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Tutorial VisualStudio2008

1) The document provides instructions for customizing a Windows form application created in Visual Studio, including changing form properties like the background color, default font, and starting position. 2) It describes how to add buttons and icons to launch the application without debugging. The instructions also cover renaming a form from its default "Form1" and updating associated code. 3) Various form properties are configured like auto-scrolling, margins, and padding. The document explains the files and code generated by Visual Studio for the Windows form application.

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Daniel Olson

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)

192 views

Tutorial VisualStudio2008

Uploaded by

Daniel Olson

Available Formats

Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

You are on page 1/ 219

Tutorial: Visual Studio Windows Application

Basic Form Properties

1] Start Microsoft Visual Studio. Using the mouse, hold down the File Menu --> Select New --> Select Project. (See
Below!)

2] Select C# for the language. Select the Windows Application template. The Faculty form is going to be one of
several forms that I wish to create for a Trinity University database application; I am naming the Application TU; it
shall reside at the root of drive C.
Un-Check the Create directory for solution. Using the mouse, select/push the OK button. (See Below!)

3] All of the files and folders, created by Visual Studio, can be seen in directory C:\TU. (See Below!)

4] A fully executable windows application is now completed. (See Below!)

Compile & Execute The Windows Application From Within The Visual Studio Application Development
Environment

1] I normally do not use the Debug environment unless I am having problems. I most often launch the application
without the debugging. Using the mouse, hold down the Debug Menu --> Select Start Without Debugging. (See
Below!) You can also do this by holding down the Ctrl and F5 Keys.

2] Since we have added nothing to the form, it is pretty plain, but it does execute.

Close Form1.

Customize Visual Studio To Add A Start Without Debugging Icon

1] There are literally hundreds of customizations that you can do with Visual Studio. Since I use Start Without
Debugging a lot, I like to add it to my Visual Studio Menus. Using the mouse, hold down the Tools Menu --> Select
Customize. (See Below!)

2] Select the Commands Tab. Select the Debug Category. Scroll down and select the Start Without Debugging
Command. Using the mouse grab hold of the Start Without Debugging icon

and drag it to the desired location on the Visual Studio Tool Bar; I have placed it to the right of the Help Menu choice.
(See Below!)

Just for the sake of illustration, I have added two copies of this quick launch to the Visual Studio. (See Below!)

2] I can launch the new form by simply pressing either of the

icons.

Rename A Form

1] An application will often have many forms. This form shall contain information about Faculty; it should be named
appropriately. Using the mouse, right mouse click on Form1.cs and select Rename. (See Below!) Rename the form
Faculty.cs. Do not forget the .cs extension!

2] This may take a moment or two. It will make numerous changes to the classes.

Program.cs & Main()

1] Among the things changed with the renaming was Program.cs. Note that Program Main( ) concludes by running
Application.Run(new Faculty()); it launches the form we just created.

2] This same plain form still executes; try it.

Close the form.

Changing The Form Title Bar

1] Each and every form should have a great title. You can change any of the form properties by right mouse clicking
on any portion of the form that does not contain an object, such as a button, label, text box, combo box, etc. -->
Select Properties. (See Below!)

2] The Properties Panel will enable us to change many of the form properties. Select the Text Property. Each form
should have a clear, descriptive title. Change the Text Property of the form to Faculty Application Written By
(????!), <-- Replace ???? with Your Name! (See Below!)

to
3] Save the application and launch the form.

Close the Faculty form.

Changing The Form Background Color

and select a color pallet from Custom, Web, & System. Using the mouse, I have selected a dark blue from the Custom
color pallet. (See Below!)

2] Save the application and launch the form.

Close the Faculty form.

About The Form's Default Font Face, Style, Size & Color

3] When you look at the current Font Property below, you will notice that the Microsoft Sans Serif (8.25 pt) font is
defined for our form. Label1 uses this font in the screen capture above. When you look at the ForeColor Property
below, you will notice that the Black ControlText is defined. Label1 uses this black font color in the screen capture
above.

Changing The Form Default Font Face, Style, & Size

1] Return to the properties panel for the form (right mouse clicking on any portion of the form that does not contain
an object, such as a button, label, text box, combo box, etc. --> Select Properties) The default font for the form is
used whenever you drag font-oriented controls to the form. Font oriented controls include Labels, Text Boxes, Combo
Boxes, etc. Suppose I drag a Label to our form.
2] It is indeed the case that you can always change the font style, size, and color, but it is often more efficient to
make the desired settings the default. Suppose we wish to change the default form Font to 12 Point Ariel. Select the
Font Property. Press font configuration control

3] I wish to use the Ariel Font, Bold Style, and 12 Point Size. Using the mouse, select/push the OK button. (See
Below!)

Changing The Form Default Font Color

1] Return to the properties panel for the form (right mouse clicking on any portion of the form that does not contain
an object, such as a button, label, text box, combo box, etc. --> Select Properties) The default font for the form is
used whenever you drag font-oriented controls to the form. Font oriented controls include Labels, Text Boxes, Combo
Boxes, etc. Suppose I drag a Label to our form.
2]t is indeed the case that you can always change the font style, size, and color, but it is often more efficient to make
the desired settings the default. Suppose we wish to change the default form Font Color to White. Select the
ForeColor Property. Press the color selector drop-down control

and select White from the Custom Color Pallet. (See Below!)

Revisit The Form's Default Font Face, Style, Size & Color

1] Return to the properties panel for the form (right mouse clicking on any portion of the form that does not contain
an object, such as a button, label, text box, combo box, etc. --> Select Properties) The default font for the form is
used whenever you drag font-oriented controls to the form. Font oriented controls include Labels, Text Boxes, Combo
Boxes, etc. Suppose I drag a Label to our form.
2] A Label is once more dragged from the Toolbox to our form. Note that the font is 12 pt, Bold, Ariel, and White in
color. (See Below!)

Determine The Form Starting Location

1] Rather than use the Windows Default Location when this form is launched, suppose we wish to place the form 20
pixels down and across from the upper left corner of the screen.
2] Return to the properties panel for the form (right mouse clicking on any portion of the form that does not contain
an object, such as a button, label, text box, combo box, etc. --> Select Properties) The default font for the form is
used whenever you drag font-oriented controls to the form. Font oriented controls include Labels, Text Boxes, Combo
Boxes, etc. Suppose I drag a Label to our form.
3] This is a two step process. The first step is to change the StartPosition Property. There are several options; select
the Manual starting position. (See Below!)

4] If the form were launched now, it would be in the upper left corner of the screen because the Location values are
0,0. Change Location to 20, 20 to set the Manual Starting Position for our Faculty Form.

5] Save the application and launch the form.

Close the Faculty form. The StartingPosition Property can also be used to center the from.

AutoScroll

3] Change the AutoScroll Property to True. In order to illustrate AutoScroll, there must be some objects on the form.
(See Below!)

3] Save the application and launch the form.

4] When you grab the form window by the bottom right corner and begin to close the window, the scroll bars will
occur once you begin to close out some of the form objects. (See Below)

Form Variables Margin & Padding

The Margin property defines the space around the control that keeps other controls a specified distance from the
control's borders.
The Padding property defines the space in the interior of a control that keeps the control's content (for example, the
value of its Text property) a specified distance from the control's borders.
The following illustration shows the Padding and Margin properties on a control.

Files & Code

1] The main program for the project is Program.cs. See the code below!

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Windows.Forms;
namespace TU
{
static class Program
{
/// <summary>
/// The main entry point for the application.
/// </summary>
[STAThread]
static void Main()
{
Application.EnableVisualStyles();
Application.SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault(false);
Application.Run(new Faculty());
}
}
}
2] Visual Studio GUI creates code behind the Faculty.cs form in file Faculty.Designer.cs. (See Below!)
namespace TU
{
partial class Faculty
{
/// <summary>
/// Required designer variable.
/// </summary>
private System.ComponentModel.IContainer components = null;
/// <summary>
/// Clean up any resources being used.
/// </summary>
/// <param name="disposing">true if managed resources should be disposed; otherwise, false.</param>
protected override void Dispose(bool disposing)
{
if (disposing && (components != null))
{
components.Dispose();
}
base.Dispose(disposing);
}
#region Windows Form Designer generated code
/// <summary>
/// Required method for Designer support - do not modify
/// the contents of this method with the code editor.
/// </summary>
private void InitializeComponent()
{
this.SuspendLayout();
//
// Faculty
//
this.AutoScaleDimensions = new System.Drawing.SizeF(10F, 19F);
this.AutoScaleMode = System.Windows.Forms.AutoScaleMode.Font;
this.AutoSize = true;
this.AutoSizeMode = System.Windows.Forms.AutoSizeMode.GrowAndShrink;
this.AutoValidate = System.Windows.Forms.AutoValidate.EnableAllowFocusChange;
this.BackColor = System.Drawing.Color.Navy;
this.ClientSize = new System.Drawing.Size(505, 188);
this.Font = new System.Drawing.Font("Arial", 12F, System.Drawing.FontStyle.Bold,
System.Drawing.GraphicsUnit.Point, ((byte)(0)));
this.ForeColor = System.Drawing.Color.White;
this.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(20, 20);
this.Margin = new System.Windows.Forms.Padding(5, 4, 5, 4);
this.Name = "Faculty";
this.StartPosition = System.Windows.Forms.FormStartPosition.Manual;
this.Text = "Faculty Application Written By Dr. Thomas E. Hicks";

this.Load += new System.EventHandler(this.Faculty_Load);

this.ResumeLayout(false);
}
#endregion
}
}
Binary Executable TU.exe

1] The TU Project folder is located at c:\TU. Inside the project is a folder, called bin, that holds the binary executable.
By default, the binary executable is named like the project with an .exe extension. If you double-click on file TU.exe,
it will launch the form above without having to load Visual Studio.

Try this to make sure it works!

Tutorial: Visual Studio Windows Application

Labels & TextBoxes
Dr. Thomas E. Hicks
Computer Science Department
Trinity University

Purpose

The purpose of this tutorial is to show how to configure, name, and manipulate labels and textboxes in a basic
Windows Application with Visual Studio.

Purpose

The purpose of this tutorial is to show how to create a basic Windows Application with Visual Studio.

Previous Tutorials That Might Help You With This Tutorial

Project TU

1] The TU Project that is used for this tutorial is found below; place it at the root of drive C:\
TU-1.zip

Creating A Label

1] Labels are used to identify form content; They are used for prompts and to provide extraneous information on
forms. To create a label on the form, drag a Label from the Toolbox to the Faculty form. We are about to create a
Label for a prompt -> First Name. (See Below!)

Moving A Label About The Form

1] The label is an object created on the form with the line of code:
this.label1 = new System.Windows.Forms.Label();
2] When you select the form with the mouse, you can see a box that identifies object label1. A dark background can
make this box more difficult to identify. (See Below!)

3] Note the appearance of the cross-hairs icon

when the mouse is moved over object label1 below.

4] If you right mouse click on the label, you can drag it to the desired location on the form. Note the box that is
formed around the label as you move it.

Changing The Label's Font

1] Go to the properties panel for the label (right mouse clicking on the label. --> Select Properties)

(See Below!)

2] Select the Font Property. You can see that the current font is 12pt Ariel bold. Suppose we wish to change the font
to Comic Sans MS. Hold down the font selector

(See Below!)

3] Select the Comic Sans MS font - Regular style - 16 point. Using the mouse, select/push the OK button. (See
Below!)

4] Note the font change below.

5] You may select select and change multiple labels, using the procedure outlined above, at one time.
6] When doing multiple labels, it is often more efficient to set the Font associated with the form; thus it becomes the
default.

Changing The Label's Color

1] Return to the properties panel for the label (right mouse clicking on the label. --> Select Properties). Select the
ForeColor Property. You can see that the current forecolor is white. Suppose we wish to change the forecolor to
yellow. Press the color selector drop-down control

(See Below!)

and select Yellow from the Custom Color Pallet. (See Below!)

2] Note that the label color has been changed below!

Changing The Label's Background Color

1] Return to the properties panel for the label (right mouse clicking on the label. --> Select Properties). Select the
BackColor Property. You can see that the current backcolor is navy. Suppose we wish to change the forecolor to
purple. Press the color selector drop-down control

(See Below!)

and select a purple from the Custom Color Pallet. (See Below!)

2] Note that the label color has been changed below!

Changing The Label's Text

1] Return to the properties panel for the label (right mouse clicking on the label. --> Select Properties). Select the
Text Property. You can see that the current text is label1. Suppose we wish to change the text to First Name. Change
the Text Property to First Name. (See Below!)

2] Replace button1 with First Name. The label is now a prompt for the First Name. (See Below!)

4] This form still executes; try it. Note that the label object is no longer outlined. (See Below!)

Close the Faculty form.

Naming A Label

1] Some developers name each and every object on a form; I name almost every object, except labels. If you wish to
change one or more of the label properties with program code, it should be named; otherwise I encourage you to
consider it optional.
2] The name should contain no blanks. Suppose we wish to name the label - labFirstName.
3] Return to the properties panel for the label (right mouse clicking on the label. --> Select Properties). Select the
Name Property. You can see that the current name is label1. Change the Name Property to labFirstName. (See
Below!)

2] You can see that the label below has now been named.

Creating A Textbox

1] Textboxes are used both to display data and to enable the user to change that data. To create a textbox on the
form, drag a Label from the ToolBox to the right of the First Name prompt on the Faculty form. We are about to
create a Textbox which will enable the user to input and/or alter the FirstName. (See Below!)

Moving A Textbox About The Form

1] The Textbox is an object created on the form with the line of code:
this.textBox1 = new System.Windows.Forms.TextBox();
2] When you select the form with the mouse, you can see a box with three controls helps to identify the textbox. (See
Below!)

3] If you grab the right textbox control

and drag it to the right, you can expand the textbox from the right
side; dragging it to the left will contract the textbox. (See Below!)

4] If you grab the left textbox control

and drag it to the left, you can expand the textbox from the right
side; dragging it to the right will contract the textbox. (See Below!)

5] By default, the Textbox control is a single line field. One of the ways that you can change the control to handle
multiple lines is to grab the top Textbox control

This control brings up a dialog box

The multiline attribute adds six controls to the textbox (one on the top and one on the bottom and one on each
corner). You can now expand/contract from the top and bottom. You can expand/contract from any corner. (See
Below!)

6] Note the appearance of the cross-hairs icon

when the mouse is moved over object textbox1 below. If you
right mouse click on the textbox, you can drag it to the desired location on the form. (See Below!)

Textbox Input

1] The program should execute as is. Try it. The user can enter data into the form; try it. When designing the form,
you should make the container large enough for the user to enter data. Note that Contricissia almost fills the
container.

2] Note that Johassiofati more than fills the container, but the data simply scrolls; none of it is lost, but not all of it
is visible.

Changing The Textbox's Font

1] Go to the properties panel for the Textbox (right mouse clicking on the Textbox. --> Select Properties)
Below!)

(See

2] Select the Font Property. You can see that the current font is 12pt Ariel bold. Suppose we wish to change the font
to Comic Sans MS. Hold down the font selector

(See Below!)

3] Select the Comic Sans MS font - Regular style - 16 point. Using the mouse, select/push the OK button. (See
Below!)

4] Note the font change below. They only change is really in the height of the box.

5] This change becomes much more obvious when you execute the application. (See Below!)

6] You may select select and change multiple Textboxes, using the procedure outlined above, at one time.
6] When doing multiple Textboxes, it is often more efficient to set the Font associated with the form; thus it becomes
the default.

Changing The Textbox's Color

1] Return to the properties panel for the Textbox (right mouse clicking on the Textbox. --> Select Properties). Select
the ForeColor Property. You can see that the current forecolor is the black windows text. Suppose we wish to change
the forecolor to red. Press the color selector drop-down control

(See Below!)

and select Red from the Custom Color Pallet. (See Below!)

2] Note that the Textbox color has been changed below!

3] Once again it is best to show this by executing the application. Try it!

Changing The Textbox's Background Color

1] Return to the properties panel for the Textbox (right mouse clicking on the Textbox. --> Select Properties). Select
the BackColor Property. You can see that the current backcolor is white. Suppose we wish to change the forecolor to
purple. Press the color selector drop-down control

(See Below!)

and select a purple from the Custom Color Pallet. (See Below!)

2] Note that the Textbox color has been changed below!

3] Once again it is best to show this by executing the application. Try it! This is not a good color combination!

Naming A Textbox

1] It is extremely important to name every Textbox.The name should contain no blanks. The names should clearly
identify the data. Suppose we wish to name the Textbox - txtFirstName.
2] Return to the properties panel for the Textbox (right mouse clicking on the Textbox. --> Select Properties). Select
the Name Property. You can see that the current name is textBox1. Change the Text Property to First Name. (See
Below!)

2] You can see that the Textbox below has now been named.

Add Additional Labels & Textboxes

1] Add Labels named labLastName, labFirstName, labID, labGender, labLastSpecialtyID, labAbout

2] Add TextBoxes named txtLastName, txtFirstName, txtID, txtGender, txtLastSpecialtyID, txtAbout

3] It is generally considered a good design practice to name all textboxes

4] It is generally considered a good design practice to name labels if you are going to change them programatically!

Frame Your Form

1] It is generally considered a good design practice to frame the form content.

Manipulate the labels and textboxes on your form to create somewhat of a frame around the fields. There should be
about the same amount of blank space at the top, bottome, left, and right of your form. Make the amount of space
between the rows consistent; a lot of folk try to make it about the same as the distance to the frame. (See Below!)

Align Your Prompt Labels & Your Textbox Data Fields

1] It is generally considered a good design practice to have one or two major columns within a form, or within the
form's containers.
2] Using the mouse, drag/select Labels labFirstName, labSpecialtyID, and labAbout;

(See Below!)

3] When creating reports, sent to printers, it is often considered a good practice to left-justtify the prompts.
4] When creating forms, it is often considered a good practice to right-justtify the prompts within their respective
columns.
5] Once they are selected, hold down the Format Menu --> Select Align --> Select Rights to align labels
labFtirstName, labSpecialtyID, and labAbout on the right.

6] Using the mouse, drag/select Labels labLastName, labID, and labGender;

(See Below!)

7] Once they are selected, hold down the Format Menu --> Select Align --> Select Rights to align labels
labFirstName, labSpecialtyID, and labAbout on the right.

8] When creating forms, it is often considered a good practice to left-justtify the textboxes within their respective
columns.
9] Using the mouse, drag/select Textboxes txtFirstName, txtSpecialtyID, and txtAbout; you can hold down the ctrl
key and mouse select if you like. (See Below!)

10] Once they are selected, hold down the Format Menu --> Select Align --> Select Lefts to align Textboxes
txtFirstName, txtSpecialtyID, and txtAbout; on the left.

11] While the three fields are selected, drag the collection of textboxes close, but not too close, to their respective
labels. (See Below!)

12] Using the mouse, drag/select Labels labLastName, labID, and labGender;

(See Below!)

13] Once they are selected, hold down the Format Menu --> Select Align --> Select Rights to align labels
labFirstName, labSpecialtyID, and labAbout on the left.

14] Using the mouse, drag/select Textboxes txtID, txtLastName, and txtGender; you can hold down the ctrl key and
mouse select if you like. (See Below!)

15] Once they are selected, hold down the Format Menu --> Select Align --> Select Left to align Textboxes txtID,
txtLastName, and txtGender on the left.

16] It is often considered a good practice to make the space between the prompt and data entry fields consistent on
the entire form.
17] While the three fields are selected, drag the collection of textboxes close, but not too close, to their respective
labels; try to keep this distance consistent throughout the form. (See Below!)

18] When the prompt is to the left of the data entry control (textbox, checkbox, drop-down, etc), it is often
considered a good practice to make sure that the row data is aligned well horizontally
19] Using the mouse, drag/select all of the Labels & Textboxes in the first row of the data. (See Below!)

20] Once they are selected, hold down the Format Menu --> Select Align --> Select Middles to align the first row
horizontally.

21] Using the mouse, drag/select all of the Labels & Textboxes in the second row of the data. (See Below!)

22] Once they are selected, hold down the Format Menu --> Select Align --> Select Middles to align the second row
horizontally.

23] Using the mouse, drag/select all of the Labels & Textboxes in the third row of the data. (See Below!)

24] Once they are selected, hold down the Format Menu --> Select Align --> Select Middles to align the third row
horizontally.

25] Using the mouse, drag/select all of the Labels & Textboxes in the last row of the data. (See Below!)

26] Once they are selected, hold down the Format Menu --> Select Align --> Select Middles to align the last row
horizontally.

27] Once aligned, your form should look something like the one below.

Loading Values & Default Values In Textbox Fields.

1] Specialty ID # 4 is Parallel Processing. Suppose that the majority of Faculty were specializing in Parallel
Processing.
2] Assign the value "4" to txtSpecialtyID
3] Return to the properties panel for the Textbox (right mouse clicking on the Textbox. --> Select Properties). Select
the Text Property. You can see that the current Text is blank. Change the Text Property to 4. (See Below!)

4] Although the user can certainly change the SpecialtyID, it will now be seen as 4 when the form loads.

Databases & Forms Change

1] During the software lifecycle, it is common to add additional information to databases and the forms that support
them.
2] Create two labels, called labSSN and labOffPhone; keep these two new labels consistent in style and font. Add
them to your form. (See Below!)

Masked Textboxes

1] We would like to have the social security number in a numeric format 000-00-0000 where the 0 represents any
numeric digit 0-9. "If you expect your user to be a total idiot, you will seldom be disappointed." Some will enter a
capital 'O' instead of a zero. Some will include dashes and others won't. Some will use a lower case 'l' instead of a
one. Some will enter only 8 digits. Others will just plain mess it all up.
2] The masked textbox both verifies the data entry and reduces the likelihood of user error.
3] Using the mouse, drag the MaskedTextBox control from the toolbox to your form. Name the field txtSSN. (See
Below!)

4] Return to the properties panel for the MaskedTextBox (right mouse clicking on the label. --> Select Properties).
Select the Mask property. At the moment, there is no mask; the user could enter any type of alpha-numeric data.
Using the mouse, select/push the

(See Below!)

5] We could make our own custom mask and assign 000-00-0000 to the mask; but since there is already a standard
Social Security Number, let's use it. (See Below!)

6] Run the form. As you can see from the mask, the field could be a bit smaller. Try entering the data; note that you
do not have to enter the dashes. It does not verify that the Social Security Number entered is indeed valid, but it will
not accept an 'l' or a '0' or any other invalid character; try it! (See Below!)

7] There are often many ways to do something. Click the

opportunity to set/change the mask. (See Below!)

control on top the MaskedTextBox, you will also get an

8] Add a MaskedTextBox field, called txtOffPhone, to the form. Configure it for the phone number type. (See Below!)

9] If we wanted the ID to be a four digit number with a dash in the middle, we could create a custom mask 00-00.
10] If we wanted the input mask to be two digit alpha-numeric, we could make the input mask AA.

Enable Scroll Bars On MultiLine Textbox

1] Enter the following data into the txtAbout container. You can paste it in if you like.

Now is the time for all good folk to use C# for rapid prototyping and
development. This prototyping can be done for both web apps and stand alone
systems.
Welcome to Software Engineering at Trinity University's Computer Science
Department.
2] The top portion of it scrolled off. You can hit the up arrow key and see it, but this would give the user no indication
that there is additional data. Yuk! (See Below!)

3] As we look at the properties for txtAbout, you will notice that the contents of this Multiline are going to be
stored in a dynamic String Array. Using the mouse, hold down the ScrollBars and select Vertical. (See Below!)

4] Once enough data is entered to need the scroll, the control activates; this provides the user with some indication
that there is additional data. (See Below!)

RichTextbox

1] An alternative to configuring the TextBox control for txtAbout would be to drag the RichTextBox control instead. If
the back end of your data needed to preserve paragraph and text formatting, this is definitely the way to go. If not, it
is a choice.

2] You will notice that the contents of this Multiline are also going to be stored in a dynamic String Array. The
ScrollBars are automatically set. (See The Properties!) As you can see below, there is little difference in the form
appearance.

Files & Code

1] The main program for the project is Program.cs. See the code below!
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Windows.Forms;
namespace TU
{
static class Program
{
/// <summary>
/// The main entry point for the application.
/// </summary>
[STAThread]
static void Main()
{
Application.EnableVisualStyles();
Application.SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault(false);
Application.Run(new Faculty());
}
}
}

2] Visual Studio GUI creates code behind the Faculty.cs form in file Faculty.Designer.cs. Notice how the named
objects make it much easier to identify the various form objects! (See Below!)
namespace TU
{
partial class Faculty
{
/// <summary>
/// Required designer variable.
/// </summary>
private System.ComponentModel.IContainer components = null;
/// <summary>
/// Clean up any resources being used.
/// </summary>
/// <param name="disposing">true if managed resources should be disposed; otherwise, false.</param>
protected override void Dispose(bool disposing)
{
if (disposing && (components != null))
{
components.Dispose();
}
base.Dispose(disposing);
}
#region Windows Form Designer generated code
///
///
///
///

<summary>
Required method for Designer support - do not modify
the contents of this method with the code editor.
</summary>

private void InitializeComponent()

{
this.labFirstName = new System.Windows.Forms.Label();
this.txtFirstName = new System.Windows.Forms.TextBox();
this.txtSpecialtyID = new System.Windows.Forms.TextBox();
this.labSpecialtyID = new System.Windows.Forms.Label();
this.txtLastName = new System.Windows.Forms.TextBox();
this.labLastName = new System.Windows.Forms.Label();
this.txtGender = new System.Windows.Forms.TextBox();
this.labGender = new System.Windows.Forms.Label();
this.txtID = new System.Windows.Forms.TextBox();
this.labID = new System.Windows.Forms.Label();
this.txtAbout = new System.Windows.Forms.TextBox();
this.labAbout = new System.Windows.Forms.Label();
this.labOffPhone = new System.Windows.Forms.Label();
this.labSSN = new System.Windows.Forms.Label();
this.txtSSN = new System.Windows.Forms.MaskedTextBox();
this.txtOffPhone = new System.Windows.Forms.MaskedTextBox();
this.SuspendLayout();
//
// labFirstName
//
this.labFirstName.AutoSize = true;
this.labFirstName.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(22, 74);
this.labFirstName.Name = "labFirstName";
this.labFirstName.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(91, 19);
this.labFirstName.TabIndex = 0;
this.labFirstName.Text = "First Name";
//
// txtFirstName
//
this.txtFirstName.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(118, 70);
this.txtFirstName.Name = "txtFirstName";
this.txtFirstName.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(140, 26);
this.txtFirstName.TabIndex = 0;
//
// txtSpecialtyID
//
this.txtSpecialtyID.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(118, 114);
this.txtSpecialtyID.Name = "txtSpecialtyID";
this.txtSpecialtyID.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(51, 26);
this.txtSpecialtyID.TabIndex = 2;
//
// labSpecialtyID
//
this.labSpecialtyID.AutoSize = true;
this.labSpecialtyID.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(14, 118);
this.labSpecialtyID.Name = "labSpecialtyID";
this.labSpecialtyID.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(99, 19);
this.labSpecialtyID.TabIndex = 1;
this.labSpecialtyID.Text = "Specialty ID";
//
// txtLastName
//
this.txtLastName.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(377, 70);
this.txtLastName.Name = "txtLastName";
this.txtLastName.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(175, 26);
this.txtLastName.TabIndex = 4;
//
// labLastName
//
this.labLastName.AutoSize = true;
this.labLastName.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(281, 74);
this.labLastName.Name = "labLastName";
this.labLastName.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(90, 19);
this.labLastName.TabIndex = 3;
this.labLastName.Text = "Last Name";
//
// txtGender
//
this.txtGender.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(377, 114);
this.txtGender.Name = "txtGender";
this.txtGender.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(24, 26);
this.txtGender.TabIndex = 6;
//
// labGender
//
this.labGender.AutoSize = true;
this.labGender.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(306, 118);
this.labGender.Name = "labGender";
this.labGender.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(65, 19);
this.labGender.TabIndex = 5;
this.labGender.Text = "Gender";
//
// txtID
//
this.txtID.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(377, 24);
this.txtID.Name = "txtID";

this.txtID.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(65, 26);

this.txtID.TabIndex = 8;
//
// labID
//
this.labID.AutoSize = true;
this.labID.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(346, 24);
this.labID.Name = "labID";
this.labID.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(25, 19);
this.labID.TabIndex = 7;
this.labID.Text = "ID";
//
// txtAbout
//
this.txtAbout.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(118, 212);
this.txtAbout.Multiline = true;
this.txtAbout.Name = "txtAbout";
this.txtAbout.ScrollBars = System.Windows.Forms.ScrollBars.Vertical;
this.txtAbout.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(442, 79);
this.txtAbout.TabIndex = 10;
//
// labAbout
//
this.labAbout.AutoSize = true;
this.labAbout.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(58, 212);
this.labAbout.Name = "labAbout";
this.labAbout.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(55, 19);
this.labAbout.TabIndex = 9;
this.labAbout.Text = "About";
//
// labOffPhone
//
this.labOffPhone.AutoSize = true;
this.labOffPhone.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(264, 165);
this.labOffPhone.Name = "labOffPhone";
this.labOffPhone.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(107, 19);
this.labOffPhone.TabIndex = 11;
this.labOffPhone.Text = "Office Phone";
//
// labSSN
//
this.labSSN.AutoSize = true;
this.labSSN.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(57, 165);
this.labSSN.Name = "labSSN";
this.labSSN.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(56, 19);
this.labSSN.TabIndex = 12;
this.labSSN.Text = "SSN #";
//
// txtSSN
//
this.txtSSN.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(118, 163);
this.txtSSN.Mask = "000-00-0000";
this.txtSSN.Name = "txtSSN";
this.txtSSN.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(97, 26);
this.txtSSN.TabIndex = 13;
//
// txtOffPhone
//
this.txtOffPhone.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(378, 163);
this.txtOffPhone.Mask = "(999) 000-0000";
this.txtOffPhone.Name = "txtOffPhone";
this.txtOffPhone.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(116, 26);
this.txtOffPhone.TabIndex = 14;
//
// Faculty
//
this.AutoScaleMode = System.Windows.Forms.AutoScaleMode.None;
this.AutoSizeMode = System.Windows.Forms.AutoSizeMode.GrowAndShrink;
this.AutoValidate = System.Windows.Forms.AutoValidate.EnableAllowFocusChange;
this.BackColor = System.Drawing.Color.Navy;
this.ClientSize = new System.Drawing.Size(584, 322);
this.Controls.Add(this.txtOffPhone);
this.Controls.Add(this.txtSSN);
this.Controls.Add(this.labSSN);
this.Controls.Add(this.labOffPhone);
this.Controls.Add(this.txtAbout);
this.Controls.Add(this.labAbout);
this.Controls.Add(this.txtID);
this.Controls.Add(this.labID);
this.Controls.Add(this.txtGender);
this.Controls.Add(this.labGender);
this.Controls.Add(this.txtLastName);
this.Controls.Add(this.labLastName);
this.Controls.Add(this.txtSpecialtyID);
this.Controls.Add(this.labSpecialtyID);
this.Controls.Add(this.txtFirstName);
this.Controls.Add(this.labFirstName);
this.Font = new System.Drawing.Font("Arial", 12F, System.Drawing.FontStyle.Bold,

System.Drawing.GraphicsUnit.Point, ((byte)(0)));
this.ForeColor = System.Drawing.Color.White;
this.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(20, 20);
this.Margin = new System.Windows.Forms.Padding(5, 4, 5, 4);
this.Name = "Faculty";
this.StartPosition = System.Windows.Forms.FormStartPosition.Manual;
this.Text = "Faculty Application Written By Dr. Thomas E. Hicks";
this.Load += new System.EventHandler(this.Faculty_Load);
this.ResumeLayout(false);
this.PerformLayout();
}
#endregion
private
private
private
private
private
private
private
private
private
private
private
private
private
private
private
private

System.Windows.Forms.Label labFirstName;
System.Windows.Forms.TextBox txtFirstName;
System.Windows.Forms.TextBox txtSpecialtyID;
System.Windows.Forms.Label labSpecialtyID;
System.Windows.Forms.TextBox txtLastName;
System.Windows.Forms.Label labLastName;
System.Windows.Forms.TextBox txtGender;
System.Windows.Forms.Label labGender;
System.Windows.Forms.TextBox txtID;
System.Windows.Forms.Label labID;
System.Windows.Forms.TextBox txtAbout;
System.Windows.Forms.Label labAbout;
System.Windows.Forms.Label labOffPhone;
System.Windows.Forms.Label labSSN;
System.Windows.Forms.MaskedTextBox txtSSN;
System.Windows.Forms.MaskedTextBox txtOffPhone;

}
}

Binary Executable TU.exe

Try this to make sure it works!

Tutorial: Visual Studio Windows Application

Buttons And Color Picker

Dr. Thomas E. Hicks

Computer Science Department
Trinity University

Purpose

The purpose of this tutorial is to show how to configure, name, and manipulate buttons in a basic Windows
Application with Visual Studio.

Previous Tutorials That Might Help You With This Tutorial

Creating A Button

1] Buttons are used to enable the user to trigger events; To create a Button on the form, drag a Button from the
Toolbox to the Faculty form. We are about to create a button to Exit the application. (See Below!)

Moving A Button About The Form

1] The Button is an object created on the form with the line of code:
this.button1 = new System.Windows.Forms.Button();
2] When you select the form with the mouse, you can see a box that identifies object Button1. Note the appearance
of the cross-hairs icon

when the mouse is moved over object Button1 below. (See Below!)

3] If you right mouse click on the Button, you can drag it to the desired location on the form. Note the box that is
formed around the Button as you move it.

Changing The Button's Font

1] Go to the properties panel for the Button (right mouse clicking on the Button. --> Select Properties)
Below!)

(See

2] Select the Font Property. You can see that the current font is 12pt Ariel bold. Suppose we wish to change the font
to Comic Sans MS. Hold down the font selector

(See Below!)

3] Select the Comic Sans MS font - Regular style - 16 point. Using the mouse, select/push the OK button. (See
Below!)

4] Note the font change below.

5] You may select select and change multiple Buttons, using the procedure outlined above, at one time.
6] When doing multiple Buttons, it is often more efficient to set the Font associated with the form; thus it becomes
the default.

Changing The Button's Color

1] Return to the properties panel for the Button (right mouse clicking on the Button. --> Select Properties). Select
the ForeColor Property. (See Below!)

and select Maroon from the Custom Color Pallet. (See Below!)

2] Note that the Button color has been changed below!

Changing The Button's Background Color

1] Return to the properties panel for the Button (right mouse clicking on the Button. --> Select Properties). Select
the BackColor Property. You can see that the current backcolor is navy. Suppose we wish to change the forecolor to a
compatable blue-gray color. (See Below!)

2] Suppose you screen capture a copy of our form as seen below.

3] Load http://colorhunter.com into your browser and upload your image (See Below!)

4] I wish to make my buttons like the second color above. Highlight the Navy beside BackColor (See Below!)

and replace it with #334E8A. (See Below!)

Changing The Button's Text

1] I ultimately want my text to fit the button. Now that we have demonstrated how to change the button font and
color, take a moment to change your button to your button font to 12 pt bold Ariel Gold as shown below.

2] Return to the properties panel for the Button (right mouse clicking on the Button. --> Select Properties). Select
the Text Property. You can see that the current text is button1. Suppose we wish to change the text to First Name.
Change the Text Property to Exit. (See Below!)

2] Replace button1 with Exit. (See Below!)

4] This form still executes; try it. Note that the Button object is no longer outlined. (See Below!)

Close the Faculty form.

Resizing A Button

1] Select the button with the mouse. You can drag from the top to make it higher, drag from the bottom to make it
lower, drag from the right to expand in that direction, and drag from the left to expand it in that direction. You can
also drag at a diagonal from any corner. Try it.
(See Below!)

2] In the screen capture below, you can see that I am dragging/expanding the exit button on the left. (See Below!)

3] The OK button is now larger. (See Below!)

Naming A Button

1] You should name every Button. The name should contain no blanks. Suppose we wish to name the Button btnExit; you might also name it cmdExit.
2] Return to the properties panel for the Button (right mouse clicking on the Button. --> Select Properties). Select
the Name Property. You can see that the current name is Button1. Change the Name Property to btnExit. (See
Below!)

2] You can see that the Button below has now been named.

Assigning Code To A Button

1] Double click on the Exit button. (See Below!)

2] When you double click on a button, it automatically creates a shell for the button's click event in the class code
file. You can see the shell for btnExit_Click in the Facutlty.cs file below. The cursor is even placed in the procedure;
we are ready to insert code.

3] The code necessary to exit the application is

Application.Exit();
4] Enter that code in the function.

5] Run/Compile/Execute your application. Try the Exit button! When the button is pushed/clicked, the click event
associated with that named button is automatically fired; the application then stops. (See Below!)

Using An Image For A Button

1] I downloaded the image below from the Internet. It is neither creative nor good, but it was s bit easier than
drawing one with a paint package. I would like to use it on my Faculty form.

2] I saved image Exit.jpg in C:\TU. (See Below!)

3] Return to the properties panel for the Button (right mouse clicking on the Button. --> Select Properties). Select
the Image Property. You can see that there is no current image. Hold down the font selector
Below!)(See Below!)

(See

4] Import the image into the project. Using the mouse, select/push the Import button below.

5] Go to C:\TU and select the Exit.jpg image.

Using the mouse select/push the OK button. (See Below!)

6] The Exit Image has now been added to the Resource file associated with the project. Using the mouse select/push
the OK button. (See Below!)

7] The button needs to be reshaped. The exit text needs to be removed. (See Below!)

8] I have reshaped the button below.

9] You can use any image from the internet, any image from a button collection or any image you draw as a
background for your buttons. (See Below!)

10] This exit image is not very good, but it might be better if you shaded the background. (See Below!)

About Button Flatstyles

1] The default flatstyle is Standard.

2] The left image, below, shows a standard flatstyle button; the right image, below, shows a standard flatstyle button
with mouse over. There is no obvious difference.

3] The flatstyle is now set to popup.

4] The left image, below, shows a popup flatstyle button; the right image, below, shows a popup flatstyle button with
mouse over. Note a slight difference around the image border as it turns light blue.

5] The flatstyle is now set to flat.

6] The left image, below, shows a flat flatstyle button; the right image, below, shows a flat flatstyle button with
mouse over. Note a definite difference in color. It is much more obvious that this is a button. I often use flat!

Create Button ShowName & Code It With MessageBox

1] Add Button btnShowName to your form. You may copy and past the btnExit and rename! (See Below!)

2] Double click on Button btnShowName and add the following code! (See Below!)

3] The call to MessageBox.Show brings up a message box and displays the string passed as an argumet. (See Below!)

4] This is cool, but it does not show the full name. Change the code to the following:

5] Enter a First Name and push the ShowName button. (See Below!)

6] The call to MessageBox.Show brings up a message box and displays the string passed as an argument. (See
Below!)

7] This is cool, but it does not show the full name. Change the code to the following:

8] Enter an integer ID and push the ShowName button. (See Below!)

9] The call to MessageBox.Show brings up a message box and displays the string passed as an argument. (See
Below!)

10] A more compact version of code which does the same thing can be seen below. (See Below!)

11] This is cool, but it does not show the full name. Change the code to the following:

12] Enter data such as that below and push the ShowName button. (See Below!)

13] Note that all of the character-type data has been changed to upper case. (See Below!)

14] This is cool, but it does not show the full name. Change the code to the following:

15] Enter data such as that below and push the ShowName button. (See Below!)

Tutorial: Tutorial: Visual Studio Windows Application

Menu Driven Application With Multiple Forms

Purpose

The purpose of this tutorial is to show how to configure, name, and manipulate menus in a basic Windows Application
with Visual Studio; buttons on a single form shall open multiple database forms within a single application.
Tutorial: MSSQL-Forms - Windows Application & Basic Form Properties

Design Considerations

1] It is always best to think about design at the beginning of a project. The best way to design a menu driven system
is to design the upper level main menu first and design your lower-level data forms later. This is great in theory, but I
have found that my students often design at least one or two of the lower-level data forms before they begin to think
about the main menu.
2] Within this tutorial, I am going to assume that we have already completed the TU Faculty form backed up
in directory C:\TU-Faculty. We will try to figure out how to get that form into our new menu driven system.
3] Let us assume that we would like to have an upper level menu with four options:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Bring Up The Faculty Form

Bring Up The Specialty ID Form
Bring Up The Student Form
Exit

Rename The Main Form To MainMenu.cs

1] Change the name of Form1.cs to MainMenu.cs

2] Select a background Color (Dark Blue) for the application.
3] Select a default Font face (Arie), Font Color (White), Font Style (Bold)
4] Open the application at the top of your screen - about the middle. You can adjust the size in accordance with your
buttons later.
5] Give the application a proper title (Trinity University Management System Written By Dr. Thomas E. Hicks) ; it
should include who designed the Application .
Tutorial: MSSQL-Forms - Windows Application & Basic Form Properties

6] you can see, Program.cs will start with this form.

7] you can see, Program.cs will start with this form.

Add A New Form To A Project

1] Using the mouse, right mouse click on TU Project --> Select Add --> Select Windows Form ... (See Below!)

2] We are going to design a basic form to be used as a model for all of our application data forms. Let's call this form
TUForm.cs. Using the mouse, select/push the Add button. (See Below!)

Configure This Form To Be A Template That Can Be Used For Other Forms

1] Rather than repeatedly change the default fonts, colors, etc. for all forms throughout the life cycle of this
application, let us create one basic form; we can then copy and paste that basic form over and over.
2] Visual Studio would enable us to design a formal template for the form that would appear in the new item list
above; that is beyond the scope and complexity of this tutorial.
3] Change the name of Form1.cs to MainMenu.cs
4] Select a background Color (Dark Blue) for the application.
5] Select a default Font face (Arie), Font Color (White), Font Style (Bold)
6] Set this from to open on the left below your MainMenu form.
7] Leave the title blank.

Create Form Faculty - Make A Copy Of TUForm.cs - Rename It To Faculty.cs

1] Using the mouse, right mouse click on TUForms.cs --> Select Copy. (See Below!)

2] Using the mouse, right mouse click on TU Project --> Select Paste. (See Below!)

3] Right mouse click on Copy of TuForms.cs --> Select Rename. (See Below!)

4] Rename the form to Faculty.cs.

5] Name the form Faculty. Review and make sure each of your forms are named properly!
6] Change the form text to reflect which Application (TU ) and which form (Faculty Form) and who wrote or designed
it ( Written By Dr. Thomas E. Hicks) (See Below!)

Create Form Student - Make A Copy Of TUForm.cs - Rename It To Student.cs

1] Use the process, described above, to make another copy of TUForms.cs.

2] Rename the form to Student.cs.
3] Name the form Student. Review and make sure each of your forms are named properly!
4] Change the form text to reflect which Application (TU ) and which form (Student Form) and who wrote or designed
it ( Written By Dr. Thomas E. Hicks) (See Below!)

Create Form SpecialtyID - Make A Copy Of TUForm.cs - Rename It To SpecialtyID.cs

1] Use the process, described above, to make another copy of TUForms.cs.

2] Rename the form to SpecialtyID.cs.
3] Name the form SpecialtyID. Review and make sure each of your forms are named properly!
4] Change the form text to reflect which Application (TU ) and which form (Specialty ID Form) and who wrote or
designed it ( Written By Dr. Thomas E. Hicks) (See Below!)

Common Student Error

1] An error message, similar to the one below, is generated when two of your forms have the same name.

Add btnFaculty To MainMenu.cs

1] Add btnFaculty to MainMenu.cs.

2] Select a compatible color combination.
3] Make the flatstyle flat.
4] Review the tutorial below if you are having problems.
Tutorial: MSSQL-Forms - Windows Application - Buttons & Textboxes

5] Add the code below to the btnFaculty click event.

6] You should now be able to open the faculty form by pushing the button on the main menu. You should be able to
close it and reopen it agian. Adjust the Location Property until the form opens on the left side of you screen slightly
below the main menu. (See Below!)

Add btnStudent To MainMenu.cs

1] Add btnStudent to MainMenu.cs.

2] Select a compatible color combination.
3] Make the flatstyle flat.
4] I suggest that you copy and paste the btnFaculty. Rename the copy. Change the text to Student Sub-System.

5] Add the code below to the btnStudent click event.

6] You should now be able to open the faculty form by pushing the button on the main menu. You should be able to
close it and reopen it agian. Adjust the Location Property of the Student Menu until the form opens slightly below and
slightly right of the Faculty Menu. Note that you can open and close both. (See Below!)

6] Note that when you close the main form, both the Student and Faculty forms close as well.

Add btnSpecialtyID To MainMenu.cs

1] Add btnSpecialtyID to MainMenu.cs.

2] Select a compatible color combination.
3] Make the flatstyle flat.
4] I suggest that you copy and paste the btnFaculty. Rename the copy. Change the text to Specialty Sub-System.

5] Add the code below to the btnSpecialtyID click event.

6] You should now be able to open the SpecialtyID form by pushing the button on the main menu. You should be able
to close it and reopen it agian. Adjust the Location Property of the SpecialtyID Menu until the form opens slightly
below and slightly right of the Student Menu. Note that you can open and close all three forms. (See Below!)

6] Note that when you close the main form, both the Student and Faculty and the SpecialtyID forms close as well.

Add btnExit To MainMenu.cs

1] Add btnExit to MainMenu.cs.

2] Add the standard exit code to the form. (See Below!)

3] Test the application to make sure that all four buttons function properly.

Tranfer Form Data From TU-3

1] Open the Project stored in C\:TU-Faculty.

TU-3.zip
2] Open the faculty form. Select everything on the form (ctrl-A). Copy the selection (ctrl-C). Close the Application.

3] Return to the menu-driven TU system. Open the Faculty.cs form. (See Below!)

4] Paste the data and move into place with your mouse.

5] Test your application.

Copy/Paste & Code Behind Buttons

1] The form opens properly; it can be seen below.

2] The Exit button on the form does not work. When you do the copy/paste, you get all of the objects, but not the
code behind. If you wanted the code behind, you could enter the .cs file and copy/past it into the .cs file. The code
behind button Exit wasApplication.Exit(). Since we do not want the Faculty form to kll the whole application, let us
simply remove the button from our form.

Form State Problem?

1] On another tutorial, I will show you how to get data from the form into the MSSQL database. For the moment, let
us suppose that you have started the Faculty Sub-System in order to add a new faculty member. Enter only the first
four fields as shown below.

2] Let us now suppose that you get a phone call and must open up the Student Sub-System. Do it. Let us suppose
that you have looked up the phone number for Jane Doe.

3] Suppose that in the process of working, you close the Faculty form by selecting the X in the top right corner. Do it.
4] Now you are finished with the Student Subsystem. Close the Student Sub-System.
5] You are now ready to finish entering the faculty member Tom Hicks. Once more select the Faculty-Subsystem.
6] We have a problem - the data is gone! Yuk!
7] Suppose Jane never called us back and once more I need to find Jane. If you select the Student-Subsystem, you
will find that you have to look up Jane's record again. Yuk!
8] Perhaps there is a way to change the state of the forms so that when we click the menu button at the top, it
returns us to the previous state of that sub-system.

Form State Problem Solution

1] Open the code for MainMenu.cs. The proper way to handle the state problem is to create the forms in the
MainMenu() constructor and show them in the button code. In order for the both the constructor and the button code
to have access to variables faculty, student, and specialthid, they must be declared at the the top of the form as
shown below.

2] Add the three lines of code to initialize/create the three form objects to the constructor. (See Above!)
3] The button click event needs only to show the respective forms. (See Below!)

4] Run MainMenu.cs. When you load the faculty form the first time it works great. When you close it with the X at the
top of the form and then re-load it you get the following error. Yuk!

5] We can eliminate this error by placing a close button to each of our forms. Create btnClose.

6] The one line of code for the btnClose click event is as follows:

7] Copy and paste the btnClose to forms Student and SpecialtyID, add the code behind each of the buttons as well.
8] Run the application. Load all three forms. Move them around to where you can see them. Enter some data the First
Name, Last Name, and ID into the faculty form as shown below.

9] Push the Close buttons on all of the forms. Push the Faculty button on the Menu once more. Note that the state
remains constant - the data is still there!.
10] All is going to work well until the user forgets and closes one of the boxes with the x. This will happen over and
over. Yuk!
11] Solution I is to change the FormBorderStyle Property on the Faculty Form to None. (See Below!)

12] Solution I eliminates the error problem, but the Faculty window can not be moved. It can not be minimized! It
has to icon to identify the app. It has no title to clearly distinguish this Sub-System from another. Yuk! (See Below!)

13] Set the FormBorderStyle back to sizeable.

14] Solution II is to change the ControlBox Property on the Faculty Form to false. (See Below!)

15] Solution II is certainly better than Solution I. The title bar enables you to distinguish one Sub-System from
another. The window can be moved.. It has an icon to identify the app. Unfortunately it can not be minimized; there
is enough help on the internet to enable you to write a custom minimize button (See Below!)

16] Set the ControlBox back to true.

17] Solution III is to add the code, boxed in red, to the top of your Faculty, SpecialtyID, and Student Forms. This
code was sent to me by a former student by the name of Mr. Derek Farney. It offers the easiest good solution to the
problem.

18] As you can see below, this code simply disables the close box. We can still use the app icon, the title bar, the
minimize, and maximize buttons should we choose.

19] This is such a good solution, that I wanted to provide you with the code in electronic form; you can copy and
paste it into your form files.
private const int CS_NOCLOSE = 0x200;
protected override CreateParams CreateParams
{
get

{
CreateParams cp = base.CreateParams;
cp.ClassStyle = cp.ClassStyle | CS_NOCLOSE;
return cp;
}
}

MenuStrip Objects

1] MenuStrip objects offer an alternative to the button-oriented approach illustrated in this system.

Left For You To Do

1] This application is a long way from complete. The Student form and SpecialtyID form need to be populated with
data. All three forms will need buttons like New, Delete, Edit, Cancel, Next, Previous, Print, etc.
2] Visual Studio has the ability to design custom, non-rectangular windows. Enjoy!

Tutorial: Visual Studio Windows Application

MenuStrip Driven Applications

Dr. Thomas E. Hicks

Computer Science Department
Trinity University

Purpose

The purpose of this tutorial is to show how to configure, name, and manipulate menu strips in a basic Windows
Application with Visual Studio; buttons on a single menustrip shall open multiple database forms within a single
application.

Previous Tutorials That Might Help You With This Tutorial

If You Have Difficulty With This Tutorial, You Might Find These Help Prepare You For This Tutorial
I Recommend That My Students Complete The Tutorials In This Order!
Tutorial: Visual Studio 2008 Install
Tutorial: Visual Studio 2008 SP1 Install
Tutorial: Visual Studio Windows Application - Forms - Basic Forms
Tutorial: Visual Studio Windows Application - Forms - Labels & TextBoxes
Tutorial: Visual Studio Windows Application - Forms - Buttons & Color Picker
Tutorial: Visual Studio Windows Application - Forms - Menu Driven Application With Multiple Forms

Rename The Basic Windows Application

1] Launch Visual Studio and create a windows application called GarageManagement. (See Below!)

2] Change the name of Form1 to Application GarageManagementApplication. Using the mouse, right mouse click
on Form1 and select Rename. (See Below!)

3] When ask about renaming all references, select Yes. (See Below!)

4] Using the mouse, right mouse click on the form and select Properties. Change the form Text property to Garage
Management Application. (See Below!

Change The Main Application Form To A Multi Document Interface

1] The first step in configuring this Application form to house all of our Garage Application forms is to make our form
a Multi Document Interface type form. Change the IsMdIContainer property of the Garage Management Application
form to True. (See Below).

Add A MenuStrip To The Form

1] Using the mouse, drag the MenuStrip from the toolbox to the top of the Garage Management Appplication form.
(See Below!)

2] Note that the MenuStrip object actually appears below the window. Right mouse click on the MenuStrip and select
Properties. (See Below!)

3] Change the Name property of the MenuStrip to MainMenu. See below..

Setting Up The Main Menu

1] Move the mouse into the far left cell of the MainMenu (See Below!) Enter Login. Change the Name property
to Login as well. (See Below!)

2] Move the mouse into the next cell of the MainMenu (See Below!) Enter Customers. Change the Name property
to Customers as well. (See Below!)

3] Move the mouse down below Customers in MainMenu (See Below!) Enter Add New Customer. Change
the Name property to AddNewCustomer as well. (See Below!)

4] Move the mouse down below Customers in MainMenu (See Below!) Enter Search Customers. Change
the Name property to SearchCustomers as well. (See Below!)

5] Move the mouse To the Right Of Search Customers (See Below!) Enter By Name. Change the Name property
to SearchCustomersByName as well. (See Below!)

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6] Move the mouse below SearchByName of the MainMenu (See Below!) Enter By ID. Change the Name Property
to SearchCustomersByID as well. (See Below!)

7] Move the mouse below SearchCustomers of the MainMenu (See Below!) Enter Print Reports. Change
the Name Property to CustomerPrintReports as well. (See Below!)

8] Move the mouse below CustomerPrintReports of the MainMenu (See Below!) Enter View Customer. Change
the Name Property to ViewCustomer as well. (See Below!)

9] Creating menus is often a work in progress. Suppose we look at this application and realize that the View Customer
is the most often used choice within the Customers menu; thus we would like it to be the top choice. You can see in
the series of screen captures below how selected ViewCustomer by pressing on it with the mouse and then I drug the
cell upward one row at a time until it reached the top; I then let go of the mouse. (See Below!)

10] Although you could do it with code, it is a simple process to re-organize the menu choices with the mouse. You
can also copy and paste menu components. (See Below!)

11] Move the mouse into the next cell of the MainMenu (See Below!) Enter Customer Purchases. Change
the Name property to CustomerPurchases as well. Were this a real application, there would be many more menu
choices below CustomerPurchase, but this shall suffice for an educational tutorial. (See Below!)

12] Move the mouse into the next cell of the MainMenu (See Below!) Enter Inventory. Change the Name property
to Inventory as well. Were this a real application, there would be many more menu choices below Inventory, but this
shall suffice for an educational tutorial. (See Below!)

13] Move the mouse into the next cell of the MainMenu (See Below!) Enter Purchase Orders. Change
the Name property to PurchaseOrders as well. Were this a real application, there would be many more menu
choices below PurchaseOrders, but this shall suffice for an educational tutorial. (See Below!)

14] Move the mouse into the next cell of the MainMenu (See Below!) Enter Suppliers. Change the Name property
to Suppliers as well. Were this a real application, there would be many more menu choices below Suppliers, but this
shall suffice for an educational tutorial. (See Below!)

15] Move the mouse into the next cell of the MainMenu (See Below!) Enter Scheduling. Change the Name property
to Scheduling as well. Were this a real application, there would be many more menu choices below Scheduling, but
this shall suffice for an educational tutorial. (See Below!)

15] Move the mouse into the next cell of the MainMenu (See Below!) Enter Exit. Change the Name property
to Exit as well. Were this a real application, I would add Lock and Logout below. (See Below!)

Change The MenuStrip Font

1] Using the mouse, select the MenuStirp. Right mouse click on the MenuStirp and select Properties. Select the
beside the Font property. (See Below!)

2] Select Tahoma 11 point bold font for the MenuStrip. (See Below!)

3] It is beyond the scope of this tutorial, but you can change font face, font size, font style, and font color for
individual menu items as well. See our MenuStrip below. (See Below!)

Change The Full Menu Background Color

1] Using the mouse, select the MenuStirp. Right mouse click on the MenuStirp and select Properties. Select the
beside the BackColor property. (See Below!)

2] Select the PaleGoldenrod from the Web pallet. Try changing the font to 12 point Arial. (See Below!)

3] You can see the Goldenrod menu below. (See Below!)

Change The Menu Text Color

1] Using the mouse, push on Customers; select the desired color in the ForeColor property at the left. I have chosen
a shade of Blue. (See Below!)

2] Likewise, you can select the ViewCustomer sub-menu under Customers and change the ForeColor property to a
shade of Red. (See Below!)

Change The Sub-Menu Background Color

1] Using the mouse, right mouse click on the View Customer sub-menu item and change the BackColor property to
DarkKahki. (See Below!)

2] Change the other Customers sub-menu BackColor to DarkKahki. You can hold the control key and select all of
them at one time if you like. (See Below!)

Create The Customer Form

1] Using the mouse, hold down the Project Menu and select Add Windows Form... (See Below!)

2] Select the Windows Form template. Name the form ViewCustomers.cs. Using the mouse, select/push the Add
button. (See Below!)

3] A tab frame and a variety of buttons have been added to form Customers.cs. It is a great idea to use Tool Tips to
support almost all of your buttons. (See Below!)

Link The Customer Form To The Garage Management Application - 1

1] Right mouse click on the Garage Management Application form and select View Code. (See Below!)

2] By creating the ViewCustomersForm at the top of the GarageManagement Form, the form object will be available
to all other forms and buttons in the Garage Application. (See Below!)

3] The GarageManagementApplication has already been designated as a Multi Document Interface type form
when IsMdIContainer was set to True. We are now making the ViewCustomers a child form of parent form
GarageManagementApplication. Now that this form has been created and associated with the
GarageManagementApplication, it may be shown quickly at any time. (See Below!)

Link The Customer Form To The Garage Management Application - 2

1] Using the mouse, right mouse click on the Garage Management Application form and select Properties. I am going
to very carefully show you how to use the GUI to assign the events to the MenuStrip. Use the mouse and touch the
Customers menu item one time. (See Below!)

2] Using the mouse, touch the View Customer menu item one time. (See Below!)

3] Using the mouse, select/push the Events

Customers seems to stay selected. (See Below!)

button at the top of the Properties bar. Note that the View

4] Using the mouse, double click on the Click event field. (See Below!)

5] A ViewCustomer_Click event was just created. Enter the line of code to show the ViewCustomerForm. (See Below!)

6] Launch the Garage Management Application form.Using the mouse, select View Customer. (See Below!)

7] Once the other forms are complete, you may can be editing an existing customer when you get a call from one of
your suppliers about a Purchase Order you sent. You can minimize the Customer form if you like; it will fall to the
bottom of the Garage Management Application form. You can then look up the Purchase Order. You may have several
windows open at any given time. The Multi Document Interface helps to contain the many forms for the
application. (See Below!)

1] Create the shell of a Login form. (See Below!)

2] Create LoginForm at the top of public partial class GarageManagementApplication : Form. Add the line of code
below. (See Below!)