Create own TextBox, Button etc control as own control using User control in C# Windows application, is this good idea?
I wanted make consistency for through out the application. Suppose if I want to change the Textbox border color then all forms textbox updated with this changes. It's just an example.
Please suggest me.
I don't recommend using UserControl just for consistency. If application skinning is what you are after, look into WPF. It makes it relatively simple to skin an application (or even a window, or smaller groups)
Here is an article on skinning with WPF: http://www.codeproject.com/Articles/19782/Creating-a-Skinned-User-Interface-in-WPF
Another alternative, staying within Windows Forms, is creating a class that inherits from TextBox, and using that class throughout the application. The Factory pattern would work well here. You could even adapt it to multiple skins.
It's not a bad idea to provide custom controls that match your "User Experience" (UX). It really just depends on what you are trying to accomplish with your program.
Related
I am doing my first steps programming a little toolbox in C#.
I want to choose the program to run via a menustrip.
How can I switch all visible textboxes, buttons etc. on the same form? I don't want to open a new form. Do I have to show/hide every element "by hand" or is there a better solution?
I hope you get my problem.
Thanks in advance.
Yes totally understood.
You need a way to navigate between different fragments within your application.
Since these are your first steps and not a legacy app, why aren't you starting with WPF which is the successor of Winforms ? (newer better)
See how can you achieve such functionally in WPF
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/desktop/wpf/app-development/navigation-overview?view=netframeworkdesktop-4.8
Although the terms are similar and also apply in winforms.
What you want to do is to create all the buttons etc as part of a UserControl. You can then add your custom UserControl to the form. This should allow you to switch the user control for some other control, or change the visibility for the whole user control.
This can also allow you to place multiple user controls side by side or in some other layout.
I'm currently working on a school project where I'm asked to develop a C# WPF application. I'm implementing the MVVM design-pattern. This is why my main goal is to avoid using code-behind as much as I can. My main concern is that I'm trying to figure out an effective way around my software's "menu navigation" system.
For example, I'd like to have different windows to update clients, another to manage the employees and so on. My teacher said the best way would be to create an user control and adding it on every single window. How would that work? I would have to be able to detect the click on the user control and opening/loading the correct window according to that.
And if you try to organize your projects in tabs with a TabControl? You can personalize it too!
I have got my Mainwindow class , Mainwindow.xaml and Mainwindow.cs. Problem is I have got 4 tabs and each tab has own functions. All this is on my Mainwindow.xaml and cs. Is there any way of separating them because my Mainwindow.Xaml is getting bigger and bigger and then I get confuse with so much code.Probably is bit basic what I am asking but I dont know how to do separate with xaml, becasue I want to keep the layout as it is.
Hope I have explained well.
Thanks in advance
You can use different UserControls for each tab. And each tab has the corresponding UserControl like this:
<myControls:userProfileTabControl />
Here is some more documentation on how to create and use a UserControl in WPF. There is also a video over att WindowsClient that talks about "How to Create a User Control in WPF".
When you feel comfortable with the basis of WPF you might want to consider looking into the MVVM pattern, you can read about it over at MSDN, there are frameworks to use to make MVVM easier such as PRISM. But often they tend to do things a bit more complicated.
Start off by seperating your tabs into different User Controls and go from there.
If it's a small application, you can create a User control for each tab's content, and then implement all the logic there. You then embed your user controls in each tab.
If the application can grow, or you want to put a bit more of order in there, take a look to The PRISM Framework
I'd like to know if is there a way to "skin" a Form and every widget used inside it. Images should be on background and other elements shall be setup accordingly.
In short, a way to implement a way to display the same Form in different flavors (i.e.: theme and eyecandy UI).
DevExpress makes a WinForms control suite with an excellent selection of skins.
Telerik also provides WinForms components with theme support. I've used their library and it works fine.
All in WPF:
Developing a wizard application, user has to answer a number of simple questions before brought to the main app. The main app is then prefilled with the information obtained from the wizard.
I started with a Window which I then planned to add usercontrols to. The main window would have the user control in the first row, then Next and Previous buttons to control moving between the controls in the second row. This way I could easily control the logic to switch between screens like:
WizardControl1.IsVisible = false;
WizardControl2.IsVisible = true;
But for some reason, user controls do not have setter for IsVisible. Hurray.
So then I thought I would just use seperate windows for each section of the wizard. The problem with this approach is that now when stepping between, the window opens in random positions, and by steppign through the wizard with next, the next window pops up randomly which is really distracting and frustrating.
So how can I develop a wizard properly? I don't get why this is so hard...not exactly rocket science... replacing text and controls and storing input after pressing next/previous!
Thanks
Check this link:
http://www.codeproject.com/KB/WPF/InternationalizedWizard.aspx
This is the article about building wizard in WPF by Josh Smith, it's seems to be nice pattern.
I found it's helpful for me, hope you'll too.
There is also an open source Avalon Wizard control on codeplex.
I'd probably aproach this using data binding and template selectors. Have the wizard form bind to a "WizardData" class, which exposes a list of "WizardPage" base classes.
The WizardData class can expose properties defining the correct info on the forms, and display a control for the main page that uses a template selector to determine the proper control to display based on the actual type of the particular wizard page.
It sounds like more work than it is, really. It also gives you the benefit of good separation between code and UI (all "work" is done by the WizardData and WizardPage classes), and the ability to test logic independent of the UI.
It's also a very WPF/MVVM way of approaching the problem.
I recognize this does not directly address your question, but I thought I'd mention it as a possible alternative. I've used Actipro's Wizard control with pretty good results, and when I have needed support, they have been very responsive. I am not affiliated with them in any way; I just like not having to write the plumbing to manage a wizard.
The property is called "Visibility".
I find that I do better when I dynamically add and removing controls rather than hide them.
I was looking for a Wizard solution too. I have the need to stick with stock WPF components so I implemented the wizard using a standard form and a tab control.
I only hide the tabs at runtime so there available in the IDE. At runtime just use Back, Next, Finish... to navigate thru the tab items
works good