[RESOLVED] How can a component recognize the Form it is on?

I'm trying to make a Toolbox component which the user can drag onto a form in the VS Designer. The component has to recognize the Form it is on, in order to handle certain Form events. I would prefer to do it without requiring the user to add any code to the form. Does anyone know a way the component can get the identity of the form?

BB

Did you even try This.

After a little search i found http://www.codeproject.com/KB/vb/ser...omponents.aspx

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pc_Not_Mac

Did you even try This.

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I never post a question to the forum without doing extensive searching first.

Quote:

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After a little search i found http://www.codeproject.com/KB/vb/ser...omponents.aspx

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I find that article hard to understand but I can't see how it is relevant to my question. Perhaps my title was too unspecific. I have now edited it.

I was hoping the component's Container or Site property would be set when it is dragged onto a form, but that does not happen: clearly Forms do not implement IContainer by default. I can give the component a browsable Form property like this:

Code:

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  <Browsable(True)>
    Private WithEvents _Form As New Form
    Public WriteOnly Property Form As Form
        Set(ByVal value As Form)
            _Form = value
        End Set
      End Property

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Then the user can select any of the project's forms in the component's Properties window. But that ought be redundant because the user has already dragged the component from the Toolbox onto a specific form. So I wonder if there is some way I can avoid that step?

BB

It is definitly possible, and I think it was via the properties you mention, possibly indirectly. I'll have a look at it, I'm sure I did this before.

EDIT
I found this in the meantime, check it out
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3...ts-parent-form

EDIT2
VB code translated:

vb.net Code:

Imports System.ComponentModel.Design
 
Public Class TestComponent
    Inherits System.ComponentModel.Component
 
    Private _ContainerControl As ContainerControl
    Public Property ContainerControl() As ContainerControl
        Get
            Return _ContainerControl
        End Get
        Set(ByVal value As ContainerControl)
            _ContainerControl = value
 
            'Testing purposes:
            MessageBox.Show(value.ToString())
        End Set
    End Property
 
    Public Overrides Property Site As System.ComponentModel.ISite
        Get
            Return MyBase.Site
        End Get
        Set(ByVal value As System.ComponentModel.ISite)
            MyBase.Site = value
 
            If value Is Nothing Then Return
 
            Dim host = TryCast(value.GetService(GetType(IDesignerHost)), IDesignerHost)
            If host IsNot Nothing Then
                Dim componentHost = host.RootComponent
                If TypeOf componentHost Is ContainerControl Then
                    Me.ContainerControl = TryCast(componentHost, Windows.Forms.ContainerControl)
                End If
            End If
        End Set
    End Property
 
End Class

Seems to work just fine.

Thanks a million Nick. I suspected there must be something in ComponentModel.Design but the information I found about it was far too complex for me to figure out what had to be done. The Properties method I was thinking of didn't work after all because the Designer instantiates non-visible components before the form, so it still had to be done in code.

Your solution is exactly what is needed. Your reputation deserves ++ but that stupid spread-it-around rule prevents it. Again thanks, BB