Use VB.NET DLL in VB.NET - vb.net

I would like to use a Class Library project in a Windows Forms project. Here's what I did:
Make a Class Library project.
Code it.
Go to BUILD on the menu bar, then do Build.
Now that I've done that, I don't see an option to use the DLL in my other project.

You need a reference to the library project to use it.
In the project where you want to use the library, right click on the "References" node in the solution explorer, and select "Add Reference...".
It will open the reference manager, there you select the "Solution" tab. It will show you the projects in your solution, and you can check the checkbox in front of your library project.

In your "other" project "right click" References => "Add Reference...." => "Browse..."
Then navigate to your dll and select it.

Related

Compile UserControl and re-use in another project by referencing compiled .dll

I have created a custom UserControl in a vb.net Class Library project, and I would like to Build this library and be able to reference the .dll file from other projects in order to re-use the custom UserControl.
When I Build the Class Library project and add its .dll to a Windows Form Application project as a reference, I do not see my custom UserControl in the ToolBox. I have a feeling it has something to do with the fact that the code I've written for the UserControl is separate from the code the designer automatically creates when I design the control in design mode.
I've been searching the web for a few days no to no avail. I see similar answers for ASP.net UserControls, but have been unable to transfer those answers over to the vb.net platform.
Any help is greatly appreciated.
• Right-click in the toolbox.
• Click "Choose Items..."
• Click "Browse..."
• Navigate to your DLL and click Open
• Then click "Ok"
Your components should then show up

Using a 3rd party control

Please excuse the noobness that is probably about to follow...
I'm making an vb.net 2010 app which needs to have a calendar system in which the user can add appointments and events etc.
I've downloaded the source for a control which looks promising (http://www.codeproject.com/Articles/10840/Another-Month-Calendar) but I have no idea how to add this in to my project. I've googled for help on adding the control but have had no luck.
If I right click on my toolbox, go 'choose items...' and try and add it there, it tells me it couldnt be opened.
Any help is appreciated!
Well you've downloaded the source code.
Place the source code in a specific location on your pc and then compile it 9If your planning to use this control in your own project then compile it in release mode. Assuming that there are no compile errors close visual studio and then open up the project of your own that you want to use this control in.
Right click on the general tab in the toolbox and click choose items. Using the bowse button in the choose items dialog navigate to the folder in which you placed the source code for the control you want to use.
Now locate the 'Bin' folder and in that locate the 'release' folder. Inside that you will see a dll (named presumably something like MothCalendar.dll. Select that dll and then click add and OK (Button sequence will vary according to vs version). The control should then appear in your toolbox under the general tab and you should then be able to drag it onto your forms for use in your project.

Generate manifest for regfree COM from a VB project

I am trying to generate a manifest for a set of COM objects that are being used in our code as registration-free COM.
For that purpose I created a VB project in VS 2010 and added the COM objects DLLs as dependencies. The problem is I do not see them listed as dependencies in the generated manifest. Am I missing something simple like a project setting to generate the proper manifest listing the dependencies?
You left out too many details and the VB.NET IDE hides too much to do this right. It is not automatic.
Starting point is to force it to show more. Locate the "Show All Files" toolbar button in the Solution Explorer window (use the tooltip to find it back). Click it and you now get the "References" node added to the project.
Open it and locate the COM component that you added to the project. Select it and look at the Properties window. Set the "Isolated" property to True. Rebuild the project. Be sure to look in the Output window for any warnings. And to look at the .manifest file on disk instead of the one the IDE shows you if you added a manifest to your project yourself.

Adding DLL reference to VB.NET project

Just to start off, this question does seem very similar to another post Add the DLL (lame_enc.dll) reference to my project, but I haven't been able to successfully apply that answer. I am pretty new to VB.NET so it is very possible I'm simply missing something obvious.
I am trying to link a DLL to a VB.NET 2010 project to allow my VB app to play *.ogg files. I followed some other advice here on the forums and downloaded FMOD's FMOD Ex Programmers API. I am trying to now reference that functionality. These appear to be the files I need to somehow reference.
C:\Program Files (x86)\FMOD SoundSystem\FMOD Programmers API Windows\api\fmodex64.dll.
C:\Program Files (x86)\FMOD SoundSystem\FMOD Programmers API Windows\api\libfmodex64_vc.lib.
I haven't discovered how to add a *.lib reference (or the equivalent), but selecting the DLL as a reference gives the following error.
A reference to 'C:\Program Files (x86)\FMOD SoundSystem\FMOD
Programmers API Windows\api\fmodex64.dll' could not be added. Please
make sure that the file is accessible, and that it is a valid assembly
or COM component.
I'm not sure what I could be missing. Any ideas? Thanks!
In Solution Explorer, double-click the My Project node for the project.
In the Project Designer, click the References tab.
Click the Add button to open the Add Reference dialog box.
In the Add Reference dialog box, select the tab indicating the type of component you want to reference.
Select the components you want to reference, then click OK.
Another approach I was trying is working for me. I found a site with a working example of a LibZPlay VB.NET sample ( http://planetsourcecode.com/vb/scripts/ShowCode.asp?txtCodeId=7789&lngWId=10 ). It runs under VS 2008 and I was able to adapt my project to use LibZPlay (open source library http://libzplay.sourceforge.net/WELCOME.html ) under VS 2008.
That is sufficient for me for now. Thanks for your advice. It was likely some configuration issue or misunderstanding on my end.
Using VB.net 2015 I (could not add or even find a System32 dll) as a reference using Solution Explorer, Tab References. Going to the MAIN Menu, Projects/Add References...
Used Browse and All the System32 dll were visible. Then I was able to load the needed dll.

Unable to use ObjectListView

I just downloaded ObjectListView. After adding the dll file when the objectListView is placed on my vb.net form it shows an error
Type 'BrightIdeasSoftware.ObjectListView' is not defined.
How to solve this problem ?
I am using VS2010
It sounds like you are missing a reference.
If you added the project source code, then you need to right-click on the project and select Add Reference..., select the Projects tab, and choose the ObjectListView project.
If you are just using the DLL, then you need to right-click on the project and select Add Reference..., select the Browse tab, and select the DLL file.
Update
Based on the screenshot, the issue is that ObjectListView requires the full .Net Framework, not the client profile.
To resolve this, right-click on the project, select Properties, then select .Net Framework 4 in the Target framework dropdown list (it will currently be set to .Net Framework 4 Client Profile).
I just downloaded the full demo package and verified that it would run. I then went to the Toolbox Right-Clicked and Selected Choose Items... under .Net Framework Components I then browsed to the folder that has the ObjectListView.dll in it and selected it. This added the component to the Containers group on the Toolbox. I then added ObjectListView to my form and it worked correctly. Check and make sure your project references have ObjectListView in them.
i.e.