I'm creating a simple WYSIWYG editor for HTML in C#, and I want to implement a simple group of controls to view and manipulate the various properties of HTML form elements. I envision the properties panel to look like the one in Visual Studio:
Such that when the user clicks on an HTML element they've added they can change the text, class, id, etc. of the element. The problem is, I can't find how to make a panel that looks like this using C#. Obviously I know how to implement the dropdown list and the buttons, but the main body that actually contains the properties is like a slick version of a tree-view that I don't even know where to begin coding.
I'm not looking for someone to code this whole thing for me, but it would be great if somebody could point me to a form control that looks like the tree-view. I have tried googling around for answers but haven't had any luck. I have also tried looking at the open source project Sharp Develop which uses a similar control, but I've had considerable trouble wading through the hundreds of files of code to find the specific part of the GUI I'm focused on.
Any help on this would be greatly appreciated. Sorry if I was a tad bit vauge above, I guess what I'm really looking for is a nice form control or set of controls in C# to mimick the main body of the properties window. I've tried to be as thorough as possible, but if you have any questions leave a comment and I'll try to improve my question.
The body of that panel contains a PropertyGrid control, which you can use yourself. It's not in the Toolbox by default but you can add it.
I'm currently developing an IDE and Im working on Code-Folding codes now .
I'm thinking to use a TreeView as for it has a collapse and expand property but i dunno/not sure how can I implement it on RichTextBox .
Even an Initial Code showing if interaction within RichTextBox and TreeView will be much appreciated .
like:
{
}
then RichTextBox will have a line indicating till where to collapse .
Thanks a lot in advance!
It doesn't seem feasible to include a TreeView inside a RichTextBox. From my experience, building something atop the RTB is quite problematic and doesn't render the desired result without having quite a lot of quirks.
I suggest taking a look at the Fast-Colored-TextBox:
http://www.codeproject.com/Articles/161871/Fast-Colored-TextBox-for-syntax-highlighting
Or possibly building a similar control from scratch (if you too suffer from NIH) instead of attempting to extend the RTB.
If you really need your own code editor you should really think about taking Avalon Edit. It is able to rebuilt an Visual Studio Editor. So it has all you feature you need (and more).
I know it is a WPF component and not winforms. But it is quite easy to host a WPF control within winforms. So better take this route, cause trying to interweave a tree view with a rich text box will never match exactly what you like (just think about finding out the pixel size of a textline if you are using different fonts or how to determine line wrapping).
Ive been working on a C# project for a while now and I fell it needs change its look.
I have found a UI kit that I really like, which can be seen below:
http://medialoot.com/item/transparent-ui-kit/
Does anyone know how to do this?
Thanks
EDIT: Im using WinForms
EDIT2: Maybe I should convert over to WPF? Is this doable?
You can subclass most common controls and draw their appearance yourself. However, unless for novelty applications I doubt your users will thank you for doing so.
Your example is a library of controls. For you to have an appearance such as that you'll have to create or acquire a similar library of controls and replace all your controls in your project to get that appearance.
If you want to update colors (background, foreground, etc.) and such you can make a class that recurses through controls and sets the settings using reflection and a switch statement to process each control. Then just run this on each form before you show it. One word of caution about this, some controls don't respect your changes and get overridden with themes from the OS (datetimerpicker being the biggest culprit). You'll also need to consider whether your users will appreciate the extra work put in for color/appearance changes.
If you don't have very good design skill and have a good know how about creating such templates, its better to buy them.
And C# is just a language. You're looking to create templates and skins for either for ASP.NET website/application or for windows forms.
Have a look at DevExpress Skins
If you can afford it.
I normally code with PHP, I am used to opening up my editor of choice and going away at it, coding classes,methods, etc. It is fairly easy as there is no GUI to worry about.
Last night I spent the whole night following a couple tutorials with C# in Visual Studio, it's turning out to be harder then I thought it would be. Once thing that I am not use to is, all the tutorials have you add a form object like a text box or button, then have you double clikc it to get to the code part, you then enter some code for that method. Then back to the form and re-peat
This seems very hard as you are never really working on "just the code" so 1 question is, is it always like that or just because i'm new and following tutorials?
Another question, when I see source code online to do certain functions, say I see a class I would like to try using, how can I use that class in the existing form class created by VS, do you somehow import other classes or do you add them right to the form code you are working on?
I'm sure that didn't make much sense but hopefully it does to someone, i'll try wording it better if not.
I should add that this was with WPF, also I feel like you have to learn 2 languages, the C# which has very similar syntax to PHP so that doesn't seem too difficult and the for GUI that's like a whole diff language
You can download the classes you are interested into.
Then you go to the Solution Explorer panel and you add existing items.
This will COPY the files to your project.
In order to use those classes you need to declare that you wan to use them.
So, what you have to do is to say something like
using FooNamespace;
Then you are ready to use the classes.
The name space is declared right before any class. You can go edit it.
Now about the forms. Each form is a Class and it consists of three files
ClassForm.cs
ClassForm.designer.cs
ClassForm.resx
You ONLY need the first one. Right click and view code. You can go there and use it.
Many questions, Many answers
Difficulty and Repetition
you can add form objects via the designer or you can hit the source button (CTRL-PgDn). From there you can edit elements in asp and html just like any php IDE. I do most of the work in source. I am a real programmer so I can never do the drag and drop. With intelligence and time you learn the properties and what to do.
to make complex pages you just have to know what you are doing.
What I started with VS I had the same feelings as you, but i have gotten into the flow of it.
As far as the code behind, you are just hooking methods up to the asp elements that get called by the built in code. You can add your own classes, functions, everything in the code behind or in separate files, just like c++, php, whatever.
Hope that helps, VS is really powerful and runs smooth when you learn where things are, been using it for years now and I'm still learning. Bottom line, never use drag and drop and just play with it.
unfortunately the .net world love drag-drop controls. so most tutorials are designed around this concept. drag a textbox on the to form. drag a button onto the form. double click button image to get the click handler.
it's not needed, it's just the approach for most people using visual studio. being that this is a WPF project everything can be done from code, or xaml markup. you don't need the WYSIWYG editor.
as for adding/referencing classes first you need to reference the assembly the class is located in. your core .net types (part of the BCL, base class library) are automatically included as references. then you add a using statement to the appropriate namespace. then you can instantiate the object.
There are ways to have a C# interactive window; see this question. Alternatively, you don't need to use a form, but you could also create a command-line application.
As for the second question, you can add a new class to your project and then use it in your form. There's really no additional step, except that if the namespaces are different, then it is easier if you import that namespace (via using).
Partly, yes, because you're new and using tutorials.
Partly, no, because you're working with forms, and you really don't want to hand-code those by hand.
If you just want to play with C#, and not concern yourself with forms and display, look for information on Console application. Instead of worrying about buttons and textboxes, your worst nightmare will be Console.WriteLine();
Here are some console-based C# tutorials:
C# Station tutorial
C# Yellow Book - it's a PDF. It's good.
Yes, it is exactly because you are following the video tutorials which are almost always tailored for beginners... Most of us making a living working in VS, developing WPF solutions do not even use the visual editor but instead work directly with XAML to build our UI and have very little or no code in the code behind files following the MVVM pattern.
To answer your second question, most of your classes that "do stuff" which is not directly intertwined with the UI should be in a separate class library (dll file) and should not even be referenced directly by your main UI project (in order to facilitate loose coupling) but instead accessed using some form of Dependency Injection, typically utilizing Interfaces.
The code that responds to user interaction should be in your ViewModel classess which are typically a data context for your views and these VM classes are typically using service agents which implement different Interfaces in order to use code stored in the class libraries mentioned in the previous paragraph.
Now, it is possible to just double click on a button and write all your code in that method created for you in the code behind file just like with Winforms, but just like in the Winforms world that leads to code that is hard to maintain, that is tightly coupled to your user interface and very difficult to test so try to resist that instant gratification and invest some time in learning the MVVM pattern, DI and OO design patterns which facilitate code reuse, decoupling and testability...
Hope this helps...
It really depends on what you are trying to learn. I don't think I would start off with WPF if I was using C#. I would start off with a console application to get the basics of the language down, then move down to a simple WinForms application, and finally to WPF where you started.
But yes, your questions about how the editor works is correct. It's how that platform works.
I'm starting my first C# project, and I want to make a "form designer" (like the one in VS).
The idea is, there will be a visual form designer with a limited toolbox, which will generate Python code (later more) to create the same form.
Problem is, I have no idea how to even get started. First of all, I have the form designer in VS: how do I make a "form-within-a-form?"
Next... I have no idea how complicated this is going to be. I suppose I could just make little boxes appear beside each control created on the form when it is clicked, for resizing, and make a textbox appear on it when double clicked or something, to change the text in it... Things like this.
So another thing I would like to know is this:
I do have programming experience in C and C++, I've done PHP for a number of years and am starting with Python as of recently. I've generated forms dynamically in VB6. Given this experience, am I in way over my head with this project?
this looks like a really good place to start. It has a pretty good example to get you started. You can even download his source (registration required).
It sounds like you're aware it's non-trivial for a C# first-timer. If you keep it pretty simple, it sounds like you're heading in the right direction (although a web-based form designer might be easier).
SharpDevelop would be an example of a full-featured IDE that can be re-purposed, but that's way over the top.
Good luck!
For most people starting out in C#, this project would be too much. With your VB6 background, you may be able to pull it off, though.
Here's a hint: the Visual Studio Windows Forms designer draws controls on its surface - by asking the controls to draw themselves.