temp);
Also, use the e.Graphics object supplied by the argument, not CreateGraphics,
The following line of code should only be executed once:
panelUsers.Controls.Add(temp);
You are constantly adding a new instance of temp to the panelUsers control.
You have to trace which FullTask actually has to be displayed on the screen. This can be achieved by looking on Control.ClientRectangle and keeping in mind current scroll position.
In this way from the all set of the FullTasks to draw you will get only that subset of tasks that actually visible on the screen, and draw only those ones.
This is a correct way of dealing with drawable artifacts which is implemented in more or less all drawing frameworks 2D or even 3D.
There is also concept of tracing if some element is covered (or part of it is covered) by another element, so it will be "culed", but in your case this doesn't seem to matter.
Pay attention also on fact that you adding controls. Do not do that. If the amount of FullTasks is big, just draw them with Graphics object.
as already Described by #LarsTech, don't add controls in the paint event, and use the supplied Graphics object instead of your own ...
If you still face performance problems, consider painting on a bitmap whenever you change something, and only draw that bitmap onto the screen in onPaint

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