Hi Ben,

Thanks for the explanation.  Using

does give me the results I was looking for.

If I were to use the ReolveForm solution, I would then have to make an entry in the Case statement for every form I add to the project and all I am trying to do is to have all forms identified in a Item.Tag so I don't have to manually remember to keep adding it to the Case statement.  Thanks again!!!

Edhy Rijo

You can use System.Type.GetType(typeNameAsString) to convert a string to a System.Type.  You'll need to store more than just "frmFormName" in the tag of the form, however, because the Type.GetType() static method requires the full name of the class.

Type.GetType("MyNamespace.frmMyFormName")

That will be what you'll have to give it.

Also, it might be the case that that method will not be able to resolve the name because your form type exists in another assembly.  If that's the case, then you'll need to give it the fully qualified assembly name.  It's basically the full name with a comma and the assembly name right after it like this:

"MyNamespace.frmMyFormName, MyAssembly, Version=1.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null"

That's the difference between the Type.GetType() static method and the GetType() keyword (the keyword turns blue when you type it).  If you use the keyword, it will always resolve because the reference is resolved and at compile-time.  So, you might want to create a method that will resolve the names for you and uses the keyword to get the type.  Like this:

Public Shared Function ResolveFormType(ByVal formName As String) As Type
    Select Case formName
        Case "frmForm1"
            Return GetType(frmForm1)

        Case "frmForm2"
            Return GetType(frmForm2)

        Case "frmForm3"
            Return GetType(frmForm3)

    End Case
End Function

If you use this method, then the string can be any arbitrary value, as long as it's unique and you can assign it a type to return from the method.

H all,

I am using the LoadForm method posted here to load the forms, but I would like to automate this method by passing the form name stored in a Tag property of a menu item or a DevExpress RibbonControl Item.

The item will have the name of the form as string like this "frmProducers" but the LoadForm method is expecting a System.Type parameter instead of string, how can I either convert the Item.Tag string containing the form name as a System.Type expected by the LoadForm method posted here?

The whole idea is to either type the form name in the Item.Tag property or read it from a database to load all the Items and update the Item.Tag which will make a generic single call to the LoadForm.

Thanks.

Edhy Rijo

Hi Teddy.

I'm glad Trent could help you, he got all this from me... oh, wait, I think the orther of the words are not set properly...

Hi Trent,

Thanks - i got it now. My problem was that i set the text of an employee form to the name of the employee after it is loaded from a browsedialog. So i wanted the new text of the form to be renamed/refreshed in the list.

The rest was just cosmetic customations of the properties.

/Teddy

Really all you need to do is set the MdiParent property on the parent form to False.  Drop a FlowLayoutPanel (or ThemedPanel) on the form and dock it left.  Next, in your main form, define an MdiClient class (it is a control) as a private and manually add it to the form.  This MdiClient will be where all of there client forms will appear, but the panels docking will be left intact.

Ivan,

Your main form looks really good. I too was first thinking of a toolstrip dropdown that would show the open windows.  Now i have decided to use a panel like yours and the one from Practice Studio, so i can use it to show some more info. I do however have issues with this (read - it doesn't look the way i want it)

Can you describe how you did your panel and lists?

TIA.

/Teddy

Well, basically this is just a docked Panel on the main form which we custom render and then add the logic we need for MDI Window Activation.  One thing that you can do is create an MDIClient class and then add that class as a control to the main form rather than setting the MdiContainer property....it just gives you more flexibility.

This entire explanation would be more of a tutorial rather than a quick post here...and in fact, this is one of the very things that we cover during class.  I know you guys haven't had a chance to make it to class in the past, but if it were at all possible, I think that you guys would gain a lot of first hand experience on items just like this if you were able to make it to the next class  

Hi guys,

A couple of questions.... I am using a picture that you used earlier in the post... how did you create that MDI with that control panel on the left?

am i correct in assuming that if the user were to click or double click on the name of a form in the list in the control panel it would show that form?

and second, using the code you provided earlier in this post... how would I create navigation buttons to utilize this code... lets say that I wanted navigation buttons in the MDI to be able to navigate through all the child forms... yknow the basics... first, previous, next, last.

This is a really cool concept! I'm eager to implement it.

Glad it worked for you