Tabbed MDI Text Editor

I have created a Tabbed Multi-Document-Interface Text Editor using just standard controls and custom modified controls.

See the screenshot:
http://i38.tinypic.com/ne6ddx.jpg


In this post I will try to explain exactly how I managed to do it and I have attached the project source (VS2008 only, sorry). If I manage to find the time for it, I might post the code split up into individual files and explain how to add the code and to which file, so you can get it to work on older versions of Visual Studio as well.


As far as I know there is no way of creating a real tabbed MDI application with Visual Studio and its standard controls, although there are a large number of third party controls available which handle it really well, but are also really expensive and not really an option for any 'stand-alone' coder or hobbyist.
That's why I decided to try and 'fake' a tabbed MDI application using standard controls only, and that's also why I provide it for free here...

Now, instead of actually using MDI Forms, my application uses a custom control inheriting from a TabControl (although it is nearly the same using a standard TabControl) and custom TabPages which host a RichTextBox. This simulates the use of Tabbed MDI forms really well, although it makes it nearly impossible to switch between the tabbed and untabbed MDI look.


First, the custom TabControl (called cTabControl). This is simply a UserControl which inherits from the TabControl, making it behave exactly like a normal TabControl except for a few tiny things, which I thought were easier to do by creating a custom TabControl. As I've said I think it can be done easily using a normal TabControl.

The custom TabPage (called cTabPage) is also just a UserControl, this time inheriting from a TabPage. This TabPage differs from the standard TabPage because it already has a RichTextBox (called RTB) on it.


Most of the standard text-editor features are present:
- New, Open, Save, Save As features
- Cut, Copy, Paste, Select All features

And a few 'new' features which are useful for an MDI application have been added:
- The 'Open File' feature is able to open multiple files simultaneously
- Save All feature which saves every document
- Close All Documents feature which closes every document
- Close feature which closes the active document

There is also a StatusBar which hosts a label displaying the filepath of the active document and the current Line and Character positions ("Ln x, Ch y").

I have also added a handy little feature I got from Visual Studio itself: you can rightclick a tab header and a Contextmenu drops down where you can quickly Save or Close the selected tab.


One drawback of not using actual MDI Forms was that the 'Window' list of open documents could not be created automatically, so I had to list the windows manually.
I managed this by using the WindowToolStripMenuItem's "DropDownOpening" event which fires just before the dropdown menu is shown. First I clear the list. Then I add a ToolStripMenuItem for each open document. The document (tab) itself is stored in the Tag of this MenuItem so it can be handled accordingly when it is clicked.


But, enough talk. If you have VS2008 you can download my attachment which contains the complete project. You should be able to run it without making any changes. If this is not the case please let me know!

If you take a look at my signature, you can also have a look at the (non-tabbed) Extensive MDI Text Editor I have created. This contains a LOT more functions like document Splitting, synchronized scrolling etc etc... I don't think it will be very hard to translate features from that project to this Tabbed version, but if you want to try and cannot manage it, let me know and I'll try to help!


Lastly, there is still alot of work that can be done on this project and I might add things to it in time...

If anyone finds any errors or bugs please let me know and I'll try to fix them! Also, if anyone sees anything I shouldn't be doing please tell me. (I'm just a hobby coder so I'm sure I'm not doing much things the right way ;) ).



Enjoy!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by NickThissen

Also, if anyone sees anything I shouldn't be doing please tell me.

---

One thing is including compiled files in your attachment.

In accordance with this CodeBank policy regarding attachments, I have edited yours and removed all compiled files.

Please post only source code in any CodeBank attachment.

Thank you. :)

Thanks, I completely forgot! I suppose you mean the debug exe file? Yeah I forgot to take that out, sorry!

In this post and the next two posts I will try to explain how to rebuild this project exactly in older versions of Visual Studio. It's

also a chance to see all of the code without downloading my attachment.

Note that I have only ever used VS2005 and VS2008. If anything is different in older versions you will have to

decide for yourself how to overcome any difficulties!

1. Open a new Windows Forms Application project

2. Add a UserControl and call it cTabControl

3. Add another UserControl and call it cTabPage

4. Change the UserControl types to TabControl and TabPage:
Press the "Show All Files" button in the Solution Explorer (second button) and expand the [+] sign in front of the

'cTabControl.vb' usercontrol. Open the 'cTabControl.Designer.vb' file and find the following line somewhere at the

top:

vb.net Code:

Inherits System.Windows.Forms.UserControl

Change the word "UserControl" to "TabControl". There may be some errors popping up around the "AutoScaleMode"

property. If they do, comment out those line(s).

Do the same for the 'cTabPage' control, except change "UserControl" into "TabPage" this time.

You can now press the "Show All Files" button again to disable showing all files if you want to.

5. 'cTabControl' code:
Add the following code to the 'cTabControl.vb' usercontrol:

Code:

---

    ' Gets a tab from a location within the screen
    ' Works by checking if the 'loc' location is within the tab rectangle
    Public Function GetTabFromLocation(ByVal loc As Point) As cTabPage
        For i As Integer = 0 To Me.TabPages.Count - 1
            If Me.GetTabRect(i).Contains(loc) Then
                Return Me.TabPages(i)
                Exit Function
            End If
        Next
        Return Nothing
    End Function

    ' Active tab changed
    Private Sub cTabControl_SelectedIndexChanged(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs)

Handles MyBase.SelectedIndexChanged
        Dim tab As cTabPage = frmMain.getTab()
        If tab IsNot Nothing Then
            frmMain.UpdateTitle()
            frmMain.UpdateLineInfo(tab)
            frmMain.UpdateWindowList()
        Else
            frmMain.lblLineInfo.Text = ""
            frmMain.lblFilePath.Text = ""
        End If
    End Sub

    Private Sub cTabControl_ControlAdded(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As

System.Windows.Forms.ControlEventArgs) Handles MyBase.ControlAdded
        frmMain.UpdateWindowList()
    End Sub

    Private Sub cTabControl_ControlRemoved(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As

System.Windows.Forms.ControlEventArgs) Handles MyBase.ControlRemoved
        frmMain.UpdateWindowList()
    End Sub

---

6. 'cTabPage' controls and code:
Add a 'RichTextBox' control to your 'cTabPage.vb' usercontrol (drag it into the gray area) and name it 'RTB'. You

can choose which properties you want to set but most importantly is to set the 'Dock' property to 'Fill'.

Add the following code to your 'cTabPage.vb' usercontrol:

Code:

---

#Region " VARIABLES "

    Dim _DocName, _DocPath As String
    Dim _DocIndex As Integer
    Dim _DocSaved, _DocChanged As Boolean

#End Region

    Public Sub New()

        ' This call is required by the Windows Form Designer.
        InitializeComponent()

        ' Add any initialization after the InitializeComponent() call.
        frmMain.tabCtrl.SelectedTab = Me
        RTB.Focus()
    End Sub

#Region " PROPERTIES "

    ' Name of the document (including extension)
    Public Property DocName() As String
        Get
            Return _DocName
        End Get
        Set(ByVal value As String)
            _DocName = value
            UpdateTitle()
        End Set
    End Property

    ' Filepath of the document
    Public Property DocPath() As String
        Get
            Return _DocPath
        End Get
        Set(ByVal value As String)
            _DocPath = value
        End Set
    End Property

    ' Index of the document (only for 'Untitled' documents)
    ' Example: Untitled 3 --> index = 3
    Public Property DocIndex() As Integer
        Get
            Return _DocIndex
        End Get
        Set(ByVal value As Integer)
            _DocIndex = value
        End Set
    End Property

    ' Whether or not the document already exists on the computer
    ' (has been saved before or not)
    Public Property DocSaved() As Boolean
        Get
            Return _DocSaved
        End Get
        Set(ByVal value As Boolean)
            _DocSaved = value
        End Set
    End Property

    ' Whether or not the document text has been changed since the last save action
    Public Property DocChanged() As Boolean
        Get
            Return _DocChanged
        End Get
        Set(ByVal value As Boolean)
            _DocChanged = value
        End Set
    End Property

#End Region

#Region " MISC FUNCTIONS "

    ' Updates the document title to reflect the Changed status
    Public Sub UpdateTitle()
        If DocChanged Then
            Me.Text = Me.DocName & "*"
        Else
            Me.Text = Me.DocName
        End If
    End Sub

#End Region

#Region " DOCUMENT RELATED "

    ' Checks if the document has changed and asks whether or not to close
    ' If yes --> tab is saved then closed. If no --> tab is not saved then closed. If cancel --> tab is not closed
    Public Sub Close()
        Dim blnCancel As Boolean = False
        If DocChanged Then
            Dim str As String
            If DocPath <> "" Then
                str = "The following document has changed:" & ControlChars.CrLf & ControlChars.CrLf & DocName &

ControlChars.CrLf & "(" & DocPath & ")" & ControlChars.CrLf & ControlChars.CrLf & "Do you want to save before

closing?"
            Else
                str = "The following document has changed:" & ControlChars.CrLf & ControlChars.CrLf & DocName &

ControlChars.CrLf & ControlChars.CrLf & "Do you want to save before closing?"
            End If
            Dim msgBoxRes As MsgBoxResult = MessageBox.Show(str, "Document has changed",

MessageBoxButtons.YesNoCancel, MessageBoxIcon.Question)
            If msgBoxRes = MsgBoxResult.Cancel Then
                blnCancel = True
            ElseIf msgBoxRes = MsgBoxResult.Yes Then
                If DocSaved Then
                    frmMain.SaveTab(Me)
                Else
                    frmMain.SaveTabAs(Me)
                End If
            End If
        End If
        If Not blnCancel Then
            Me.Dispose()
        End If
    End Sub

#End Region

#Region " RTB RELATED "

    ' Changes the LineInfo ("Ln x, Ch y")
    Private Sub RTB_SelectionChanged(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles

RTB.SelectionChanged
        frmMain.UpdateLineInfo(Me)
    End Sub

    Private Sub RTB_TextChanged(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles RTB.TextChanged
        If Not Me.DocChanged Then
            Me.DocChanged = True
            UpdateTitle()
            frmMain.UpdateTitle()
        End If
    End Sub

    ' Loads a file into the RTB
    ' Throws error and returns False on error
    Public Function LoadFile(ByVal path As String) As Boolean
        Try
            Dim richTb As RichTextBox = RTB
            RTB.LoadFile(path, RichTextBoxStreamType.PlainText)
            Return True
        Catch ex As Exception
            WriteError(ex.Message)
            Return False
        End Try
    End Function

    ' Saves a file into the RTB
    ' Throws error and returns False on error
    Public Function SaveFile(ByVal path As String) As Boolean
        Try
            RTB.SaveFile(path, RichTextBoxStreamType.PlainText)
            Return True
        Catch ex As Exception
            WriteError(ex.Message)
            Return False
        End Try
    End Function
#End Region

---

7. Build your application if there are no errors (Build - Build [solution name])
If you don't do this, you will not be able to use your usercontrols.

8. The Main Form:
There should already be a blank form called 'Form1'. Rename it to 'frmMain'.

Add the following controls, change the properties if it is mentioned:
- MenuStrip (right-click --> Insert Standard Items)
- ToolStrip (right-click --> Insert Standard Items)
- StatusStrip
- cTabControl (Change name to "tabCtrl", Dock = Fill, Remove all tabs)
(The custom tabcontrol can be found at the very top of your toolbox. If not, go back to step 7)


9. The main menus:
You need to edit a few of the menus if you wish:
- In the 'File' menu, add a ToolStripMenuItem called "SaveAllToolStripMenuItem". Give it a Text property of

something like "Save All". Also add a ToolStripMenuItem called "CloseToolStripMenuItem" with a Text property of

"Close".
- In the "Window" menu, add a ToolStripMenuItem called "CloseAllDocumentsToolStripMenuItem" and a Separator called

"WindowSeparator".
- In the ToolStrip, add a ToolStripButton called "SaveAllToolStripButton".

In the StatusStrip, add three labels:
- lblFilePath (left)
- lblSpring (middle, set the "Spring" property to true)
- lblLineInfo (right)


10. The ContextmenuStrip
Add a ContextMenuStrip with two items:
- CloseContextMenu
- SaveContextMenu

Set the 'ContextMenuStrip' property of the 'tabCtrl' tabcontrol to "ContextMenuStrip1".

11. Main form code:
The code for the "frmMain" form is:

Code:

---

#Region " VARIABLES "

    Dim colWindowList As Collection

#End Region

#Region " MISC FUNCTIONS "

    ' Updates the Titlebar of the main form  and label in the StatusBar to reflect the active document
    Public Sub UpdateTitle()
        If Me.tabCtrl.SelectedTab IsNot Nothing Then
            Me.Text = Me.tabCtrl.SelectedTab.Text & " - [ Tabbed MDI Editor ]"
            Me.lblFilePath.Text = CType(Me.tabCtrl.SelectedTab, cTabPage).DocPath
        End If
    End Sub

    ' Updates the LineInfo at the bottom-right corner
    Public Sub UpdateLineInfo(ByVal tab As cTabPage)
        Dim ln As Long = tab.RTB.GetLineFromCharIndex(tab.RTB.SelectionStart)
        Dim ch As Integer = tab.RTB.SelectionStart - tab.RTB.GetFirstCharIndexFromLine(ln)
        Me.lblLineInfo.Text = "Ln " & ln + 1 & ", Ch " & ch + 1
    End Sub

    ' Returns the currently active Tabpage as a cTabPage custom tab
    Public Function getTab() As cTabPage
        If tabCtrl.SelectedTab IsNot Nothing Then
            Return CType(tabCtrl.SelectedTab, cTabPage)
        Else
            Return Nothing
        End If
    End Function

    ' Returns the name only of the filepath
    Public Function getName(ByVal path As String) As String
        Return IO.Path.GetFileName(path)
    End Function

    ' Kinda messy... Returns the first free 'index' for a New Document
    Public Function getNextIndex() As Integer
        Dim bln As Boolean = False
        Dim n As Integer = tabCtrl.TabPages.Count - 1
        Dim x As Integer
        Dim arr(0 To 1000) As Integer
        For i As Integer = 0 To 1000
            arr(i) = -1
        Next
        For i As Integer = 0 To n
            x = CType(tabCtrl.TabPages(i), cTabPage).DocIndex
            If x > 0 And x <= 1000 Then arr(x) = x
        Next
        For i As Integer = 1 To 1000
            If arr(i) < 0 Then
                Return i
                Exit Function
            End If
        Next
    End Function

    ' Checks if the file 'path' is already open and return True if it is
    Public Function checkExisting(ByVal path As String, Optional ByVal showError As Boolean = True) As Boolean
        For Each cTab As cTabPage In tabCtrl.TabPages
            If cTab.DocPath = path Then
                If showError Then WriteError("The following document is already opened:" & vbNewLine & vbNewLine &

path, ErrorType.tError)
                Return True
                Exit Function
            End If
        Next
        Return False
    End Function

#End Region

#Region " MENU & TOOLSTRIP ITEMS "

    Private Sub NewToolStripMenuItem_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles

NewToolStripMenuItem.Click
        NewTab()
    End Sub

    Private Sub OpenToolStripMenuItem_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles

OpenToolStripMenuItem.Click
        OpenTab()
    End Sub

    ' Checks if the document already has a save-path and then save accordingly
    Private Sub SaveToolStripMenuItem_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles

SaveToolStripMenuItem.Click
        Dim tab As cTabPage = getTab()
        If tab IsNot Nothing Then
            If tab.DocSaved Then
                SaveTab(tab)
            Else
                SaveTabAs(tab)
            End If
        End If

    End Sub

    Private Sub SaveAsToolStripMenuItem_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles

SaveAsToolStripMenuItem.Click
        Dim tab As cTabPage = getTab()
        If tab IsNot Nothing Then SaveTabAs(tab)
    End Sub

    ' Loops through each tab and save it
    Private Sub SaveAllToolStripMenuItem_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles

SaveAllToolStripMenuItem.Click
        For Each tab As cTabPage In Me.tabCtrl.TabPages
            If tab.DocSaved Then
                SaveTab(tab)
            Else
                SaveTabAs(tab)
            End If
        Next
    End Sub

    ' Closes the active tab
    Private Sub CloseToolStripMenuItem_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles

CloseToolStripMenuItem.Click
        Dim tab As cTabPage = getTab()
        If tab IsNot Nothing Then
            tab.Close()
        End If
    End Sub

    Private Sub ExitToolStripMenuItem_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles

ExitToolStripMenuItem.Click
        Me.Close()
    End Sub

    Private Sub UndoToolStripMenuItem_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles

UndoToolStripMenuItem.Click
        Dim tab As cTabPage = getTab()
        If tab IsNot Nothing Then
            tab.RTB.Undo()
        End If
    End Sub

    Private Sub RedoToolStripMenuItem_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles

RedoToolStripMenuItem.Click
        Dim tab As cTabPage = getTab()
        If tab IsNot Nothing Then
            tab.RTB.Redo()
        End If
    End Sub

    Private Sub CutToolStripMenuItem_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles

CutToolStripMenuItem.Click
        Dim tab As cTabPage = getTab()
        If tab IsNot Nothing Then
            tab.RTB.Cut()
        End If
    End Sub

    Private Sub CopyToolStripMenuItem_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles

CopyToolStripMenuItem.Click
        Dim tab As cTabPage = getTab()
        If tab IsNot Nothing Then
            tab.RTB.Copy()
        End If
    End Sub

    Private Sub PasteToolStripMenuItem_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles

PasteToolStripMenuItem.Click
        Dim tab As cTabPage = getTab()
        If tab IsNot Nothing Then
            tab.RTB.Paste()
        End If
    End Sub

    Private Sub SelectAllToolStripMenuItem_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs)

Handles SelectAllToolStripMenuItem.Click
        Dim tab As cTabPage = getTab()
        If tab IsNot Nothing Then
            tab.RTB.SelectAll()
        End If
    End Sub

    Private Sub CloseAllDocumentsToolStripMenuItem_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As

System.EventArgs) Handles CloseAllDocumentsToolStripMenuItem.Click
        For Each tab As cTabPage In tabCtrl.TabPages
            If tab IsNot Nothing Then tab.Close()
        Next
    End Sub

    Private Sub NewToolStripButton_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles

NewToolStripButton.Click
        NewToolStripMenuItem.PerformClick()
    End Sub

    Private Sub OpenToolStripButton_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles

OpenToolStripButton.Click
        OpenToolStripMenuItem.PerformClick()
    End Sub

    Private Sub SaveToolStripButton_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles

SaveToolStripButton.Click
        SaveToolStripMenuItem.PerformClick()
    End Sub

    Private Sub SaveAllToolStripButton_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles

SaveAllToolStripButton.Click
        SaveAllToolStripMenuItem.PerformClick()
    End Sub

    Private Sub CutToolStripButton_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles

CutToolStripButton.Click
        CutToolStripMenuItem.PerformClick()
    End Sub

    Private Sub CopyToolStripButton_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles

CopyToolStripButton.Click
        CopyToolStripMenuItem.PerformClick()
    End Sub

    Private Sub PasteToolStripButton_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles

PasteToolStripButton.Click
        PasteToolStripMenuItem.PerformClick()
    End Sub

    Private Sub CloseTabToolStripButton_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles

CloseTabToolStripButton.Click
        CloseToolStripMenuItem.PerformClick()
    End Sub

    ' Changes the 'Save' and 'Close' captions to reflect the active document
    Private Sub FileToolStripMenuItem_DropDownOpening(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs)

Handles FileToolStripMenuItem.DropDownOpening
        Dim tab As cTabPage = getTab()
        If tab IsNot Nothing Then
            SaveToolStripMenuItem.Text = "Save " & tab.DocName
            CloseToolStripMenuItem.Text = "Close " & tab.DocName
        End If
    End Sub

    ' Changes the 'Save' and 'Close' captions to reflect the active document
    Private Sub ContextMenuStrip1_Opening(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As

System.ComponentModel.CancelEventArgs) Handles ContextMenuStrip1.Opening
        'Dim tab As cTabPage = getTab()
        Dim loc As Point = tabCtrl.PointToClient(MousePosition)
        Dim tab As cTabPage = tabCtrl.GetTabFromLocation(loc)
        If tab IsNot Nothing Then
            tabCtrl.SelectedTab = tab
            CloseContextMenu.Text = "Close " & tab.DocName
            SaveContextMenu.Text = "Save " & tab.DocName
        End If
    End Sub

    Private Sub CloseContextMenu_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles

CloseContextMenu.Click
        Dim tab As cTabPage = getTab()
        If tab IsNot Nothing Then
            tab.Close()
        End If
    End Sub
#End Region

---

(Continued in next post...)

(This is continued from previous post, and still goes in the frmMain form!)

Code:

---

#Region " NEW/OPEN/SAVE ETC "

    ' Adds a new tab with a blank RTB
    Public Sub NewTab()
        Dim tab As New cTabPage
        Dim i As Integer = getNextIndex()
        tab.DocName = "Untitled " & i
        tab.DocPath = ""
        tab.Text = tab.DocName
        tab.DocIndex = i
        tab.DocChanged = False
        tab.DocSaved = False
        tabCtrl.TabPages.Add(tab)

        UpdateTitle()
    End Sub

    ' Shows an OpenFileDialog and opens the selected files in new Tabs
    Public Sub OpenTab()
        Using ofd As New OpenFileDialog
            ofd.Title = "Open File"
            ofd.Filter = "Text files (*.txt)|*.txt|All files|*.*"
            ofd.Multiselect = True
            If ofd.ShowDialog() = Windows.Forms.DialogResult.OK Then
                For Each file As String In ofd.FileNames
                    If file <> "" Then OpenTab(file)
                Next
            End If
        End Using
    End Sub

    ' Opens 'path' file in a new Tab
    Public Sub OpenTab(ByVal path As String)
        If Not checkExisting(path) Then
            Dim tab As New cTabPage
            If tab.LoadFile(path) Then
                tab.DocName = getName(path)
                tab.DocPath = path
                tab.Text = tab.DocName
                tab.DocChanged = False
                tab.DocSaved = True
                tabCtrl.TabPages.Add(tab)

                UpdateTitle()
            End If
        End If
    End Sub

    ' Saves the document in the 'tab' tab
    Public Sub SaveTab(ByVal tab As cTabPage)
        If tab.SaveFile(tab.DocPath) Then
            tab.DocSaved = True
            tab.DocChanged = False
            tab.UpdateTitle()
            UpdateTitle()
        End If
    End Sub

    ' Shows a SaveFileDialog and saves the document in the 'tab' tab
    Public Sub SaveTabAs(ByVal tab As cTabPage)
        Using sfd As New SaveFileDialog
            sfd.Title = "Save File: " & tab.DocName
            sfd.Filter = "Text files (*.txt)|*.txt|All files|*.*"
            If sfd.ShowDialog() = Windows.Forms.DialogResult.OK Then
                If tab.SaveFile(sfd.FileName) Then
                    tab.DocSaved = True
                    tab.DocChanged = False
                    tab.DocPath = sfd.FileName
                    tab.DocName = getName(sfd.FileName)
                    tab.UpdateTitle()
                    UpdateTitle()
                End If
            End If
        End Using
    End Sub

    ' Saves the document in the 'tab' tab to 'path' file
    Public Sub SaveTabAs(ByVal tab As cTabPage, ByVal path As String)
        If tab.SaveFile(path) Then
            tab.DocSaved = True
            tab.DocChanged = False
            tab.DocPath = path
            tab.DocName = getName(path)
            tab.UpdateTitle()
            UpdateTitle()
        End If
    End Sub

#End Region

#Region " FORM RELATED "

    Private Sub Form1_Load(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load
        NewTab()
    End Sub

#End Region

#Region " WINDOW LIST "

    ' Generate the 'Window' list of active windows
    ' This is usually done automatically, but since the 'windows' are now not really MDI forms that is impossible
    Public Sub UpdateWindowList()
        colWindowList = New Collection                                  'Clear collection
        Dim n As Integer = WindowToolStripMenuItem.DropDownItems.Count  'Store number of dropdown items
        For i As Integer = n - 1 To 2 Step -1
            WindowToolStripMenuItem.DropDownItems.RemoveAt(i)          'Remove every dropdownitem except the first

two (Close All and separator)
        Next
        If tabCtrl.TabPages.Count = 0 Then
            WindowSeparator.Visible = False                            'Hides the separator if no documents open
            Exit Sub
        End If
        WindowSeparator.Visible = True
        For Each tab As cTabPage In tabCtrl.TabPages
            colWindowList.Add(tab)                                      'Adds the tab to the collection
        Next
        For i As Integer = 1 To colWindowList.Count
            Dim windowMenuItem As New ToolStripMenuItem                'Creates a new ToolStripMenuItem
            Dim tab As cTabPage = CType(colWindowList(i), cTabPage) 
            windowMenuItem.Text = i & ". " & tab.Text
            windowMenuItem.Tag = tab
            windowMenuItem.Checked = (tab Is tabCtrl.SelectedTab)
            AddHandler windowMenuItem.Click, AddressOf OnWindowListItemClick
            WindowToolStripMenuItem.DropDownItems.Add(windowMenuItem)
        Next
    End Sub

    ' WindowListItem Click Event Handler
    Private Sub OnWindowListItemClick(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs)
        Dim ctrl As ToolStripItem = CType(sender, ToolStripItem)
        Dim tab As cTabPage = CType(ctrl.Tag, cTabPage)
        tabCtrl.SelectedTab = tab
        UpdateWindowList()
    End Sub

    Private Sub WindowToolStripMenuItem_DropDownOpening(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs)

Handles WindowToolStripMenuItem.DropDownOpening
        UpdateWindowList()
    End Sub


#End Region

---

12. Error handler module:
Add a new Module file and call it something like 'modErrorHandler'.
Add the following code:

Code:

---

Public Enum ErrorType As Integer
        tError = 0
        tWarning = 1
        tInformation = 2
    End Enum

    ' Fast way of handling errors. This way you don't have to type every little detail every time,
    ' you can often leave most parameters on default
    Public Sub WriteError(ByVal msg As String, Optional ByVal ErrType As ErrorType = 0, Optional ByVal caption As

String = Nothing, Optional ByVal buttons As MessageBoxButtons = MessageBoxButtons.OK)
        Select Case ErrType
            Case 0
                If caption = Nothing Then caption = "Error"
                MessageBox.Show(msg, caption, buttons, MessageBoxIcon.Error)
            Case 1
                If caption = Nothing Then caption = "Warning"
                MessageBox.Show(msg, caption, buttons, MessageBoxIcon.Warning)
            Case 2
                If caption = Nothing Then caption = "Information"
                MessageBox.Show(msg, caption, buttons, MessageBoxIcon.Information)
        End Select
    End Sub

---

Whew, I think that's all.... If there is anything wrong (there's bound to be lol...) tell me and I'll fix it!

Great work!

Is there no printing in your program?

Nope sorry. I have never done that before and didn't want to go into the hassle of finding out how to do it, mainly because the program focuses on the tabbed mdi part and because I have no printer to test it on.... You may have noticed that there is also no Find/Replace, Goto, Options etc...

Most of these things however (except the printing again, sorry) are covered in the 'Very extensive MDI Text Editor' which can also be found in my signature.

For basic printing you can just copy and paste the code in my signature :cool:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by noahssite

For basic printing you can just copy and paste the code in my signature :cool:

---

Or you could add it yourself, if you're looking for a tabbed notepad.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by JuggaloBrotha

Or you could add it yourself, if you're looking for a tabbed notepad.

---

lol.. well thats one way..

Nice to see people sharing their ideas with others. Good for you, Nick. :thumb:

...And a windows coder at that! Awesome.