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Visual C# Access item from other class file

im writing an application in visual studio and im trying to access a rich text box from an other class. This doesnt seem to work for me. Also how to i call a function from an other class?
My code:
namespace Test{
public partial class Form1 : Form
{
public Form1()
{
// I want from this place to access the MyClass.test("hello");
}
}
}
namespace Test{
class MyClass
{
public void test (string text)
{
// here i want to do richtextbox1.clear(); but the textbox is not available
}
}
}

can be done in many ways. My favorite would be to declare the object of the "MyClass" class within "Form1" by passing the "this" pointer as an argument. Thus, the object of the "MyClass" class will have access to all the members and public functions "Form1". Included RichTextBox1.
namespace Test{
public partial class Form1 : Form
{
MyClass MyClassObject;
public Form1()
{
InitializeComponent();
MyClassObject=new MyClass(this);
MyClassObject.test("hello");
}
}
}
namespace Test{
class MyClass
{
Form1 parent;
public MyClass(Form1 parentForm)
{
parent=parentForm;
}
public void test (string text)
{
parent.richtextbox1.clear();
}
}
}

You don't want to do this. You can for example do it like this:
public partial class Form1 : Form
{
public Form1()
{
InitializeComponent();
var myClass = new MyClass(this.richtextbox1);
myClass.SetTextBoxText("hello");
}
}
class MyClass
{
RichTextBox _textBox;
public MyClass(RichTextBox textBox)
{
_textBox = textBox;
}
public void SetTextBoxText(string text)
{
_textBox.Clear();
_textBox.Text = text;
}
}
This uses constructor injection to pass the textbox to operate on to the contstructor. In Form1's constructor the MyClass is instantiated with a reference to the textbox, which is initialized in InitializeComponent(). Then when you call SetTextBoxText, the class clears the associated textbox's text and then sets it to the passed text.
This is more specific than the commonly suggested method: just pass the entire Form1 instance to MyClass's constructor after making the textbox public, but that way you cannot reuse MyClass for other forms.
But as you see, it's pretty pointless to do. You can let Form1 contain this.richttextbox1.Text = "hello"; directly.

It is not quite clear from your question, but I'm supposing your richtextbox1 is located at Form1.
By default all UI elements of form has private acess modifier - that's why you can't access your richtextbox1 from outer class.
You can change it's access mmodifier to public - but I strongly encourage you not to do it.
Instead write some method in Form1 class like
public void ClearRichTextBox()
{
richtextbox1.Clear();
}
and use it.

How to call my public class to my main form?

I have this class ClassMainForm and a form named MainForm. I made a method in my class, then inside of that is my codes like quantity1.Show. My question is, how do I call my function from class to my main form? I'd appreciate all your help.
ClassMainForm :
public void Visible()
{
GroupInstruction.Hide(); // <<== how do i call my controls in my MainForm?
quantity1.Show(); // <<== how do i call my controls in my MainForm?
}
Thanks Guys...

First create a new instance of your class:
ClassMainForm cmf = new ClassMainForm();
After this you can use cmf.NAMEOFYOURFUNCTION to call your function.
NAMEOFYOURFUNCTION = One of the methods/functions in your class.
With the cmf. u refer to your class, and after the dot u select the name of your method/function.
EDIT:
Placed a numerupdown on the form, and I called it numerUpDown1.
MAINFORM:
namespace Stack_Overflow_2
{
public partial class MainForm : Form
{
public MainForm()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
public NumericUpDown numericupdown()
{
return numericUpDown1;
}
}
}
CLASS:
namespace Stack_Overflow_2
{
class ClassMainForm
{
MainForm mf = new MainForm();
public void Visible()
{
mf.numericupdown().Show();
}
}
}

Modifying a winform textbox value from another class

I'm wondering if it is possible to access a textbox value from another class inside a C# winform.
For example, at the moment I have a bunch of different textboxes I'm turning on and off all within my Form1.cs class like so:
screentextBox.Visible = true;
However, to cut down on the amount of lines of code within my C# class I was wondering is it possible to make this call from another class, then in my Form1.cs call my other classes method?
Something like:
class Otherclass
{
public void ShowTextBox()
{
screentextBox.Visible = true;
}
}
Then in my Form1.cs simply call my new ShowTextBox method.
I'm sorry if this is a silly question, but I've looked around google and I couldn't find anything that could help me out.

You could pass the TextBox as a parameter to a function in another class:
class OtherClass
{
public void ShowTextBox(TextBox target)
{
target.Visible = true;
}
}
However, I would advise to keep all the methods and code pertaining to handling the GUI and its events inside the form itself. If you have large methods for calculations, etc., than those can be moved to other classes.

you can Make ScreentextBox as Public in Declaring class and access it in Another class like
class Otherclass
{
public void ShowTextBox()
{
Class1.ScreenTextBox.Visible =true;
}
}

You could define the ShowTextBox method in a partial class So you still have the access to the control and also tidy your code.

Add method for showing TextBox in your form:
public partial class Form1 : Form
{
public void ShowTextBox()
{
screentextBox.Visible = true;
}
}
and then pass your From1 to other forms and call this method from there.

Class OtherClass
{
public static void method(TextBox[] items)
{
foreach(item in items)
{
(item as TextBox).Visible = true;
}
}
}
to call this method from ur Form1.cs class--->
OtherClass.method( new TextBox[] { TxtBox1, TxtBox2, TxtBox3 } );

If you want to access the controls of Form1.cs from another class try this way
class Otherclass
{
Form1 f1 = new Form1();
f1.Controls["screentextBox"].Visible = true;
}

I would do it like this (example from John Willemse):
class OtherClass
{
public TextBox ShowTextBox(TextBox target)
{
target.Visible = true;
return target;
}
}

Yet another approach to this old problem: I've found that the old way is an easy way to make accessible controls (including all their properties and methods), and perhaps other variables, from any class within the project. This old way consists of creating an ad hoc class from scratch.
Note A: about the old way: I know, I know, global variables are evil. But, for many people coming here looking for a fast/flexible/suites-most-cases solution, this may be a valid answer and I have not seen it posted. Another thing: this solution is what I am actually using as the answer for what I came to this page looking for.
1st step: The new class file from scratch is below.
namespace YourProjectNamespace
{
public class dataGlobal
{
public System.Windows.Forms.TextBox txtConsole = null;
// Place here some other things you might want to use globally, e.g.:
public int auxInteger;
public string auxMessage;
public bool auxBinary;
// etc.
}
}
Note B: The class is not static nor has static members, which allows to create several instances in case it is needed. In my case I do take advantage of this feature. But, as a matter of fact, you may consider making this class' TextBox a public static field so that -once initialized- it is always the same throughout the application.
2nd step: Then you're able to initialize it in your Main Form:
namespace YourProjectNamespace
{
public partial class Form1 : Form
{
// Declare
public static dataGlobal dataMain = new dataGlobal();
public Form1()
{
InitializeComponent();
// Initialize
dataMain.txtConsole = textBox1;
}
// Your own Form1 code goes on...
}
}
3rd step: And from your other class (or form), the call to any property/method of Form1's textBox1:
namespace YourProjectNamespace
{
class SomeOtherClass
{
// Declare and Assign
dataGlobal dataLocal = Form1.dataMain;
public void SomethingToDo()
{
dataLocal.txtConsole.Visible = true;
dataLocal.txtConsole.Text = "Typing some text into Form1's TextBox1" + "\r\n";
dataLocal.txtConsole.AppendText("Adding text to Form1's TextBox1" + "\r\n");
string retrieveTextBoxValue = dataLocal.txtConsole.Text;
// Your own code continues...
}
}
}
[EDIT]:
A simpler approach, specifically for the TextBox visibility throughout classes, I have not seen in other answers:
1st step: Declare and initialize an auxiliary TextBox object in your Main Form:
namespace YourProjectNamespace
{
public partial class Form1 : Form
{
// Declare
public static TextBox txtConsole;
public Form1()
{
InitializeComponent();
// Initialize
txtConsole = textBox1;
}
// Your own Form1 code goes on...
}
}
2nd step: And from your other class (or form), the call to any property/method of Form1's textBox1:
namespace YourProjectNamespace
{
class SomeOtherClass
{
public void SomethingToDo()
{
Form1.txtConsole.Visible = true;
Form1.txtConsole.Text = "Typing some text into Form1's TextBox1" + "\r\n";
Form1.txtConsole.AppendText("Adding text to Form1's TextBox1" + "\r\n");
string retrieveTextBoxValue = Form1.txtConsole.Text;
// Your own code continues...
}
}
}
Comment to the [Edit]: I have noticed that many questions simply cannot be solved by the usual recommendation: "instead, make public properties on your form to get/set the values you are interested in". Sometimes there would be several properties/methods to implement... But, then again, I know... best practices should prevail :)

C# - Accessing tree view control from another class

I'm working on a Windows Forms application in C# with Visual Studio 2010.
There is a form mainForm.
mainForm contains a tree view control xmlTreeView.
There is a self-written class myClass.cs.
Now, myClass needs to access the xmlTreeView. However I don't know a) how to access the form and b) which way would be best to do that.
I tried to implement an interface following oleksii's answer but I don't get it. The main form of the application is defined like this:
public interface IMainForm {
TreeView treeView { get; }
}
public partial class mainForm : Form, IMainForm {
public TreeView treeViewControl {
get { return myTreeViewControl; }
}
// Some code here
[...]
RuleTree rt = new RuleTree(); //How do I call this with the IMainForm interface???
}
Another class RuleTree is defined like this:
class RuleTree {
private readonly IMainForm mainForm;
public RuleTree(IMainForm mainForm) {
this.mainForm = mainForm;
}
}
How do I call the constructor of RuleTree with the IMainForm interface???

I would do the following. Don't see it as code, it's just so that you can understand, you can modify it accordingly.
public class MyClass
{
public void MyMethod(YourTreeViewControl treeview)
{
// Do what you need to do here
}
}
Then in your forms code behind just instantiate MyClass and pass an instance of your treeview to it, something like this:
MyClass myClass = new MyClass();
myClass.MyMethod(tvYourTreeViewControl);
Hope this makes sense :)

One of the possible approaches would be to use dependency injection here. MyClass would have a constructor that takes a Form parameter. Thus when you create MyClass it would have the form injected. For example:
Foo
{
Foo(){}
}
Bar
{
private Foo currentFoo;
Bar(Foo foo) //dependency injection
{
currentFoo = foo;
}
public void OtherMethod()
{
//do something with currentFoo
}
}
It will be better to use interfaces (or abstract classes), so instead of Foo you could inject IFoo, this largely decouples your classes, which is a good design decision.

I have commented my code please read comments, I can make solution available as well.
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Windows.Forms;
namespace WindowsFormsApplication1
{
static class Program
{
/// <summary>
/// The main entry point for the application.
/// </summary>
///
//Declare a static form that will accesible trhought the appication
//create form called frmMain form or any other name
//
public static frmMain MainForm { get; private set; }
[STAThread]
static void Main()
{
Application.EnableVisualStyles();
Application.SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault(false);
//comment out default application run
//Application.Run(new MainForm());
//create a new instance of your frmMain form
//inside your main form add a tree view
//Loacte this file "frmMain.Designer.cs"
//Change treeView1 from private to public
// public System.Windows.Forms.TreeView treeView1;
MainForm = new frmMain();
//before I show my form I'll change docking of my tree view from myClass
MyClass mine = new MyClass(); //done
MainForm.ShowDialog();
}
}
public class MyClass
{
public MyClass()
{
Program.MainForm.treeView1.Dock = DockStyle.Fill;
}
}
}

This is not possible to access asp.net server side controls into other class other then their cs class e.g
test.aspx is a page
you can access test page controls only in test.aspx.cs
Other then this class this is not possible.

Updating form elements from classes that don't have access to them

I want to access certain form elements from classes that normally don't have access to them. Allow me to illustrate the problem.
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;
using System.Net;
using System.IO;
using System.Collections;
namespace MyApp {
public partial class MyApp : Form
{
public MyApp()
{
InitializeComponent();
// Code
}
public void updateLabel(string message)
{
myLabel.Text = message;
}
}
public class NewClass
{
public NewClass()
{
// I want to call updateLabel("My message") here, but 'MyApp.updateLabel("My message");' didn't work even though I made updateLabel public
}
}
}
How do I tackle this issue? I'm relatively new to C#, but I have experience with C, PHP, Java and JavaScript. I'm using Visual C# 2010 Express.

You need to pass the instance of the MyApp class to the NewClass class.
You can then call UpdateLabel on the MyApp instance, without making the label public.

Since updateLabel is a non-static member method in MyApp, you need to create an instance of MyApp before calling any of its instance methods.
use following line of code inside NewClass ctor:
MyApp myapp = new MyApp();
myapp.updateLabel("Hello World");
I assume MyApp class is already instantiated, in which case you have to pass the reference to NewClass (may be over constructor) as SLaks already mentioned.

May be technique below will be helpfull. It may use Action's or Func's:
[Test]
public void ActionsTest()
{
var parent = new Parent();
parent.Child.RaiseCallFromParent();
parent.Child.RaiseCallInParent();
}
public class Parent
{
private readonly Child _child = new Child();
public Parent()
{
Child.ActionToCallMethodFromParent = methodCalledFromChild;
Child.ActionToBeCalledInParent += actionCalledInParent;
}
public Child Child
{
get { return _child; }
}
private void actionCalledInParent()
{
Console.WriteLine("It is called in parent on child initiative.");
}
private void methodCalledFromChild()
{
Console.WriteLine("It is called from child");
}
}
public class Child
{
public Action ActionToCallMethodFromParent;
public Action ActionToBeCalledInParent;
public void RaiseCallFromParent()
{
//This works in cases when you need to consume something from Parent but here you cannot take it directly
if (ActionToCallMethodFromParent != null)
ActionToCallMethodFromParent();
}
public void RaiseCallInParent()
{
//This works like an event
if (ActionToBeCalledInParent != null)
ActionToBeCalledInParent();
}
}

Here's my own proposed solution. I pass the myLabel as a parameter to the class constructor that needs access to the label, like so:
The call:
NewClass newClassObj = new NewClass(myLabel);
The class:
public class NewClass
{
public NewClass(Label myLabel)
{
myLabel.Text = "Hello world!";
}
}
Unless this a bad programming practice, I'd prefer this solution. Thoughts?

Its probably better to raise an event from your own class then catch it in the form and update the controls from there, then you are not connecting your logic to specific UI elements.

Change public void updatelabel(string message) to public static void updatelabel(string message).
Then from new class you would access it like myapp.updatelabel(message).
You would of have to add using myapp to top of new class.