VB.NET Imports without project name - vb.net

Question

My form only works when I use
Imports WindowsApplication1.FrameGrabber
but not when I use
Imports FrameGrabber
I will be using the FrameGrabber in several different projects, so I would really prefer having only to say "Imports FrameGrabber".
My "FrameGrabber / CameraWindow" is defined like this:
Imports System.Collections
Imports System.ComponentModel
Imports System.Drawing
Imports System.Data
Imports System.Windows.Forms
Imports System.Threading
Namespace FrameGrabber
''' <summary>
''' Summary description for CameraWindow.
''' </summary>
Public Class CameraWindow
Inherits System.Windows.Forms.Control
Private m_camera As Camera = Nothing
Private m_autosize As Boolean = False
Private needSizeUpdate As Boolean = False
Private firstFrame As Boolean = True
' AutoSize property
<DefaultValue(False)> _
Public Overrides Property AutoSize() As Boolean
Get
Return m_autosize
End Get
Set(value As Boolean)
m_autosize = value
UpdatePosition()
End Set
End Property
' Camera property
<Browsable(False)> _
Public Property Camera() As Camera
Get
Return m_camera
End Get
Set(value As Camera)
' lock
Monitor.Enter(Me)
' detach event
If m_camera IsNot Nothing Then
RemoveHandler m_camera.NewFrame, AddressOf Me.pCameraWindow_NewFrame
End If
m_camera = value
needSizeUpdate = True
firstFrame = True
' atach event
If m_camera IsNot Nothing Then
AddHandler m_camera.NewFrame, AddressOf Me.pCameraWindow_NewFrame
End If
' unlock
Monitor.[Exit](Me)
End Set
End Property
' Constructor
Public Sub New()
InitializeComponent()
SetStyle(ControlStyles.AllPaintingInWmPaint Or ControlStyles.DoubleBuffer Or ControlStyles.ResizeRedraw Or ControlStyles.UserPaint, True)
End Sub
#Region "Windows Form Designer generated code"
Private Sub InitializeComponent()
Me.SuspendLayout()
Me.ResumeLayout(False)
End Sub
#End Region
' Paint control
Protected Overrides Sub OnPaint(pe As PaintEventArgs)
If (needSizeUpdate) OrElse (firstFrame) Then
UpdatePosition()
needSizeUpdate = False
End If
' lock
Monitor.Enter(Me)
Dim g As Graphics = pe.Graphics
Dim rc As Rectangle = Me.ClientRectangle
If m_camera IsNot Nothing Then
Try
m_camera.Lock()
' draw frame
If m_camera.LastFrame IsNot Nothing Then
g.DrawImage(m_camera.LastFrame, rc.X + 1, rc.Y + 1, rc.Width - 2, rc.Height - 2)
firstFrame = False
Else
' Create font and brush
Dim drawFont As New Font("Arial", 12)
Dim drawBrush As New SolidBrush(Color.White)
g.DrawString("Connecting ...", drawFont, drawBrush, New System.Drawing.PointF(5, 5))
drawBrush.Dispose()
drawFont.Dispose()
End If
Catch generatedExceptionName As Exception
Finally
m_camera.Unlock()
End Try
End If
' unlock
Monitor.[Exit](Me)
MyBase.OnPaint(pe)
End Sub
Public Function getImage() As Image
If Not m_camera Is Nothing Then
If Not m_camera.LastFrame Is Nothing Then
Return m_camera.LastFrame
End If
End If
Return Nothing
End Function
' Update position and size of the control
Public Sub UpdatePosition()
' lock
Monitor.Enter(Me)
If (m_autosize) AndAlso (Me.Parent IsNot Nothing) Then
Dim rc As Rectangle = Me.Parent.ClientRectangle
Dim width As Integer = 320
Dim height As Integer = 240
If m_camera IsNot Nothing Then
m_camera.Lock()
' get frame dimension
If m_camera.LastFrame IsNot Nothing Then
width = m_camera.LastFrame.Width
height = m_camera.LastFrame.Height
End If
m_camera.Unlock()
End If
'
Me.SuspendLayout()
Me.Location = New Point((rc.Width - width - 2) \ 2, (rc.Height - height - 2) \ 2)
Me.Size = New Size(width + 2, height + 2)
Me.ResumeLayout()
End If
' unlock
Monitor.[Exit](Me)
End Sub
' On new frame ready
Private Sub pCameraWindow_NewFrame(sender As Object, e As System.EventArgs)
Invalidate()
End Sub
End Class
End Namespace
Thank you for the help!

Answer 1

You need to change the Root Namespace for your project or override it. When you wrap your class in a Namespace block (e.g. Namespace FrameGrabber), the given namespace is relative to the root namespace for your project. In other words, if your root namespace is WindowsApplication1, then when you say Namespace FrameGrabber, all the enclosed types will actually be in the WindowsApplication1.FrameGrabber namespace.
If you want to override the root name space for one section of code, you can use the Global keyword so that the namespace declaration is not relative, like this:
Namespace Global.FrameGrabber
' ...
End Namespace
Using the Global keyword in your namespace declaration, like that, to override the root namespace seems to be a recent addition to VB.NET, though. From what I can tell, based on the inclusion of the information about it in the MSDN article, support for that was added in Visual Studio 2012. You can also find information on it in this MSDN article:
The Global keyword can also be used in a Namespace statement. This lets you define a namespace out of the root namespace of your project. For more information, see the "Global Keyword in Namespace Statements" section in Namespaces in Visual Basic.
Another option is to remove the root namespace from your project properties and then declare the full namespace on each and every code file in your project. The setting can be found in the project settings designer screen: My Project > Application > Root namespace.
Either that or come up with a naming convention that is more conducive to VB.NET's eccentricity. For instance, if you made the root namespace for your project your company name, then MyCompany.FrameGrabber would certainly make more sense than WindowsApplication1.FrameGrabber.