I am building an application. This shows a form, header and footer are to be kept fixed.
In the middle there is a Group Box that hold a question with different option.
When user clicks Next button at the bottom, Group Box loads next question.
I want to make this change animated. I wish to show a page-turning animation that runs when Next button is clicked...................
Please help
Thanks
Furqan
There is a very nicely written tutorial for doing this in C# and GDI but it's fairly complicated.
There is also a simpler tutorial, also on CodeProject, for doing this with Silverlight.
How to create a Loading screen in VB.Net
To create a loading screen you need to understand the ‘BackgroundWorker’ which is part of the Imports System.ComponentModel
Create a Loading form with your loading message and picture. This form will act as a popup form
I called my form ‘frmPleaseWait’ and placed the following code in it
Public Class frmPleaseWait
Private _worker As BackgroundWorker
Protected Overrides Sub OnLoad(ByVal e As System.EventArgs)
MyBase.OnLoad(e)
_worker = New BackgroundWorker()
AddHandler _worker.DoWork, AddressOf WorkerDoWork
AddHandler _worker.RunWorkerCompleted, AddressOf WorkerCompleted
_worker.RunWorkerAsync()
End Sub
Private Sub WorkerDoWork(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As DoWorkEventArgs)
Threading.Thread.Sleep(5000)
'your loading animation code goes here
End Sub
Private Sub WorkerCompleted(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As RunWorkerCompletedEventArgs)
Me.DialogResult = Windows.Forms.DialogResult.OK
Me.Close()
End Sub
End Class
In your main form in between the code that’s taking the processing time place
Dim frm As New frmPleaseWait
frm.ShowDialog()
'your time consuming main processing code goes here
frm.Close()
That’s all, if you want to make the popup form appear longer then change the threading time in WorkerDoWork method.
#Furqan, in your case, in this section you need to put your animation code in the WorkerDoWork method
Dont forget to use Imports System.ComponentModel at the top of the loading form class
Thanks Eddy Jawed
Related
I'm trying to "enhance" my reporting code by adding a loading screen while the Crystal Report is being prepared/loaded. Before I started trying to add the loading screen, all of my reports would come up just fine, but the cursor change just wasn't "enough" of an indication that the application was still working on pulling the report - some of them can take a while - so I wanted to provide a more "obvious" visual cue.
In order to accomplish this, I've put the report creation method calls into a BackgroundWorker that exists in the loading screen itself (I haven't gotten around to learning how to use Async/Await well enough yet to feel comfortable using that instead). The loading screen comes up correctly and everything appears to work as expected until it actually attempts to display the report on screen. At that point, the "Please wait while the document is processing." box comes up (in the CrystalReportViewer control in the form used to display reports), but it just sits there, not even spinning. Eventually, my IDE throws an error about receiving a ContextSwitchDeadlock and I pretty much just have to cancel execution.
Here's my dlgReportLoading "splash screen" with a PictureBox control that contains an animated GIF:
Imports System.Windows.Forms
Public Class dlgReportLoading
Private DisplayReport As Common.CRReport
Private WithEvents LoadReportWorker As System.ComponentModel.BackgroundWorker
Public Sub New(ByRef Report As Common.CRReport)
InitializeComponent()
DisplayReport = Report
End Sub
Private Sub dlgReportLoading_Load(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Me.Load
Me.Cursor = Cursors.WaitCursor
Me.TopMost = True
Me.TopMost = False
LoadReportWorker = New System.ComponentModel.BackgroundWorker
LoadReportWorker.RunWorkerAsync()
End Sub
Private Sub dlgReportLoading_FormClosed(sender As Object, e As FormClosedEventArgs) Handles Me.FormClosed
Me.Cursor = Cursors.Default
End Sub
Private Sub LoadReport_DoWork(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.ComponentModel.DoWorkEventArgs) Handles LoadReportWorker.DoWork
If Not DisplayReport.ReportOption = Common.CRReport.GenerateReportOption.None Then
Select Case DisplayReport.ReportOption
Case Common.CRReport.GenerateReportOption.DisplayOnScreen
'-- This is the method I'm currently testing
DisplayReport.ShowReport()
Case Common.CRReport.GenerateReportOption.SendToPrinter
DisplayReport.PrintReport()
Case Common.CRReport.GenerateReportOption.ExportToFile
DisplayReport.ExportReport()
End Select
End If
DisplayReport.ReportOption = Common.CRReport.GenerateReportOption.None
'--
'-- This code was in use before trying to generate the reports in the background
'If Not DisplayReport.CrystalReport Is Nothing Then
' DisplayReport.CrystalReport.Dispose()
'End If
'--
End Sub
Private Sub LoadReport_Complete(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.ComponentModel.RunWorkerCompletedEventArgs) Handles LoadReportWorker.RunWorkerCompleted
Me.DialogResult = DialogResult.OK
Me.Close()
End Sub
End Class
As noted in the code above, I'm currently testing the ShowReport() method as defined here:
Protected Friend Sub ShowReport()
Dim ReportViewer As frmReportPreview
Me.PrepareReport()
ReportViewer = New frmReportPreview(Me)
With ReportViewer
.WindowState = FormWindowState.Maximized
.Show()
End With
End Sub
And the frmReportPreview is this:
Imports System.ComponentModel
Public Class frmReportPreview
Private DisplayReport As Common.CRReport
Private ReportToDisplay As CrystalDecisions.CrystalReports.Engine.ReportDocument
Public Sub New(ByRef Report As Common.CRReport)
InitializeComponent()
DisplayReport = Report
PrepareReportForDisplay()
Me.rptViewer.ReportSource = Nothing
Me.rptViewer.ReportSource = ReportToDisplay
' SET ZOOM LEVEL FOR DISPLAY:
' 1 = Page Width
' 2 = Whole Page
' 25-100 = zoom %
Me.rptViewer.Zoom(1)
Me.rptViewer.Show()
End Sub
Private Sub frmReportPreview_Shown(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Me.Shown
'-- HANGS HERE
Me.rptViewer.RefreshReport()
End Sub
Private Sub frmReportPreview_Closing(sender As Object, e As CancelEventArgs) Handles Me.Closing
ReportToDisplay.Dispose()
Me.rptViewer.ReportSource = Nothing
End Sub
'...CODE FOR PREPARING THE REPORT TO BE DISPLAYED
End Class
The dlgReportLoading form pops up correctly and the animation plays until the frmReportPreview pops up in front of it (it doesn't close). The little box that has what is normally an animated spinning circle indicating the report data is being loaded appears, but almost immediately freezes in place.
I have a breakpoint in the LoadReport_DoWork() method of my dlgReportLoading form after the call to the ShowReport() method, but it never gets to that point. I also have one in the LoadReport_Complete() method of that form that it never hits either and that dialog never actually closes.
I put another breakpoint at the end of the frmReportPreview_Shown method, right after the Me.rptViewer.RefreshReport() call, but it never hits that either, so it seems clear that this is where things are getting stuck, but only when the report is being generated through the BackgroundWorker. If I just call the ShowReport() method without sending it through the "splash screen" and BackgroundWorker, everything generates and displays normally.
I've tried putting the RefreshReport() method into its own BackgroundWorker with no change in the behavior. I've tried making the frmReportPreview object display modally with ShowDialog() instead of just Show(). None of this seems to help the issue.
I have a feeling something is being disposed of too early somewhere, but I can't figure out what that would be. I can provide the rest of the report preparation code from frmReportPreview if required, but that all seems to be working without error, as far as I can tell. I'm not averse to trying alternate methods of accomplishing my goal of showing the user a loading screen while all the report preparation is taking place - e.g., Async/Await or other multi-threading methods - so any suggestions are welcome. Please let me know if any additional clarification is needed.
ENVIRONMENT
Microsoft Windows 10 Pro 21H1 (OS build 19043.1348)
Microsoft Visual Studio Community 2017 (v15.9.38)
Crystal Reports for .NET Framework v13.0.3500.0 (Runtime version 2.0.50727)
EDIT: I forgot to mention that this whole mess is being called from a GenerateReport() method in my CRReport class defined as:
Public Sub GenerateReport(ByVal ReportGeneration As GenerateReportOption)
Me.ReportOption = ReportGeneration
If Me.ReportOption = GenerateReportOption.None Then
'...CODE FOR REQUESTING A GENERATION OPTION FROM THE USER
End If
Dim ReportLoadingScreen As New dlgReportLoading(Me)
ReportLoadingScreen.ShowDialog()
End Sub
Which, in turn, is being called from my main form like this:
Private Sub PrintMyXMLReport(ByVal XMLFile As IO.FileInfo)
Dim MyXMLReport As New IO.FileInfo("\\SERVER\Applications\Reports\MyXMLReport.rpt")
Dim Report As New Common.CRReport(MyXMLReport, XMLFile)
Report.GenerateReport(Common.CRReport.GenerateReportOption.DisplayOnScreen)
End Sub
You should separate the heavy lifting and UI operations into distinct methods in order to put them into the appropriate BackgroundWorker events:
Protected Friend Sub PrepareReport()
' perform long-running background work
End Sub
Protected Friend Sub ShowReport()
Dim ReportViewer = New frmReportPreview(Me) With {.WindowState = FormWindowState.Maximized}
ReportViewer.Show()
End Sub
Private DisplayReport As Common.CRReport
Private Sub LoadReport_DoWork(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.ComponentModel.DoWorkEventArgs) Handles LoadReportWorker.DoWork
DisplayReport.PrepareReport()
End Sub
Private Sub LoadReport_Complete(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.ComponentModel.RunWorkerCompletedEventArgs) Handles LoadReportWorker.RunWorkerCompleted
DisplayReport.ShowReport()
Me.DialogResult = DialogResult.OK
Me.Close()
End Sub
because LoadReport_DoWork actually runs on a new non-UI thread, and LoadReport_Complete runs on the caller thread, which is a UI thread. Only there can you interact with the UI and show Forms etc.
I am trying to create a customized form class (CustomBorderlessForm) in VB.NET.
My Progress So Far
I created a new Class and named it CustomBorderlessForm.vb
I then proceeded to write the following code:
CustomBorderlessForm.vb
Public Class CustomBorderlessForm
Inherits Form
Dim _form As Form = Nothing
Public Sub New(form As Form)
_form = form
MsgBox("Testing: New()")
End Sub
Protected Overrides Sub OnMouseMove(e As MouseEventArgs)
MyBase.OnMouseMove(e)
MsgBox("Testing OnMouseMove()")
End Sub
End Class
Form1.vb
Public Class Form1
Private Sub Form1_Load(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load
Dim form As New CustomBorderlessForm(Me)
End Sub
End Class
Results of progress
A message box displays "Testing: New()" on load
Nothing shows on mouse move
As you can see, my problem lies with the events
Questions
Is it possible to create a form object and use that instead of the pre-populating form?
If so, can I give this form custom properties, such as, a border and some boolean values (shadow...etc), just like any other custom object/class?
What am I doing wrong in my current approach?
Why isn't the OnMouseMove being overridden?
Am I initialising the class wrong?
Can it even be done this way?
After creating a form you also need to show it. Change your logic to:
Dim form As New CustomBorderlessForm(Me)
form.Show()
Before you do that, I'd recommend changing from MsgBox to Console.WriteLine(), otherwise you can run into a fun/frustrating little cat and mouse game.
EDIT
Based on the comments, if, from VS you did a "Add New, Windows Form" you can just right-click the project, select property and on the Application tab change the Startup object to your new form. VS only allows you to do this with forms it creates for you (by default, more on this later).
If you wrote that file by hand (which is absolutely fine) you can perform the Show() like I did above and call Me.Hide() to hide the "parent" form. Unfortunately the Load event is fired before the Show event so if you place this in Form1_Load() it won't work. Instead you can use the Shown event like this:
Private Sub Form1_Load(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load
Dim form As New CustomBorderlessForm(Me)
form.Show()
End Sub
Private Sub Form1_Shown(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Me.Shown
Me.Hide()
End Sub
Another option has to do with "Application framework". You can read about it here however it basically handles application events that other languages have to manually implement. If you go into your project properties you can uncheck the "Enable application framework" checkbox. This will give you more option in the "Startup object" dropdown. If you add the following code to your project one of the items in the Startup object dropdown menu should now be "Loader"
Public Module Loader
<STAThread()>
Public Sub Main()
Dim form As New CustomBorderlessForm(Nothing)
form.ShowDialog()
End Sub
End Module
You'll notice that the above bypasses Form1 completely. Also, instead of Show() I'm using ShowDialog() because otherwise the form shows and then the program ends.
I am creating an application with multiple windows forms. The main form is movable, and I want a confirmation window to flash based on where the main form is located.
For example, the main form opens, user drags it 200 points to the left. How do I make sure the confirmation window, upon button-press, opens up exactly to the left of that window?
The built-in properties (center screen, center parent, etc.) don't provide this functionality.
I'm aware of these functions:
Form1.Left += 200
and
Dim frmAccounts as new Form()
Set FrmAccounts.DesktopLocation = new Point(100,100)
but neither of these take into consideration user dragging.
Any ideas?
Thanks for your help.
To keep the buddy glued to the main form, you have to use the main form's LocationChanged event to know when to move it. And you have to position it before it is displayed, that's a bit tricky due the form possibly getting rescaled on a machine with a different DPI setting. Best time to do it is when the buddy's Load event fires, it is rescaled by then. Some sample code:
Public Class Form1
Dim buddy As Form
Private Sub Button1_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click
If buddy Is Nothing Then
buddy = New Form2
AddHandler buddy.Load, AddressOf MoveBuddy
AddHandler Me.LocationChanged, AddressOf MoveBuddy
AddHandler buddy.FormClosed, Sub() buddy = Nothing
buddy.Show(Me)
End If
End Sub
Private Sub MoveBuddy(sender As Object, e As EventArgs)
buddy.Bounds = New Rectangle(Me.Left - buddy.Width, Me.Top, buddy.Width, buddy.Height)
End Sub
End Class
I create vb.net application and i add one windows form,called frmScan.
i put two textboxes and two labels. Then i write the following
thread with delegate event.
Private Delegate Sub DoInitializedDelegate()
Public motdet As New Thread(AddressOf MotionDetection)
Private Sub MotionDetection()
'Do motion detection Work
'It is never ending Loop until form unload.
End Sub
Then I start it in my form load event.
Private Sub frmScan_Load(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load
motdet.Start()
End Sub
So my problem started when i load the form.
i can see the form but it is like loading something.
i thought my motion detecting thread is never ending loop until form unload.
i cannot type anything inside two text box i mentions in above.
how should i do ?
Use Application.DoEvents() before calling your long running thread.
Refer example here http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa446540.aspx
I am trying to get a sound to play when a form is first shown (rather like a standard message box does for want of a better example). If using a standard form added through the designer I would generally do this by overriding the standard onshown event and then go on to call MyBase.OnShown(e)
The problem I've hit now is that the form is being created programmatically (Dim myForm as new Form etc) and as such I seem not to be able to use AddHandler to override this event. I don't doubt that I'm doing this in entirely the wrong way, but I'd appreciate any advice that can be offered. I would prefer advice from the perspective of VB.net, but I can just about muddle through in C#.
Form.OnShown is not an event. Rather, it is a method of the Form class which raises the form's Shown event. Here's the MSDN article that explains the OnShown method:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.windows.forms.form.onshown.aspx
When you are making a derived class by using the form designer, you can override the OnShown method, but when you are simply accessing a form through its public interface, you need to use the Shown event instead. You can add an event handler for that event like this:
Private Sub Button1_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click
Dim f As Form1 = New Form1()
AddHandler f.Shown, AddressOf f_Shown
f.Show()
End Sub
Private Sub f_Shown(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)
End Sub
Since the form doesn't exist in code, you would actually have to call the event then.
Try writing out the showing code first:
Public Sub form_Showing(ByVal sender As Object, e As EventArgs)
// play sound
End Sub
then when you create your form, you add the handler of the event:
Dim f As New Form
AddHandler f.Shown, AddressOf form_Showing
f.Show()