I'm having a problem focusing on a Control within a Window in WPF.
On the constructor of the Window I add a TextBox as follows:
TextBox tb = new TextBox();
tb.Text = input;
tb.SelectAll();
tb.Focus();
I also call the Focus() method again on the Window loaded event.
The problem is that sometimes the window focuses and other times it does not! This is very strange behavior and I was wondering if someone has had the same problem and might be able to give me some guidance.
-- UPDATE
I have found what is causing the problem but no solution yet. I am using WIA to scan a document, this brings up a ProgressBar which makes my entire application lose focus.
I have tried calling Application.Current.MainWindow.Focus() but this does not restore focus, any suggestions?
From memory, I think the last call on window creation is the Windows.Activated event. You could try running your focus code on that event?
Like I mentioned in my updated question my entire application loses focus due to another dialog being displayed, what I ended up using was:
Application.Current.MainWindow.Activate();
This returns focus to my application and when my Window with the TextBox is shown, Focus is applied to this control.
Hope it helps someone!
Related
I have made a custom MessageBox for my application and it launches as a UserControl. I have two buttons inside it and I would like to allow users to press Tab to switch between Buttons. However, since it's a UserControl overlaying the content, Pressing tab more than twice makes the focus go in the background on elements that aren't supposed to be tabbed at.
I can't figure out a good idea how to prevent this, I've thought of making a method that will select all elements and make their IsTabStop values to false and then restore them later, but I think that would be more of a problem then a solution.
Is there a way around this to limit tabbing only to the UserControl?
I would also appreciate advice on working with the message box.. the whole messagebox is an async function that has an infinitive loop until the answer is given. Is there another way to stop the application until one of the message box options was selected?
Crowcoder's reference has lead to correct MSDN page where I found my solution:
dialog = new UCMessageBox("Are you sure you want to exit the application?", MBType.YesNo);
AppMessageBox.Children.Add(dialog);
KeyboardNavigation.SetTabNavigation(dialog, KeyboardNavigationMode.Cycle);
The key was to call .SetTabNavigation function and direct it to my dialog (custom UserControl for the message box) and setting the KeyboardNavigationMode to Cycle.
After closing the UC rest of the application continued normally regarding navigation.
I'm currently working on a popup program in wpf that gets hidden either by this.hide(); or MainWindow1.WindowState = WindowState.Hidden and "pops up" using MainWindow1.WindowState = WindowState.Normal;
My problem is, that I don't want the Mainwindow to gain any keyboard focus.
So whatever program has the keyboard focus, when the popup gets shown, it should keep it.
I just want it that way, so people don't type entire emails in the not handeling Popup, just because they didn't notice it popping up.
Edit:
I'm not trying to keep focus in any my own program windows but in other windows programs (e.g. Outlook)
Edit2:
Here is a screenshot from my Program, just to clear obscurities about the usage of the PopUp class.
Edit3: Maybe it's possible to set the keyboard focus back to the programm that was focused before?
so people dont type entire emails in
I would recommend that you set the main page controls, or their container, Enabled property to false when the popup is running and reverse when it is not. Hence focusing the user to the popup until its acknowledged.
If you purpose is to show a notification form, check that component: Windows Forms Toolkit NotificationForm
The solution is (as it seems) too easy, all you need to do is:
MainWindow1.Showactivated = false;
this.Show();
This will show the MainWindow while the focus is kept on whatever program had the focus before the MainWindow appeared.
I tried
textview.GrabFocus();
but it does nothing. Is there any way to do that? (Please try to answer this time instead of telling me to use google - I have tried and failed, thanks).
I also tried the same for a window:
// searchbox is a GTK window, which was initialised on load of this form
searchbox.Show();
searchbox.GrabFocus();
// this function will set focus to text box
searchbox.setFocus();
the main window in this case open a new window and is supposed to make this new window focused, and certain text box in this window focused - it doesn't work though and I have no idea why, full source code:
the window I am opening: https://github.com/pidgeonproject/pidgeon/blob/gtk%23/Forms/ScriptEdit.cs
the window from which I am opening: https://github.com/pidgeonproject/pidgeon/blob/gtk%23/Forms/Main.cs#L520
okay so given that this is probably very uncommon problem that was related to configuration of my application I don't expect anyone to solve it, however I found out what the problem was.
The window I created was of type
window.Hint = Gtk.WindowTypeHint.Utility
And for some reason unknown to me, it's not possible to set focus for this window. It may be even bug inside of GTK, but changing this to Normal did work.
I have textbox inside a usercontrol and I add the usercontrol to the MainWindow with the following XAML:
<Views:MyUserControl />
I have one TextBox in MyUserControl, the problem is that the TextBox doesn't take any input. Backspace och space works, but if I press the letter och numbers no text is added to the TextBox.
I have made sure that the text is not just hidden in the TextBox.
I have also tried to add a RichTextBox to MyUserControl with the same result, it doens't take any input (beside space och backspace).
I have also tried to add a TextBox to the MainWindow with the same result; it doens't take any input (beside space och backspace).
Also MyUserControl is added in a TabControl and TabItem.
Any clues?
Edit: Additional information
Forgot to write that I'm opening/creating the WPF Window from a WinForm application.
When I set my startup project in VS10 to be my WPF-project it work great with the keyboard input to the TextBox.
How come?
Im opening/creating my WPF windows with the following code:
MyWpfProject.MainWindow mw = new MyWpfProject.MainWindow();
mw.Show();
Edit: Solution
So I guess my real problem was that is was opening the WPf project from a WinForms application.
I added the following code:
MyWpfProject.MainWindow mw = new MyWpfProject.MainWindow();
ElementHost.EnableModelessKeyboardInterop(mw);
mw.Show();
"The EnableModelessKeyboardInterop() call is necessary to handle keyboard input in the WPF window if loaded from a non-WPF host like WinForms."
http://weblogs.asp.net/jdanforth/archive/2008/07/29/open-a-wpf-window-from-winforms.aspx
Answer to my own question (if someone else run into the same problem):
If you open a WPF-form from a WinForms application you have to do the following to get keyboard input:
MyWpfProject.MainWindow mw = new MyWpfProject.MainWindow();
ElementHost.EnableModelessKeyboardInterop(mw);
mw.Show();
"The EnableModelessKeyboardInterop() call is necessary to handle keyboard input in the WPF window if loaded from a non-WPF host like WinForms." http://weblogs.asp.net/jdanforth/archive/2008/07/29/open-a-wpf-window-from-winforms.aspx
maybe your user control is getting the keyboard event instead of your textbox? try to search in this way, it happens with mouse buttons.
I had the same problem but my Environment was built such that I could not apply the solution above. As it turned out that wasn't the problem. It was much more easier than expected.
I host a WPF User Control inside WinForms. My WinForms MainView (Startup form) did override the "ProcessCmdKey". Because of logical errors it returned nothing.
Nevertheless I received all key events in code behind in my XAML file but this events never updated the "Text" of my text box. Only space and backwards did so and this were the key events I didn't receive in code behind.
So in case you don't think of the simplest solution here it is for VB.NET.
STRG+F "ProcessCmdKey" and make sure that you Return the correct value of you may completely uncomment it just to verify that it isn't causing you the same trouble as it did to me.
I would like to add my own answer just on the off chance it can help anyone else with the same or similar problems. My particular use case was a .Net windows form created by an addin. The addin was running out of Autodesk Inventor which I think may be WPF (but don't take my word for it.) The addin had several windows forms some docked within the application and with some acting as popups or a separate secondary window. The solution was to set the windows forms owner to one of the docked forms. Doing this allowed text to be edited and entered into its textboxes. Very niche solution to a niche problem but hopefully it may help someone at some point in the future.
private void CreatePanels(DockableWindows DockableWindows)
{
//Create the dockable window that the panel form will live on.
DockableWindow SideWindow =
DockableWindows.Add(SidePanelNames.GUID, SidePanelNames.InternalWindowName, SidePanelNames.Title);
//Configure the windows settings.
SideWindow.ShowTitleBar = true;
SideWindow.ShowVisibilityCheckBox = true;
SideWindow.DisableCloseButton = false;
SideWindow.Visible = true;
SideWindow.AddChild(SidePanel.Handle); //Add the forms as children and then display to the user.
SidePanel.Show(); //Display the panel to the user.
}
/// <summary>
/// Creates the Display window were order and patient information is displayed to the user.
/// This method makes the adjust device form the owner of the display window. Because of this
/// dependecency it should be run after the panels have been created.
/// </summary>
private void CreateDisplayWindow()
{
DisplayForm = new DisplayForm //Create the display form.
{
Owner = SidePanel //Doing this allows text boxes to have values entered into them.
};
DisplayForm.Show(); //Show the display form to the user.
}
//Adding the side side panel as the owner of the display form was effectively the only change I needed to make.
I will add a few words of warning for anyone attempting this solution. Simply put I've since found out it's not great. It prevents the form or any of its controls from detecting certain key presses (enter and tab) which matters a lot for my usage. You'll find a much better and solution here https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/inventor-forum/dockable-window-with-wpf-controls-don-t-receive-keyboard-input/td-p/9115997
This is a very similar problem to This one, sadly that one was never answered either.
I have a MDI Main forum that hosts several children forms. One of them does a long calculation and throws an exception if an error occurs (all work is done on the same thread). I then try to inform the user of an error with an messagebox, however it doesn't appear (but steals focus from the MDI Main, so the application is completely unresponsive).
The beheviour changes slightly if I call Application.DoEvents() (evil I know, but this is a last resort thing). Then the forms remain completely active and the messagebox only appears after I change active application (Alt+Tab) to something else and then back again.
What can I do to make sure the messagebox will be visible? I have already tried passing both, active child and MDI Main as parameter to the MessageBox.Show method. It doesn't change the behaviour.
To clarify: the messagebox is a part of the child form, however at this point I am willing to show it in any way that doesn't break the application. The messagebox should be modal, but it should be visible so it can be acknowledged by the user.
I had the same issue. When pressed ALT the popup showed.
It turned out to be a LinkedLabel that had the AutoSize property to true. The LinkedLabel was inside a FlowLayoutPanel. When I set the LinkedLabel.Text property to String.Empty. The LinkedLabel constantly tried to resize, which was causing the GUI to be constantly busy.
When I turned off the AutoSize property and the GUI no longer had to recalculate the positions. The GUI was no free. And the popup showed.
There could be other controls that are behaving the same.
See also:
https://connect.microsoft.com/VisualStudio/feedback/details/116884
Is the MessageBox shown in the MainForm or as part of the ChildForms? If the MessageBox is in the child Forms maybe you could pass an event back to the MainForm and open the MessageBox there.
The problem is that messageboxes tend to be modal.
In this instance I think that you'd do far better to use a delegate or an event with a handler in your main MDI code. That way your main application displays the message boxes. You can easily redefined an EventArgsType if you wish to pass whatever information that you require.