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C# With Winforms

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C# With Winforms

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Windows Forms

Using C#

Student Guide
Revision 4.0

Object Innovations Course 4130

Windows Forms Using C#

Rev. 4.0

Student Guide
Information in this document is subject to change without notice. Companies, names and data
used in examples herein are fictitious unless otherwise noted. No part of this document may be
reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, for any
purpose, without the express written permission of Object Innovations.
Product and company names mentioned herein are the trademarks or registered trademarks of
their respective owners.

is a registered trademark of Object Innovations.

Authors: Robert J. Oberg and Dana Wyatt
Copyright 2011 Object Innovations Enterprises, LLC All rights reserved.
Object Innovations
877-558-7246
www.objectinnovations.com

Printed in the United States of America.

Rev. 4.0

Copyright 2011 Object Innovations Enterprises, LLC

Table of Contents (Overview)

Chapter 1

Introduction to Windows Forms

Chapter 2

Visual Studio and the Forms Designer

Chapter 3

Using Controls

Chapter 4

List Controls

Chapter 5

Working with Dialogs

Chapter 6

Menus, Toolbars and Status Bars

Chapter 7

Advanced Windows Forms Topics

Chapter 8

Using Advanced Controls

Chapter 9

Resources

Chapter 10

Applications and Settings

Chapter 11

Data Access

Chapter 12

Data Binding

Chapter 13

Windows Forms and WPF Interoperation

Appendix A

Learning Resources

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Directory Structure
The course software installs to the root directory
C:\OIC\WinCs.
Example programs for each chapter are in named
subdirectories of chapter directories Chap01, Chap02, and
so on.
The Labs directory contains one subdirectory for each lab,
named after the lab number. Starter code is frequently
supplied, and answers are provided in the chapter directories.
The Demos directory is provided for hand-on work during
lectures.
The Deploy directory is provided to test deployment.

Data files install to the directory C:\OIC\Data.

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Table of Contents (Detailed)

Chapter 1 Introduction to Windows Forms ................................................................. 1
What are Windows Forms?............................................................................................. 3
Windows Forms Class Hierarchy ................................................................................... 4
Control Class................................................................................................................... 5
Form Class ...................................................................................................................... 7
Form Class Methods ....................................................................................................... 9
Building a Form ............................................................................................................ 10
Application Class .......................................................................................................... 12
Simple Windows Application ....................................................................................... 13
Using the .NET Framework SDK................................................................................. 18
Using Controls .............................................................................................................. 19
Common Control Properties ......................................................................................... 20
Ambient Control Properties .......................................................................................... 22
Example: Placing a Control in a Form.......................................................................... 24
Common Control Events............................................................................................... 26
Trapping Events ............................................................................................................ 28
Using the Button Control .............................................................................................. 29
HelloWorld Step 3 ..................................................................................................... 30
Using the Label Control................................................................................................ 31
Using the TextBox Control........................................................................................... 32
Example Complete Application................................................................................. 34
MSDN Documentation ................................................................................................. 37
Lab 1 ............................................................................................................................. 38
Summary ....................................................................................................................... 39
Chapter 2 Visual Studio and the Forms Designer ..................................................... 41
Visual Studio................................................................................................................. 43
Using the Forms Designer ............................................................................................ 44
Example: Creating a Windows Forms Application ...................................................... 47
Examining the Forms Designer Generated Code.......................................................... 52
Designing "Pretty" Forms ............................................................................................. 53
Designing "Easy-to-Use" Forms................................................................................... 54
Setting the Tab Order.................................................................................................... 55
Defining Keyboard Shortcuts ....................................................................................... 56
Defining Default and Cancel Buttons ........................................................................... 58
Lab 2 ............................................................................................................................. 59
Summary ....................................................................................................................... 60
Chapter 3 Using Controls............................................................................................. 63
Controls......................................................................................................................... 65
Using the TextBox Again .......................................................................................... 66
Using the Clipboard ...................................................................................................... 68
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Lab 3A (Optional)......................................................................................................... 69
Making Selections......................................................................................................... 70
Using the CheckBox ..................................................................................................... 71
Example: Using the CheckBox..................................................................................... 72
Using the RadioButton with a GroupBox..................................................................... 74
Example: Using a Radio Button .................................................................................. 76
Working with Ranges ................................................................................................... 78
Using the NumericUpDown ......................................................................................... 79
Example: Using the NumericUpDown ........................................................................ 80
Using the TrackBar ....................................................................................................... 81
Example: Using the TrackBar...................................................................................... 82
Using the ProgressBar .................................................................................................. 83
Example: Using the ProgressBar ................................................................................. 84
Working with Dates ...................................................................................................... 86
Using the MonthCalendar ............................................................................................. 87
Using DateTimePicker.................................................................................................. 90
Example: Using the DateTimePicker........................................................................... 91
Other Controls............................................................................................................... 94
Tracing .......................................................................................................................... 95
Debug and Trace Classes .............................................................................................. 96
Tracing Example........................................................................................................... 97
Viewing Trace Output .................................................................................................. 98
Debug Statements ......................................................................................................... 99
Debug Output.............................................................................................................. 100
WriteLine Syntax ........................................................................................................ 101
Lab 3B......................................................................................................................... 102
Summary ..................................................................................................................... 103
Chapter 4 List Controls.............................................................................................. 107
Working with Lists ..................................................................................................... 109
Using a ListBox .......................................................................................................... 110
Selected Items ............................................................................................................. 111
Selected Indices .......................................................................................................... 112
Other ListBox Features ............................................................................................... 113
Adding and Removing Items Dynamically................................................................. 115
Example: Using a ListBox .......................................................................................... 116
Using the ComboBox.................................................................................................. 119
ComboBox Example ................................................................................................... 120
Storing Objects in List Controls ................................................................................. 122
Lab 4A ........................................................................................................................ 123
Using the DomainUpDown Control ........................................................................... 124
Example: Using the DomainUpDown ........................................................................ 125
Using a ListView ........................................................................................................ 127
Adding Columns to a ListView .................................................................................. 129
Adding Items to a ListView........................................................................................ 130
Example: Using a ListView ........................................................................................ 132
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Lab 4B......................................................................................................................... 134

Summary ..................................................................................................................... 135
Chapter 5 Working with Dialogs............................................................................... 141
Modal and Modeless Dialogs ..................................................................................... 143
MessageBox................................................................................................................ 144
MessageBox Show Method ........................................................................................ 145
Closing a Form............................................................................................................ 148
Custom Dialogs........................................................................................................... 149
Modal Dialogs............................................................................................................. 150
Example: Modal Data Entry Dialogs......................................................................... 151
Creating a New Form.................................................................................................. 152
Common Dialog Properties......................................................................................... 153
Designing the Form..................................................................................................... 154
Configuring the DialogResult ..................................................................................... 155
Displaying the Form ................................................................................................... 156
Accessing Data on the Form ....................................................................................... 157
Changing the Behavior of a Button's DialogResult .................................................... 160
Displaying Errors with the ErrorProvider Control ..................................................... 162
Validation Using the ErrorProvider............................................................................ 165
Modeless Dialogs........................................................................................................ 167
Example: Modeless Data Entry Dialogs .................................................................... 168
Designing the Modeless Dialog.................................................................................. 169
Displaying the Form ................................................................................................... 171
Managing the Relationship between the Parent and Modeless Dialog....................... 172
Programming the Apply and Close Buttons ............................................................... 173
Programming the Apply Button.................................................................................. 174
Managing the Number of Instances of the Modeless Dialog...................................... 176
Lab 5A ........................................................................................................................ 178
Common Dialogs ........................................................................................................ 179
Using the Common Dialog Controls........................................................................... 180
Example: Using Common Dialogs ............................................................................ 181
Lab 5B......................................................................................................................... 185
Summary ..................................................................................................................... 186
Chapter 6 Menus, Toolbars and Status Bars ........................................................... 193
Menus.......................................................................................................................... 195
MenuStrip Control ...................................................................................................... 196
Example: Integrating Menus into an Application...................................................... 197
Attaching a Menu to a Form ....................................................................................... 199
Configuring Items in a Menu...................................................................................... 200
Responding to Menu Events ....................................................................................... 202
DropDownOpening Event .......................................................................................... 206
ContextMenuStrip Control ......................................................................................... 207
Example: Integrating a Context Menu into an Application....................................... 208
Context Menu Events.................................................................................................. 209
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Handling Multiple Events........................................................................................... 210

Lab 6A ........................................................................................................................ 212
Status Bars .................................................................................................................. 213
StatusStrip Example.................................................................................................... 214
StatusStrip Demo ........................................................................................................ 215
A Quick Status Bar ..................................................................................................... 219
Toolbars ...................................................................................................................... 220
ToolStrip Demo .......................................................................................................... 221
Importing Images ........................................................................................................ 223
Associating an Event Handler..................................................................................... 224
Image and Text on Buttons ......................................................................................... 225
Lab 6B......................................................................................................................... 226
Summary ..................................................................................................................... 227
Chapter 7 Advanced Windows Forms Topics.......................................................... 233
Forms and Controls..................................................................................................... 235
Parent/Child Relationships ......................................................................................... 236
Example: Using Parent/Child Relationships............................................................... 238
Owner/Owned Relationships ...................................................................................... 240
Example: Using Owner/Owned Relationships ........................................................... 241
Top-Most Forms ......................................................................................................... 244
Clipboard Object......................................................................................................... 245
Placing Data on the Clipboard .................................................................................... 246
Retrieving Data from the Clipboard ........................................................................... 247
Visual Inheritance ....................................................................................................... 248
Building the Base Form .............................................................................................. 249
Example: Using Visual Inheritance ............................................................................ 250
BackgroundWorker Component ................................................................................. 257
BackgroundWorker Example...................................................................................... 258
BackgroundWorker Code ........................................................................................... 260
ClickOnce Deployment............................................................................................... 261
Web Examples Setup .................................................................................................. 262
Home Page for Web Example..................................................................................... 266
ClickOnce Demonstration........................................................................................... 267
Publishing a ClickOnce App....................................................................................... 268
Uninstalling the Application....................................................................................... 271
Installing the Application............................................................................................ 272
Summary ..................................................................................................................... 273
Chapter 8 Using Advanced Controls......................................................................... 275
Panel Control .............................................................................................................. 277
Panel and GroupBox Example.................................................................................... 278
TreeView Control ....................................................................................................... 279
TreeView Properties ................................................................................................... 280
TreeView Methods ..................................................................................................... 281
TreeView Events......................................................................................................... 282
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TreeNode Class........................................................................................................... 283

Adding Nodes ............................................................................................................. 284
Removing Nodes......................................................................................................... 285
Iterating Through Nodes ............................................................................................. 286
TreeView Example ..................................................................................................... 287
TreeView Demonstration............................................................................................ 288
ImageList .................................................................................................................... 292
ImageList Demonstration............................................................................................ 293
Image Collection Editor.............................................................................................. 294
Lab 8A ........................................................................................................................ 296
TabControl .................................................................................................................. 297
Controls on Tab Pages ................................................................................................ 298
Selected Index............................................................................................................. 299
TabControl Demonstration ......................................................................................... 300
Tab Control Event Handling....................................................................................... 301
Lab 8B......................................................................................................................... 302
SplitContainer ............................................................................................................. 303
File Browser Demo ..................................................................................................... 304
WebBrowser Control .................................................................................................. 309
Lab 8C......................................................................................................................... 310
Summary ..................................................................................................................... 311
Chapter 9 Resources ................................................................................................... 319
Resources .................................................................................................................... 321
Image Resources ......................................................................................................... 322
Loading the Bitmaps ................................................................................................... 323
Embedded Resources .................................................................................................. 324
Accessing Embedded Resources................................................................................. 325
Creating String Resources .......................................................................................... 326
Strings in the Program ................................................................................................ 327
String Resource Demo ................................................................................................ 328
Accessing Resources from Code ................................................................................ 330
Cultures and Internationalization................................................................................ 335
.NET Support for Cultures.......................................................................................... 337
Example: Using CultureInfo ....................................................................................... 338
Changing the Current Culture..................................................................................... 342
Building Localizable Forms........................................................................................ 343
MainForm.resx File .................................................................................................... 345
Code for Localization ................................................................................................. 347
Visual Studio Localization Support............................................................................ 348
Demo: Localizing Using VS.NET .............................................................................. 350
Lab 9 ........................................................................................................................... 355
Summary ..................................................................................................................... 356
Chapter 10 Applications and Settings....................................................................... 359
The Application Class................................................................................................. 361
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Starting and Stopping Applications ............................................................................ 362

Life Cycle Demonstration........................................................................................... 363
Application Events...................................................................................................... 364
Logging to a File......................................................................................................... 365
Closing a Window....................................................................................................... 366
Processing Windows Messages .................................................................................. 368
Filtering Messages ...................................................................................................... 369
Example: Using Application Class ............................................................................ 371
Configuration Files ..................................................................................................... 372
Reading Configuration Files ....................................................................................... 374
Example: Using Config Files..................................................................................... 375
Configuration File and Visual Studio ......................................................................... 377
Application Settings.................................................................................................... 378
Application Settings Using Visual Studio .................................................................. 379
Application Settings Demo ......................................................................................... 380
Application Configuration File................................................................................... 385
User Configuration File .............................................................................................. 386
Manual Application Settings ...................................................................................... 387
Default Values of Settings .......................................................................................... 391
Accessing the Registry................................................................................................ 392
Example: Manipulating the Registry .......................................................................... 394
Lab 10 ......................................................................................................................... 396
Summary ..................................................................................................................... 397
Chapter 11 Data Access.............................................................................................. 401
ADO.NET ................................................................................................................... 403
.NET Namespaces....................................................................................................... 404
ADO.NET Architecture .............................................................................................. 405
.NET Data Providers................................................................................................... 407
Connected Data Access .............................................................................................. 408
SmallPub Database ..................................................................................................... 409
Connected Programming Example ............................................................................. 410
DataSet Architecture................................................................................................... 414
Why DataSet? ............................................................................................................. 415
DataSet Components................................................................................................... 416
DataSet Example Program.......................................................................................... 417
XML File Schema Definition ..................................................................................... 418
XML File Data............................................................................................................ 419
Reading and Writing XML ......................................................................................... 420
Accessing a DataSet.................................................................................................... 421
Adding a New Row..................................................................................................... 422
Searching and Updating a Row .................................................................................. 423
Deleting a Row ........................................................................................................... 424
Data Adapters ............................................................................................................. 425
Data Adapter Example Program ................................................................................. 426
Lab 11A ...................................................................................................................... 427
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Language Integrated Query (LINQ) ........................................................................... 428

Bridging Objects and Data.......................................................................................... 429
Using Server Explorer ................................................................................................ 430
LINQ Demo ................................................................................................................ 431
Object Relational Designer......................................................................................... 432
IntelliSense.................................................................................................................. 434
Basic LINQ Query Operators ..................................................................................... 435
Obtaining a Data Source ............................................................................................. 436
LINQ Query Example................................................................................................. 437
Filtering....................................................................................................................... 438
Ordering ...................................................................................................................... 439
Aggregation ................................................................................................................ 440
Obtaining Lists and Arrays ......................................................................................... 441
Deferred Execution ..................................................................................................... 442
Modifying a Data Source ............................................................................................ 443
Performing Inserts via LINQ to SQL.......................................................................... 444
Performing Deletes via LINQ to SQL ........................................................................ 445
Performing Updates via LINQ to SQL ....................................................................... 446
Lab 11B....................................................................................................................... 447
Summary ..................................................................................................................... 448
Chapter 12 Data Binding............................................................................................ 457
Data Binding Concept................................................................................................. 459
Simple Data Binding................................................................................................... 460
Binding to a List ......................................................................................................... 461
SimpleList Example.................................................................................................... 462
Complex Data Binding Example ................................................................................ 463
Binding to a DataGrid................................................................................................. 464
DataView .................................................................................................................... 466
Filtering and Sorting ................................................................................................... 467
DataView and Data Binding ....................................................................................... 468
DataView Example ..................................................................................................... 469
Column Formatting..................................................................................................... 471
Lab 12A ...................................................................................................................... 472
Data Binding with BindingSource .............................................................................. 473
BindingSource Architecture ....................................................................................... 474
Binding to a List ......................................................................................................... 475
Setting up the Bindings............................................................................................... 476
Category Class ............................................................................................................ 477
Code in the Form ........................................................................................................ 478
DataGridView Control................................................................................................ 480
DataGridView Sample Program ................................................................................. 481
DataGridView Demo .................................................................................................. 482
Performing a Query..................................................................................................... 488
Lab 12B....................................................................................................................... 491
Summary ..................................................................................................................... 492
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Chapter 13 Windows Forms and WPF Interoperation........................................... 497

Windows Presentation Foundation ............................................................................. 499
What Is XAML? ......................................................................................................... 500
Default Namespace ..................................................................................................... 501
XAML Language Namespace..................................................................................... 502
Code-Behind File ........................................................................................................ 503
OneButton Example.................................................................................................... 504
Interoperating with Windows Forms .......................................................................... 505
Add a Form to a WPF Application ............................................................................. 506
Demo: Form in WPF Application............................................................................... 507
Add a WPF Window to a Windows Forms Application............................................. 511
Mixing WPF and Windows Forms in the Same Window........................................... 512
Hosting a Windows Forms Control Using Code ........................................................ 513
WindowsFormsHost via Code .................................................................................... 514
Windows Forms MonthCalendar................................................................................ 515
WindowsFormsHost via XAML................................................................................. 516
Summary ..................................................................................................................... 517
Appendix A Learning Resources............................................................................... 519

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WinCs

Chapter 2

Visual Studio and the Forms

Designer

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WinCs

Chapter 2

Visual Studio and the Forms Designer

Objectives
After completing this unit you will be able to:
Use Visual Studio to build simple Windows Forms
applications.
Use the Forms Designer to visually design forms.
Trap events using the Forms Designer.
Create an attractive visual design for your forms.
Create an efficient design for your forms, including
setting a tab order and implementing keyboard
shortcuts.

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WinCs

Chapter 2

Visual Studio
Visual Studio, which we used in the first chapter to
create and run simple projects, is extremely useful in
developing Windows applications.
Visual Studio allows us to design forms using a dragdrop interface.
If you are familiar with the IDEs in Visual Basic or Visual
C++, the Visual Studio IDE will look very familiar!

The drag-drop interface is generally referred to as

the Forms Designer.
The Forms Designer will be available any time a Windows
Forms class has been added to a project.
It can be opened by selecting the View Designer icon from
the Solution Explorer window.

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Chapter 2

Using the Forms Designer

The Forms Designer allows a programmer to drag
and drop controls from a toolbox onto a form.
If the toolbox isn't visible, you can select it from the View |
Toolbox menu.

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WinCs

Chapter 2

Using the Forms Designer (Contd)

You can modify the properties of a control using the
Properties window (shown in the lower right).
If the Properties Window isn't visible, you can select it from
the View | Properties Window menu.
The properties can be shown by category or alphabetically be
selecting an icon from the Properties Window toolbar.
By category:

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WinCs

Chapter 2

Using the Forms Designer (Contd)

You can add, modify and view the event handlers for
each control using the Properties window.
To add an event handler and associated delegate, doubleclick on the appropriate event from the left-hand side of the
icon.
scrolling grid. Select Events by the

You can add the "default" event handler for each control by
double-clicking the control in design view.

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WinCs

Chapter 2

Example: Creating a Windows Forms

Application
It is easy to create a Windows Forms application
using Visual Studio.
A copy of the application is saved in Chap02\GoCowboys
directory.
If you want to follow along, you should do your work in the
Demos directory.
1. We begin by creating a new C# Windows Forms Application
project named GoCowboys in the Demos directory. Leave
unchecked Create directory for solution.

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Chapter 2

Example: Creating ... (Contd)

2. We then rename the source file for the form to MainForm.cs.
You will be asked if you want to rename the corresponding code
elements. Say yes.

3. To verify that the required code elements have been renamed,

build and run the application. You should see a bare form,
which can be resized.

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Chapter 2

Example: Creating ... (Contd)

4. We will use the toolbox to drag a button control to the form. To
make everything look nifty, we will resize the form.

5. We want to make sure the following property values are set for
the button and form:
Object

Name Property

Text Property

Button
Form

btnCheer
MainForm

Cheer!
NFL Football

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Chapter 2

Example: Creating ... (Contd)

6. We need to trap the Click event for the btnCheer button. To
do this, we can double-click on the btnCheer button. It will
write the Click event handler and delegate for us and position us
at the handler function in the code window.
We will add code to display a message box that shows the
message "Go Cowboys!"

Note the partial modifier on the class.

This feature, introduced in .NET 2.0, enables wizardgenerated code to be maintained in a separate file.

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Chapter 2

Example: Creating ... (Contd)

7. Finally, we can build and run the application.

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Chapter 2

Examining the Forms Designer

Generated Code
The Forms Designer generated code as we designed
the form.
The code is in the separate file MainForm.Designer.cs.

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Chapter 2

Designing "Pretty" Forms

In order to make your forms look nice, you will want
to:
Size your controls so that similar are approximately the same
size.
Align your controls on some meaningful X and Y axis.
Visual Studio 2010 provides alignment lines as you drag
controls, making your job easier.

The Forms Designer allows you to use a special

toolbar to perform a variety of layout tasks.
You can use the View | Toolbars | Layout menu option to
display the toolbar.

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Chapter 2

Designing "Easy-to-Use" Forms

In order to make your forms easy to use, you will
want to:
Lay out the controls in a meaningful way.
Provide meaningful labels.

However, there are some other steps you can take to

make the form easy to use:
Set the tab order of the controls.
Define keyboard shortcuts to provide fast access to controls.
Define default and cancel buttons.

Our example illustrates a form that is both pretty

and easy to use.
See PrettyDialog in the current chapter directory.

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Chapter 2

Setting the Tab Order

To set the tab order of the controls on a form, you
must use the View | Tab Order menu.
The form must have focus for this option to be visible.
You must select View | Tab Order when you are done to turn
off tab ordering.

When you click on a tab number, it changes.

The first tab you click on becomes 0, the second tab you click
on becomes 1, etc.
If you accidentally give a tab an incorrect number, keep
clicking on the tab the number cycles through the available
number.

You should always include your labels in the tab order

directly before the control they label. The reason will be
apparent on the next page!
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Chapter 2

Defining Keyboard Shortcuts

You can define keyboard shortcuts for controls on
your form.
These shortcuts allow the user to press Alt + shortcutKey to
move focus to the control that defines the shortcut.

To assign a shortcut to controls, you must:

Place an ampersand ( & ) in front of the shortcut letter in the
control's Text property.
For example, if the Text property of an OK button is &OK,
then the text will appear as OK on the screen to let the user
know O is the shortcut key. When the user presses Alt + O,
focus moves to the control.
When you use the shortcut key on a button, it invokes the
click event handler for the button instead of setting focus to
it.

When a control does not have a static Text property

(for example, a textbox), you must place a label that
defines the key directly in front of the controlbased
on tab order.
For example, if the textbox has tab order 7, its label should
have tab order 6.
The label's Text property must have an ampersand ( & ) in
front of the shortcut letter (example: &Husband will define
H as the shortcut; Hus&band will define B as the shortcut).

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Chapter 2

Defining Keyboard Shortcuts (Cont'd)

When running the program, to use the keyboard
shortcuts the user should press the Alt key.
Then the underlines will appear.
When the user enters the keyboard shortcut, focus will go to
control the following the label (based on tab order) because a
label does not have a tab stop.

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Chapter 2

Defining Default and Cancel Buttons

It is common among Windows Forms applications to
define default and cancel buttons for each form.
The default, or accept, button is one that is invoked if the
user hits the Enter key in any control on the form that does
not have its own AcceptReturn property set to True.
The cancel button is the one that is invoked if the user hits
the Escape key in any control on the form.

Windows Forms makes this assignment easy:

The form has two properties, AcceptButton and
CancelButton, which can be assigned a reference to a button
using a drop-down list.

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Chapter 2

Lab 2
My Calculator
In this lab you will you will use Visual Studio and the Forms
Designer to build a simple calculator that performs addition,
subtraction, multiplication and division on floating point numbers.

Detailed instructions are contained in the Lab 2 write-up at the end

of the chapter.
Suggested time: 30 minutes

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Chapter 2

Summary
Visual Studio makes it easy for programmers to build
Windows Forms applications.
The Forms Designer allows programmers to drag
controls from a toolbox and visually place them on a
form.
The Properties Window can be used to specify values
for form and control properties.
The Forms Designer generates code based on the
programmer's drag-drop actions and property
settings.
C# and the tools inside Visual Studio make it easy to
build Windows Forms applications that look nice and
are easy to use.

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WinCs

Chapter 2

Lab 2
My Calculator
Introduction
In this lab you will you will use Visual Studio and the Forms Designer to build a simple
calculator that performs addition, subtraction, multiplication and division on floating
point numbers. Your form should resemble the following:

You will need to use exception handling to make sure that "garbage" data in the operand
1 and/or operand 2 textbox does not cause your program to "crash".
Suggested Time:

30 minutes

Root Directory:

OIC\WinCs

Directories:

Labs\Lab2
OIC\Data\Graphics
Chap02\MyCalculator

(do your work here)

(contains icon files)
(contains lab solution)

Instructions
1. Create a new C# Windows Forms Application named MyCalculator. Name the form
class and the associated file Calculator. Save the solution.
2. Design the form similar to that shown above.
3. Copy the icon files for the four arithmetic operations, MISC18.ICO, MISC19.ICO,
MISC20.ICO and MISC21.ICO, from OIC\Data\Graphics to the working directory.
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Chapter 2

4. Set the properties of each control to the following values:

Control

Property

Value

Label

Name
Text

lblOperand1
Operand 1:

TextBox

Name
Text
TextAlign

txtOperand1
(blank)
Right

Label

Name
Text

lblOperand2
Operand 2:

TextBox

Name
Text
TextAlign

txtOperand2
(blank)
Right

Button

Name
Text
Image

btnAdd
(blank)
MISC18.ICO

Button

Name
Text
Image

btnSubtract
(blank)
MISC19.ICO

Button

Name
Text
Image

btnMultiply
(blank)
MISC20.ICO

Button

Name
Text
Image

btnDivide
(blank)
MISC21.ICO

Label

Name
Text

lblAnswer
Answer:

TextBox

Name
Text
TextAlign

txtAnswer
(blank)
Right

5. Trap the Click event for each of the four buttons that specify math operations.
6. In each handler, write code to convert the string data in each textbox to a floating
point value. Perform the appropriate math operation for the button. Finally, place the
result back in the textbox that holds the answer. Compile and run the program.

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Chapter 10

Applications and Settings

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Applications and Settings

Objectives
After completing this unit you will be able to:
Use the Application object to obtain information
about the application and its environment.
Build applications that filter messages from the
message loop.
Build a configuration file to store application-specific
settings.
Use the application settings facilities in .NET to
persist both application-wide and user-specific
settings.
Use .NET classes to read configuration files and use
their settings in applications.
Access the registry from a .NET application.

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Chapter 10

The Application Class

The Application class, found in the
System.Windows.Forms namespace, represents the
class that manages a Windows Forms application.
It has several interesting properties, including:
The StartupPath property, which contains the path of the
.exe that started the application.
The ExecutablePath property, which contains the path and
filename of the .exe that started the application.
The ProductName property, which contains the name of the
application.

It has several interesting methods, including:

The Run and Exit methods, which start and stop
applications.
The ExitThread method, to close all windows running on
the current thread.
The DoEvents method, which processes all Windows
messages in the queue.

All members of the class are static methods.

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Starting and Stopping Applications

As you have seen thus far, Windows Forms
applications have a Main function that identifies the
window that will appear when the application is
launched.
The Run method starts an application message loop on the
current thread and, optionally, makes a form visible.
static void Main()
{
...
Application.Run(new MainForm ());
}

Windows Forms applications can call the Exit method

to stop a message loop, effectively terminating the
application.
private void mnuExit_Click(object sender,
EventArgs e)
{
Application.Exit();
}

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Chapter 10

Life Cycle Demonstration

A simple demo program illustrates closing an
application in various ways, by buttons on the form
and by using the standard X button.
See LifeCycle in the chapter directory.
Message boxes and simple logging to a file are used.

Here is one scenario.

Program is started. A message box is displayed as the main
form is loaded.

The main form is then displayed:

The Exit button is clicked.

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Chapter 10

Application Events
The Application class fires several events:
The ApplicationExit event fires after all forms have closed
and the application is about to terminate.
The Idle event fires when the application is entering the idle
state. This occurs after the application has processed all
messages in the input queue.
The ThreadExit event fires when a thread is about to
terminate. It fires before the ApplicationExit event.
The ThreadException event fires when an unhandled
exception occurs. It can be used to allow the application to
continue executing.

We can write an event handler for ApplicationExit:

private static void OnExit(object sender,
EventArgs e)
{
Log.WriteLine("OnExit called");
MessageBox.Show("Exiting application", "Demo");
}

We can add the event handler in MainForm_Load:

private void MainForm_Load(object sender,
EventArgs e)
{
Log.Clear(); Log.WriteLine("Form loading");
MessageBox.Show("Form loading", "Demo");
Application.ApplicationExit
+= new EventHandler(OnExit);
}
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Logging to a File
In running our little example program, we may be
unsure whether the OnExit event handler was
actually called, because the message box was not
displayed.
There are some subtleties in Windows that may prevent a
window from being displayed too late in the application shut
down process.

Besides displaying message boxes, our LifeCycle demo

program also logs to a file.
public class Log
{
public static void WriteLine(string str)
{
StreamWriter writer =
new StreamWriter(@"c:\OIC\log.txt", true);
writer.WriteLine(str);
writer.Close();
}
...
}

The OnExit event handler contains this code:

Log.WriteLine("OnExit called");

The log file log.txt for the simple run shows that the
event handler was indeed called.

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Chapter 10

Closing a Window
As mentioned earlier, you should normally shut down
an application more gracefully by closing its main
window.
This is illustrated by the Close button in our example.
private void btnClose_Click(object sender,
EventArgs e)
{
Log.WriteLine("Close clicked");
Close();
}

There are two key events associating with closing a

window.
FormClosing is fired first, and the handler for the event can
prevent the closing by setting a Cancel flag.
FormClosed is fired when the window is actually closed.

You may query the user in the handler of the Closing

event.

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Closing a Window (Contd)

Here are the handlers for FormClosing and
FormClosed.
private void MainForm_FormClosing(object sender,
FormClosingEventArgs e)
{
Log.WriteLine("Form closing");
DialogResult status = MessageBox.Show(
"Do you want to close?", "Demo",
MessageBoxButtons.YesNo);
if (status == DialogResult.No)
e.Cancel = true;
}
private void MainForm_FormClosed(object sender,
FormClosedEventArgs e)
{
Log.WriteLine("Form closed");
}

Here is the complete log file for running the

application, clicking the Close button, and saying Yes
to the query to close the window.
Form loading
Close clicked
Form closing
Form closed
OnExit called

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Chapter 10

Processing Windows Messages

.NET programs that perform computationally
intensive processing on their main message loop are
problematic.
We have all used an application that we thought had hung.
We click everywhere and are just about to kill it, when all of
a sudden it "springs to life" and processes all of our
intermediate clicks.

We can solve this problem in one of two ways:

Use a background thread to perform computationally
intensive processingwhich frees the UI thread to process
Windows messages.
Use DoEvents to periodically allow Windows to process
queued messages when performing computationally intensive
processing.
private void mnuDoSomethingLong_Click(object
sender, EventArgs e)
{
for (i=Int32.MinValue;i<=Int32.MaxValue;i++)
{
// do something computationally intensive
if ((Math.Abs(i) % 10000) == 0)
Application.DoEvents();
}
}

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Chapter 10

Filtering Messages
.NET allows Windows Forms programmers to add a
message filter to the application message pump to
monitor Windows messages.
You should be quite familiar with Windows SDK
programming before attempting this.

You begin by defining a class that implements the

IMessageFilter interface.
This class can view the messages before they are processed,
potentially stopping an event from being processed.
The IMessageFilter interface defines the method
PreFilterMessage. It returns true to block the message from
being processed.
// From Windows SDK file winuser.h
// #define WM_RBUTTONDOWN
0x0204
class FilterMouseMessages : IMessageFilter
{
public bool PreFilterMessage(ref Message m)
{
// Filter right mouse button clicks
if (m.Msg == 0x204)
return true;
else
return false;
}
}

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Filtering Messages (Cont'd)

You must then call the AddMessageFilter method and
pass it a reference to the class that implements
IMessageFilter.
You can remove the filter by calling RemoveMessageFilter.
private IMessageFilter msgFilter = null;
private void btnFilter_Click(object sender,
EventArgs e)
{
// Toggle filter
if (msgFilter == null)
{
msgFilter = new FilterMouseMessages();
btnFilter.Text = "Turn Filter Off";
Application.AddMessageFilter(msgFilter);
}
else
{
Application.RemoveMessageFilter(msgFilter);
msgFilter = null;
btnFilter.Text = "Turn Filter On";
}
}

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Chapter 10

Example: Using Application Class

The example program ApplicationDemo demonstrates
the use of the application class.

The App Properties button displays some of the

Application properties in a separate window.

The Message Filter button toggles filtering out right

mouse button clicks on the form.
Before the button is pressed, the form displays a message for
left and right mouse clicks. After the button is pressed, it
displays a message only when the left button is clicked.

The Close button calls Close().

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Chapter 10

Configuration Files
Configuration files are XML files that provide
configuration parameters to applications.
They can be changed without having to recompile the
application.

Several configuration files exists:

Each application can have a .config file named
applicationName.config which is located in the application's
directory. For example, if the application were called
Notepad.exe, the config file would be Notepad.exe.config.
The machine has a .config file named machine.config which
is located in the directory
Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\vx.y.zzzz\Config
(where x.y.zzzz is the version number of .NET)

Microsoft suggests all application-specific

configuration settings be stored as key/value pairs in
the <appSettings> section of the application's config
file.

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Configuration Files (Cont'd)

For example, a config file that specifies a default user
name and connection string for database access might
resemble:
<configuration>
<appSettings>
<add key="Default User" value="BWW" />
<add key="Connection String"
value="Data Source=(local);Initial Catalog=pubs"
/>
</appSettings>
</configuration>

NOTE: Important new features pertaining to

configuration files were introduced in .NET 2.0.
They will be discussed later in the chapter.

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Chapter 10

Reading Configuration Files

The System.Configuration namespace contains
classes which can be used to read the .config file,
including:
The ConfigurationManager1 class provides access to the
AppSettings or user-defined sections of a .config file.

The class provides access to the key/value pairs via a

NameValueCollection object. This type includes:
The Count property, which identifies the number of
key/value pairs.
The AllKeys property, which returns an array of strings
representing each key.
The Get method, which accepts a key and returns the value
associated with that key.

The ConfigurationManager class supersedes the ConfigurationSettings class, which is now obsolete.

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Chapter 10

Example: Using Config Files

In the example program ConfigFiles, we will read
initialization parameters from a config file and
display them in a message box.
The application's name is ConfigFiles.exe, therefore the
.config file is named ConfigFiles.exe.config and must reside
in the same directory as the application.

The code that read the config file is shown below:

private void btnRetrieve_Click(object sender,
EventArgs e)
{
NameValueCollection parms;
parms = ConfigurationManager.AppSettings;
string msg = "";
foreach (string key in parms.AllKeys)
{
msg += string.Format(
"Key: {0} Value: {1}\n",key,parms.Get(key));
}
MessageBox.Show(msg, "Info");
}
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Chapter 10

Example: Using Config Files (Cont'd)

In order for the code shown above to work, we must
have two using statements:
using System.Collections.Specialized;
using System.Configuration;

Your project also needs a reference to

System.Configuration.
To run the example, you should copy the config file
down to the bin\Debug (or bin\Release) directory.

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Chapter 10

Configuration File and Visual Studio

To conveniently work with a configuration file in
Visual Studio, name it App.config and add it to your
project.
When you build the project, Visual Studio will copy
the configuration file to bin\Debug (or bin\Release)
and rename it based on the name of the assembly.
See the example project ConfigFilesVs for this
chapter.
The configuration file is renamed to ConfigFiles.exe.config
when the project is built.
The configuration file is automatically copied to the folder
containing the executable.

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Chapter 10

Application Settings
The .NET Framework has always provided the
capability to store application settings as an XML
fragment in a configuration file.
Before .NET 2.0, configuration setting information pertained
only to the application as a whole (not individual users) and
was read-only.

Beginning in .NET 2.0 the support for application

settings is more comprehensive.
Setting information for the application as a whole can be
stored in app.exe.config, where app is the name of your main
executable file. This information is read-only.
Setting information for individual users can be stored in a
new file user.config. This information is read-write.
The user.config file is stored in a Local Settings area specific
to the individual user.
Default user settings can be stored in app.exe.config.

Application settings may be retrieved and set

programmatically by using a class derived from
ApplicationSettingsBase.
This class is in the System.Configuration namespace.

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Chapter 10

Application Settings Using Visual

Studio
Visual Studio 2010 provides strong support for using
application settings in your program.
Studying the code generated by Visual Studio can also help
you in working with application settings via code written
manually. You will also have to manually edit a
configuration file if you dont use Visual Studio.
You can bind application settings to properties of a form or
controls on the form.

Perform the following steps to create a new setting.

Select the form or control whose properties are to be bound
to the new setting.
Use the Property Editor to open the Application Settings
dialog box.
Use the user interface in this dialog to select the property you
want to bind to the new setting.
Configure the new setting by giving it a name, a scope (user
or application) and a default value (if any).

You may then manipulate the new setting by using

the Settings object in the file Settings.Designer.cs that
is generated by Visual Studio, in the Properties folder
of the project.

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Application Settings Demo

Lets illustrate the use of application settings with a
simple demonstration.
We will first create a setting using Visual Studio.
We will then manually code another setting.

The final project is in DemoSettings in the code folder

for this chapter.
Build and run.

Try changing the font and title. Exit the application and run
again. You should see the changes preserved.
Now restore the defaults. Again, exit the application and run
again.

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Application Settings Demo (Contd)

Lets create this application using Visual Studio 2010.
Do your work in the Demos directory.
1. Create a new Windows Forms application DemoSettings, and
save the solution in the Demos directory.
2. Drag three buttons onto the main form. Set the Text of the
buttons to Change Font, Change Title and Restore
Defaults as shown in the screen capture on the preceding page.
For now, just go with the default font. Set the names of these
controls to btnFont, btnTitle and btnDefault.
3. Drag a FontDialog control onto your form. Change the name of
the control to fontDlg.
4. Add a handler for the Change Font button. Provide the
following code.
private void btnFont_Click(object sender,
EventArgs e)
{
if (fontDlg.ShowDialog() == DialogResult.OK)
{
Font f = fontDlg.Font;
this.Font = f;
}
}

5. Build and run. Try changing the font. Note that the size of the
buttons change size to harmonize with the size of the font. Note
that if you run the application again, any changes you made to
the font will not be preserved.

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Application Settings Demo (Contd)

6. Next, lets use the Property Designer to add an application
setting that will let us save the font. Expand the (Application
Settings) group and click on (PropertyBinding).

7. Click the Ellipsis button . Select Font in the left-hand list, and
click the drop-down arrow on the right side.

8. Click New ...

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Application Settings Demo (Contd)

9. The New Application Setting dialog comes up. For Scope, leave
it at User. For Name, type FontSetting. For DefaultValue
click on the Ellipsis button. The Font common dialog will come
up. Leave the font name as Microsoft Sans Serif and select 10
as the font size (it will actually become 9.75).

10. Click OK and OK. You should now see the new default font
size reflected by the Form Designer. In Solution Explorer there
will also be new files Settings.Designer.cs and app.config.

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Application Settings Demo (Contd)

11. Examine the Settings.Designer.cs file. There is a class
Settings derived from ApplicationSettingsBase. It is in the
namespace DemoSettings.Properties.
12. Add handlers for the forms Closing and Load events.
13. Add the following code to Form1.cs.
...
using DemoSettings.Properties;
namespace DemoSettings
{
public partial class Form1 : Form
{
...
private void Form1_FormClosing(object sender,
FormClosingEventArgs e)
{
Settings set = Settings.Default;
set.Save();
}
private void Form1_Load(object sender,
EventArgs e)
{
Settings set = Settings.Default;
set.Reload();
}
}
}

14. Build and run. The new font will now be persisted.

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Application Configuration File

Visual Studio has created a file app.config. When the
project is built, the configuration file is copied to
DemoSettings.exe.config in the same folder as the
applications executable file DemoSettings.exe.
Two sections are defined: userSettings and
applicationSettings.
In the <userSettings> group the setting FontSetting is
defined, with default value Microsoft Sans Serif, 9.75pt.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<configuration>
<configSections>
<sectionGroup name="userSettings" ... >
<section
name="DemoSettings.Properties.Settings"
... />
</sectionGroup>
<sectionGroup name="applicationSettings"
... />
</sectionGroup>
</configSections>
<userSettings>
<DemoSettings.Properties.Settings>
<setting name="FontSetting"
serializeAs="String">
<value>Microsoft Sans Serif, 9.75pt</value>
</setting>
</DemoSettings.Properties.Settings>
</userSettings>
<applicationSettings>
<DemoSettings.Properties.Settings />
</applicationSettings>
</configuration>
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User Configuration File

When the form closes, the Save() method of the
ApplicationSettingsBase class will persist all the user
setting information to the file user.config.
This file can be found in the AppData\Local area for the
user who ran the program.

The file user.config contains the saved values of the settings.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<configuration>
<userSettings>
<DemoSettings.Properties.Settings>
<setting name="FontSetting"
serializeAs="String">
<value>Microsoft Sans Serif, 12pt,
style=Bold</value>
</setting>
</DemoSettings.Properties.Settings>
</userSettings>
</configuration>

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Chapter 10

Manual Application Settings

We may also manually code an application setting.
The code generated by Visual Studio can serve as a good
guide.

Lets add a new setting TitleSetting that can be used

to save the title (Text) of the form.
1. Add a new file ManualSetting.cs to your project, defining a
class ManualSetting, derived from ApplicationSettingsBase.
using
using
using
using

System;
System.Collections.Generic;
System.Text;
System.Configuration;

namespace DemoSettings
{
class ManualSettings : ApplicationSettingsBase
{
[UserScopedSetting()]
[DefaultSettingValue("Default Title")]
public string TitleSetting
{
get
{
return (string) this["TitleSetting"];
}
set
{
this["TitleSetting"] = value;
}
}
}
}

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2. Add information about this new setting to the application
configuration file. You may use the configuration information
generated by the Designer as a model. New section is
DemoSettings.ManualSettings. New setting within that group
is TitleSetting.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<configuration>
<configSections>
<sectionGroup name="userSettings" ... >
<section
name="DemoSettings.Properties.Settings" ... />
<section
name="DemoSettings.ManualSettings" ... />
</sectionGroup>
...
</configSections>
<userSettings>
<DemoSettings.Properties.Settings>
<setting name="FontSetting"
serializeAs="String">
<value>Microsoft Sans Serif, 9.75pt</value>
</setting>
</DemoSettings.Properties.Settings>
<DemoSettings.ManualSettings>
<setting name="TitleSetting"
serializeAs="String">
<value>Title in App Config File</value>
</setting>
</DemoSettings.ManualSettings>
</userSettings>
<applicationSettings>
<DemoSettings.Properties.Settings />
</applicationSettings>
</configuration>

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Manual Application Settings (Contd)

3. Add a new form TitleDialog to the project. Drag a text box and
two buttons onto the form. Provide the names txtTitle, btnOK
and btnCancel for these controls.

4. Set the following properties of the new form and buttons that
are normal for model dialogs:
a. FormBorderStyle is FixedDialog
b. No control box, minimize box, or maximize box.
c. The OK button should have DialogResult OK, and the
cancel button DialogResult of Cancel.
5. Add a handler for clicking the Change Title button.

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Manual Application Settings (Contd)

6. Implement the handler by adding the following code to change
the title of the form by bringing up the dialog. If the user clicks
OK, the title of the form should be changed, and the application
setting for the title should also be saved.
TitleDialog dlg = new TitleDialog();
dlg.txtTitle.Text = this.Text;
if (dlg.ShowDialog() == DialogResult.OK)
{
this.Text = dlg.txtTitle.Text;
ManualSettings ms = new ManualSettings();
ms.TitleSetting = this.Text;
ms.Save();
// not bound, so save now
}

7. Add code to the handler of the Load event to load the setting for
the title and use it to initialize the title of the form.
Settings set = Settings.Default;
set.Reload();
ManualSettings ms = new ManualSettings();
ms.Reload();
this.Text = (string)ms.TitleSetting;

8. Build and run. You should now be able to change both the font
and the title, and have these values persisted. You may examine
the user.config file.

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Default Values of Settings

9. Add a handler for the Restore Defaults button and supply the
following code.
Settings set = Settings.Default;
set.Reset();
ManualSettings ms = new ManualSettings();
ms.Reset();
this.Text = (string)ms.TitleSetting;
ms.Save();
// not bound, so save now

10. Specify some defaults in app.config.

<DemoSettings.Properties.Settings>
<setting name="FontSetting"
serializeAs="String">
<value>Microsoft Sans Serif, 11pt</value>
</setting>
</DemoSettings.Properties.Settings>
<DemoSettings.ManualSettings>
<setting name="TitleSetting"
serializeAs="String">
<value>Title in App Config File</value>
</setting>
</DemoSettings.ManualSettings>

11. Build and run. Change the values of the font and the title.
Now click the Restore Defaults button, and observe that the
values stored in the application configuration file are used.

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Chapter 10

Accessing the Registry

.NET allows you to access the Windows system
registry via classes in the Microsoft.Win32
namespace.
These are platform-specific classes and are not available
under the System namespace.
Their use limits the portability of the application.

However, if you are committed to the Win32

platform, you may need to access settings stored in
the Windows registry.
The Registry class exposes six read-only static
properties that return a RegistryKey reference to a
registry hive.
The properties are: ClassesRoot, CurentConfig,
CurrentUser, DynData, LocalMachine, PerformanceData
and Users.
RegistryKey reg = Registry.ClassesRoot;

The RegistryKey class has three instance properties:

The Name property is the name of the key.
The ValueCount property is the count of the values for the
key.
The SubKeyCount, if greater than 0, is the number of
subkeys for this key.

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Accessing the Registry (Cont'd)

The RegistryKey class also contains several methods,
including:
OpenSubKey, which returns a reference to a subkey of the
instance key.
GetValueNames, which returns a list of names for the values
associated with the key.
GetValue, which returns a value for a key.
Close, which closes the key.

There are many other methods to manipulate the

registry that you should research using MSDN.

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Example: Manipulating the Registry

The example ManipulatingTheRegistry illustrates the
use of the Registry and RegistryKey classes.
This example checks the registry to determine if Microsoft
Word is installed. It also displays the CLSID for Word if it is
installed.

The code that accomplishes this is shown below:

private void btnWord_Click(object sender,
EventArgs e)
{
// Get a reference to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
RegistryKey hive = Registry.ClassesRoot;
// Lookup the ProgID Word.Application
RegistryKey wordProgID =
hive.OpenSubKey("Word.Application");

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(Cont'd)
if (wordProgID != null)
{
string msg = "Word is installed";
ShowWordInformation(msg, wordProgID);
wordProgID.Close();
}
else
{
MessageBox.Show("Word is not installed");
}
}
private void ShowWordInformation(string msg,
RegistryKey progID)
{
// Get a reference to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
RegistryKey hive = Registry.ClassesRoot;
// Lookup the value of CLSID
RegistryKey clsid = progID.OpenSubKey("CLSID");
string strCLSID = (string) clsid.GetValue("");
clsid.Close();
MessageBox.Show(msg + "\nCLSID: " + strCLSID);
}

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Lab 10
Checking Your System
In this lab, you will use a config file to specify a set of application
ProgIDs that should be loaded into a listbox. The program will
allow the user to select a ProgID from the listbox and check to see
if the corresponding application is loaded on the system.

Detailed instructions are contained in the Lab 10 write-up at the

end of the chapter.
Suggested time: 45 minutes

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Summary
The Application class represents the class that
manages a Windows Forms application.
It contains methods to start and stop a Windows Forms
application.

.NET applications use configuration files encoded

using XML.
The ConfigurationManager class provides access to the
AppSettings or user-defined sections of a .config file.

The application settings facilities in .NET make it

easy to persist both application wide and user-specific
settings.
.NET allows you to access the Windows system
registry via classes in the Microsoft.Win32
namespace.
These are platform-specific classes and are not available
under the System namespace.
Their use limits the portability of the application.

The Registry class provides access to the registry

hives.
The RegistryKey class contains properties and
methods that can be used to navigate the registry.

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Lab 10
Checking Your System
Introduction
In this lab, you will use a config file to specify a set of application ProgIDs that should be
loaded into a listbox. The program will allow the user to select a ProgID from the listbox
and check to see if the corresponding application is loaded on the system.

Suggested Time:

45 minutes

Root Directory:

OIC\WinCs

Directories:

Labs\Lab10\CheckingYourSystem
Chap10\CheckingYourSystem

(do your work here)

(contains lab solution)

Instructions
1. Create a new Windows Forms Application named CheckingYourSystem. Name the
form class and the associated file MainForm.
2. Build a config file that resembles the following. Name the file App.config, save it in
the source directory, and add it to your Visual Studio project.
<configuration>
<appSettings>
<add key="Count" value="3" />
<add key="App1" value="Word.Application" />
<add key="App2" value="Excel.Application" />
<add key="App3" value="MemStick.MSAThumbnail" />
Rev. 4.0

398

WinCs

Chapter 10

</appSettings>
</configuration>

3. Design your main form to resemble that shown above.

4. In your form's Load event handler, write code to read the config file and load the
ProgIDs into the listbox.
private void MainForm_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
NameValueCollection parms = ConfigurationManager.AppSettings;
int count = Convert.ToInt32(parms.Get("Count"));
string key = "";
string value = "";
for (int i = 1; i <= count; i++)
{
key = "App" + i.ToString();
value = parms.Get(key);
lstApplications.Items.Add(value);
}
}

5. Write code in the Click event of your Check button to use the ProgID of the selected
listbox item and test to see if it is listed in the registry as an installed application. If it is,
it will be listed under the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT hive.
private void btnCheckSelected_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
// Get a reference to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
RegistryKey hive = Registry.ClassesRoot;
// Get the ProgID from the listbox
string progID = "";
try
{
progID = lstApplications.SelectedItem.ToString();
if (progID == "") return;
}
catch
{
return;
}
// Lookup the ProgID
RegistryKey key = hive.OpenSubKey(progID);
if (key != null)
{
string msg = progID + " is installed";
MessageBox.Show(msg, "Intallation", MessageBoxButtons.OK,
MessageBoxIcon.Information);
key.Close();
}
else
{
string msg = progID + " is NOT installed";
Rev. 4.0

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