Windows Forms - Opening forms within forms

[Dan Tallent]

In my application I have a form (Customer) that I want to be able to open
multiple copies at once. Within this form I have other forms that can be
opened. Example: ZipCode. When the user enters a zipcode that is unknown
this form will open. I don't want users to modify any of this customers
data until they close the zipcode form. Normally this can accomplished
using a modal form, however this prevents me from opening a new copy of the
Customer form while the zipcode form is open.

How do you normally go about handling this scenario ?
--
Thanks,
Dan Tallent

[raylopez99]

On Aug 26, 8:58*am, "Dan Tallent" <s...@microsoft .comwrote:

In my application I have a form (Customer) that I want to be able to open
multiple copies at once. *Within this form I have other forms that can be
opened. Example: ZipCode. * *When the user enters a zipcode that is unknown
this form will open. * I don't want users to modify any of this customers
data until they close the zipcode form. * Normally this can accomplished
using a modal form, however this prevents me from opening a new copy of the
Customer form while the zipcode form is open.

How do you normally go about handling this scenario ?

--
Thanks,
Dan Tallent

I guess use a modeless form. Or, use a class in lieu of using
forms.

RL

[Dan Tallent]

I knew it must be a modeless form, otherwise the entire application is stuck
waiting.

As far as "use a class"...what do you mean? All objects are classes of
some kind.

This code
Child1 C = new Child1();C.Star tPosition = FormStartPositi on.CenterParent ;

C.TopLevel = false;

C.Parent = this;

C.Top = (this.Height - C.Height) / 2;

C.Left = (this.Width - C.Width) / 2;

C.Show();

C.BringToFront( );



"raylopez99 " <ra********@yah oo.comwrote in message
news:5b******** *************** ***********@v26 g2000prm.google groups.com...
On Aug 26, 8:58 am, "Dan Tallent" <s...@microsoft .comwrote:

In my application I have a form (Customer) that I want to be able to open
multiple copies at once. Within this form I have other forms that can be
opened. Example: ZipCode. When the user enters a zipcode that is unknown
this form will open. I don't want users to modify any of this customers
data until they close the zipcode form. Normally this can accomplished
using a modal form, however this prevents me from opening a new copy of
the
Customer form while the zipcode form is open.

How do you normally go about handling this scenario ?

--
Thanks,
Dan Tallent

I guess use a modeless form. Or, use a class in lieu of using
forms.

RL

[Dan Tallent]

Unfortunately this code still allows the user to modify the part form. If
I set Enabled = false on the parent form it also kills the child form.

Any ideas?

Thanks
Dan


"Dan Tallent" <sp**@microsoft .comwrote in message
news:OU******** ******@TK2MSFTN GP02.phx.gbl...

>I knew it must be a modeless form, otherwise the entire application is
stuck waiting.

As far as "use a class"...what do you mean? All objects are classes of
some kind.

This code
Child1 C = new Child1();C.Star tPosition = FormStartPositi on.CenterParent ;

C.TopLevel = false;

C.Parent = this;

C.Top = (this.Height - C.Height) / 2;

C.Left = (this.Width - C.Width) / 2;

C.Show();

C.BringToFront( );



"raylopez99 " <ra********@yah oo.comwrote in message
news:5b******** *************** ***********@v26 g2000prm.google groups.com...
On Aug 26, 8:58 am, "Dan Tallent" <s...@microsoft .comwrote:

>In my application I have a form (Customer) that I want to be able to open
multiple copies at once. Within this form I have other forms that can be
opened. Example: ZipCode. When the user enters a zipcode that is unknown
this form will open. I don't want users to modify any of this customers
data until they close the zipcode form. Normally this can accomplished
using a modal form, however this prevents me from opening a new copy of
the
Customer form while the zipcode form is open.

How do you normally go about handling this scenario ?

--
Thanks,
Dan Tallent

I guess use a modeless form. Or, use a class in lieu of using
forms.

RL

[=?Utf-8?B?RmFtaWx5IFRyZWUgTWlrZQ==?=]

I'm sure there are other options, but you could have the Customer form have a
private instance of a Zipcode form. When the Customer form needs the Zipcode
form, it makes it visible. Change the enabled property of the Customer form
to false when the Zipcode form is shown. Add a handler for when the Zipcode
form is made invisible (VisibilityChan ged), at which point the Customer form
becomes enabled.

"Dan Tallent" wrote:

In my application I have a form (Customer) that I want to be able to open
multiple copies at once. Within this form I have other forms that can be
opened. Example: ZipCode. When the user enters a zipcode that is unknown
this form will open. I don't want users to modify any of this customers
data until they close the zipcode form. Normally this can accomplished
using a modal form, however this prevents me from opening a new copy of the
Customer form while the zipcode form is open.

How do you normally go about handling this scenario ?
--
Thanks,
Dan Tallent

[Dan Tallent]

Thanks for your reply.

I thought of something similar that when the ZipCode form was opened it
disabled the Customer form. The customer form subscribed to the FormClosed
event of the Zipcode form. This seems to work but it does have some
problems.
1 The Customer form can't be minimized or moved.
2 The Zipcode form can be moved outside the range of the Customer (parent)
form.
3 When you open a couple of customer forms it difficult (from a user point
of view) to tell which Customer screen the ZipCode is associated with.

If I could find a way to prevent the user from moving the ZipCode form
outside the boundries of the Customer form this would work perfectly. I
tried making the Customer form the parent, but when I disable the Customer
form the Zipcode form is disabled as well.

Thanks
dan

"Family Tree Mike" <Fa************ @discussions.mi crosoft.comwrot e in
message news:14******** *************** ***********@mic rosoft.com...

I'm sure there are other options, but you could have the Customer form
have a
private instance of a Zipcode form. When the Customer form needs the
Zipcode
form, it makes it visible. Change the enabled property of the Customer
form
to false when the Zipcode form is shown. Add a handler for when the
Zipcode
form is made invisible (VisibilityChan ged), at which point the Customer
form
becomes enabled.

"Dan Tallent" wrote:

>In my application I have a form (Customer) that I want to be able to open
multiple copies at once. Within this form I have other forms that can be
opened. Example: ZipCode. When the user enters a zipcode that is
unknown
this form will open. I don't want users to modify any of this customers
data until they close the zipcode form. Normally this can accomplished
using a modal form, however this prevents me from opening a new copy of
the
Customer form while the zipcode form is open.

How do you normally go about handling this scenario ?
--
Thanks,
Dan Tallent

[G.S.]

Why don't you try redesigning abit. Make the "ZIP form" a user
control. Then on your Customer form center a hidden by default panel.
Then when your logic requires it, Show that panel while disabling the
rest of the controls behind it. The Customer form can still be
minimized, the ZIP *panel* is really part of form's layout, so no
confusion which ZIP panel belongs to which Customer form...
Will that work?

[Dan Tallent]

I looked into this method as well. I found I could use a form for the
ZipCode just as easily. The zipcode form can have its Parent set to the
Customer form which elimates the confusion. The form stays within the
boundry of the Customer form, and the Customer (parent) form can still be
minimized. The trick would be that I would need to write code to disable
all of the controls on the form manually. I have older apps that I've done
this with, but I was thinking I was doing this the hard way.

I suppose I could write a routine to loop though all the controls on the
form to disable/enable them. The problem there would be during the enable
knowing which controls should remain disabled.

Thanks for help. All suggestions are appreciated.
Dan


"G.S." <gs******@gmail .comwrote in message
news:22******** *************** ***********@c65 g2000hsa.google groups.com...

Why don't you try redesigning abit. Make the "ZIP form" a user
control. Then on your Customer form center a hidden by default panel.
Then when your logic requires it, Show that panel while disabling the
rest of the controls behind it. The Customer form can still be
minimized, the ZIP *panel* is really part of form's layout, so no
confusion which ZIP panel belongs to which Customer form...
Will that work?

[raylopez99]

On Aug 26, 10:08*am, "Dan Tallent" <s...@microsoft .comwrote:

This code
Child1 C = new Child1();C.Star tPosition = FormStartPositi on.CenterParent ;

C.TopLevel = false;

C.Parent = this;

Well there's your problem right there Dan. You are creating a
potential circular reference with the 'this' pointer on the RHS. By
the logic of your program (if I'm reading it correctly), the child
form has a member variable Parent, and you are essentially saying the
parent is the child. For the root node (first parent to every form,
or Form 1) I guess this is OK, but for every other subform it's not.

Did you program the lunar module that landed (or didn't) on Mars by
any chance?

RL

[Family Tree Mike]

Have you tried making Customer be an MDI Container? It won't work if
Customer is contained within an MDI Container, but it sounds like what you
are after.

"Dan Tallent" <sp**@microsoft .comwrote in message
news:%2******** ********@TK2MSF TNGP04.phx.gbl. ..

>I looked into this method as well. I found I could use a form for the
ZipCode just as easily. The zipcode form can have its Parent set to the
Customer form which elimates the confusion. The form stays within the
boundry of the Customer form, and the Customer (parent) form can still be
minimized. The trick would be that I would need to write code to disable
all of the controls on the form manually. I have older apps that I've done
this with, but I was thinking I was doing this the hard way.

I suppose I could write a routine to loop though all the controls on the
form to disable/enable them. The problem there would be during the
enable knowing which controls should remain disabled.

Thanks for help. All suggestions are appreciated.
Dan


"G.S." <gs******@gmail .comwrote in message
news:22******** *************** ***********@c65 g2000hsa.google groups.com...

>Why don't you try redesigning abit. Make the "ZIP form" a user
control. Then on your Customer form center a hidden by default panel.
Then when your logic requires it, Show that panel while disabling the
rest of the controls behind it. The Customer form can still be
minimized, the ZIP *panel* is really part of form's layout, so no
confusion which ZIP panel belongs to which Customer form...
Will that work?