How to enable parent form using ShowDialog in Vb.Net - vb.net

Question

Hi I've migrated VB6 code to VB.Net where in VB6 one of the functionality uses modal dialogue which allows user to copy few text from parent form. But in Vb.Net ShowDialog doesn't allow user to copy anything as you guys know it just disables the parent form.
My question is, Is there a way I can enable parent form or else minimize child form to copy few text from parent form?
please don't suggest to use show instead of ShowDialog because I want to achieve this only using ShowDialog.
This VB6 Code.
Form.Show vbModal, objParent
migration wizard has below code
Form.ShowDialog

Answer 1

The answer may be one of design, instead of a technical workaround to .ShowDialog(). Let's take your parent form, for example, with text that may be copied for pasting within a popup modal form. I don't know the data in your parent form, so let's call it a Widget.
Public Class Widget
Public Property ID As Integer = 0
Public Property TextThatMayBeCopied As String = String.Emtpy
End Class
In your parent form's code, you would load this data into a Widget object from a database, a file, whatever.
Private _widget As Widget = Nothing
Public Sub New()
' This call is required by the Windows Form Designer.
InitializeComponent()
' Add any initialization after the InitializeComponent() call.
' Assume we want the Widget with ID of 123
_widget = MyFunction.WhichLoadsWidgetDataAndReturnsWidgetObject(123)
DisplayData()
End Sub
Private Sub DisplayData()
txtID.Text = _widget.ID
txtTextThatMayBeCopied.Text = _widget.TextThatMayBeCopied
End Sub
Private Sub btnShowDialog_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles btnShowDialog.Click
_widget.TextThatMayBeCopied = txtTextThatMayBeCopied.Text.Trim
Dim f As New MyShowDialogForm(_widget)
f.ShowDialog
End Sub
Your target form MyShowDialogForm would take in it's own constructor an object of type Widget:
Private _widget As Widget = Nothing
Public Sub New(widget As Widget)
' This call is required by the Windows Form Designer.
InitializeComponent()
' Add any initialization after the InitializeComponent() call.
_widget = widget
End Sub
You can now access the data passed to form MyShowDialogForm via the _widget object, for example, in a button click event for btnCopyText, or however you need.
The key takeaway here is to use a method of exchanging data within different forms. Typically it becomes very messy code to use the Form classes themselves as the encapsulation for data. Instead, use classes for encapsulating data and moving it around your app.

Answer 2

'For example we have 2 form, form1 (main) and form2 (child)
'This Form as Main
Public Class Form1
Private Sub Button2_Click(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles Button2.Click
'if you don't have timer in child form, you must click again this button
'after you form back awhile to this form as main form
Form2.ShowDialog()
End Sub
Private Sub btnClose_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles btnClose.Click
Me.Close()
Me.Dispose()
End Sub
End Class
'This Form as Child
Public Class Form2
Private Sub btnToMainAWhile_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles btnToMainAWhile.Click
'you hide this current form to caller form, you must back here again,
'if not this form always active in background
'or if you have timer1 here with enabled property =false here, you can add this:
'Timer1.Interval = 10000
'Timer1.Enabled = True
Me.Hide()
End Sub
Private Sub btnClose_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles btnClose.Click
Me.Close()
Me.Dispose()
End Sub
'if you have timer1 and you will wait for many seconds back to main form, add this:
'Private Sub Timer1_Tick(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles Timer1.Tick
' Timer1.Enabled = False
' Me.ShowDialog()
'End Sub
End Class