I have a problem with (I suppose) my Visual Studio 2010 Express environment: when I design my own UserControl, in Properties grid I can't see public properties of that control. They are however visible in the project, that reference this control.
As it's Express Edition, I create new empty project, then add new UserControl to it.
Then, for a test, I put following code:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Data;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.Windows.Forms;
namespace Project1
{
public partial class UserControl1 : UserControl
{
private int myNumber;
[Browsable(true)]
public int MyNumber
{
get
{
return myNumber;
}
set
{
myNumber = value;
}
}
public UserControl1()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
}
}
In VS 2008, as I remember, that should be enogh to show MyNumber property in Properties grid, even without [Browsable(true)] attribute. In VS 2010 however, when I double click UserControl1.cs in Solution Explorer and look in Properties, I don't see MyNumber.
When I reference and use this control in another project, there is an access to it's properties.
I've tried to competly reinstall VS 2010 environment, including SP1, but with no success. Do you have any idea what can be wrong?
By the way: none of these attributes are working, either:
[Browsable(true)]
[EditorBrowsable(EditorBrowsableState.Always)]
[DesignerSerializationVisibility(DesignerSerializationVisibility.Content)]
[Bindable(true)]
Best regards,
Marcin
I believe this the normal behavior of VS2010 and assume it's by design. It behaves the same for me in 2010 Ultimate. When you place UserControl1 on a form, you'll see its custom properties.
My guess is this is because when you're designing the control, there is no instance of your control yet (it may not have even been compiled). What you're looking at is an instance of UserControl. When you compile your control and then add it to a form, the designer creates an instance of your control, so its properties can be seen and manipulated.
I haven't used the [Browsable] tag before. However below is an example of what I'm using in one of my projects.
[Description("The length used to display the dimensions")]
[Category("Custom")]
public double DisplayLength { get; set; }
I'm guessing you need to add a category.
This won't work due to the way VS handles ascx'es in Designer. For details, see this excellent answer on SO.
If the answer is not what you expected, you can still migrate the .ascx'es to a User Control library as I described in my blog.
If I had the choice, I would start over all my ascx code as Custom Web Server Controls.
Related
I am trying to extend the FlowLayoutPanel class in Visual Studio to give it some functionality that it does not currently have. I am having issues extending it in such a manner that I can then select it in the toolbox and add it to another form.
The three methods I have tried are to simply just create a new class that subclasses FlowLayoutPanel, also one that subclasses and then calls the : base() constructor. When the application is built the subclass shows up in the toolbox but when I go to add it to a form it says "Failed to load toolbox item, it will be removed from the toolbox."
I have also tried to add a new UserControl which I change its base class to FlowLayoutPanel instead of UserControl. After commenting out a line in the designer about AutoScaleMode I can then build the application. Once I try to place the panel from the toolbox I receive the same error above.
How can I properly subclass FlowLayoutPanel in Visual Studio so that I can use it from the toolbox?
EDIT:
Here is the entirety of my code, I added the OnPaint override based on amura.cxg's answer and I still receive the same error.
I have cleaned, rebuilt, closed, and reopened VisualStudio to no avail. I have also copied amura.cxg's code exactly and used it, again the same issue.
using System;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
using System.Collections.Generic;
namespace UserInterface.SubclassedControls
{
class TestLayoutPanel : FlowLayoutPanel
{
public TestLayoutPanel() /* : base() */
{
}
protected override void OnPaint(PaintEventArgs e)
{
base.OnPaint(e);
}
}
}
EDIT2:
I have made my class public and again cleaned, rebuilt, closed, and opened Visual Studio and still have the same issue. I have also tried to add the control to a "brand new" form with the same results.
using System;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
using System.Collections.Generic;
namespace UserInterface.SubclassedControls
{
public class TestLayoutPanel : FlowLayoutPanel
{
public TestLayoutPanel() /* : base() */
{
}
protected override void OnPaint(PaintEventArgs e)
{
base.OnPaint(e);
}
}
}
EDIT3:
So as a sanity check I started a new VS project and subclassed FlowLayoutPanel and added it to the default Form1. I then went back to my current project and tried to create a simple new form class to see if my current form was having issues, but I still received the same error when trying to add the subclass FLP to it. I then tried a UserControl that I made prior and have successfully added to other forms, which is now "broken" giving the same error message.
So what Project settings or Visual Studio settings could be preventing me from using these controls?
You should post your code so we can see exactly what you've tried as you may be missing something. Make sure you've built your project and try closing the re-opening the designer.
Below is an example of all you should (keyword) need to do to get it to work. I tested this in VS 2013 and the CustomFlowLayout control showed up in my ToolBox after a rebuild
public class CustomFlowLayout : FlowLayoutPanel
{
public CustomFlowLayout()
{
//Do things here!
}
public int MyCustomProperty { get; set; }
//Not needed to make anything work, added to show the code is working
protected override void OnPaint(PaintEventArgs e)
{
base.OnPaint(e);
StringFormat format = new StringFormat()
{
LineAlignment = StringAlignment.Center,
Alignment = StringAlignment.Center
};
e.Graphics.DrawString("It works! Wooooo..!",
SystemFonts.DefaultFont,
SystemBrushes.ControlText,
new Rectangle(0, 0, this.Width, this.Height),
format);
}
}
Edit
Looks like you were missing the public keyword. When you don't specify the access modifier it uses the default, which is Internal. Below is a corrected version.
public class TestLayoutPanel : FlowLayoutPanel
{
public TestLayoutPanel() /* : base() */
{
}
}
I'll try to explain what I'm after. I don't know the technical term for it, so here goes:
Example 1:
If I place a ListView on a Form and add some columns I am able, in Design-Time, to click-and-drag the columns to resize them.
Example 2:
Now, I place a ListView in a UserControl and name it "MyCustomListView" (and perhaps add some method to enhance it somehow).
If I now place the "MyCustomListView" on a Form I am unable to click-and-drag the column headers to resize them in Design-Time.
Is there any way to easily make that happen? Some form of "pass the click-and-drag event to the underlying control and let that control do its magic". Im not really looking to recode, just pass on the mouseclick (or whatever it is) and let the, in this case, ListView react as it did in the first example above.
The Windows Forms designer has dedicated designer classes for most controls. The designer for a ListView is System.Windows.Forms.Design.ListViewDesigner, an internal class in the System.Design.dll assembly. This class gives you the ability to drag the column headers.
A UserControl uses the System.Windows.Forms.Design.ControlDesigner designer class. It doesn't do anything special, just puts a rectangle around the control with drag handles. You can see where this is heading: after you put your user control on a form, it is ControlDesigner that is used to design the class, ListViewDesigner is not in the picture. You thus lose the ability to drag the column headers. Also note that ControlDesigner doesn't give access to the controls inside the UC.
That's fixable however by creating your own designer. Start with Projects + Add Reference, select System.Design. You'll need to add a public property to the UC to expose the list view and apply the [DesignerSerializationVisibility] attribute to allow changed properties to be saved. And apply the [Designer] attribute to the UC class to replace the default designer. It all should resemble this (using the default names and a ListView that displays "employees"):
using System;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using System.Windows.Forms.Design; // Note: add reference required: System.Design.dll
namespace WindowsFormsApplication1 {
[Designer(typeof(MyDesigner))] // Note: custom designer
public partial class UserControl1 : UserControl {
public UserControl1() {
InitializeComponent();
}
// Note: property added
[DesignerSerializationVisibility(DesignerSerializationVisibility.Content)]
public ListView Employees { get { return listView1; } }
}
// Note: custom designer class added
class MyDesigner : ControlDesigner {
public override void Initialize(IComponent comp) {
base.Initialize(comp);
var uc = (UserControl1)comp;
EnableDesignMode(uc.Employees, "Employees");
}
}
}
The list view in the user control can now be clicked and designed as normal.
I'm attempting to use the WPF TextBox in a WinForms application while completely encapsulating WPF-related details within another assembly, but the Forms editor is not making it simple.
Namely, the Child accessor is always being assigned to a new System.Windows.Controls.TextBox, even if the accessor is replaced with another datatype using new and smothered with various attributes that should cause it to be ignored. Removing the entry causes it to be regenerated by the forms editor.
The value is assigned by the control itself, and additionally ruins the encapsulation I hope to achieve.
Is there a way to prevent the Forms editor from automatically generating the Child?
//
// textBox_SpellCheck1
//
this.textBox_SpellCheck1.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(12, 12);
this.textBox_SpellCheck1.Name = "textBox_SpellCheck1";
this.textBox_SpellCheck1.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(200, 100);
this.textBox_SpellCheck1.TabIndex = 0;
this.textBox_SpellCheck1.Text = "textBox_SpellCheck1";
//The Forms editor should not be generating the following line:
this.textBox_SpellCheck1.Child = new System.Windows.Controls.TextBox();
Example which reproduces the issue, when it is placed within a form:
using System;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.ComponentModel.Design.Serialization;
using System.Windows;
using System.Windows.Interop;
using System.Windows.Controls; //reference PresentationCore, PresentationFramework
using System.Windows.Forms.Integration; //reference WindowsFormsIntegration
using System.Windows.Forms.Design;
namespace wtf
{
[Designer(typeof(ControlDesigner))] //reference System.Design
public class TextBox_SpellCheck : ElementHost
{
private System.Windows.Controls.TextBox textbox;
public TextBox_SpellCheck()
{
textbox = new System.Windows.Controls.TextBox();
base.Child = textbox;
}
[DesignerSerializationVisibility(DesignerSerializationVisibility.Hidden)]
[EditorBrowsable(EditorBrowsableState.Never)]
[DefaultValue(0)]
public new int Child { set { } get { return 0; } }
}
}
Edit:
The three workarounds I've found thus far. Added here because none of these qualify as an answer.
Let the Forms editor take care of allocation of the TextBox.
Unacceptable, due to the above desire of the encapsulation of WPF details and assemblies.
Don't let the Forms editor manage the component at all.
Annoying at best. It would be much preferred to create and manage the components using the Forms editor.
Place the TextBox_SpellCheck (ElementHost) within a UserControl.
Works as long as the Forms editor doesn't regenerate the designer code for the UserControl, if not built manually in the first place. However, this adds a layer of unnecessary control nesting.
Further Information:
Removal of the Designer attribute on the TextBox_SpellCheck makes matters worse, causing a separate hosted component to be generated within the designer code.
Using different types either doesn't improve matters, or makes them worse.
A few examples:
ParentControlDesigner still generates the child element.
ScrollableControl still generates the child element.
DocumentDesigner throws exceptions that cause the Forms editor to be unusable.
System.ComponentModel.Design.ComponentDesigner generates the control as an indirectly usable component, such as adding data sources or whatever via the Forms editor.
Not sure you'll find a way if you're set on doing it that way. ElementHost by design uses Child for the exact reason you're using it for - you're hosting an WPF element inside of a Windows Form control. Its always going to generate the code you are adverse to in the designer.
I am writing a Base UserControl, that will be inherited by a bunch of other UserControls. I need to enforce a certain design for all these descendant controls (e.g. a couple of buttons must be on the top along with a label or two).
The rest of the descendant UserControl area is free to have whatever on it.
Initially, I thought that I could just plop a Panel onto the Base UserControl, set the Dock=Fill and the designer of the descendant control would be forced to add all the UI into this said panel. Then, I could resize the panel to my content.
But that is not the case - when you drop a control (say a GridView) onto the descendant UserControl, it adds it to the .Controls collection of the descendant user control, not the Panel I added.
Is there a way to force a certain layout from the Base user control?
The short answer is "Yes"... However to get this behavior delves into the ugly world of writing your own designers which you have to associate with the each control which will need to inherit the special placement into the content panels..
The following link should be a good starting point as it gives an overview of what needs to be done as well as provides sample code.
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=813808
Be warned, however, this is not a trivial task. And there is a lot of code (30+ files) to sift through in order to understand how to implement a designer. It's been about 2 years since I have tried this.
On the other hand, have you considered changing your design to have a single parent control which has the labels and buttons, and which populates the content area with the appropriate child control(s)? Perhaps even having your child controls for the content area implement a specific interface to guarantee a contract so that the parent can interact with them without having to know a specific class name?
AngryHacker -
I went off thinking this was to be very easy, and found myself embarking on an interesting journey into WinForm design-time land. This is definitely not as easy as it was in VB6 :-) .
Anyhow, after a bit of research, I found a number of references to a method called EnableDesignMode(). However, this is not directly accessible from a WinForm component. This has to be called from a class that subclasses ParentControlDesigner, which is injected into the UserControl via a Designer attribute. In this project, I have called the subclass ButtonBarDesigner, and have overridden the Initialize() method, which allows me to tell the designer that the component ButtonBar has a child component fillPanel which can be accessed via the public property "FillPanel".
At this point, it seemed to be working. I managed to drop a control onto the ButtonBar and it was appearing in the fill panel. However, if you saved the form, and then reloaded it, it turned out that the control was instantiated, but not placed in the ButtonBar control. It seems that there was one sneaky last bit which the documentation for EnableDesignMode() conveniently leaves out. You need to have the DesignerSerializationVisibility attribute on the FillPanel property. Adding this attribute makes this work.
You need a reference to System.Design in your project for the design time stuff to work.
The following code is for the putative base class, ButtonBar:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.ComponentModel.Design;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Data;
using System.Text;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using System.Windows.Forms.Design;
using System.Threading;
namespace ForceUserControl
{
[Designer(typeof(ButtonBarDesigner))]
public partial class ButtonBar : UserControl
{
public ButtonBar()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
/// <summary>
/// Returns inner panel.
/// </summary>
/// <remarks>Should allow persistence.</remarks>
[DesignerSerializationVisibility(DesignerSerializationVisibility.Content)]
public Panel FillPanel
{
get { return fillPanel; }
}
}
private class ButtonBarDesigner : ParentControlDesigner
{
public override void Initialize(IComponent component)
{
base.Initialize(component);
Panel fillPanel = ((ButtonBar)component).FillPanel;
// The name should be the same as the public property used to return the inner panel control.
base.EnableDesignMode(fillPanel, "FillPanel");
}
}
}
when I try to click on the designer tab to get the designer view, I get this error:
To prevent possible data loss before
loading the designer, the following
errors must be resolved:
The designer could not be shown for this file because none of the
classes within it can be designed. The
designer inspected the following
classes in the file: Form1 --- The
base class 'System.Windows.Forms.Form'
could not be loaded. Ensure the
assembly has been referenced and that
all projects have been built.
I'd like to get into the designer and have no idea what's wrong. My Form1 code looks like this at the top:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Data;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Text;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using System.Drawing.Drawing2D;
using System.Diagnostics;
namespace foobar
{
public partial class Form1 : Form
{
List<CharLabel> allChars = new List<CharLabel>();
public Form1()
{
... etc ...
Any ideas?
When you change the namespace or other item inside a partial class (like Forms) directly from the code editor you are making an invitation for madness. As the name suggest a partial class is a class that is defined "partially" on the code view, but there is another part which is generated automaticall by VS and that is the other part of the class. In that part it contains the definition of all UI elements, fonts, default values, etc. When you change the name space in one part of the class the other part don't know what do and then the interesting errors start. When changing namespaces, class names, event methods names always use the Refactor option in VS.
In your case, I would probably go back to the old name it had, and then use Refactor option VS provides (Highlight the component name, Ricgh click, refactor->rename)
Hope this help.
Have you checked the recomendation in the message? That is, have you verified that System.Windows.Forms.dll is referenced in your project?
To add the reference if it's missing do the following
Click: View -> Solution Explorer
Right Click on the References node and select "Add Referenc"
Go to the .Net Tab
Scroll until you see System.Windows.Forms.dll
Select that and hit OK
I'd experienced this too, i solved it by correcting referenced libraries absence.
You may check your Error List.