Timer canot be converted to control in vb.net

I have the following code in VB.NET. It gives error that timer cannot be converted to type control.

Code:

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Dim ctl As System.Windows.Forms.Control
Timer1.Load(a_instance)
ctl = Timer1(a_instance)
DisplayForm_GetDisplay = ctl
 If a_instance = 1 Then
    ReDim tmrevtback(1)
 End If

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In Designer.vb form

Code:

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Public WithEvents Timer1 As Microsoft.VisualBasic.Compatibility.VB6.TimerArray
Me.Timer1 = New Microsoft.VisualBasic.Compatibility.VB6.TimerArray(Me.components)

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EDIT:

Code:

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Dim lctl As System.Windows.Forms.Control
lctl = mDisplayForm.GetDisplayElementControl(a_elemtype, i, a_displayelement)

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Code:

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Private Function DisplayForm_GetDisplayElementControl(ByRef a_type As String, ByRef a_instance As Integer, ByRef a_displayelement As DisplayEvent) As System.Windows.Forms.Control Implements _DisplayForm.GetDisplayElementControl
Dim ctl As System.Windows.Forms.ControlDim ctl As System.Windows.Forms.Control
Timer1.Load(a_instance)
ctl = Timer1(a_instance)
DisplayForm_GetDisplayElementControl= ctl
 If a_instance = 1 Then
    ReDim tmrevtback(1)
 End If
If UBound(tmrevtback) < a_instance Then
    ReDim Preserve tmrevtback(a_instance)
End If
tmrevtback(a_instance) = a_displayelement
frmDisplayToolbox.RegisterNewControl(Me, a_type, a_instance, a_displayelement, ctl)

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This calls the below functions.

Code:

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Public Function RegisterNewControl(ByRef a_form As System.Windows.Forms.Form, ByRef a_type As String, ByVal a_instance As Integer, ByRef a_displayelement As DisplayElement, ByRef a_control As System.Windows.Forms.Control) As Boolean
                Dim lkey As String = ""
                Dim levent As String = ""
                Dim lparms As DataSetNode
                On Error GoTo bad
                If a_form Is mForm Or mForm Is Nothing Then
                        lkey = "k" & a_type & a_instance
                       
                        If Not a_control Is Nothing Then
                                mDisplayInstances.Add(a_type & a_instance)
                                mDisplayControls.Add(a_control, lkey)
                                mDisplayElements.Add(a_displayelement, lkey)
                               
                                mLog("+ Register New Control: K=" & lkey)
                                RegisterNewControl = True
                        Else
                                mLog("!! Unable to Register New Control (control is empty): T=" & a_type & "  I=" & a_instance)
                        End If
                Else
                        mLog("!! Unable to Register New Control (no or bad form): T=" & a_type & "  I=" & a_instance)
                End If
                Exit Function

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Note: I'm converting this project from VB6 to VB.NET and it works fine in VB6.

Code:

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ctl = Timer1(a_instance)

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line throws error in VB.NET.

Code:

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Dim ctl As System.Windows.Forms.Control
Timer1.Load(a_instance)
ctl = Timer1(a_instance)
 clsijwIDisplayForm_GetDisplay'CODE IDOT on
 If a_instance = 1 Then
    ReDim tmrevtback(1)
 End If

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Don't know enough VB6 to help much but this line seem a bit odd,
Also I don't remember .net timers having a .load property.

KBConsole

Any alternative solutions for this?

What is your code supposed to do ?

It register a new display control and when more than one display in queue, it avoid screen flashing so each screen displays for a second or two minimum. So basically it should register timer control instance.

Check Edited post. I've added bit more code.

How about using an actual .NET Timer component rather than the VB6 Timer control? I'd also replace tmrevtback with a List(of) rather than array... it'll cut down on some of thee array management code clutter.

-tg

But how can I pass that to a control? I've tried using

Code:

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Friend Timer1() As Timer

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but it throws same error that value of timer can not be converted to Control while executing

Code:

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ctl = Timer1(instance)

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.

Sadly 'timers' in .Net are no longer considered 'controls' but 'components'.

I'd just rewrite the whole thing in .Net to avoid errors or unproper syntax since i'm not a big fan of "patching" or code conversion.

Hoping someone gives you a better solution but I can't think of one for now,

Good luck,

KBConsole

Ultimately, that's the best advice. I don't remember how timers worked in VB6, but in .NET, forms and all controls inherit from Control, which offers up certain functionality. Timer does NOT inherit from Control, partially because it doesn't need that functionality. It doesn't have a location, it doesn't have a text property, it doesn't have some of the events that controls have, and it doesn't have a handle. I'm not even sure which of those was the more important one when it comes to not having Timer inherit from Control, but whatever the reason or reasons, that is the result.

You also don't want more than one control per form, cause having more than one will clutter things up, so the idea of an array of timers is a bit misguided to begin with. Technically, you could probably use Object, since both Control and Timer derive from that, but even if that would work, you shouldn't do it, because having an array of timers is just asking for trouble.

This is one of the reasons why people say that VB.NET and VB6 are not the same language despite superficial similarities. Much of what you are showing is an attempt to force VB.NET to act as if it were VB6. For example, all the Redim Preserves (which weren't efficient in VB6, either), On Error form of exception handling, and use of whatever that arraytimer thing is.

For that matter, your solution to the problem may be due to a holdover from VB6, too, as screen 'flashing' is usually not solved using timers, it's usually solved by changing doublebuffer to True, unless the issue is that things change from A to B to C so fast that B just 'flashes' on the screen, and what you really want is for it to take some time. Still, one timer should suffice.

EDIT: I'm not thrilled with that answer, and you probably aren't either. The reason for that is that you used some terminology in your description that is sufficiently ambiguous that I'm not sure what the best answer would be. You gave a brief description in post #5, but it left a whole lot to the imagination.

I am likely misunderstanding you, but the way I read post #5 was that you had a single form that showed a series of "display controls". I don't know what a display control is, and how it differs from any other type of control, if it differs at all. It's unusual to have a form with controls that are showing up and going away automatically. Is this happening in the same place? What is driving the change? Is the flashing just that the controls are flickering, or that they are changing so fast they barely become visible before leaving?

Quote:

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or that they are changing so fast they barely become visible before leaving?

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Pretty sure it's close to that, "display control" kinda triggered my OCD too but I believe he simply :

has multiple "x" to display (the array) and had to insert a delay so they show long enough to be seen (timer)

If this theory is right it would be very easy to recreate in .Net but i might be wrong about the program's goal.

KBConsole

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Shaggy Hiker

Ultimately, that's the best advice. I don't remember how timers worked in VB6, but in .NET, forms and all controls inherit from Control, which offers up certain functionality. Timer does NOT inherit from Control, partially because it doesn't need that functionality. It doesn't have a location, it doesn't have a text property, it doesn't have some of the events that controls have, and it doesn't have a handle. I'm not even sure which of those was the more important one when it comes to not having Timer inherit from Control, but whatever the reason or reasons, that is the result.

You also don't want more than one control per form, cause having more than one will clutter things up, so the idea of an array of timers is a bit misguided to begin with. Technically, you could probably use Object, since both Control and Timer derive from that, but even if that would work, you shouldn't do it, because having an array of timers is just asking for trouble.

This is one of the reasons why people say that VB.NET and VB6 are not the same language despite superficial similarities. Much of what you are showing is an attempt to force VB.NET to act as if it were VB6. For example, all the Redim Preserves (which weren't efficient in VB6, either), On Error form of exception handling, and use of whatever that arraytimer thing is.

For that matter, your solution to the problem may be due to a holdover from VB6, too, as screen 'flashing' is usually not solved using timers, it's usually solved by changing doublebuffer to True, unless the issue is that things change from A to B to C so fast that B just 'flashes' on the screen, and what you really want is for it to take some time. Still, one timer should suffice.

EDIT: I'm not thrilled with that answer, and you probably aren't either. The reason for that is that you used some terminology in your description that is sufficiently ambiguous that I'm not sure what the best answer would be. You gave a brief description in post #5, but it left a whole lot to the imagination.

I am likely misunderstanding you, but the way I read post #5 was that you had a single form that showed a series of "display controls". I don't know what a display control is, and how it differs from any other type of control, if it differs at all. It's unusual to have a form with controls that are showing up and going away automatically. Is this happening in the same place? What is driving the change? Is the flashing just that the controls are flickering, or that they are changing so fast they barely become visible before leaving?

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Yes instance of timer control helps displays to run for minimum time and avoid screen flashing. If more then one displays are in queue it helps to display each screen for at least minimum time. "It's not for flashing it's to avoid flashing and display screen for at least minimum few seconds." And there are more then one forms. Couple forms have few controls like Picturebox, Panel, Timer, Flash control.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by KBConsole

Pretty sure it's close to that, "display control" kinda triggered my OCD too but I believe he simply :

has multiple "x" to display (the array) and had to insert a delay so they show long enough to be seen (timer)

If this theory is right it would be very easy to recreate in .Net but i might be wrong about the program's goal.

KBConsole

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Yes you're right. Yes instance of timer control helps displays to run for minimum time and avoid screen flashing. If more then one displays are in queue it helps to display each screen for at least minimum time. "It's not for flashing it's to avoid flashing and display screen for at least minimum few seconds." And there are more then one forms. Couple forms have few controls like Picturebox, Panel, Timer, Flash control.

In that case, the design really needs only one timer. If the 'displays' are on a form, then the timer can be on the form. If the displays ARE forms, then it would be better to have the timer somewhere else, such as in a module.

In either case, you can have the displays in a Queue. In the timer tick event, dequeue the next item and show it. The item knows where it needs to be, so it's really just a matter of dequeuing the next control and making it visible. If you need different items to be visible for different amounts of time, then you could put the time (in milliseconds) to display each control into the .Tag property of the control. When you dequeue the item in the timer tick event, you could set the timer interval to whatever was held in the .Tag property. That way, each control can have a different length of time for it to be displayed.