I have developed a simple windows Application(MDI) in C# which exports the data from SQL to Excel.
I am using ClosedXML to achieve this successfully.
When the process is executed, I want to show a picturebox containing a animated GIF image.
I am a beginner and don't know how to achieve this, the picturebox appears after the process is completed.
I saw lot of posts which says to use backgroundworker or threading which I have never used and finding it hard to implement.
Can I have an step by step example with explanation.
The two functions which I have created which I call before and after I execute the code.
private void Loading_On()
{
Cursor.Current = Cursors.WaitCursor;
pictureBox2.Visible = true;
groupBox1.Enabled = false;
groupBox5.Enabled = false;
groupBox6.Enabled = false;
Cursor.Current = Cursors.Arrow;
}
private void Loading_Off()
{
Cursor.Current = Cursors.Arrow;
pictureBox2.Visible = false;
groupBox1.Enabled = true;
groupBox5.Enabled = true;
groupBox6.Enabled = true;
Cursor.Current = Cursors.WaitCursor;
}
It is not that hard to add a BackgroundWorker
Open your form in the designer
Open the Toolbox (ctrl+alt+X)
Open the category Components
Drag the Backgroundworker on your From
You will end-up with something like this:
You can now switch to the event view on the Properties tab and add the events for DoWork and RunWorkerCompleted
The following code goes in these events, notice how DoWork use the DowWorkEventArgs Argument property to retrieve the value that is supplied in RunWorkerAsync.
private void backgroundWorker1_DoWork(object sender, DoWorkEventArgs e)
{
// start doing what ever needs to be done
// get the argument from the EventArgs
string comboboxValue = (string) e.Argument; // if Argument isn't string, this breaks
// remember that this is NOT on the UI thread
// do a lot of work here that takes forever
System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(10000);
// afer this the completed event is fired
}
private void backgroundWorker1_RunWorkerCompleted(object sender, RunWorkerCompletedEventArgs e)
{
// this runs on the UI thread
Loading_Off();
}
Now you only need to start the background job, for example from a button click event to call RunWorkerAsync
private void button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
Loading_On();
backgroundWorker1.RunWorkerAsync(comboBox1.SelectedItem); // pass a string here
}
Done! You have successfully added a backgroundworker to your form.
The best way to achieve that is running the animation in a async task, but accordingly some limitations is it possible to do that on windows forms using a Thread Sleep.
eg: In your constructor,
public partial class MainMenu : Form
{
private SplashScreen splash = new SplashScreen();
public MainMenu ()
{
InitializeComponent();
Task.Factory.StartNew(() => {
splash.ShowDialog();
});
Thread.Sleep(2000);
}
It is very important to put the Thread Sleep after have started a new one, don't forget that every action you did on this thread you need ot invoke, for example
void CloseSplash(EventArgs e)
{
Invoke(new MethodInvoker(() =>
{
splash.Close();
}));
}
Now your gif should work!
Related
I have a winform with the following code that opens an external program when the form is opened. If the program closes, a dialog box is suppose to pop up with an option to return that a button was clicked. This will close the dialog box and return to the initial form and then run the function to open the external program again.
Here is the problem, the original form is STILL clickable AND the function is not running. Any ideas?
public Manager()
{
InitializeComponent();
ExternalProgramOpen();
}
private void ExternalProgramOpen()
{
Process startProgram = Process.Start("program.exe", Program.ConnectionArg);
startProgram.EnableRaisingEvents = true;
startProgram.Exited += this.PrematureClose;
}
private void PrematureClose(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
ManagerWarning messagepopup = new ManagerWarning();
messagepopup.ShowDialog();
using (var ManagerWarning = new ManagerWarning())
{
if (ManagerWarning.ShowDialog() == DialogResult.Retry)
{
ExternalProgramOpen();
}
}
}
The reason for this effect is probably that the Exited event is not raised in the same UI thread that started the process.
When you call ShowDialog() from another thread, the new window will not use and block the original UI thread.
To solve this, check if InvokeRequired is true and use Invoke:
private void PrematureClose(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
if (InvokeRequired)
{
Invoke(new Action(() => PrematureClose(sender, e)));
return;
}
// your code here
// ...
}
UPDATE:
As mentioned in the comments section the problem was solved, but I do not understand why my way of implementation was wrong.
I have this situation:
I have a device which can be triggered with an event in my WPF project.
This event pulls Data from my device at a polling rate of 1ms. I want to process
the data in different threads.
My approach was, to start a backgroundworker which registers the device event (I read events run on the thread they are called from). In the device event itself the data is saved to an object, which is declared in my form. After that the labels in the WPF form a are refreshed with a Invoke Method.
This happens until someone presses cancel on a button in my form, which unregisters the device event and stops the thread.
Here is some code I use:
Declaration in my Main Window:
public partial class MainWindow : Window
{
private BackgroundWorker worker = new BackgroundWorker();
private MeasureObject mObject = new MeasureObject();
... }
This is my initialization:
public MainWindow()
{
InitializeComponent();
this.worker.WorkerSupportsCancellation = true;
this.worker.DoWork += worker_DoWork;
this.worker.RunWorkerCompleted += worker_RunWorkerCompleted;
}
If this button is press i run my background worker:
private void btnStartMeasure_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
this.worker.RunWorkerAsync();
}
Here I register my event for the device. It should now run on my worker thread. I tried to declare the event itself here too, but it did not work, so I placed it in my main windows.
private void worker_DoWork(object sender, DoWorkEventArgs e)
{
this.myController.ControlCenter.Diagnostics.NewDiagPacketArrived += new EventHandler<NewDiagPacketArrivedEventArgs>(Diagnostics_NewDiagPacketArrived);
// run all background tasks here
}
This is not needed and empty. The worker is only cancelled if the user sets it on cancel.
private void worker_RunWorkerCompleted(object sender,
RunWorkerCompletedEventArgs e)
{
}
This event is triggered in my Window and calls two functions, it should run on the backgroundworker if I am correct.
private void Diagnostics_NewDiagPacketArrived(object sender, NewDiagPacketArrivedEventArgs e)
{
try
{
Measure(e);
this.Dispatcher.BeginInvoke( new Action(() => { SetStates(e); }),System.Windows.Threading.DispatcherPriority.Input);
}
catch
{
}
}
Measure gets the e Object from the device and saves it to a Dataobject i created
private void Measure(NewDiagPacketArrivedEventArgs e)
{
lock(this.mObject)
{
this.mObject.ID = this.list.Count;
....
this.list.Add(this.mObject);
}
}
SetStates refreshed the GUI
private void SetStates(NewDiagPacketArrivedEventArgs e)
{
lock(this.mObject)
{
this.lblID.Content = this.mObject.ID;
}
}
The problem with my code is if I cancel the event and the thread with this code:
private void btnStopMeasure_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
this.myController.ControlCenter.Diagnostics.NewDiagPacketArrived -= Diagnostics_NewDiagPacketArrived;
this.worker.CancelAsync();
}
And try to get the list where I added my objects, all objects have the same ID's and values. It seems like as soon as I unregister the event or press the stop measure button, all mObjects in my list get overwritten with the mObject at the time when I unregister the event.
so my list looks like this:
list[0].ID = 1
list[1].ID = 1
list[2].ID = 1
rather than this:
list[0].ID = 1
list[1].ID = 2
list[2].ID = 3
Maybe you can help?
Your problem is that you are not creating a new instance of the mObject - you only create one of them here:
private MeasureObject mObject = new MeasureObject();
Your code then adds the SAME object to the list, and updates that. You need to make a new object each time and put it in the list.
this.mObject.ID = this.list.Count;
....
this.list.Add(this.mObject);
Currently your list is a list of the same object.
can someone please let me know why the System.Windows.Forms.Timer continues to show multiple message boxes? I thought that it is on GUI thread ... and therefore after the first messagebox the GUI thread should block. But this is not the case
public partial class Form1 : Form
{
public Form1()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
int nValue = 0;
void tmr_Tick(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
nValue++;
MessageBox.Show(nValue.ToString());
}
System.Windows.Forms.Timer tmr = new System.Windows.Forms.Timer();
private void btnStartTimer_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
tmr.Interval = 500;
tmr.Enabled = true;
tmr.Tick += new EventHandler(tmr_Tick);
}
}
The MessageBox.Show() method includes (as all modal dialogs do) a message loop that continues to pump window messages.
Window messages are what allow a window to interact with the user (update itself, accept input, etc.), as well as what allows the Forms.Timer class to work.
If you want your Forms.Timer to stop ticking when the dialog is shown, you need to set the timer's Enabled property to false before you show the dialog.
In your Tick event stop the timer and then start again after MessageBox.Show like:
void tmr_Tick(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
tmr.Enabled = false;
nValue++;
MessageBox.Show(nValue.ToString());
tmr.Enabled = true;
}
The reason you are getting repeated MessgeBoxes is because your timer is continuing after showing the first MessageBox.
A message box does not block the GUI-Thread. It's as simple as that. You can interact with the message box, after all :)
Also: The internal workings of the timer are not clear, but I would guess that it runs on another thread and just returns on the GUI-Thread.
I have this really little problem, but which can't be easily solved. Currently, my program has 2 buttons, a "Start" and a "Cancel". When the user clicks the start, the buttons should go instantly:
StartButton.IsEnabled = false;
CancelButton.IsEnabled = true;
But this occurs only when the BackgroundWorker has finished (all the code which will be ran after pressing the button), because the UI is always updated as last. There's no way I could add these commands to the "ProgressChanged" or "Completed" event of the backgroundworker. These events can take up to 10min to complete.
One easy way is to add these commands to the "ProgressChanged" part, and in the end "Complete" change their state again. But I'd like to avoid this, as the buttons should be showing their real state all the time, not after few "ProgressChanged" events. Of course there's always ways around, like not using the button's UI properties.
Is there any short solution for this?
It doesn't work to add the Button.Property changes to the ClickEvent. That's the main problem in this. I can easily use the "Completed" part of BGW to change the Button's back to match the starting state. The problem is to get them set right before all the events and BGW.
if you have a start button like:
this.StartButton = new System.Windows.Forms.Button();
then you can do
this.StartButton.Click += new System.EventHandler(this.button1_Click);
and then do
private void button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
StartButton.IsEnabled = false;
CancelButton.IsEnabled = true;
Thread bg = new Thread(new ThreadStart( UpdateDatabase()));
bg.Start();
}
if you want the bg thread to send messages to the UI use the Invoke method like here
public delegate void UpdateUIHndler();
public void UpdateUI()
{
}
and do
if (InvokeRequired)
{
Invoke(new UpdateUIHndler(UpdateUI));
}
Take a look at a previous question of mine (quite similer). I should go for option 1.
ASP.NET Application log while code is running / progress bar
UI will only be delayed 5 seconds. Instead of text update the button styling using AJAX.
you can disable the start button in the click event of that button itself and enable it again it on RunWorkerCompleted event of BGW as shown below
BackgroundWorker _worker = new BackgroundWorker();
_worker.DoWork += new DoWorkEventHandler(_worker_DoWork);
private void StartButton_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
startButton.IsEnabled = false;
}
void _worker_RunWorkerCompleted(object sender, RunWorkerCompletedEventArgs e)
{
stratButton.IsEnabled = true;
}
void _worker_DoWork(object sender, DoWorkEventArgs e)
{
//Your processing code
}
Happy Friday SO!
I'm building a multi-WinForm application and am having some troubles.
I have a main WinForm that stays open at all times. It hits a database every minute looking for changes, and if there is a change, it will open the second WinForm (this may seem like a stupid way to do things, but for my purpose, this is the best method).
Just sticking the following code into my Form1.cs doesn't do the trick:
Application.Run(new Form2());
Can you guys point me in the right direction? I have no idea where to turn.
Form2 form2 = new Form2();
form2.Show();
and to prevent a ton of forms being opened, maybe:
Form2 form2 = new Form2();
form2.ShowDialog();
#Comment:
A BackgroundWorker is used to keep your current UI Thread responsive. It was not designed to keep multiple forms pumping happily along. Look into running your intensive code as a Background thread within a ThreadPool.
If what you wish is to launch a long process and to show the progress to the user, for example just like when you have a progress bar or something alike, you should use a BackgroundWorker to do the job. Here's a simple example:
public partial class ProgressForm : Form {
// Assuming you have put all required controls on design...
// Allowing some properties to be exposed for progress update...
public properties MaximumProgress {
set {
progressBar1.Maximum = value;
}
public properties OverallProgress {
set {
progressBar1.Value = value;
}
}
public partial class MainForm : Form {
private BackgroundWorker backgroundWorker1;
private ProgressForm _pf;
public MainForm() {
InitializeComponent();
backgroundWorker1 = new BackgroundWorker();
backgroundWorker1.WorkerReportsProgress = true;
backgroundWorker1.DoWork += backgroundWorker1_DoWork;
backgroundWorker1.ProgressChanged += backgroundWorker1_ProgressChanged;
backgroundWorker1.RunWorkerCompleted += backgroundWorker1_RunWorkerCompleted;
}
// Assuming process starts on Button click.
private void button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e) {
_pf = new ProgressForm();
_pf.MaximumProgress = number-of-elements-to-treat-returned-by-prevision-or-whatever-else;
// Launching the background workder thread.
backgroundWorker1.RunWorkerAsync(); // Triggering the DoWork event.
// Then showing the progress form.
_pf.ShowDialog();
}
private void backgroundWorker1_DoWork(object sender, EventArgs e) {
LaunchProcess();
}
private void backgroundWorker1_ProgressChanged(object sender, ProgressChangedEventArgs e) {
_pf.OverallProgress = e.ProgressPercentage;
}
private void backgroundWorker1_RunWorkerCompleted(object sender, EventArgs e) {
_pf.Close();
_pf.Dispose();
}
private void LaunchProcess() {
// Do some work here...
// Reporting progress somewhere within the processed task
backgroundWorker1.ReportProgress();
}
}
This is not a compileable code as its purpose is to illustrate the main idea.
Now, is this something alike you want to do?