Resolved CustomCollectionEditor - Customize the look and feel

[tim8w]

Hi,
I wanted to be able to control most of the aspects of the Collection Editor. First, I will admit, most of the ideas presented here came from various posts and examples found scouring the web. At this point, I don't remember where each idea came from, so if any of them are yours, let me know and I'll add credit in this post. Anyway, I will simply post the CustomerCollectionEditor. Comments explain most of what it is doing. If you need more clarification, just send me a note.

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Globalization;
using System.IO;
using System.Linq;
using System.Reflection;
using System.Runtime.CompilerServices;
using System.Security;
using System.Text;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
using Microsoft.VisualBasic;
using System.ComponentModel.Design;
using System.Windows.Forms;

namespace Defects
{
    public class MyCollectionEditor : CollectionEditor
    {
        public static bool bEditingCollection = false;

        public delegate void MyFormClosedEventHandler(object sender, FormClosedEventArgs e);

        public event MyFormClosedEventHandler MyFormClosed;

        public delegate void MyFormLoadEventHandler(object sender, System.EventArgs e);

        public event MyFormLoadEventHandler MyFormLoad;


        public delegate void MyFormControlAddedEventHandler(object sender, System.EventArgs e);

        public event MyFormControlAddedEventHandler MyFormControlAdded;

        public MyCollectionEditor(Type type)
            : base(type)
        {
        }

        protected override string GetDisplayText(object value)
        {
            Defect item = new Defect();
            item = (Defect)value;

            if (String.IsNullOrEmpty(item.DefectCode))
                return base.GetDisplayText(" ");
            else
            {
                String sDisplay = item.DefectCode.ToString().Substring(0, item.DefectCode.ToString().IndexOf(":"));
                return base.GetDisplayText(string.Format("{0}", sDisplay));
            }
        }

        protected override CollectionForm CreateCollectionForm()
        {
            CollectionForm collectionForm = base.CreateCollectionForm();

            // Turn OFF Help Button
            collectionForm.HelpButton = false;

            // Set the BackColor, StartPosition and Size of the form
            collectionForm.BackColor = Color.FromName("SteelBlue");
            collectionForm.StartPosition = FormStartPosition.CenterParent;
            collectionForm.Size = new Size(660, 500);

            // Add Form Handlers for trapping Load and Close
            collectionForm.FormClosed += this.collection_FormClosed;
            collectionForm.Load += this.collection_FormLoad;

            var overArchingTableLayoutPanel = collectionForm.Controls["overArchingTableLayoutPanel"];

            var addRemoveTableLayoutPanel = overArchingTableLayoutPanel.Controls["addRemoveTableLayoutPanel"];
            // Set the BackColor of the Buttons - It appears that they get set by default to the form's BackColor
            addRemoveTableLayoutPanel.Controls["addButton"].BackColor = Color.FromName("Control");
            addRemoveTableLayoutPanel.Controls["removeButton"].BackColor = Color.FromName("Control");
            // Add Handlers for trapping Add and Remove Buttons
            addRemoveTableLayoutPanel.Controls["addButton"].Click += AddButton_Click;
            addRemoveTableLayoutPanel.Controls["removeButton"].Click += RemoveButton_Click;

            var okCancelTableLayoutPanel = overArchingTableLayoutPanel.Controls["okCancelTableLayoutPanel"];
            // Set the BackColor of the Buttons - It appears that they get set by default to the form's BackColor
            okCancelTableLayoutPanel.Controls["okButton"].BackColor = Color.FromName("Control");
            okCancelTableLayoutPanel.Controls["cancelButton"].BackColor = Color.FromName("Control");
            // Add Handlers for trapping OK and Cancel Buttons
            okCancelTableLayoutPanel.Controls["okButton"].Click += OKButton_Click;
            okCancelTableLayoutPanel.Controls["cancelButton"].Click += CancelButton_Click;

            // Change the Member Labels' Text and Color
            overArchingTableLayoutPanel.Controls["membersLabel"].Text = "&Defect List:";
            overArchingTableLayoutPanel.Controls["membersLabel"].ForeColor = Color.FromName("White");
            // Change the Properties Labels' Text and Color
            overArchingTableLayoutPanel.Controls["propertiesLabel"].Text = "&Properties:";
            overArchingTableLayoutPanel.Controls["propertiesLabel"].ForeColor = Color.FromName("White");
            // Set the BackColor of the Buttons - It appears that they get set by default to the form's BackColor
            overArchingTableLayoutPanel.Controls["upButton"].BackColor = Color.FromName("Control");
            overArchingTableLayoutPanel.Controls["downButton"].BackColor = Color.FromName("Control");
            // Add Handlers for trapping Up and Down Buttons
            overArchingTableLayoutPanel.Controls["upButton"].Click += UpButton_Click;
            overArchingTableLayoutPanel.Controls["downButton"].Click += DownButton_Click;

            var propertyBrowser = overArchingTableLayoutPanel.Controls["propertyBrowser"] as PropertyGrid;
            if (propertyBrowser.Controls.Count != 0)
            {
                // Set the PropertySorting and ToolbarVisibilty
                propertyBrowser.PropertySort = PropertySort.NoSort;
                propertyBrowser.ToolbarVisible = false;
            }

            // Do something based on which Collection Editor was called
            switch (collectionForm.Text)
            {
                case "Defect Collection Editor":
                    {
                        break;
                    }
            }

            // Hide Add, Remove, Up and Down Buttons
            //collectionForm.Controls["overArchingTableLayoutPanel"].Controls["addRemoveTableLayoutPanel"].Controls["addButton"].Visible = false;
            //collectionForm.Controls["overArchingTableLayoutPanel"].Controls["addRemoveTableLayoutPanel"].Controls["removeButton"].Visible = false;
            //collectionForm.Controls["overArchingTableLayoutPanel"].Controls["upButton"].Visible = false;
            //collectionForm.Controls["overArchingTableLayoutPanel"].Controls["downButton"].Visible = false;

            return collectionForm;
        }

        private void collection_FormLoad(object sender, System.EventArgs e)
        {
            bEditingCollection = true;
        }

        private void AddButton_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
        {
            MessageBox.Show("Add Button Clicked");
        }

        private void RemoveButton_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
        {
            MessageBox.Show("Remove Button Clicked");
        }

        private void OKButton_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
        {
            MessageBox.Show("OK Button Clicked");
        }

        private void CancelButton_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
        {
            MessageBox.Show("Cancel Button Clicked");
        }

        private void UpButton_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
        {
            MessageBox.Show("Up Button Clicked");
        }

        private void DownButton_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
        {
            MessageBox.Show("Down Button Clicked");
        }

        private void collection_FormClosed(object sender, FormClosedEventArgs e)
        {
            bEditingCollection = false;
        }
    }
}

There are a few things I wish I could change (mostly Font Sizes), but many of the items are "Read-only". I even tried creating new control to cover the ones I couldn't customize, but I could not get them positioned where I wanted. If anyone has any ideas, let me know.

 

[Skydiver]

You already said that in post #9.

 

[Skydiver]

After your line 30, you can register for a FontChanged event notification on that list box.

If the event fires, then there you have it: proof that font you set is getting overridden by some other code. You could potentially try changing the font again to your desired font within that event handler, but that you'll need to be careful not to get into a infinite loop.

If the event doesn't fire, then you have proof that the listbox in question doesn't respect the font that you set in the Font property. The typical Win32 approach then is to subclass the window and start responding to the various Win32 API font related messages to tell Windows what font to use.