main.vb, main.designer.vb and missing Form Designer - vb.net

I have been working with "visual basic.net" on a "windows forms" application. While manipulating controls and adding event handlers I noticed the resultant code was being generated within a file named 'main.designer.vb'. However, if I look in the solution explorer for my project there is no 'main.designer.vb' file, just 'main.vb'.
This is not a colossal problem as it runs properly. However, having closed the 'form designer' window I now cannot reopen it! 'main.vb' has no option to 'view in form designer'.
Any advice on this?
Would it be possible to copy the contents of 'main.designer.vb' in to 'main.vb' and delete 'main.designer.vb' entirely? If I did this, the next time I manipulated the form would the code be added to 'main.vb' or would a new 'main.designer.vb' be created?

I seem to have sorted out the problem.
'main.vb' was completely empty. All the code I had generated and written directly was inside 'main.designer.vb'. However, once I made a class definition within 'main.vb':
Public Class main
End Class
and then cut/pasted all my custom event handler code and subroutines from 'main.designer.vb' to THAT class - all was well. 'main.vb' now shows the correct form icon and FINALLY offers the correct 'view designer' context menu option.
I am not sure why it happened in the first place though.

Look in the Solution Explorer in Visual Studio. In the toolbar in this window is a button called "Show all files". Click it.
Then every file in the projects folder is actually shown in the solution explorer. Expand the treenodes for the form and you will see the designer.vb.
There are also buttons for switching between code-view and designer view. Just remember to select the form in the solution explorer for the buttons to show the correct form in the designer.

Related

Adding same second Form2 to same project but same style as template vb net

I have made some borderless Form1 in my solution, now I want AboutBox will have same design and also I need more 2,3 Forms but same style.
If I click "add new item" or "existing" it add the main Form like default Visual Basic has :'(
How should I proceed?
In fact, all the design of the form is stored in the Form.Designer.vb! file.
You can simply copy the properties you wish to apply to the added forms and past it in their designer accordingly.
Check image below to see the designer.
Modify the form as you wish them to be.
Once done, save the changes
Open the designer and copy all the codes
Add another form.
Open its designer and paste all codes
Change the name of the form
The form will be a duplicate of the previous one and you can adapt your changes.

can i make a window form(common controls) using code in vb.net?

instead of dragging and dropping a common control in vb.net, is there a way to hard code it?
or is there a way for me to be able to view the codes where a dragged and dropped object has
been created? thank you so much!
The auto-generated code is intentionally hidden in the VB.NET IDE. But you can easily reveal it. Click the "Show All Files" toolbar button in the Solution Explorer window. You'll now see the Form nodes in your project displayed with a triangle. Click on it to reveal the Designer.vb file. And double-click that to see the code.
Observe the changes in the InitializeComponent() method as you use the designer to add/remove/edit controls. It isn't perfect code, the machine generated it, but it gives you a major leg-up on what kind of code you need to write to "hard-code".

Unintelligent textboxes in VS2008

I have a WinForm in a vb.net application. It has between 4 and 7 multiline textboxes. I want to be able to copy and paste information into or out of those textboxes but it appears to be impossible. There is no right-click cut copy or paste available and the keyboard shortcuts do not work either.
The properties of all textboxes are enabled, visible and have shortcuts enabled
Can anyone help please?
Create first a ContextMenuStrip.
Add new menuitem: 'Paste', set the menuItem's ShortcutKeys property to CTRL+V.
Set the (Rich)Textbox -> ContextMenuStrip property to created menu control.
Handle the 'Paste' menuitem click event.
Try the result.
Its seems to be a strange problem.Make sure that you are using the real textbox control and not some custom user control.
It is also possible that the changes you make in designer and code are not written into the exe.When you debug your project, you might be seeing an old version of your program in which the properties might be set to false. In that case you have to simply delete the exe in the bin\debug folder and rebuild your project.

Adding WithEvents to SerialPort object place on form in VB.NET

I have added a SerialPort object onto a form I created in a VB.NET solution. How do I add "WithEvents" to it, since I dragged it onto the form instead of creating it in code. Is it even necessary to do so?
Dragging it onto the form automatically adds it to the designer generated code as WithEvents - it has to or you wouldn't be able to hook up events in the Events pane. If you hit the "View All Files" toggle in the Solution Explorer you should be able to see the designer files. Have a look in there and you will find where the IDE adds this code.

How do I set the default form in vb.Net?

How do I set form number four as the default form that will run when I press on f5 in visual studio 2008. Because form 1 will always be the first to start
Right-click on your project in solution explorer.
Choose properties.
Select the Application Tab.
Select your form from the dropdown under 'startup form'
In the Project Properties, there's a field called "Startup form" - select your form in there.
Right-click your Project within the Solution Explorer.
Choose Properties.
Select the Web tab on the left-hand side.
Under the Start Page section, define the Specific Page you would
like to default to when the application is launched.
Save your changes.
Right-click your Project within the Solution Explorer.
Choose Properties.
Select the Web tab on the left-hand side.
Under the Start Page section, define the Specific Page you would like to default to when the application is launched.
Save your changes.
The other solutions work, but they will disable the use of ApplicationEvents like Startup, because the startup object has to be Sub Main for those to work.
To change the form started by Sub Main, do the following:
Close your project in Visual Studio.
Open your project's folder in explorer.
In it, open folder My Project.
Open Application.myapp with any text editor.
Change the form between the <MainForm> tags to your (new) main forms name.
Save and close.
Open ApplicationDesigner.vb with any text editor.
Find the following line and change YourMainFormsName to your (new) main forms name:
Protected Overrides Sub OnCreateMainForm()
Me.MainForm = Global.YourProjectsName.YourMainFormsName
End Sub
Save and close.
Open your project again and start it up. The startup form should have changed.
In my case, it doesn't work immediately from project properties. I have to close the solution and re-open it in order to see the latest form you have created and if you intend to make a startup object.