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Prevent ToolStripMenuItems from jumping to second screen

I have an application that is mostly operated through NotifyIcon's ContextMenuStrip
There are multiple levels of ToolStripMenuItems and the user can go through them.
The problem is, that when the user has two screen, the MenuItems jump to second screen when no space is available. like so:
How can I force them to stay on the same screen? I've tried to search through the web but couldn't find an appropriate answer.
Here is a sample piece of code i'm using to test this senario:
public partial class Form1 : Form
{
public Form1()
{
InitializeComponent();
var resources = new ComponentResourceManager(typeof(Form1));
var notifyIcon1 = new NotifyIcon(components);
var contextMenuStrip1 = new ContextMenuStrip(components);
var level1ToolStripMenuItem = new ToolStripMenuItem("level 1 drop down");
var level2ToolStripMenuItem = new ToolStripMenuItem("level 2 drop down");
var level3ToolStripMenuItem = new ToolStripMenuItem("level 3 drop down");
notifyIcon1.ContextMenuStrip = contextMenuStrip1;
notifyIcon1.Icon = ((Icon)(resources.GetObject("notifyIcon1.Icon")));
notifyIcon1.Visible = true;
level2ToolStripMenuItem.DropDownItems.Add(level3ToolStripMenuItem);
level1ToolStripMenuItem.DropDownItems.Add(level2ToolStripMenuItem);
contextMenuStrip1.Items.Add(level1ToolStripMenuItem);
}
}

It is not easy, but you can write code in the DropDownOpening event to look at where the menu is at (its bounds), the current screen, and then set the DropDownDirection of the ToolStripMenuItem:
private void submenu_DropDownOpening(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
ToolStripMenuItem menuItem = sender as ToolStripMenuItem;
if (menuItem.HasDropDownItems == false)
{
return; // not a drop down item
}
// Current bounds of the current monitor
Rectangle Bounds = menuItem.GetCurrentParent().Bounds;
Screen CurrentScreen = Screen.FromPoint(Bounds.Location);
// Look how big our children are:
int MaxWidth = 0;
foreach (ToolStripMenuItem subitem in menuItem.DropDownItems)
{
MaxWidth = Math.Max(subitem.Width, MaxWidth);
}
MaxWidth += 10; // Add a little wiggle room
int FarRight = Bounds.Right + MaxWidth;
int CurrentMonitorRight = CurrentScreen.Bounds.Right;
if (FarRight > CurrentMonitorRight)
{
menuItem.DropDownDirection = ToolStripDropDownDirection.Left;
}
else
{
menuItem.DropDownDirection = ToolStripDropDownDirection.Right;
}
}
Also, make sure you have the DropDownOpening event hooked up (you would really need to add this to every menu item):
level1ToolStripMenuItem += submenu_DropDownOpening;

I have solved it this way:
For the ContextMenuStrip itself to open on a desired screen, I created a ContextMenuStripEx with the following methods:
protected override void SetBoundsCore(int x, int y, int width, int height, BoundsSpecified specified)
{
Rectangle dropDownBounds = new Rectangle(x, y, width, height);
dropDownBounds = ConstrainToBounds(Screen.FromPoint(dropDownBounds.Location).Bounds, dropDownBounds);
base.SetBoundsCore(dropDownBounds.X, dropDownBounds.Y, dropDownBounds.Width, dropDownBounds.Height, specified);
}
internal static Rectangle ConstrainToBounds(Rectangle constrainingBounds, Rectangle bounds)
{
if (!constrainingBounds.Contains(bounds))
{
bounds.Size = new Size(Math.Min(constrainingBounds.Width - 2, bounds.Width), Math.Min(constrainingBounds.Height - 2, bounds.Height));
if (bounds.Right > constrainingBounds.Right)
{
bounds.X = constrainingBounds.Right - bounds.Width;
}
else if (bounds.Left < constrainingBounds.Left)
{
bounds.X = constrainingBounds.Left;
}
if (bounds.Bottom > constrainingBounds.Bottom)
{
bounds.Y = constrainingBounds.Bottom - 1 - bounds.Height;
}
else if (bounds.Top < constrainingBounds.Top)
{
bounds.Y = constrainingBounds.Top;
}
}
return bounds;
}
(ConstrainToBounds method is taken from the base class ToolStripDropDown via Reflector)
for the nested MenuItems to open on the same screen as ContextMenuStrip, I created a ToolStripMenuItemEx (which derives from ToolStripMenuItem). In my case it looks like this:
private ToolStripDropDownDirection? originalToolStripDropDownDirection;
protected override void OnDropDownShow(EventArgs e)
{
base.OnDropDownShow(e);
if (!Screen.FromControl(this.Owner).Equals(Screen.FromPoint(this.DropDownLocation)))
{
if (!originalToolStripDropDownDirection.HasValue)
originalToolStripDropDownDirection = this.DropDownDirection;
this.DropDownDirection = originalToolStripDropDownDirection.Value == ToolStripDropDownDirection.Left ? ToolStripDropDownDirection.Right : ToolStripDropDownDirection.Left;
}
}

The code of #David does not fix if the menu is opened in the left side of second screen. I have improved that code to work on all screen corner.
private void subMenu_DropDownOpening(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
ToolStripMenuItem mnuItem = sender as ToolStripMenuItem;
if (mnuItem.HasDropDownItems == false)
{
return; // not a drop down item
}
//get position of current menu item
var pos = new Point(mnuItem.GetCurrentParent().Left, mnuItem.GetCurrentParent().Top);
// Current bounds of the current monitor
Rectangle bounds = Screen.GetWorkingArea(pos);
Screen currentScreen = Screen.FromPoint(pos);
// Find the width of sub-menu
int maxWidth = 0;
foreach (var subItem in mnuItem.DropDownItems)
{
if (subItem.GetType() == typeof(ToolStripMenuItem))
{
var mnu = (ToolStripMenuItem) subItem;
maxWidth = Math.Max(mnu.Width, maxWidth);
}
}
maxWidth += 10; // Add a little wiggle room
int farRight = pos.X + mnuMain.Width + maxWidth;
int farLeft = pos.X - maxWidth;
//get left and right distance to compare
int leftGap = farLeft - currentScreen.Bounds.Left;
int rightGap = currentScreen.Bounds.Right - farRight;
if (leftGap >= rightGap)
{
mnuItem.DropDownDirection = ToolStripDropDownDirection.Left;
}
else
{
mnuItem.DropDownDirection = ToolStripDropDownDirection.Right;
}
}

I did not try the solution by tombam. But since the others didn't seem to work, I came up with this simple solution:
private void MenuDropDownOpening(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
var menuItem = sender as ToolStripDropDownButton;
if (menuItem == null || menuItem.HasDropDownItems == false)
return; // not a drop down item
// Current bounds of the current monitor
var upperRightCornerOfMenuInScreenCoordinates = menuItem.GetCurrentParent().PointToScreen(new Point(menuItem.Bounds.Right, menuItem.Bounds.Top));
var currentScreen = Screen.FromPoint(upperRightCornerOfMenuInScreenCoordinates);
// Get width of widest child item (skip separators!)
var maxWidth = menuItem.DropDownItems.OfType<ToolStripMenuItem>().Select(m => m.Width).Max();
var farRight = upperRightCornerOfMenuInScreenCoordinates.X + maxWidth;
var currentMonitorRight = currentScreen.Bounds.Right;
menuItem.DropDownDirection = farRight > currentMonitorRight ? ToolStripDropDownDirection.Left :
ToolStripDropDownDirection.Right;
}
Note that in my world, I was not concerned about multiple levels of cascading menus (as in the OP), so I did not test my solution in that scenario. But this works correctly for a single ToolStripDropDownButton on a ToolStrip.

Handle scrolling of a WinForms control manually

I have a control (System.Windows.Forms.ScrollableControl) which can potentially be very large. It has custom OnPaint logic. For that reason, I am using the workaround described here.
public class CustomControl : ScrollableControl
{
public CustomControl()
{
this.AutoScrollMinSize = new Size(100000, 500);
this.DoubleBuffered = true;
}
protected override void OnScroll(ScrollEventArgs se)
{
base.OnScroll(se);
this.Invalidate();
}
protected override void OnPaint(PaintEventArgs e)
{
base.OnPaint(e);
var graphics = e.Graphics;
graphics.Clear(this.BackColor);
...
}
}
The painting code mainly draws "normal" things that move when you scroll. The origin of each shape that is drawn is offsetted by this.AutoScrollPosition.
graphics.DrawRectangle(pen, 100 + this.AutoScrollPosition.X, ...);
However, the control also contains "static" elements, which are always drawn at the same position relative to the parent control. For that, I just don't use AutoScrollPosition and draw the shapes directly:
graphics.DrawRectangle(pen, 100, ...);
When the user scrolls, Windows translates the entire visible area in the direction opposite to the scrolling. Usually this makes sense, because then the scrolling seems smooth and responsive (and only the new part has to be redrawn), however the static parts are also affected by this translation (hence the this.Invalidate() in OnScroll). Until the next OnPaint call has successfully redrawn the surface, the static parts are slightly off. This causes a very noticable "shaking" effect when scrolling.
Is there a way I can create a scrollable custom control that does not have this problem with static parts?

You could do this by taking full control of scrolling. At the moment, you're just hooking in to the event to do your logic. I've faced issues with scrolling before, and the only way I've ever managed to get everything to work smoothly is by actually handling the Windows messages by overriding WndProc. For instance, I have this code to synchronize scrolling between several ListBoxes:
protected override void WndProc(ref Message m) {
base.WndProc(ref m);
// 0x115 and 0x20a both tell the control to scroll. If either one comes
// through, you can handle the scrolling before any repaints take place
if (m.Msg == 0x115 || m.Msg == 0x20a)
{
//Do you scroll processing
}
}
Using WndProc will get you the scroll messages before anything gets repainted at all, so you can appropriately handle the static objects. I'd use this to suspend scrolling until an OnPaint occurs. It won't look as smooth, but you won't have issues with the static objects moving.

Since I really needed this, I ended up writing a Control specifically for the case when you have static graphics on a scrollable surface (whose size can be greater than 65535).
It is a regular Control with two ScrollBar controls on it, and a user-assignable Control as its Content. When the user scrolls, the container sets its Content's AutoScrollOffset accordingly. Therefore, it is possible to use controls which use the AutoScrollOffset method for drawing without changing anything. The Content's actual size is exactly the visible part of it at all times. It allows horizontal scrolling by holding down the shift key.
Usage:
var container = new ManuallyScrollableContainer();
var content = new ExampleContent();
container.Content = content;
container.TotalContentWidth = 150000;
container.TotalContentHeight = 5000;
container.Dock = DockStyle.Fill;
this.Controls.Add(container); // e.g. add to Form
Code:
It became a bit lengthy, but I could avoid ugly hacks. Should work with mono. I think it turned out pretty sane.
public class ManuallyScrollableContainer : Control
{
public ManuallyScrollableContainer()
{
InitializeControls();
}
private class UpdatingHScrollBar : HScrollBar
{
protected override void OnValueChanged(EventArgs e)
{
base.OnValueChanged(e);
// setting the scroll position programmatically shall raise Scroll
this.OnScroll(new ScrollEventArgs(ScrollEventType.EndScroll, this.Value));
}
}
private class UpdatingVScrollBar : VScrollBar
{
protected override void OnValueChanged(EventArgs e)
{
base.OnValueChanged(e);
// setting the scroll position programmatically shall raise Scroll
this.OnScroll(new ScrollEventArgs(ScrollEventType.EndScroll, this.Value));
}
}
private ScrollBar shScrollBar;
private ScrollBar svScrollBar;
public ScrollBar HScrollBar
{
get { return this.shScrollBar; }
}
public ScrollBar VScrollBar
{
get { return this.svScrollBar; }
}
private void InitializeControls()
{
this.Width = 300;
this.Height = 300;
this.shScrollBar = new UpdatingHScrollBar();
this.shScrollBar.Top = this.Height - this.shScrollBar.Height;
this.shScrollBar.Left = 0;
this.shScrollBar.Anchor = AnchorStyles.Bottom | AnchorStyles.Left | AnchorStyles.Right;
this.svScrollBar = new UpdatingVScrollBar();
this.svScrollBar.Top = 0;
this.svScrollBar.Left = this.Width - this.svScrollBar.Width;
this.svScrollBar.Anchor = AnchorStyles.Right | AnchorStyles.Top | AnchorStyles.Bottom;
this.shScrollBar.Width = this.Width - this.svScrollBar.Width;
this.svScrollBar.Height = this.Height - this.shScrollBar.Height;
this.Controls.Add(this.shScrollBar);
this.Controls.Add(this.svScrollBar);
this.shScrollBar.Scroll += this.HandleScrollBarScroll;
this.svScrollBar.Scroll += this.HandleScrollBarScroll;
}
private Control _content;
/// <summary>
/// Specifies the control that should be displayed in this container.
/// </summary>
public Control Content
{
get { return this._content; }
set
{
if (_content != value)
{
RemoveContent();
this._content = value;
AddContent();
}
}
}
private void AddContent()
{
if (this.Content != null)
{
this.Content.Left = 0;
this.Content.Top = 0;
this.Content.Width = this.Width - this.svScrollBar.Width;
this.Content.Height = this.Height - this.shScrollBar.Height;
this.Content.Anchor = AnchorStyles.Bottom | AnchorStyles.Left | AnchorStyles.Top | AnchorStyles.Right;
this.Controls.Add(this.Content);
CalculateMinMax();
}
}
private void RemoveContent()
{
if (this.Content != null)
{
this.Controls.Remove(this.Content);
}
}
protected override void OnParentChanged(EventArgs e)
{
// mouse wheel events only arrive at the parent control
if (this.Parent != null)
{
this.Parent.MouseWheel -= this.HandleMouseWheel;
}
base.OnParentChanged(e);
if (this.Parent != null)
{
this.Parent.MouseWheel += this.HandleMouseWheel;
}
}
private void HandleMouseWheel(object sender, MouseEventArgs e)
{
this.HandleMouseWheel(e);
}
/// <summary>
/// Specifies how the control reacts to mouse wheel events.
/// Can be overridden to adjust the scroll speed with the mouse wheel.
/// </summary>
protected virtual void HandleMouseWheel(MouseEventArgs e)
{
// The scroll difference is calculated so that with the default system setting
// of 3 lines per scroll incremenet,
// one scroll will offset the scroll bar value by LargeChange / 4
// i.e. a quarter of the thumb size
ScrollBar scrollBar;
if ((Control.ModifierKeys & Keys.Shift) != 0)
{
scrollBar = this.HScrollBar;
}
else
{
scrollBar = this.VScrollBar;
}
var minimum = 0;
var maximum = scrollBar.Maximum - scrollBar.LargeChange;
if (maximum <= 0)
{
// happens when the entire area is visible
return;
}
var value = scrollBar.Value - (int)(e.Delta * scrollBar.LargeChange / (120.0 * 12.0 / SystemInformation.MouseWheelScrollLines));
scrollBar.Value = Math.Min(Math.Max(value, minimum), maximum);
}
public event ScrollEventHandler Scroll;
protected virtual void OnScroll(ScrollEventArgs e)
{
var handler = this.Scroll;
if (handler != null)
{
handler(this, e);
}
}
/// <summary>
/// Event handler for the Scroll event of either scroll bar.
/// </summary>
private void HandleScrollBarScroll(object sender, ScrollEventArgs e)
{
OnScroll(e);
if (this.Content != null)
{
this.Content.AutoScrollOffset = new System.Drawing.Point(-this.HScrollBar.Value, -this.VScrollBar.Value);
this.Content.Invalidate();
}
}
private int _totalContentWidth;
public int TotalContentWidth
{
get { return _totalContentWidth; }
set
{
if (_totalContentWidth != value)
{
_totalContentWidth = value;
CalculateMinMax();
}
}
}
private int _totalContentHeight;
public int TotalContentHeight
{
get { return _totalContentHeight; }
set
{
if (_totalContentHeight != value)
{
_totalContentHeight = value;
CalculateMinMax();
}
}
}
protected override void OnResize(EventArgs e)
{
base.OnResize(e);
CalculateMinMax();
}
private void CalculateMinMax()
{
if (this.Content != null)
{
// Reduced formula according to
// http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.windows.forms.scrollbar.maximum.aspx
// Note: The original formula is bogus.
// According to the article, LargeChange has to be known in order to calculate Maximum,
// however, that is not always possible because LargeChange cannot exceed Maximum.
// If (LargeChange) == (1 * visible part of control), the formula can be reduced to:
if (this.TotalContentWidth > this.Content.Width)
{
this.shScrollBar.Enabled = true;
this.shScrollBar.Maximum = this.TotalContentWidth;
}
else
{
this.shScrollBar.Enabled = false;
}
if (this.TotalContentHeight > this.Content.Height)
{
this.svScrollBar.Enabled = true;
this.svScrollBar.Maximum = this.TotalContentHeight;
}
else
{
this.svScrollBar.Enabled = false;
}
// this must be set after the maximum is determined
this.shScrollBar.LargeChange = this.shScrollBar.Width;
this.shScrollBar.SmallChange = this.shScrollBar.LargeChange / 10;
this.svScrollBar.LargeChange = this.svScrollBar.Height;
this.svScrollBar.SmallChange = this.svScrollBar.LargeChange / 10;
}
}
}
Example content:
public class ExampleContent : Control
{
public ExampleContent()
{
this.DoubleBuffered = true;
}
static Random random = new Random();
protected override void OnPaint(PaintEventArgs e)
{
base.OnPaint(e);
var graphics = e.Graphics;
// random color to make the clip rectangle visible in an unobtrusive way
var color = Color.FromArgb(random.Next(160, 180), random.Next(160, 180), random.Next(160, 180));
graphics.Clear(color);
Debug.WriteLine(this.AutoScrollOffset.X.ToString() + ", " + this.AutoScrollOffset.Y.ToString());
CheckerboardRenderer.DrawCheckerboard(
graphics,
this.AutoScrollOffset,
e.ClipRectangle,
new Size(50, 50)
);
StaticBoxRenderer.DrawBoxes(graphics, new Point(0, this.AutoScrollOffset.Y), 100, 30);
}
}
public static class CheckerboardRenderer
{
public static void DrawCheckerboard(Graphics g, Point origin, Rectangle bounds, Size squareSize)
{
var numSquaresH = (bounds.Width + squareSize.Width - 1) / squareSize.Width + 1;
var numSquaresV = (bounds.Height + squareSize.Height - 1) / squareSize.Height + 1;
var startBoxH = (bounds.X - origin.X) / squareSize.Width;
var startBoxV = (bounds.Y - origin.Y) / squareSize.Height;
for (int i = startBoxH; i < startBoxH + numSquaresH; i++)
{
for (int j = startBoxV; j < startBoxV + numSquaresV; j++)
{
if ((i + j) % 2 == 0)
{
Random random = new Random(i * j);
var color = Color.FromArgb(random.Next(70, 95), random.Next(70, 95), random.Next(70, 95));
var brush = new SolidBrush(color);
g.FillRectangle(brush, i * squareSize.Width + origin.X, j * squareSize.Height + origin.Y, squareSize.Width, squareSize.Height);
brush.Dispose();
}
}
}
}
}
public static class StaticBoxRenderer
{
public static void DrawBoxes(Graphics g, Point origin, int boxWidth, int boxHeight)
{
int height = origin.Y;
int left = origin.X;
for (int i = 0; i < 25; i++)
{
Rectangle r = new Rectangle(left, height, boxWidth, boxHeight);
g.FillRectangle(Brushes.White, r);
g.DrawRectangle(Pens.Black, r);
height += boxHeight;
}
}
}

Making text move with the rectangle it is on top of

I am new to silverlight and so I may just be missing something due to my lack of knowledge. I am writing an app that uses Rectangles that you can click and drag to around the screen after they are generated. I have function that generates the rectangles:
public void formatBox(block b)
{
Rectangle Rec = new Rectangle();
Rec.Height = 100;
Rec.Width = 200;
SolidColorBrush newBrush = new SolidColorBrush();
newBrush.Color = b.blockColor;
SolidColorBrush blackBrush = new SolidColorBrush();
blackBrush.Color = Colors.Black;
Rec.StrokeThickness = 4;
Rec.Stroke = blackBrush;
Rec.Fill = newBrush;
Canvas.SetTop(Rec, generateY(b.locationY));
Canvas.SetLeft(Rec, generateX(b.locationX));
TextBlock blockname = new TextBlock();
blockname.Text = b.blockText;
blockname.FontSize = 25;
canvas1.Children.Add(Rec);
canvas1.Children.Add(blockname);
Binding topbinding = new Binding("Top");
Binding leftbinding = new Binding("Left");
topbinding.Mode = BindingMode.OneWay;
leftbinding.Mode = BindingMode.OneWay;
topbinding.Source = Rec.GetValue(Canvas.TopProperty);
leftbinding.Source = Rec.GetValue(Canvas.LeftProperty);
blockname.SetBinding(Canvas.TopProperty, topbinding);
blockname.SetBinding(Canvas.LeftProperty, leftbinding);
Rec.MouseLeftButtonDown += new MouseButtonEventHandler(Handle_MouseDown);
Rec.MouseMove += new MouseEventHandler(Handle_MouseMove);
Rec.MouseLeftButtonUp += new MouseButtonEventHandler(Handle_MouseUp);
}
These rectangles are built from a block class
public class block
{
public double locationX { get; set; }
public double locationY { get; set; }
public Color blockColor { get; set; }
public string blockText { get; set; }
public block(double x, double y, Color c, string s)
{
this.locationX = x;
this.locationY = y;
this.blockColor = c;
this.blockText = s;
}
}
And my mouse event handlers:
bool isMouseCaptured;
double mouseVerticalPosition;
double mouseHorizontalPosition;
public void Handle_MouseDown(object sender, MouseEventArgs args)
{
Rectangle item = sender as Rectangle;
mouseVerticalPosition = args.GetPosition(null).Y;
mouseHorizontalPosition = args.GetPosition(null).X;
isMouseCaptured = true;
item.CaptureMouse();
}
public void Handle_MouseMove(object sender, MouseEventArgs args)
{
Rectangle item = sender as Rectangle;
if (isMouseCaptured)
{
// Calculate the current position of the object.
double deltaV = args.GetPosition(null).Y - mouseVerticalPosition;
double deltaH = args.GetPosition(null).X - mouseHorizontalPosition;
double newTop = deltaV + (double)item.GetValue(Canvas.TopProperty);
double newLeft = deltaH + (double)item.GetValue(Canvas.LeftProperty);
// Set new position of object.
item.SetValue(Canvas.TopProperty, newTop);
item.SetValue(Canvas.LeftProperty, newLeft);
// Update position global variables.
mouseVerticalPosition = args.GetPosition(null).Y;
mouseHorizontalPosition = args.GetPosition(null).X;
}
}
public void Handle_MouseUp(object sender, MouseEventArgs args)
{
Rectangle item = sender as Rectangle;
isMouseCaptured = false;
item.ReleaseMouseCapture();
mouseVerticalPosition = -1;
mouseHorizontalPosition = -1;
}
The text I am trying to move is called blockname in formatBox(). I have tried Binding as you can see here but I think there is a gap in my knowledge of an easier way to do this. Either way I would like the text to move when the block moves under it when the mouse event handlers are triggered. How do I get the text to move with it?

Since you have mousehandlers already you could just skip the binding and use code. (The binding wouldn't work as expected anyway: the text would have the same coordinates as the reactangle so it gets drawn over the top/left lines of the rectangle. This will look ugly and make the text hard to read, you need to offset the text so that it's inside the reactangle or outside). Basically what you would do is in MouseDown put a flag high to idicate the mouse was pressed, and record the point where the mouse is. Then in MouseMove you check the flag: if it is on, calculate the new position for your rectangle as it's currentposition + the distance moved from the point recorded in MouseDown. The position of the text would then be the new position + some offset.
btw I suggest to split methods like formatBox into multiple smaller methods and choose better names for your variables: it will make the code not only more readable, but also more maintainable.
edit
to figure out which rectangle to move, do a hit test on all your elements in the MouseDwon handler. Something like this:
Rectangle rectangleUnderMouse = null;
foreach( var rec in rectangles )
{
if( VisualTreeHelper.HitTest( rec, pointWhereMouseIs ) )
{
rectangleUnderMouse = rec;
break;
}
}
edit
sorry I didn't see you asked which textblock to move.. That is easier: you could keep a Dictionary<Rectangle,TextBlock> inside your main class:
public void formatBox(block b)
{
//...
myDictionary[ Rec ] = textblock;
}
public void Handle_MouseMove( object sender, MouseEventArgs args )
{
//...
textBlockForThisRect = myDictionary[ item ];
//move textBlockForThisRect
}

Visual Studio Designer not happy with my TabControl, anything I can do? (.NET / C#)

I have a class that extends TabControl, basically to have one with the tabs down the left hand side instead of along the top. To do I have set it to be custom drawn.
The problem is when this is put onto a form via the designer, it easily makes the designer loose track of itself and just give up and display nothing. To fix it I have to close the designer and re-open it and then everything is fine until I hit debug, or I go to a code window for a while and come back, where it gives up again.
Is there anything I can do to help visual studio a bit? As while its not throwing errors, it is getting a little tedious now. I'm using visual studio 2008.
Here is the code that extends the tab control, if anyone sees any issues that could be causing this it'd be very appreciated.
public class VerticalTabControl : TabControl
{
private Color tabColour1 = Color.AliceBlue;
public Color TabColour1
{
get { return tabColour1; }
set { tabColour1 = value; this.Refresh(); }
}
private Color tabColour2 = Color.White;
public Color TabColour2
{
get { return tabColour2; }
set { tabColour2 = value; this.Refresh(); }
}
private Color selectedTabColor1 = Color.AliceBlue;
public Color SelectedTabColor1
{
get { return selectedTabColor1; }
set { selectedTabColor1 = value; this.Refresh(); }
}
private Color selectedTabColor2 = Color.White;
public Color SelectedTabColor2
{
get { return selectedTabColor2; }
set { selectedTabColor2 = value; this.Refresh(); }
}
private Color backgroundColour = Color.White;
public Color BackgroundColour
{
get { return backgroundColour; }
set { backgroundColour = value; this.Refresh(); }
}
private Color tabTextColour = Color.Black;
public Color TabTextColour
{
get { return tabTextColour; }
set { tabTextColour = value; this.Refresh(); }
}
protected override void OnParentChanged(EventArgs e)
{
base.OnParentChanged(e);
this.Parent.Resize += new EventHandler(Parent_Resize);
}
void Parent_Resize(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
this.Refresh();
}
public VerticalTabControl()
: base()
{
this.Alignment = TabAlignment.Left;
this.SizeMode = TabSizeMode.Fixed;
this.ItemSize = new Size(50, 120);
this.DrawMode = TabDrawMode.OwnerDrawFixed;
this.DrawItem += new DrawItemEventHandler(VerticalTabControl_DrawItem);
}
void VerticalTabControl_DrawItem(object sender, DrawItemEventArgs e)
{
Graphics g = e.Graphics;
TabControl ctrl = sender as TabControl;
String sText = ctrl.TabPages[e.Index].Text;
Rectangle r = new Rectangle(e.Bounds.Left, e.Bounds.Top, e.Bounds.Width, e.Bounds.Height);
if (e.Index == ctrl.SelectedIndex)
{
using (LinearGradientBrush gb = new LinearGradientBrush(r, this.selectedTabColor1, this.selectedTabColor2, LinearGradientMode.Horizontal))
{
e.Graphics.FillRectangle(gb, r);
}
}
else
{
using (LinearGradientBrush gb = new LinearGradientBrush(r, this.tabColour1, this.tabColour2, LinearGradientMode.Horizontal))
{
e.Graphics.FillRectangle(gb, r);
}
}
// Set up the page and the various pieces.
TabPage page = ctrl.TabPages[e.Index];
// Set up the offset for an icon, the bounding rectangle and image size and then fill the background.
int iconOffset = 0;
Rectangle tabBackgroundRect = e.Bounds;
// If we have images, process them.
if (this.ImageList != null)
{
// Get sice and image.
Size size = this.ImageList.ImageSize;
Image icon = null;
if (page.ImageIndex > -1)
icon = this.ImageList.Images[page.ImageIndex];
else if (page.ImageKey != "")
icon = this.ImageList.Images[page.ImageKey];
// If there is an image, use it.
if (icon != null)
{
Point startPoint = new Point(tabBackgroundRect.X + 6,
tabBackgroundRect.Y + 2 + ((tabBackgroundRect.Height - size.Height) / 2));
e.Graphics.DrawImage(icon, new Rectangle(startPoint, size));
iconOffset = size.Width + 4;
}
}
// Draw out the label.
SizeF sizeText = g.MeasureString(sText, ctrl.Font);
int iX = e.Bounds.Left + 6 + iconOffset;
int iY = e.Bounds.Top + (e.Bounds.Height / 2) - (int)(sizeText.Height / 2);
using (Brush ForeBrush = new SolidBrush(tabTextColour))
{
g.DrawString(sText, ctrl.Font, ForeBrush, iX, iY);
}
Rectangle rec = ctrl.GetTabRect(ctrl.TabPages.Count - 1);
Rectangle recF = new Rectangle(0, rec.Bottom, this.ItemSize.Height, ctrl.Height - rec.Bottom);
using (SolidBrush bb = new SolidBrush(backgroundColour))
{
g.FillRectangle(bb, recF);
}
}
}

turns out this was the offending bit of code
protected override void OnParentChanged(EventArgs e)
{
base.OnParentChanged(e);
this.Parent.Resize += new EventHandler(Parent_Resize);
}
'this.Parent' was sometimes null and so an exception would have been thrown which would have caused the designer to fail.
Have now fixed this and also tidied up the event hooking so I didn't leave hooks everywhere. Seems to work fine now. Thanks for your help whoever answered this and deleted their answer for some reason.

Displaying tooltip over a disabled control

I'm trying to display a tooltip when mouse hovers over a disabled control. Since a disabled control does not handle any events, I have to do that in the parent form. I chose to do this by handling the MouseMove event in the parent form. Here's the code that does the job:
void Form1_MouseMove(object sender, MouseEventArgs e)
{
m_toolTips.SetToolTip(this, "testing tooltip on " + DateTime.Now.ToString());
string tipText = this.m_toolTips.GetToolTip(this);
if ((tipText != null) && (tipText.Length > 0))
{
Point clientLoc = this.PointToClient(Cursor.Position);
Control child = this.GetChildAtPoint(clientLoc);
if (child != null && child.Enabled == false)
{
m_toolTips.ToolTipTitle = "MouseHover On Disabled Control";
m_toolTips.Show(tipText, this, 10000);
}
else
{
m_toolTips.ToolTipTitle = "MouseHover Triggerd";
m_toolTips.Show(tipText, this, 3000);
}
}
}
The code does handles the tooltip display for the disabled control. The problem is that when mouse hovers over a disabled control, the tooltip keeps closing and redisplay again. From the display time I added in the tooltip, when mouse is above the parent form, the MouseMove event gets called roughly every 3 seconds, so the tooltip gets updated every 3 seconds. But when mouse is over a disabled control, the tooltip refreshes every 1 second. Also, when tooltip refreshes above form, only the text gets updated with a brief flash. But when tooltip refreshes above a disabled control, the tooltip windows closes as if mouse is moving into a enabled control and the tooltip is supposed to be closed. but then the tooltip reappears right away.
Can someone tell me why is this? Thanks.

you can show the tooltip only once when mouse hits the disbled control and then hide it when mouse leaves it. Pls, take a look at the code below, it should be showing a tooltip message for all the disabled controls on the form
private ToolTip _toolTip = new ToolTip();
private Control _currentToolTipControl = null;
public Form1()
{
InitializeComponent();
_toolTip.SetToolTip(this.button1, "My button1");
_toolTip.SetToolTip(this.button2, "My button2");
_toolTip.SetToolTip(this.textBox1, "My text box");
}
private void Form1_MouseMove(object sender, MouseEventArgs e)
{
Control control = GetChildAtPoint(e.Location);
if (control != null)
{
if (!control.Enabled && _currentToolTipControl == null)
{
string toolTipString = _toolTip.GetToolTip(control);
// trigger the tooltip with no delay and some basic positioning just to give you an idea
_toolTip.Show(toolTipString, control, control.Width/2, control.Height/2);
_currentToolTipControl = control;
}
}
else
{
if (_currentToolTipControl != null) _toolTip.Hide(_currentToolTipControl);
_currentToolTipControl = null;
}
}
hope this helps, regards

The answer turned out to be a bit simpler, but needed to be applied at all times.
void OrderSummaryDetails_MouseMove(object sender, MouseEventArgs e)
{
Control control = GetChildAtPoint(e.Location);
if (control != null)
{
string toolTipString = mFormTips.GetToolTip(control);
this.mFormTips.ShowAlways = true;
// trigger the tooltip with no delay and some basic positioning just to give you an idea
mFormTips.Show(toolTipString, control, control.Width / 2, control.Height / 2);
}
}

In case of TextBox control, making it as readonly solved the issue.

I tried many but ended up using this simple trick which I think it is more effective.
Create a subclass(CustomControl with just base control in it) which extends UserControl
then instead of setting "Enabled" property to false create a Method which disables just basecontrol in it instead of whole CustomControl.
Set the tool tip on CustomControl still will be able to fire eventhandlers setting the basecontrol disabled. This works wherever CustomControl is in use rather than coding on every form you use with.
Here is the hint.. :)
public partial class MyTextBox : UserControl
{
...
...
...
public void DisableMyTextBox()
{
this.txt.Enabled = false; //txt is the name of Winform-Textbox from my designer
this.Enabled = true;
}
public void EnableMyTextBox()
{
this.txt.Enabled = true;
this.Enabled = true;
}
//set the tooltip from properties tab in designer or wherever
}

Since no one ever pointed this out, this works for any control that exposes ToolTipService:
ToolTipService.ShowOnDisabled="True"
As in this example:
<Button Content="OK"
ToolTipService.ShowOnDisabled="True" />

/*
Inspired by the suggestions above in this post, i wrapped it up as an extended ToolTip control specially works for disabled control.
// Reference example
var td = new ToolTipOnDisabledControl();
this.checkEdit3.Enabled = false;
td.SetTooltip(this.checkEdit3, "tooltip for disabled 3333333333333");
*/
using System;
using System.Windows.Forms;
namespace TestApp1
{
public class ToolTipOnDisabledControl
{
#region Fields and Properties
private Control enabledParentControl;
private bool isShown;
public Control TargetControl { get; private set; }
public string TooltipText { get; private set; }
public ToolTip ToolTip { get; }
#endregion
#region Public Methods
public ToolTipOnDisabledControl()
{
this.ToolTip = new ToolTip();
}
public void SetToolTip(Control targetControl, string tooltipText = null)
{
this.TargetControl = targetControl;
if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(tooltipText))
{
this.TooltipText = this.ToolTip.GetToolTip(targetControl);
}
else
{
this.TooltipText = tooltipText;
}
if (targetControl.Enabled)
{
this.enabledParentControl = null;
this.isShown = false;
this.ToolTip.SetToolTip(this.TargetControl, this.TooltipText);
return;
}
this.enabledParentControl = targetControl.Parent;
while (!this.enabledParentControl.Enabled && this.enabledParentControl.Parent != null)
{
this.enabledParentControl = this.enabledParentControl.Parent;
}
if (!this.enabledParentControl.Enabled)
{
throw new Exception("Failed to set tool tip because failed to find an enabled parent control.");
}
this.enabledParentControl.MouseMove += this.EnabledParentControl_MouseMove;
this.TargetControl.EnabledChanged += this.TargetControl_EnabledChanged;
}
public void Reset()
{
if (this.TargetControl != null)
{
this.ToolTip.Hide(this.TargetControl);
this.TargetControl.EnabledChanged -= this.TargetControl_EnabledChanged;
this.TargetControl = null;
}
if (this.enabledParentControl != null)
{
this.enabledParentControl.MouseMove -= this.EnabledParentControl_MouseMove;
this.enabledParentControl = null;
}
this.isShown = false;
}
#endregion
#region Private Methods
private void EnabledParentControl_MouseMove(object sender, MouseEventArgs e)
{
if (e.Location.X >= this.TargetControl.Left &&
e.Location.X <= this.TargetControl.Right &&
e.Location.Y >= this.TargetControl.Top &&
e.Location.Y <= this.TargetControl.Bottom)
{
if (!this.isShown)
{
this.ToolTip.Show(this.TooltipText, this.TargetControl, this.TargetControl.Width / 2, this.TargetControl.Height / 2, this.ToolTip.AutoPopDelay);
this.isShown = true;
}
}
else
{
this.ToolTip.Hide(this.TargetControl);
this.isShown = false;
}
}
private void TargetControl_EnabledChanged(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
if (TargetControl.Enabled)
{
TargetControl.EnabledChanged -= TargetControl_EnabledChanged;
enabledParentControl.MouseMove -= EnabledParentControl_MouseMove;
}
}
#endregion
}
}

Here is how I solved this problem
I have an application that generates code automatically for a PIC32MX.
The application has 3 Tab Pages text = PWM, ADC and UART.
On each Tab Page I have one Check Box text = RPA0
The intention is, when a peripheral uses RPA0, the other peripheral is prevented
from using that pin, by disabling it on the other pages, and a tooltip text must pop up
on the disabled check boxs saying (example "Used by PWM")
what peripheral is using that pin.
The problem is that the tooltip text won't pop up on a disabled check box.
To solve the problem, I just removed the text of the check boxes and inserted labels with the text the check box should have.
When a check box is checked, the other check boxes are disabled and the label next to it takes a tool tip text.
As the label is enabled, the tooltip text pops up, even on a disabled check box.
Double the work, half the complexity.
Here is the code and the designer for C# 2010
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Data;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.Windows.Forms;
namespace WindowsFormsApplication1
{
public partial class Form1 : Form
{
public Form1()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
private void Form1_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
}
private void cb_ADC_RPA0_CheckedChanged(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
/* Disable pin on other peripherals */
cb_UART_RPA0.Enabled = !((CheckBox)sender).Checked;
cb_PWM_RPA0.Enabled = !((CheckBox)sender).Checked;
SetTootTip((CheckBox)sender, lbl_PWM_RPA0, lbl_UART_RPA0, "ADC");
}
private void cb_PWM_RPA0_CheckedChanged(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
/* Disable pin on other peripherals */
cb_UART_RPA0.Enabled = !((CheckBox)sender).Checked;
cb_ADC_RPA0.Enabled = !((CheckBox)sender).Checked;
SetTootTip((CheckBox)sender, lbl_ADC_RPA0, lbl_UART_RPA0, "PWM");
}
private void cb_UART_RPA0_CheckedChanged(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
/* Disable pin on other peripherals */
cb_ADC_RPA0.Enabled = !((CheckBox)sender).Checked;
cb_PWM_RPA0.Enabled = !((CheckBox)sender).Checked;
SetTootTip((CheckBox)sender, lbl_ADC_RPA0, lbl_PWM_RPA0, "UART");
}
void SetTootTip(CheckBox sender, Label lbl1, Label lbl2, string text)
{
/* Update tooltip on the other labels */
if (sender.Checked)
{
toolTip1.SetToolTip(lbl1, "Used by " + text);
toolTip1.SetToolTip(lbl2, "Used by " + text);
}
else
{
toolTip1.SetToolTip(lbl1, "");
toolTip1.SetToolTip(lbl2, "");
}
}
}
}
namespace WindowsFormsApplication1
{
partial class Form1
{
/// <summary>
/// Required designer variable.
/// </summary>
private System.ComponentModel.IContainer components = null;
/// <summary>
/// Clean up any resources being used.
/// </summary>
/// <param name="disposing">true if managed resources should be disposed; otherwise, false.</param>
protected override void Dispose(bool disposing)
{
if (disposing && (components != null))
{
components.Dispose();
}
base.Dispose(disposing);
}
#region Windows Form Designer generated code
/// <summary>
/// Required method for Designer support - do not modify
/// the contents of this method with the code editor.
/// </summary>
private void InitializeComponent()
{
this.components = new System.ComponentModel.Container();
this.tabControl1 = new System.Windows.Forms.TabControl();
this.tpPWM = new System.Windows.Forms.TabPage();
this.tpUART = new System.Windows.Forms.TabPage();
this.tpADC = new System.Windows.Forms.TabPage();
this.cb_PWM_RPA0 = new System.Windows.Forms.CheckBox();
this.cb_ADC_RPA0 = new System.Windows.Forms.CheckBox();
this.lbl_PWM_RPA0 = new System.Windows.Forms.Label();
this.lbl_ADC_RPA0 = new System.Windows.Forms.Label();
this.toolTip1 = new System.Windows.Forms.ToolTip(this.components);
this.lbl_UART_RPA0 = new System.Windows.Forms.Label();
this.cb_UART_RPA0 = new System.Windows.Forms.CheckBox();
this.tabControl1.SuspendLayout();
this.tpPWM.SuspendLayout();
this.tpUART.SuspendLayout();
this.tpADC.SuspendLayout();
this.SuspendLayout();
//
// tabControl1
//
this.tabControl1.Controls.Add(this.tpPWM);
this.tabControl1.Controls.Add(this.tpUART);
this.tabControl1.Controls.Add(this.tpADC);
this.tabControl1.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(12, 12);
this.tabControl1.Name = "tabControl1";
this.tabControl1.SelectedIndex = 0;
this.tabControl1.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(629, 296);
this.tabControl1.TabIndex = 0;
//
// tpPWM
//
this.tpPWM.Controls.Add(this.lbl_PWM_RPA0);
this.tpPWM.Controls.Add(this.cb_PWM_RPA0);
this.tpPWM.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(4, 22);
this.tpPWM.Name = "tpPWM";
this.tpPWM.Padding = new System.Windows.Forms.Padding(3);
this.tpPWM.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(621, 270);
this.tpPWM.TabIndex = 0;
this.tpPWM.Text = "PWM";
this.tpPWM.UseVisualStyleBackColor = true;
//
// tpUART
//
this.tpUART.Controls.Add(this.cb_UART_RPA0);
this.tpUART.Controls.Add(this.lbl_UART_RPA0);
this.tpUART.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(4, 22);
this.tpUART.Name = "tpUART";
this.tpUART.Padding = new System.Windows.Forms.Padding(3);
this.tpUART.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(621, 270);
this.tpUART.TabIndex = 1;
this.tpUART.Text = "UART";
this.tpUART.UseVisualStyleBackColor = true;
//
// tpADC
//
this.tpADC.Controls.Add(this.lbl_ADC_RPA0);
this.tpADC.Controls.Add(this.cb_ADC_RPA0);
this.tpADC.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(4, 22);
this.tpADC.Name = "tpADC";
this.tpADC.Padding = new System.Windows.Forms.Padding(3);
this.tpADC.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(621, 270);
this.tpADC.TabIndex = 2;
this.tpADC.Text = "ADC";
this.tpADC.UseVisualStyleBackColor = true;
//
// cb_PWM_RPA0
//
this.cb_PWM_RPA0.AutoSize = true;
this.cb_PWM_RPA0.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(17, 65);
this.cb_PWM_RPA0.Name = "cb_PWM_RPA0";
this.cb_PWM_RPA0.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(15, 14);
this.cb_PWM_RPA0.TabIndex = 0;
this.cb_PWM_RPA0.UseVisualStyleBackColor = true;
this.cb_PWM_RPA0.CheckedChanged += new System.EventHandler(this.cb_PWM_RPA0_CheckedChanged);
//
// cb_ADC_RPA0
//
this.cb_ADC_RPA0.AutoSize = true;
this.cb_ADC_RPA0.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(17, 65);
this.cb_ADC_RPA0.Name = "cb_ADC_RPA0";
this.cb_ADC_RPA0.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(15, 14);
this.cb_ADC_RPA0.TabIndex = 1;
this.cb_ADC_RPA0.UseVisualStyleBackColor = true;
this.cb_ADC_RPA0.CheckedChanged += new System.EventHandler(this.cb_ADC_RPA0_CheckedChanged);
//
// lbl_PWM_RPA0
//
this.lbl_PWM_RPA0.AutoSize = true;
this.lbl_PWM_RPA0.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(38, 65);
this.lbl_PWM_RPA0.Name = "lbl_PWM_RPA0";
this.lbl_PWM_RPA0.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(35, 13);
this.lbl_PWM_RPA0.TabIndex = 1;
this.lbl_PWM_RPA0.Text = "RPA0";
//
// lbl_ADC_RPA0
//
this.lbl_ADC_RPA0.AutoSize = true;
this.lbl_ADC_RPA0.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(38, 66);
this.lbl_ADC_RPA0.Name = "lbl_ADC_RPA0";
this.lbl_ADC_RPA0.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(35, 13);
this.lbl_ADC_RPA0.TabIndex = 2;
this.lbl_ADC_RPA0.Text = "RPA0";
//
// lbl_UART_RPA0
//
this.lbl_UART_RPA0.AutoSize = true;
this.lbl_UART_RPA0.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(37, 65);
this.lbl_UART_RPA0.Name = "lbl_UART_RPA0";
this.lbl_UART_RPA0.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(35, 13);
this.lbl_UART_RPA0.TabIndex = 4;
this.lbl_UART_RPA0.Text = "RPA0";
//
// cb_UART_RPA0
//
this.cb_UART_RPA0.AutoSize = true;
this.cb_UART_RPA0.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(16, 65);
this.cb_UART_RPA0.Name = "cb_UART_RPA0";
this.cb_UART_RPA0.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(15, 14);
this.cb_UART_RPA0.TabIndex = 5;
this.cb_UART_RPA0.UseVisualStyleBackColor = true;
this.cb_UART_RPA0.CheckedChanged += new System.EventHandler(this.cb_UART_RPA0_CheckedChanged);
//
// Form1
//
this.AutoScaleDimensions = new System.Drawing.SizeF(6F, 13F);
this.AutoScaleMode = System.Windows.Forms.AutoScaleMode.Font;
this.ClientSize = new System.Drawing.Size(758, 429);
this.Controls.Add(this.tabControl1);
this.Name = "Form1";
this.Text = "Form1";
this.Load += new System.EventHandler(this.Form1_Load);
this.tabControl1.ResumeLayout(false);
this.tpPWM.ResumeLayout(false);
this.tpPWM.PerformLayout();
this.tpUART.ResumeLayout(false);
this.tpUART.PerformLayout();
this.tpADC.ResumeLayout(false);
this.tpADC.PerformLayout();
this.ResumeLayout(false);
}
#endregion
private System.Windows.Forms.TabControl tabControl1;
private System.Windows.Forms.TabPage tpPWM;
private System.Windows.Forms.Label lbl_PWM_RPA0;
private System.Windows.Forms.CheckBox cb_PWM_RPA0;
private System.Windows.Forms.TabPage tpUART;
private System.Windows.Forms.TabPage tpADC;
private System.Windows.Forms.Label lbl_ADC_RPA0;
private System.Windows.Forms.CheckBox cb_ADC_RPA0;
private System.Windows.Forms.ToolTip toolTip1;
private System.Windows.Forms.CheckBox cb_UART_RPA0;
private System.Windows.Forms.Label lbl_UART_RPA0;
}
}

I created a new UserControl which only contains a button.
public partial class TooltipButton : UserControl
{
public TooltipButton()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
public new bool Enabled
{
get { return button.Enabled; }
set { button.Enabled = value; }
}
[Category("Appearance")]
[Description("The text displayed by the button.")]
[EditorBrowsable(EditorBrowsableState.Always)]
[Browsable(true)]
[DesignerSerializationVisibility(DesignerSerializationVisibility.Visible)]
[Bindable(true)]
public override string Text
{
get { return button.Text; }
set { button.Text = value; }
}
[Category("Action")]
[Description("Occurs when the button is clicked.")]
[DesignerSerializationVisibility(DesignerSerializationVisibility.Visible)]
public new event EventHandler Click;
private void button_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
// Bubble event up to parent
Click?.Invoke(this, e);
}
}

I found Serge_Yubenko's code worked on disabled buttons , but in order to stop the flashing make sure the tooltip pops up away from the button - just don't position it half way down the control but do this:
mFormTips.Show(toolTipString, control, control.Width / 2, control.Height);
instead of
mFormTips.Show(toolTipString, control, control.Width / 2, control.Height / 2);
This seems to follow the usual tooltip placement too...

So, I came across this post in my efforts to do the same thing, being the top result on Google. I had already considered the mouse move event and while the answers here did help, they didn't provide me with exactly what I wanted - that being a perfect recreation of the original show tooltip event.
The problem I discovered was this: For whatever reason in the API, ToolTip.Show turns the Mouse Move Event into effectively a Mouse Hover Event. Which is why the tooltip keeps flashing.
The workaround as suggested was to keep the tooltip on always show, or to display the tooltip away from the control, but that wouldn't be a faithful recreation, from the show to the timed fade. The answer would suggest that a block to prevent further execution of the code is needed - the reality was 2 blocks in the event code (One of which has no earthly reason existing and yet without it a timed event fires twice ***), a double delclaration of the control location, one inside the event, one class wide, and another class wide to check if the mouse is over a control, a class wide timer, and a Mouse Leave event to clean up due to too fast mouse movement away from the panel housing the control.
As you will see there are two events on the timer, both functions for them are in the event code as they need to reference variables get/set in the code. They can be moved out, but would then need class wide declarations on the variables, and they cause no harm where they are. FYI: "ToolTips" in the code is referencing the ToolTip control I have on the form.
*** Just to expand. If you look at the code you'll see that IsTipReset could be replaced with IsShown - after all they end up at the same value as each other. The reason for IsTipRest is this: If IsShown is used then while moving the mouse inside the control while the tootip is showing will cause a slight hiccup when the tooltip fades and very very very briefly another tooltip will popup. Using IsTipReset stops that. I have no idea why and maybe someone will spot it because I sure can't! Lol.
This is my first post here, and I realise it is an old thread, but I just wanted to share the fruits of my labour. As I said, my goal was a faithful recreation of tooltip and I think I achieved it. Enjoy!
using Timer = System.Windows.Forms.Timer;
private readonly Timer MouseTimer = new();
private Control? Ctrl;
private bool IsControl = false;
private void TopMenuMouseMove (object sender, MouseEventArgs e) {
Panel Pnl = (Panel)sender;
Control Area = Pnl.GetChildAtPoint (e.Location);
bool IsShown = false;
bool IsTipReset = false;
if (Area != null && Area.Enabled == false && Area.Visible == true) {
Ctrl = Pnl.GetChildAtPoint (e.Location);
Point Position = e.Location;
if (IsControl) { IsShown = true; } else if (!IsControl) { IsControl = true; IsShown = false; }
if (!IsShown) {
MouseTimer.Interval = ToolTips.InitialDelay;
MouseTimer.Tick += new EventHandler (TimerToolTipShow!);
MouseTimer.Start ();
}
void TimerToolTipShow (object sender, EventArgs e) {
if (!IsTipReset) {
MouseTimer.Dispose ();
string Txt = ToolTips.GetToolTip (Ctrl) + " (Disabled)";
Position.Offset (-Ctrl.Left, 16);
ToolTips.Show (Txt, Ctrl, Position);
MouseTimer.Interval = ToolTips.AutoPopDelay;
MouseTimer.Tick += new EventHandler (TimerToolTipReset!);
MouseTimer.Start ();
IsShown = true;
IsTipReset = true;
}
}
void TimerToolTipReset (object sender, EventArgs e) {
if (IsShown) {
MouseTimer.Dispose ();
IsShown = false;
ToolTips.Hide (Ctrl);
}
}
}
else if (Area == null) {
if (Ctrl != null) {
MouseTimer.Dispose ();
IsShown = false;
IsControl = false;
ToolTips.Hide (Ctrl);
Ctrl = null;
}
}
}
private void TopMenuMouseLeave (object sender, EventArgs e) {
if (Ctrl != null) {
MouseTimer.Dispose ();
IsControl = false;
ToolTips.Hide (Ctrl);
Ctrl = null;
}
}