crosshair tool, is there one? Visual studio 2008 - c#

I am doing some image sampling. What my question is, is there a 'crosshair' tool in visual studio? I want to have several instances on a single form, be able to move them around and then sample those points, obviously returning the color of the pixel at the center of the crosshair, is there already a tool that will do this, before I go and write one?
Thanks, R.

I know of no crosshair, but the following procedure can be used twice to draw a crosshair. To remove it, simply draw it again as it uses XOR to make the procedure reversible.
ControlPaint.DrawReversibleLine().

You could just change the cursor:
private void btnSample_Click(object sender, EventArgs e) {
this.Cursor = Cursors.Cross;
}
protected override void OnMouseDown(MouseEventArgs e) {
if (this.Cursor == Cursors.Cross) {
this.Cursor = Cursors.Default;
// etc...
}
}

I would change the cursor to Cursor.cross. Then just paint indicators at the mousedown-points with GDI on the PictureBox's Graphic, sample the colors from those locations and then clear the PictureBox's Graphic when the operation is done.

Related

C# - Intersecting Object With Code-Generated Image

I'm trying to build a simple RPG using the C# Windows Forms (as I had recently stumbled upon a fun tutorial demonstrating this ability. I have two items:
A 'Character' object that has been placed IN game:
In-game character--GUI
I also have a code-generated Draw Object, a tree--built in-game:
public void MainFormPaint(object sender, PaintEventArgs e)
{
//Drawing a tree, to create transparency
Image Tree_2 = Image.FromFile("[Directory to PNG].png");
Tree_2.Tag = "Tree";
e.Graphics.DrawImage(Tree_2,50,50,200,200);
}
...which generates this:
Code-generated Tree Object
Seeing as I cannot detect the object by some means similar to:
Character.Bounds.Intersectswith([insert_my_picture].Bounds);
this leaves me kind of baffled, and I'm not sure what to do. I want to detect this collision, so that I can stop movement. However, I'm not sure how to check for an 'empty spot' next to me or any object for that matter that's code-generated. It's important to note that this image is code-generated to maintain the graphic's transparency (as apparently there are problems placing objects in the form and maintaining transparency with overlaying objects).
Thank you for your help!
As the graphic was drawn at runtime, I was needing to generate a Rectangle:
Rectangle firstTree = new Rectangle();
...in the public variables area, and then created it on paint event.
public void MainFormPaint(object sender, PaintEventArgs e)
{
e.Graphics.DrawImage(Tree_Obj,50,50,200,200);
firstTree.X = 50;
firstTree.Y = 50;
firstTree.Width = 200;
firstTree.Height=200;
}
The full, encapsulating bounds were only for trial. Problem solved!

Creating a form with transparent PNG as background in c#

i want to create a transparent form with png as background... which looks verymuch similar to this.
http://cdn.lo4d.com/t/screenshot/800/lili-usb-creator-3.jpg
so far i've used this code
protected override void OnPaintBackground(PaintEventArgs e)
{
e.Graphics.DrawImage(this.BackgroundImage, e.ClipRectangle);
}
but the problem is when moving the part below doesnt update!!
i tried to use
invalidate();
but it keeps on drawing the image over and over making the dropshadow part denser and denser.
is there anything i can do??
this one works great.not very neat but it works upto the mark.
http://www.codeproject.com/Articles/19213/An-Alpha-Channel-Composited-Windows-Form-with-Desi

How is resize handled by DWM? C#

I have tried to create a custom border less form for my application. I decided that it had to be resizable, so I put 8 panels on its sides (4 corners, 4 sides actually) and created code which will resize my form when called. Like, for example:
private void E_MouseDown(object sender, MouseEventArgs e)
{
Active = true;
}
private void East_MouseMove(object sender, MouseEventArgs e)
{
if (Active)
{
this.Size = new Size(this.Width + e.Location.X, this.Height);
this.Refresh();
}
}
private void E_MouseUp(object sender, MouseEventArgs e)
{
Active = false;
}
Unfortunately, the resizing is slow, overloads the CPU and performs visual glitches even with double buffering for the form turned on. I have quite a bit of controls on my form. But what I have noticed is the fact that when I switch to a standard border (like Sizable), and DWM handles the window chrome, resizing is perfect. No glitches, stuttering and flicker. So I came to wonder, how does Windows manage to do? Is there a way to simulate what it is doing via the 8 panels? I hate when it flickers and it halts my project for no reason. The fact is that I worked all day long to mimic the Visual Studio 2013 window chrome and nearly suceeded, there is just this annoying problem... Can you help, please?
Thanks.

Drawing interactively lines over a Bitmap

I need to allow to the user to draw lines over an bitmap. Lines should be drawn interactively, I mean something performed using typical code giving to the user a visual feedback about what is drawn:
private void MainPictureBox_MouseDown( object sender, MouseEventArgs e)
{
DrawingInProgress = true ;
Origin = new Point (e.X, e.Y);
}
private void MainPictureBox_MouseUp(object sender, MouseEventArgs e)
{
DrawingInProgress = false ;
}
private void MainPictureBox_MouseMove(object sender, MouseEventArgs e)
{
if (!DrawingInProgress) return ;
End = new Point (e.X, e.Y);
using( Pen OverlayPen = new Pen( Color .Red, 1.0f))
using (Graphics g = MainPictureBox.CreateGraphics())
{
g.DrawLine(OverlayPen, Origin, End);
}
}
Of course I keep track of the points using List.Add within MainPictureBox_MouseUp in order to draw lines in the Paint event (code not shown for the sake of simplicity)
Without the background image things could be done nicely simply overwriting the previous line with the background color, something like:
g.DrawLine(BackgroundColorPen, Origin, PreviousEnd);
g.DrawLine(OverlayPen, Origin, End);
but this is not possible with a not uniform background.
Invalidating the rectangle defined by the points: Origin, PreviousEnd then using Update() makes the rendering quite messy. I am wondering how to perform this task and those are possible ways to do so i am considering:
Draw the lines over a transparent bitmap then draw the bitmap over the Picturebox. I guess that with big images this is simply unfeasible for performances reason.
Using the Picture.BackgroundImage for the bitmap then drawing on the Picture.Image but I unable to figure out how this could really saave the day
Using double buffering? How?
Stacking a different control (a panel?) over the pictureBox, making it transparent (is it possible?) then drawing over it.
Could someone give a hint in the best direction? I am really getting lost.
The solutions working for me has been the following:
Create a transparent panel;
Put it over the bitmap having them overlap completely;
Draw on the panel using proper mouse events;
There is no need to cancel the previous shape, of course: it was a misleading question. It is sufficient to distinguish permanent shapes recorded in proper lists fed to the Paint event from the transient shape previously drawn that will be not drawn again in the next Paint event;
Make absolutely sure that all drawings are performed in the Paint event using the Graphics provided by the PaintEventArgs. Thanks to #HansPassant to have stressed this in a different post.

Highlighted squares on a CustomControl chessboard don't persist beyond the initial MouseDown event

I've been coding a Windows app chess game in C# as an exercise in honing my skills, and also because it's fun. I have included functionality that allows a player to select the option to highlight the squares a piece can legally move to when it gets clicked. A CustomControl handles the rendering of the chessboard and it also highlights the squares.
It all works as planned until the player begins to drag the piece to a new square. The moment the mouse moves, the highlights go away. I suspect that a Paint event is raised and the board redraws itself. And since the highlights are not part of the initial board layout, they don't get drawn.
What I would like to happen is for the squares to remain highlighted until the piece is dropped on its destination square. Is it possible to accomplish this? Any suggestions will be appreciated.
Psuedo code:
void piece_MouseDown(object sender, MouseEventArgs e)
{
Piece piece = (Piece)sender;
legalSquares = CalculateLegalSquares(piece.CurrentSquare);
if (legalSquares.Count > 0 && this.showLegalMoves)
{
chessBoard1.HighlightSquares(legalSquares);
}
// I believe a Paint event gets raised either here...
piece.DoDragDrop(piece, DragDropEffects.Move);
}
void piece_DragEnter(object sender, DragEventArgs e)
{
// ...or here, that removes the highlights.
if (e.Data.GetDataPresent("Chess.Piece"))
{
e.Effect = DragDropEffects.Move;
}
else
{
e.Effect = DragDropEffects.None;
}
}
void piece_DragDrop(object sender, DragEventArgs e)
{
Piece piece = (Piece)e.Data.GetData("Chess.Piece");
if (piece.CurrentSquare != dropSquare)
{
if (legalSquares.Contains(dropSquare))
{
// This is where I’d like the highlights to stop
// DoStuff()
}
}
}
It sounds like you are highlighting the valid squares by drawing directly, but this will get erased on any repaint. You will probably lose the highlights if your window is repainted for other reasons also, such as minimizing and restoring it, or dragging another window on top of it.
If this is the case, you probably need to override the OnPaint method and do your highlighting there. When you want to change what is highlighted, set some state in your class to control what is drawn as highlighted in the OnPaint method, and then Invalidate your window.

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