Frozen DLL forms

[Steve French]

I have a VB6 DLL that contains a class and a number of forms. A method
of the class shows any one of the forms modally, depending on the
method arguments. The method is called from a modal form in the host
application (also VB6).

Everything works fine when the host application and DLL are run in the
VB6 IDE as a group. However, when I refer to the compiled DLL (outside
the IDE), the forms in the DLL are displayed but 'frozen' i.e. they do
not accept mouse or keyboard input. The DLL forms appear to have focus
(active title bar) and also appear to be modal as I cannot click on
the host application form(s). The only way to close a displayed DLL
form is by entering Alt+F4.

Everything also seems OK if I call the DLL method from a non-modal
form, but the form in the Host App needs to be modal as I need to
withold subsequent code until the form is unloaded.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Steve.

[J French]

On 3 Jun 2004 08:30:30 -0700, st************@pb.com (Steve French)
wrote:

I have a VB6 DLL that contains a class and a number of forms. A method
of the class shows any one of the forms modally, depending on the
method arguments. The method is called from a modal form in the host
application (also VB6).

Everything works fine when the host application and DLL are run in the
VB6 IDE as a group. However, when I refer to the compiled DLL (outside
the IDE), the forms in the DLL are displayed but 'frozen' i.e. they do
not accept mouse or keyboard input. The DLL forms appear to have focus
(active title bar) and also appear to be modal as I cannot click on
the host application form(s). The only way to close a displayed DLL
form is by entering Alt+F4.

Everything also seems OK if I call the DLL method from a non-modal
form, but the form in the Host App needs to be modal as I need to
withold subsequent code until the form is unloaded.

Set the Main App's Form(s) to Enabled = False

This will 'withhold' code
While SomeFlag = False
WaitMessage ' API
DoEvents
Wend

You can get the declaration for WaitMessage from the downloadable API
Guide from www.AllAPI.net

HTH

[Steve French]

er*****@nowhere.com (J French) wrote in message news:<40*************@news.btclick.com>...

Set the Main App's Form(s) to Enabled = False

This will 'withhold' code
While SomeFlag = False
WaitMessage ' API
DoEvents
Wend

You can get the declaration for WaitMessage from the downloadable API
Guide from www.AllAPI.net

HTH

Thanks, that seems to get around the problem by using a modeless form
in the app and treating it like a modal form. However, it still
puzzles me WHY the DLL form should act like that under these
conditions. Anybody got any ideas?

Good to see us Frenches are united. (btw folks: we are NOT related...
AFAIK)

[Pásztor, Zoltán]

Steve French wrote:

er*****@nowhere.com (J French) wrote in message
news:<40*************@news.btclick.com>...

Set the Main App's Form(s) to Enabled = False

This will 'withhold' code
While SomeFlag = False
WaitMessage ' API
DoEvents
Wend

You can get the declaration for WaitMessage from the downloadable API
Guide from www.AllAPI.net

HTH

Thanks, that seems to get around the problem by using a modeless form
in the app and treating it like a modal form. However, it still
puzzles me WHY the DLL form should act like that under these
conditions. Anybody got any ideas?

Good to see us Frenches are united. (btw folks: we are NOT related...
AFAIK)

Isn't your problem somewhat related to the following (found earlier in this
ng, author forgotten):

"If a popup menu on a form causes the modal display of another form,
execution of the code being processed in the original popup menu halts while
the modal form is displayed. Because of this the original popup menu's code
is still "active"[, and subsequent attempts to show a popup menu in the
second form will fail]."

How are you showing your forms exactly? I use similar technique regularly,
and had not encountered this situation yet.

--
PZ

[J French]

On 4 Jun 2004 03:48:35 -0700, st************@pb.com (Steve French)
wrote:

er*****@nowhere.com (J French) wrote in message news:<40*************@news.btclick.com>...

Set the Main App's Form(s) to Enabled = False

This will 'withhold' code
While SomeFlag = False
WaitMessage ' API
DoEvents
Wend

You can get the declaration for WaitMessage from the downloadable API
Guide from www.AllAPI.net

HTH
Thanks, that seems to get around the problem by using a modeless form
in the app and treating it like a modal form.

It is always worth knowing that trick
However, it still
puzzles me WHY the DLL form should act like that under these
conditions. Anybody got any ideas?
I am not sure, but I would strongly suggest that you cut the Form in
the DLL right back down to nothing more than a CommandButton
(note: not a MsgBox - a real Form)

My instinct is that you have some sort of 'timing/sequence' problem in
the code in the DLL's Form.

While the workaround I suggested is interesting, and should be very
useful in the future, you are absolutely right - isolate the problem.
- it may turn up elsewhere - or have peculiar side effects

The first place to start hacking is in the DLL Form's Initialize Event

Good to see us Frenches are united. (btw folks: we are NOT related...
AFAIK)

Who knows, my bunch are Huguenots, the earliest sighting of my
ancestors is supposed to be about 1580 in Suffolk (UK)
- it is neat to be descended from someone who was too dim to spell out
their surname to immigration.

[Steve Gerrard]

"Steve French" <st************@pb.com> wrote in message
news:6a**************************@posting.google.c om...

er*****@nowhere.com (J French) wrote in message news:<40*************@news.btclick.com>...

Thanks, that seems to get around the problem by using a modeless form
in the app and treating it like a modal form. However, it still
puzzles me WHY the DLL form should act like that under these
conditions. Anybody got any ideas?

If you can, you might try setting up the DLL to receive a reference to
an owner form, so it can show its form using
dllFrm.Show vbModal, Owner

and the call in the main form would pass a reference to itself:
call DLL.Method(Me)

It seems like without that, the two forms don't know about each other,
and each modal form is blocking entry to the other.

Might be worth a test.

[Steve French]

er*****@nowhere.com (J French) wrote in message news:<40***************@news.btclick.com>...

Good to see us Frenches are united. (btw folks: we are NOT related...
AFAIK)

Who knows, my bunch are Huguenots, the earliest sighting of my
ancestors is supposed to be about 1580 in Suffolk (UK)
- it is neat to be descended from someone who was too dim to spell out
their surname to immigration.

Well, that's also where my roots are...or just to the south in Essex (UK).
So maybe...cousin
Lots of Hugenot family names & places in this area of UK:
Towns: Layer de la Haye
Layer Breton
Tolleshunt D'Arcy

Names: Mussett (derived from De Musset)
De Wit
De'ath (NB: apostrophe)

All the names they couldn't pronounce - they called French (lol)

[Steve French]

"Steve Gerrard" <no*************@comcast.net> wrote in message news:<oJ********************@comcast.com>...

"Steve French" <st************@pb.com> wrote in message
news:6a**************************@posting.google.c om...

er*****@nowhere.com (J French) wrote in message

news:<40*************@news.btclick.com>...

Thanks, that seems to get around the problem by using a modeless form
in the app and treating it like a modal form. However, it still
puzzles me WHY the DLL form should act like that under these
conditions. Anybody got any ideas?

If you can, you might try setting up the DLL to receive a reference to
an owner form, so it can show its form using
dllFrm.Show vbModal, Owner

and the call in the main form would pass a reference to itself:
call DLL.Method(Me)

It seems like without that, the two forms don't know about each other,
and each modal form is blocking entry to the other.

Might be worth a test.

OK - I will give that a go too.
Steve, I don't know if you are from UK, but if so you should be in
Portugal!!

(Steven Gerrard is a particularly good soccer star who plays in the
English National team - just about to take part in (win?) the European
Championship in Portugal)

[J French]

On 10 Jun 2004 01:39:51 -0700, st************@pb.com (Steve French)
wrote:

er*****@nowhere.com (J French) wrote in message news:<40***************@news.btclick.com>...

>
>Good to see us Frenches are united. (btw folks: we are NOT related...
>AFAIK)
Who knows, my bunch are Huguenots, the earliest sighting of my
ancestors is supposed to be about 1580 in Suffolk (UK)
- it is neat to be descended from someone who was too dim to spell out
their surname to immigration.

Well, that's also where my roots are...or just to the south in Essex (UK).
So maybe...cousin
Lots of Hugenot family names & places in this area of UK:
Towns: Layer de la Haye
Layer Breton
Tolleshunt D'Arcy

Names: Mussett (derived from De Musset)
De Wit
De'ath (NB: apostrophe)

A lot of those names could be Norman
All the names they couldn't pronounce - they called French (lol)

Yes - and 'Finch' is another corruption

My lot seem to have hung around Suffolk for generations before moving
to the East End of London
- we even have some lace hanging around somewhere, woven by a Great
Grandmother 'Bonny' - another French name

Curious to be descended from 'Asylum Seekers' ...