Get the list of Controls in the windows application

[huzefa53]

Hi guys,
I am having a problem in my application..the prob is that i wanna get the list
of controls on the other form...so what i have done is that
1> I have instantiate the form of which i wanna get the Control list
2> Recurse through a foreach loop and get each control and put the details in a XML file..

Now the main prob that is arising is that the controls are comin i the form in any order(ie textbox,button,textbox etc) and i want to recurse in the order of top to bottom and left to right(ie first label then textbox then again a label and then textbox and so on).

the i have implemented is

Form2 frm = new Form2();
 
            foreach (System.Windows.Forms.Control ctr in frm.Controls)
{
.....//some codes here
}
 

if anyone can help plz reply and for further clarification do reply....

[Plater]

They will come in the order that they were added to the form (say durring design time)

Just because the control is top-most/left-most control, does not mean it was dumped down on the form "first".

You could probably create some sort of sort function (or use array.Sort() with a custom IComparer thing) that sorts based on .Location of the Control

[huzefa53]

hey Plater,
Can you explain the thing you said with the help of some example in the form of code....please....as i am new into coding so dnt know much abt this....Please help me out,

[Plater]

Well if you have a Control[] you can use Array.Sort() to sort them, and if you have a custom IComparer that examines the .Location of the object

See:
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/2b9cyk6x.aspx

[huzefa53]

hi plater,
what i have done now is that i have created a 2-dimensional array and have have stored the X and Y coordinates of all the controls in it...Now what i want is that i want a logic as to write the compareto function in IComparer so that the sorting can be done....what i want is that i have contorls coordinate as

int[,] points = new int[,] {{152, 172}, {38, 172}, {152, 99}, {152, 52}};

its stored in this fashion after the foreach loop completes..
and after sorting i want it in this fashion
1st> 152,52
2nd>152,99
3rd>38,172
4th>152,172

this is just the reverse of the above but sometimes it may be in any order...
ie top-bottom and Left-Right..
Please help me....

[Plater]

What are you going to do once you have THAT array stored in top-left -> bottom-right order?
How are you going to related that back to your controls?
You would have wanted a Control[] with a custom IComparer to sort on their locations.

[huzefa53]

What are you going to do once you have THAT array stored in top-left -> bottom-right order?
How are you going to related that back to your controls?
You would have wanted a Control[] with a custom IComparer to sort on their locations.

Hi Plater,

Hey please yaar give an example code and explain me please...i am not gettin anything...please i am new into this coding world so plz help me out

[Plater]

Hi Plater,

Hey please yaar give an example code and explain me please...i am not gettin anything...please i am new into this coding world so plz help me out

You need to decide how you will determine which control should come first:

public class ControlComparer : System.Collections.IComparer
    {
        public int Compare(Object a, Object b)
        {
            Control ca = (Control)a;
            Control cb = (Control)b;
 
            //do stuff based on .Location
            //ca.Location.X 
            //ca.Location.Y 
            //cb.Location.X 
            //cb.Location.Y
            //return either a -1, a 0, or a 1
        }
    }
 

You will also need to have you Control[] created, then you can use Array.Sort():

Control[] mycontrols = new Control[this.Controls.Count];
this.Controls.CopyTo(mycontrols, 0); 
Array.Sort(mycontrols, new ControlComparer()); 
 

Also, why are you so concerned with getting them in "book-reading" order?

[huzefa53]

Hi Platter,
See platter i m creating an application where the controls have to be created dynamically through XML file and i have made that application and that application put the controls on the form on the basis of first come first serve ie if first node is a textbox node then a textbox will be created and if the first node is a radiobutton node then the radiobutton will be created but now what i want is I want to go in Reverse ie create an Xml file from a windows application based the controls on the form....So if i get the controls in any order then it would spoil the form when i create a form from the XML generated....
Hope you understood...
Thanx for everything

[Plater]

Not if you saved the X,Y coordinates to the XML file as well.
Then when you rebuild from the XML file, it won't matter what order they're in because the X,Y coordinates will be used to place them in the correct order.

[huzefa53]

Hi Platter,
Please tell me one thing in that

Public int Compare(Object a,Object b)

wat is Object a and Object b...and why have you made 2 controls element ie ca and cb....please clarify

[huzefa53]

No i am not saving the X& Y axis as on creation time i may not require few controls so then i will delete that from XML File and then it will be rendered and if i take X& Y axis in XML then there will be a gap created in the form between controls...
Understood

my xml file looks like this
<code>
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<Fields>
<Field id="UserName">
<Name>UserName</Name>
<Type>TextBox</Type>
</Field>
<Field id="Login">
<Name>Login</Name>
<Type>Button</Type>
</Field>
<Field id="Password">
<Name>Password</Name>
<Type>TextBox</Type>
</Field>
</Fields>
</code>

[huzefa53]

Hi Platter,

hey my top-bottom and left-right prob is not yet solved....so just nw i m keepin aside that prob... my new prob is that when i am traversing in the
foreach loop for Controls.. i want to get the previous controls name property and put in this controls Name property...so can u help me in that...

becoz this code sinept is giving error...
<code>
string name=ctr.GetNextControl(ctr,false).Name.ToString() .Replace("lbl","");
</code>

this is showin null reference error...i dnt knw y..actually there is a control previous to this control

[Plater]

GetNextControl() would give you the NEXT control and not the previous one right?

Alos, I gave you almost all you needed for the sorting, all you had to do was fill in the logic in that IComparer and you woulda been done.

[huzefa53]

that logic is most important thing which i m not able to make... If you are able to unserstand my problem then please help me in makin the logic....

and the GetNextControls can get you previous one also if u specify false in the 2nd argument...but in this its gettin me the next control of the form in which i am writin the code and not of the form which i have instantiated and passing the Control object(ctr).....

[Plater]

Well your logic is to determine "what control comes first based on X,Y coordinates"

I guess decide which one is more important the X or the Y and start there.

if (ca.Location.Y < cb.Location.Y)
{
    if (ca.Location.X < cb.Location.X)
    {
    //return either -1,0,1
    }
    else if (ca.Location.X > cb.Location.X)
    {
    //return either -1,0,1
    }
    else
    {// ca.Location.X == cb.Location.X
    //return either -1,0,1
    }
}
else if (ca.Location.Y > cb.Location.Y)
{
    if (ca.Location.X < cb.Location.X)
    {
        //return either -1,0,1
    }
    else if (ca.Location.X > cb.Location.X)
    {
        //return either -1,0,1
    }
    else
    {// ca.Location.X == cb.Location.X
        //return either -1,0,1
    }
}
else
{// ca.Location.Y == cb.Location.Y
    if (ca.Location.X < cb.Location.X)
    {
        //return either -1,0,1
    }
    else if (ca.Location.X > cb.Location.X)
    {
        //return either -1,0,1
    }
    else
    {// ca.Location.X == cb.Location.X
        //return either -1,0,1
    }
}
 

[huzefa53]

for me Y is the most important...and X take a 2nd priority....meaning if i have a contol at X=23 and Y=50 and another control at X=30 and Y=40..

Then the second control should come first...even if in second X is greater then X in first one

[Plater]

ok so then with Y being most important you can cut that code to this:

if (ca.Location.Y < cb.Location.Y)
{// ca is closer to the top then cb
    //return either -1,0,1
}
else if (ca.Location.Y > cb.Location.Y)
{// cb is closer to the top then ca
    //return either -1,0,1
}
else
{// ca and cb are at the same "close-ness" to the top
    if (ca.Location.X < cb.Location.X)
    {
        //return either -1,0,1
    }
    else if (ca.Location.X > cb.Location.X)
    {
        //return either -1,0,1
    }
    else
    {// ca.Location.X == cb.Location.X
        //return either -1,0,1
    }
}
 

[huzefa53]

Hey Platter,
Dude Thanx man...Your code worked and its givin me proper results.....Thanx a ton man....thanx a lot.....i m relieved man....

[huzefa53]

Hey Platter,
Can you solve my one more problem....

See now when i get the controls collection in that mycontrols[] then i m loopin through each control..and the controls that i gettin are on the other form then the one in which i m writing the codes.... so now i have a requirement where i need to check which is the next control in that loop...

but when i use GetNextControl(ctr,true) this gives me the next control in the frm which i workin i dnt knw why...and when i do this

ctr.GetNextControl(ctr,true) then it gives me a null reference exception...

Can u tell me a way by which i can access the next control in that loop...my codin is this way

Control[] mycontrols = new Control[frm.Controls.Count];
frm.Controls.CopyTo(mycontrols, 0);
Array.Sort(mycontrols, new ControlComparer());
     foreach (System.Windows.Forms.Control ctr in mycontrols)
     {
        if (ctr.GetNextControl(ctr,true).GetType.FullName.ToString() != "System.Windows.Forms.RadioButton")
                    {
                        SaveRadio(radio, ctr, filename1);
                    }
 
     }
 

[Plater]

How about using an index'd loop instead?

Control[] mycontrols = new Control[frm.Controls.Count];
for (int i=0;i<mycontrols.Length;i++)
{
   Control ctr = mycontrols[i];
   Control nextctr=mycontrols[i+1];
}