[RESOLVED] My.Settings using custom class

[anyday901]

Hello everyone, i've done quite a bit of researching online to try and fix the problem i'm having with no luck. I have a custom collection class that i have saved in my.settings under project->settings.
the custom class inherits System.Collections.CollectionBase

Of course the setting is not initialized in the IDE under settings. I've tried to initialize it in code but it always is = nothing when i restart my program.

This is the code i'm using in the Load event to try and initialize my setting. Any ideas why i cant get my.setting to save?

my.setting type is MP3ServerCollection (custom class)

this is the MP3ServerCollection class code:

Public Class MP3ServerCollection
    Inherits System.Collections.CollectionBase

    Public Sub Add(ByVal amp3server As MP3Server)
        List.Add(amp3server)
    End Sub

    Public Sub Remove(ByVal index As Integer)
        If index > Count - 1 Or index < 0 Then
            Console.WriteLine("Index Not Valid")
        Else
            List.RemoveAt(index)
        End If

    End Sub

    Public ReadOnly Property Item(ByVal index As Integer) As MP3Server
        Get
            Return CType(List.Item(index), MP3Server)
        End Get
    End Property
End Class

And here it the code for the MP3Server class

Imports System.Runtime.Serialization
Imports System.Collections
Imports System.Collections.Generic

<Serializable()> Public Class MP3Server

    Public Sub New()
        _nickname = ""
        _filelist = ""
        _filelistdate = ""
    End Sub

    Private _nickname As String
    Public Property NickName As String
        Get
            Return _nickname
        End Get
        Set(value As String)
            _nickname = value
        End Set
    End Property

    Private _filelist As String
    Public Property FileList As String
        Get
            Return _filelist
        End Get
        Set(value As String)
            _filelist = value
        End Set
    End Property

    Private _filelistdate As String
    Public Property FileListDate As String
        Get
            Return _filelistdate
        End Get
        Set(value As String)
            _filelistdate = value
        End Set
    End Property


End Class

Here is the code i use to try and initialize the setting.

 
If My.Settings.servers Is Nothing Then
            Dim servercollection As MP3ServerCollection = New MP3ServerCollection()
            Dim server As New MP3Server
            servercollection.Add(server)
            My.Settings.servers = servercollection
            My.Settings.Save()
End If

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Anyday

[Shaggy Hiker]

How are you creating the servers item in Settings? I don't know if things have changed, but as recently as 2010 there was no way to save a custom collection to a setting directly, a you are doing. You'd have to serialize it to a Base64 encoded string, and save it as a string setting.

[Sitten Spynne]

Yeah, your best bet when not using EXACTLY the types specified in My.Settings is to serialize your type to a String and save it that way. It doesn't have to be Base64-encoded, it can be any format that is convenient for you to parse.

[jmcilhinney]

the custom class inherits System.Collections.CollectionBase

That's not been recommended for over a decade now. Since .NET 2.0 and VS 2005, a custom collection should be derived from System.Collections.ObjectModel.Collection(Of T). Did you choose that option for a specific reason or did you just not realise that there is a better option?

[anyday901]

That's not been recommended for over a decade now. Since .NET 2.0 and VS 2005, a custom collection should be derived from System.Collections.ObjectModel.Collection(Of T). Did you choose that option for a specific reason or did you just not realise that there is a better option?

I was following an MSDN example that said to use that type. I will try now using the type you suggested.

Anyday

[anyday901]

jmcilhinney: thanks so much for the tip that fixed me up. Changed the inherits and it works like a charm!