C 15

1
1
5Graphical User
Interfaces with
Windows Forms:
Part 2
2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
I claim not to have controlled events, but confess

plainly that events have controlled me.
Abraham Lincoln
Capture its reality in paint!

Paul Czanne
An actor entering through the door, youve got

nothing. But if he enters through the window,
youve got a situation.
Billy Wilder
But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks?

It is the east, and Juliet is the sun!
William Shakespeare
OBJECTIVES
In this chapter you will learn:
To create menus, tabbed windows and multiple
document interface (MDI) programs.
To use the ListView and TreeView controls for
displaying information.
To create hyperlinks using the LinkLabel control.
To display lists of information in ListBox and
ComboBox controls.
To input date and time data with the
DateTimePicker.
To create custom controls.
15.1
15.2
15.3
15.4
15.5
15.6
15.7
15.8
15.9
15.10
15.11
15.12
15.13
15.14
Introduction
Menus
MonthCalendar Control
DateTimePicker Control
LinkLabel Control
ListBox Control
CheckedListBox Control
ComboBox Control
TreeView Control
ListView Control
TabControl Control
Multiple Document Interface (MDI) Windows

Visual Inheritance
User-Defined Controls
15.1 Introduction
Visual Studio provides a large set of GUI components.
Visual Studio also enables you to design custom
controls and add them to the ToolBox
15.2 Menus
Menus provide groups of related commands (Fig. 15.1).
Menus organize commands without cluttering the GUI.
Menu
Menu items
Submenu
Separator bar
Shortcut key
Menu icons
Disabled commands
Checked menu item
Fig. 15.1 | Menus, submenus and menu items.
15.2 Menus (Cont.)

To create a menu, open the Toolbox and drag a MenuStrip
control onto the Form.
To add menu items to the menu, click the Type Here TextBox
(Fig. 15.2) and type the menu items name.
Type menu name
in TextBox
Main menu
bar
MenuStrip icon
Fig. 15.2 | Editing menus in Visual Studio.
15.2 Menus (Cont.)

After you press the Enter key, the menu item is added.
More Type Here TextBoxes allow you to add more items
(Fig. 15.3).
TextBoxes for
Place & character

before a letter
to
underline it in
the menu, so
the
character can
be
used as an
access
shortcut
adding items
to
the menu
Fig. 15.3 | Adding ToolStripMenuItems to a MenuStrip.
15.2 Menus (Cont.)

Menus can have Alt key shortcuts which are accessed
by pressing Alt and the underlined letter.
To make the File menu item have a key shortcut, type
&File.
The letter F is underlined to indicate that it is a
shortcut.
10
15.2 Menus (Cont.)

Menu items can have shortcut keys as well (Ctrl, Shift, Alt, F1, F2,
letter keys, and so on).
To add other shortcut keys, set the ShortcutKeys property
(Fig. 15.4).
Setting modifier
keys
Select key (modifier and key
combination specifies the
shortcut key for the menu
item)
Fig. 15.4 | Setting a menu items shortcut keys.
11
15.2 Menus (Cont.)

Look-and-Feel Observation 15.1
Buttons can have access shortcuts. Place the & symbol
immediately before the desired character in the
Buttons text. To press the button, the user presses Alt
and the underlined character.
You can remove a menu item by selecting it with the
mouse and pressing the Delete key.
Menu items can be grouped by separator bars, which are
inserted by right clicking and selecting Insert
Separator or by typing - for the text of a menu item.
12
15.2 Menus (Cont.)

Visual Studio allows you to add TextBoxes and
ComboBoxes as menu items.
Before you enter text for a menu item, you are
provided with a drop-down list.
Clicking the down arrow allows you to select the type of
item to add (Fig. 15.5).
13
15.2 Menus (Cont.)
Menu item options
Fig. 15.5 | Menu-item options.
14
15.2 Menus (Cont.)
Fig. 15.6 | MenuStrip and ToolStripMenuItem properties and an event. (Part 1 of 2.)
15
15.2 Menus (Cont.)
Fig. 15.6 | MenuStrip and ToolStripMenuItem properties and an event. (Part 2 of 2.)
Outline
16
MenuTestForm.cs
( 1 of 10 )
It is a convention to place an ellipsis after the

name of a menu item (e.g., Save As...) that
requires the user to provide more information
typically through a dialog.
Class MenuTestForm (Fig. 15.7) creates a simple
menu on a Form.
2009 Pearson Education,

Inc. All rights reserved.
Outline
17
MenuTestForm.cs
( 2 of 10 )
Fig. 15.7 | Menus for changing text font and color. (Part 1 of 9.)

Outline
18
MenuTestForm.cs
( 3 of 10 )
The About menu item

displays a MessageBox
when clicked.
The Exit menu item

closes the application
through method Exit of
class Application.

Outline
19
MenuTestForm.cs
( 4 of 10 )
Each Color menu item calls

ClearColor before setting
its Checked property
(making the checks mutually
exclusive).

Outline
20
MenuTestForm.cs
( 5 of 10 )

ClearColor before setting
its Checked property
(making the checks mutually
exclusive).

Outline
21
MenuTestForm.cs
( 6 of 10 )
ClearColor before setting its
Checked property (making the
checks mutually exclusive).
Each Font menu item calls

ClearFont before setting its

Outline
22
MenuTestForm.cs
( 7 of 10 )
Each Font menu

item calls
ClearFont before
setting its Checked
property (making the
checks mutually
exclusive).

Outline
23
MenuTestForm.cs
( 8 of 10 )
Each Font menu item calls

ClearFont before setting its
The Bold and

Italic menu items
use the bitwise
logical exclusive
OR operator to
combine font
styles.

Outline
24
MenuTestForm.cs
( 9 of 10 )
The Bold and Italic
menu items use the
bitwise logical
exclusive OR operator
to combine font styles.

a) Application at
start
Outline
b) Changing font to
Bold
25
MenuTestForm.cs
( 10 of 10 )
c) Application with bold
font
d) Changing font to
Red
e) Application with Red

font
f) Message from About

menu item

26
15.2 Menus (Cont.)

Software Engineering Observation 15.1
The mutual exclusion of menu items is not enforced by
the MenuStrip, even when the Checked property is
true. You must program this behavior.
27
15.3 MonthCalendar Control

The MonthCalendar control (Fig. 15.8) displays a monthly
calendar on the Form.
Multiple dates can be selected by clicking dates on the calendar while
holding down the Shift key.
Current day is outlined

Selected day is highlighted
Fig. 15.8 | MonthCalendar control.
28
15.3 MonthCalendar Control
Fig. 15.9 | MonthCalendar properties and an event.
29
15.4 DateTimePicker Control

The DateTimePicker control displays a calendar
when a down arrow is selected.
The DateTimePicker can be used to retrieve date
and time information from the user.
30
Fig. 15.10 | DateTimePicker properties and an event. (Part 1 of 2.)
31
Fig. 15.10 | DateTimePicker properties and an event. (Part 2 of 2.)
Outline
Figure 15.11 demonstrates using the

DateTimePicker control to select an items
drop-off time.
The DateTimePicker has its Format property
set to Long.
In this application, the arrival date is always two days
after drop-off, or three days if a Sunday is reached.
32
DateTimePicker
Form.cs
(1 of 5 )

Outline
33
DateTimePicker
Form.cs
(2 of 5 )
Fig. 15.11 | Demonstrating DateTimePicker. (Part 1 of 4.)

Outline
34
DateTimePicker
Form.cs
(3 of 5 )
Retrieving the selected date from

the Value property.
The DateTime structures DayOfWeek

property determines the day of the week on
which the selected date falls.
Using DateTimes AddDays method to

increase the date by two days or three days.

Outline
35
DateTimePicker
Form.cs
(4 of 5 )
Setting the
MinDate and
MaxDate
properties to keep
drop-off sometime
in the next year.

Outline
a) Clicking the down arrow
36
b) Selecting a day from the calendar
DateTimePicker
Form.cs
(5 of 5 )
c) The Label updates
d) Selecting another day

37
15.5 LinkLabel Control

The LinkLabel control displays links to other resources, such as
files or web pages (Fig. 15.12).
LinkLabel on a Form
Hand image displays when

mouse moves over LinkLabel
Fig. 15.12 | LinkLabel control in running program.

A LinkLabel is the preferred control for indicating that the
user can click a link to jump to a resource such as a web page,
though other controls can perform similar tasks.
38
15.5 LinkLabel Control (Cont.)

When clicked, the LinkLabel generates a
LinkClicked event (Fig. 15.13).
Class LinkLabel is derived from class Label and
therefore inherits all of class Labels functionality.
Fig. 15.13 | LinkLabel properties and an event. (Part 1 of 2.)
39
15.5 LinkLabel Control (Cont.)
Fig. 15.13 | LinkLabel properties and an event. (Part 2 of 2.)
Class LinkLabelTestForm (Fig. 15.14) uses three

LinkLabels.
Method Start of class Process allows you to execute
other programs, or load documents or web sites from an
application.
Outline
40
LinkLabelTest
Form.cs
(1 of 6 )
Fig. 15.14 | LinkLabels used to link to a drive,

a web page and an application. (Part 1 of 6.)

Outline
41
LinkLabelTest
Form.cs
(2 of 6 )
Setting the LinkVisited property to
true, changing the links color to
purple.
Opening a Windows Explorer window.
(the @ symbol indicates that characters in
the string should be interpreted
literally).
Opening a web
page in the users
default web
browser.


Outline
42
LinkLabelTest
Form.cs
(3of 6 )
Opening an application.
Windows recognizes the
argument without a directory
or file extension.


Outline
43
LinkLabelTest
Form.cs
Click first LinkLabel

to
look at contents of
C: drive
(4 of 6 )


Outline
44
LinkLabelTest
Form.cs
(5 of 6 )
Click second
LinkLabel to go to
Deitel website


Outline
45
LinkLabelTest
Form.cs
Click on third
LinkLabel
to open Notepad
(6 of 6 )


46
15.6 ListBox Control

The ListBox control allows the user to view and
select from multiple items in a list.
The CheckedListBox control extends a ListBox
by including CheckBoxes next to each item in the list.
Figure 15.15 displays a ListBox and a
CheckedListBox.
47
15.6 ListBox Control (Cont.)

ListBox
Selected
items
Scrollbars
appear if
necessary
Checked item
CheckedListBox
Fig. 15.15 | ListBox and CheckedListBox on a Form.
48
Fig. 15.16 | ListBox properties, methods and an event. (Part 1 of 2.)
49
Fig. 15.16 | ListBox properties, methods and an event.(Part 2 of 2.)
50

To add items to a ListBox or to a CheckedListBox, we must
add objects to its Items collection.
myListBox.Items.Add( myListItem );
You can add items to ListBoxes and CheckedListBoxes
visually by examining the Items property in the Properties
window (Fig. 15.17).
Fig. 15.17 | String Collection Editor.
Outline
Figure 15.18 uses class ListBoxTestForm to add,

remove and clear items from ListBox
displayListBox.\
51
ListBoxTest
Form.cs
(1 of 5 )
Fig. 15.18 | Program that adds, removes and clears ListBox items. (Part 1 of 5.)

Outline
52
ListBoxTest
Form.cs
(2 of 5 )
Adding strings using
method Add of the Items
collection.
Using method
RemoveAt to remove
the item at the selected
index.

Outline
53
ListBoxTest
Form.cs
(3 of 5 )
Using method Clear
of the Items collection
to remove all the
entries.

Outline
54
ListBoxTest
Form.cs
a) Adding an item
b) Adding more items
(4 of 5 )

Outline
55
ListBoxTest
Form.cs
c) An item has been removed
d) Clearing the list
(5 of 5 )

56
15.7 CheckedListBox Control

The CheckedListBox control derives from ListBox
and displays a CheckBox with each item (Fig. 15.19).
Fig. 15.19 | CheckedListBox properties, methods and events. (Part 1 of 2.)
57
15.7 CheckedListBox Control (Cont.)
Fig. 15.19 | CheckedListBox properties, methods and events. (Part 2 of 2.)
58
15.7 CheckedListBox Control

Common Programming Error 15.1
The IDE displays an error message if you attempt to set
the SelectionMode property to MultiSimple or
MultiExtended in the Properties window of a
CheckedListBox. If this value is set programmatically,
a runtime error occurs.
Outline
Class CheckedListBoxTestForm uses a

CheckedListBox and a ListBox to display a users
selection of books (Fig. 15.20).
59
CheckedListBox
TestForm.cs
(1 of 4 )
Fig. 15.20 | CheckedListBox and ListBox used in a program to

display a user selection. (Part 1 of 4.)

Outline
60
CheckedListBox
TestForm.cs
(2 of 4 )
This event handler

maintains a list of
checked items in the
ListBox.
Determining whether
the user checked or
unchecked the item.


Outline
61
CheckedListBox
TestForm.cs
(3 of 4 )
a) Application at start
b) Selecting and checking items


Outline
62
CheckedListBox
TestForm.cs
(4 of 4 )
c) Unchecking selected items
d) Checking items


63
15.8 ComboBox Control

The ComboBox control combines TextBox features with a
drop-down list.
Figure 15.21 shows a sample ComboBox in three different states.
Click the down arrow
to display items in drop-down
list
Selecting an item from dropdown

list changes text in TextBox
portion
Fig. 15.21 | ComboBox demonstration.
64
15.8 ComboBox Control (Cont.)
Fig. 15.22 | ComboBox properties and an event.
65
15.8 ComboBox Control (Cont.)

Use a ComboBox to save space on a GUI. A disadvantage
is that, unlike with a ListBox, the user cannot see
available items without expanding the drop-down list.

Make lists (such as ComboBoxes) editable only if the
program is designed to accept user-submitted elements.
Outline
Class ComboBoxTestForm (Fig. 15.23) allows users to
select a shape to draw by using a ComboBox.
Set the ComboBoxs DropDownStyle to DropDownList
to restrict users to preset options.
66
ComboBoxTest
Form.cs
( 1 of 5 )
Fig. 15.23 | ComboBox used to draw a selected shape. (Part 1 of 5.)

Outline
67
ComboBoxTest
Form.cs
( 2 of 5 )
The Graphics object allows
a pen or brush to draw on a
component
The Pen object is used to draw
the outlines of shapes.
The SolidBrush object is
used to fill solid shapes.

Outline
68
ComboBoxTest
Form.cs
( 3 of 5 )
SelectedIndex
determines which item the
user selected.
DrawEllipse takes a Pen,
the coordinates of the center
and the dimensions of the
ellipse.
DrawRectangle takes a
Pen, the coordinates of the
upper-left corner and the
dimensions of the rectangle.
DrawPie takes a Pen, the

coordinates of the upper-left
corner, its width and height,
the start angle and the sweep
angle of the pie.

Outline
69
ComboBoxTest
Form.cs
( 4 of 5 )

a)
b)
Outline
70
ComboBoxTest
Form.cs
( 5 of 5 )
c)
d)

71
15.9 TreeView Control

The TreeView control displays nodes hierarchically
in a tree.
A parent node contains child nodes, and the child
nodes can be parents to other nodes.
Two child nodes that have the same parent node are
considered sibling nodes.
The first parent node of a tree is the root node
(a TreeView can have multiple roots).
72
15.9 TreeView Control (Cont.)

The nodes in a TreeView (Fig. 15.24) are instances of class
TreeNode.
Each TreeNode has a Nodes collection
(type TreeNodeCollection), which contains a list of its children.
Click to collapse
node and hide
child nodes
Root node
Child nodes (of

Manager1)
Click + to expand
node and display
child nodes
Fig. 15.24 | TreeView displaying a sample tree.
73
Fig. 15.25 | TreeView properties and an event.
74
Fig. 15.26 | TreeNode properties and methods. (Part 1 of 2.)
75
Fig. 15.26 | TreeNode properties and methods. (Part 2 of 2)
76

To add nodes to the TreeView visually, click the ellipsis next
to the Nodes property in the Properties window.
This opens the TreeNode Editor (Fig. 15.27).

Delete current node
Fig. 15.27 | TreeNode Editor.
77

To add nodes programmatically, first create a root node.
myTreeView.Nodes.Add( new TreeNode( rootLabel ) );
To add children to a root node first select the appropriate

root node:
myTreeView.Nodes[ myIndex ]
To add a child to the root node at index myIndex, write:

myTreeView.Nodes[ myIndex ].Nodes.Add( new TreeNode(
ChildLabel ) );
Outline
Class TreeViewDirectoryStructureForm
(Fig. 15.28) uses a TreeView to display the contents of a
directory.
78
TreeViewDirectory
StructureForm
.Cs
( 1 of 6 )
Fig. 15.28 | TreeView used to display directories. (Part 1 of 6.)

Outline
79
TreeViewDirectory
StructureForm
.Cs
( 2 of 6 )
Method GetDirectories
takes the given directory and
returns an array of strings
(the subdirectories).

Outline
80
TreeViewDirectory
StructureForm
.Cs
( 3 of 6 )
The full path name is

reduced to just the
directory name.
Each subdirectorys
name is created as a
node.
Using method Add to
add the subdirectories
as child nodes.
Calling PopulateTreeView recursively on every

subdirectory populates the TreeView with the
entire directory structure.

Outline
81
TreeViewDirectory
StructureForm
.Cs
( 4 of 6 )
When access is denied, a

node is added containing
Access Denied.
Clearing all the nodes in
directoryTreeView.
Adding the specified directory

as the root node.

Outline
82
TreeViewDirectory
StructureForm
.Cs
( 5 of 6 )

Outline
83
TreeViewDirectory
StructureForm
.Cs
a)
b)
( 6 of 6 )

84
15.10 ListView Control (Cont.)

The ListView control is more versatile than a
ListBox and can display items in different formats.
For example, a ListView can display icons next to
the list items and show the details of items in columns.
85
Fig. 15.29 | ListView properties and an event.
86

ListView allows you to define the images used as
icons for items.
Create a ListView, then select the Images property
in the Properties window to display the Image
Collection Editor (Fig. 15.30).
Adding images this way embeds them into the
application.
87
Fig. 15.30 | Image Collection Editor window for an ImageList component.
88

Set property SmallImageList of the ListView to the
new ImageList object.
Property SmallImageList specifies the image list for
the small icons.
Property LargeImageList sets the ImageList for
large icons.
Outline
Class ListViewTestForm (Fig. 15.31) displays files and
folders in a ListView.
If a file or folder is inaccessible because of permission
settings, a MessageBox appears.
89
ListViewTest
Form.cs
( 1 of 8 )
Fig. 15.31 | ListView displaying files and folders. (Part 1 of 8.)

Outline
90
ListViewTest
Form.cs
( 2 of 8 )
Checking whether anything is

selected in
browserListView.
Determining whether the user
chose the first item (Go up
one level).

Outline
91
ListViewTest
Form.cs
( 3 of 8 )
Using property Parent to
return the parent directory.

Outline
92
ListViewTest
Form.cs
( 4 of 8 )

Outline
93
ListViewTest
Form.cs
( 5 of 8 )
Method GetDirectories
returns an array of
DirectoryInfo objects
representing the subdirectories.
Method GetFiles returns an
array of class FileInfo
objects.
Iterating through
subdirectories and adding
them to
browserListView.
Iterating through subdirectories and

adding them to
browserListView.

Outline
94
ListViewTest
Form.cs
( 6 of 8 )
Iterating through
subdirectories and
adding them to
browserListView.

Outline
95
ListViewTest
Form.cs
( 7 of 8 )
Folder and file icon images are

added to the Images collection of
fileFolderImageList.
The application loads its home
directory into the ListView when
it first loads.

Outline
96
a)
ListViewTest
Form.cs
( 8 of 8 )
b)
c)

97

This program loads quickly, because it indexes only the
files in the current directory.
As a result, a small delay may occur when a new directory
is loaded.

When designing applications that run for long periods of
time, you might choose a large initial delay. However, in
applications that run for only short periods, developers
often prefer fast initial loading times and small delays
after each action.
98
15.11 TabControl Control

The TabControl creates tabbed windows, such as those
we have seen in Visual Studio (Fig. 15.32)
Tabs
Fig. 15.32 | Tabbed windows in Visual Studio.
99
15.11 TabControl Control (Cont.)

TabControls contain TabPage objects, which are
similar to Panels.
First add controls to the TabPage objects, then add the
TabPages to the TabControl.
myTabPage.Controls.Add( myControl );
myTabControl.TabPages.Add( myTabPage );
We can use method AddRange to add an array of

TabPages or controls to a TabControl or TabPage.
100
TabPage
Controls in TabPage
TabControl
Fig. 15.33 | TabControl with TabPages example.
101

Add TabControls visually by dragging and
dropping them onto a Form in Design mode.
To add TabPages in Design mode, right click the
TabControl and select Add Tab (Fig. 15.34).
To select a TabPage, click the control area
underneath the tabs.
102
Fig. 15.34 | TabPages added to a TabControl.
103
Fig. 15.35 | TabControl properties and an event.
Outline
Class UsingTabsForm (Fig. 15.36) uses a TabControl
to display various options relating to the text on a label
(Color, Size and Message).
104
UsingTabsForm.cs
( 1 of 6 )
Fig. 15.36 | TabControl used to display various font settings. (Part 1 of 6.)

Outline
105
UsingTabsForm.cs
( 2 of 6 )

Outline
106
UsingTabsForm.cs
( 3 of 6 )

Outline
107
UsingTabsForm.cs
( 4 of 6 )

Outline
108
UsingTabsForm.cs
( 5 of 6 )
a) Color tab
b) Size tab

Outline
109
UsingTabsForm.cs
( 6 of 6 )
c) Message tab
d) About tab

110

A TabPage can act as a container for a single logical
group of RadioButtons, enforcing their mutual
exclusivity.
15.12 Multiple Document Interface (MDI)

Windows
111
Many complex applications are multiple document

interface (MDI) programs, which allow users to edit
multiple documents at once.
An MDI programs main window is called the parent
window, and each window inside the application is
referred to as a child window.
Figure 15.37 depicts a sample MDI application with
two child windows.

Windows (Cont.)
112
MDI parent
MDI child
MDI child
Fig. 15.37 | MDI parent window and MDI child windows.

Windows (Cont.)
113
To create an MDI Form, create a new Form and set its

IsMdiContainer property to true (Fig. 15.38).
Single Document Interface (SDI)
Multiple Document Interface (MDI)
Fig. 15.38 | SDI and MDI forms.

Windows (Cont.)
114
Right click the project in the Solution Explorer,

select Project > Add Windows Form and
name the file.
Set the Forms MdiParent property to the parent Form
and call the child Forms Show method.
ChildFormClass childForm = New ChildFormClass();
childForm.MdiParent = parentForm;
childForm.Show();
In most cases, the parent Form creates the child, so the

parentForm reference is this.
115

Windows (Cont.)
Fig. 15.39 | MDI parent and MDI child properties, method and event.

Windows (Cont.)
116
Figure 15.40 shows two images: one containing two minimized child
windows and a second containing a maximized child window.
Parent-window icons:
minimize, maximize and close
Minimized child window icons:

restore, maximize and close
Maximized child window icons:

minimize, restore and close
Parent title bar indicates

maximized child
Fig. 15.40 | Minimized and maximized child windows.

Windows (Cont.)
117
Property MdiWindowListItem of class

MenuStrip specifies which menu, if any, displays a
list of open child windows.
When a new child window is opened, an entry is added
to the list (Fig. 15.41).

Windows (Cont.)
118
Child windows list
Nine or more child

windows enables the
More Windows option
Fig. 15.41 | MenuItem property MdiList example.

Windows (Cont.)
119
Good Programming Practice 15.1

When creating MDI applications, include a menu that
displays a list of the open child windows. This helps the
user select a child window quickly, rather than having to
search for it in the parent window.

Windows (Cont.)
120
MDI containers allow you to organize the placement of

its child windows.
Method LayoutMdi takes a value of the
MdiLayout enumeration (Fig. 15.42).

Windows (Cont.)
a) ArrangeIcons
b) Cascade
c) TileHorizontal
d) TileVertical
121
Fig. 15.42 | MdiLayout enumeration values.
Outline
122
Class UsingMDIForm (Fig. 15.43) demonstrates MDI

windows.
UsingMDIForm.cs
( 1 of 6 )
Fig. 15.43 | MDI parent-window class. (Part 1 of 6.)

Outline
123
UsingMDIForm.cs
( 2 of 6 )
Adding a new child Form

with certain properties.


Outline
124
UsingMDIForm.cs
( 3 of 6 )


Outline
125
UsingMDIForm.cs
( 4 of 6 )
Setting the layout of child
Forms.

Forms.

Forms.

Outline
126
UsingMDIForm.cs
( 5 of 6 )
a) Creating a child window
b) Viewing the child window

Outline
127
UsingMDIForm.cs
( 6 of 6 )
c) Changing child window organization
d) Child windows in Cascade view

Outline
Define the MDI child class by right clicking the project in the
Solution Explorer and selecting Add > Windows
Form.
Name the new class ChildForm (Fig. 15.44).
128
ChildForm.cs
( 1 of 2 )
Fig. 15.44 | MDI child ChildForm. (Part 1 of 2.)

Outline
129
ChildForm.cs
( 2 of 2 )
Setting the title-bar text.
Retrieving the
specified image
resource and
displaying it.
Fig. 15.44 | MDI child ChildForm. (Part 2 of 2.)

130
15.13 Visual Inheritance

Visual inheritance enables you to achieve visual
consistency.
For example, you could define a base Form that
contains a products logo and a specific background
color.
You then could use the base Form throughout an
application for uniformity and branding.
Class VisualInheritanceBaseForm (Fig. 15.45)

derives from Form.
Right click the project name in the Solution Explorer
and select Properties, then choose the Application
tab.
In the Output type drop-down list, change Windows
Application to Class Library.
Building the project produces the .dll.
Outline
131
VisualInheritance
BaseForm.cs
( 1 of 2 )
Fig. 15.45 | Class VisualInheritanceBaseForm, which inherits from

class Form, contains a Button (Learn More). (Part 1 of 2.)

Outline
132
VisualInheritance
BaseForm.cs
( 2 of 2 )
Fig. 15.45 | Class VisualInheritanceBaseForm, which inherits from

class Form, contains a Button (Learn More). (Part 2 of 2.)

133
15.13 Visual Inheritance (Cont.)

To visually inherit from
VisualInheritanceBaseForm, create a new
Windows Forms application.
In this application, add a reference to the .dll you
just created.
Modify the line that defines the class:
public partial class VisualInheritanceTestForm :
VisualInheritanceBase.VisualInheritanceBaseForm
134
15.13 Visual Inheritance (Cont.)

In Design view, the new applications Form should now display the
controls inherited from the base Form (Fig. 15.46).
Fig. 15.46 | Form demonstrating visual inheritance.
Outline
135
Class VisualInheritanceTestForm (Fig. 15.47) is a

derived class of VisualInheritanceBaseForm.
VisualInheritance
TestForm.cs
( 1 of 2 )
Inheriting the
Forms properties
and appearance.
Fig. 15.47 | Class VisualInheritanceTestForm, which inherits

from class VisualInheritanceBaseForm, contains an
additional Button. (Part 1 of 2.)

Outline
136
VisualInheritance
TestForm.cs
( 2 of 2 )
Derived class
cannot modify
these controls.
Derived class can

modify this
control.
Fig. 15.47 | Class VisualInheritanceTestForm, which inherits

from class VisualInheritanceBaseForm, contains an
additional Button. (Part 2 of 2.)

137
15.14 User-Defined Controls

The .NET Framework allows you to create custom
controls.
Custom controls appear in the users Toolbox.
There are multiple ways to create a custom control,
depending on the level of customization that you want.
138
15.14 User-Defined Controls (Cont.)
Fig. 15.48 | Custom-control creation.
139

Timers are invisible components that generate Tick
events at a set interval.
The Timers Interval property defines the number of
milliseconds between events.
Outline
Create a UserControl class for the project by selecting
Project > Add User Control .
We name the file (and the class) ClockUserControl.
Add a Label and a Timer to the UserControl.
Set the Timer interval to 1000 milliseconds.
140
ClockUserControl
.cs
( 1 of 2 )
clockTimer must be enabled by setting Enabled to true

(Fig. 15.49).
Fig. 15.49 | UserControl-defined clock. (Part 1 of 2.)

Outline
141
ClockUserControl
.cs
( 2 of 2 )
DateTime.Now is the
current time.
Method
ToLongTimeString
converts Now to a
string.
Fig. 15.49 | UserControl-defined clock. (Part 2 of 2.)

142

To create a UserControl that can be re-used by others:
Create a new Class Library project.
Delete Class1.cs, initially provided with the application.
Right click the project in the Solution Explorer and select
Add > User Control
Add controls and functionality to the UserControl
(Fig. 15.50).
Build the project. Visual Studio creates a .dll file for the
UserControl in the output directory (bin/Release).
143
Fig. 15.50 | Custom-control creation.
144

Create a new Windows Forms application.
Right click the ToolBox and select Choose
Items.
In the Choose Toolbox Items dialog, click
Browse
Select the .dll file that you created.
145

The item will then appear in the Choose Toolbox Items dialog
(Fig. 15.51).
Check this item and click OK to add the item to the Toolbox.
Fig. 15.51 | Custom control added to the ToolBox.
146

This control can now be added to the Form as if it were any other
control (Fig. 15.52).
Newly inserted
control
New ToolBox icon
Fig. 15.52 | Custom control added to a Form.

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I claim not to have controlled events, but confess

Capture its reality in paint!

An actor entering through the door, youve got

But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks?

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Multiple Document Interface (MDI) Windows

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Checked menu item

Fig. 15.1 | Menus, submenus and menu items.

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15.2 Menus (Cont.)

Fig. 15.2 | Editing menus in Visual Studio.

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15.2 Menus (Cont.)

Place & character

Fig. 15.3 | Adding ToolStripMenuItems to a MenuStrip.

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15.2 Menus (Cont.)

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15.2 Menus (Cont.)

Fig. 15.4 | Setting a menu items shortcut keys.

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15.2 Menus (Cont.)

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15.2 Menus (Cont.)

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15.2 Menus (Cont.)

Menu item options

Fig. 15.5 | Menu-item options.

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15.2 Menus (Cont.)

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15.2 Menus (Cont.)

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Look-and-Feel Observation 15.2

It is a convention to place an ellipsis after the

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The About menu item

The Exit menu item

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Each Color menu item calls

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Each Color menu item calls

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Each Font menu item calls

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Each Font menu

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Each Font menu item calls

The Bold and

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e) Application with Red

f) Message from About

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15.2 Menus (Cont.)

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