[RESOLVED] [2005] Textbox.enabled question

[Kimmy4]

Hi guys,

this is probably a really easy question, but is there any way to disable a textbox but still allow the scroll bar to scroll, because i am setting up a simple messaging system.

Now i am displaying it in a textbox, but have disabled the textbox so that the user cant alter any of the text in the message they are reading. But if the message is longer than what will fit in the textbox then the user cant read the rest of the message because the scrollbar is also disabled.

So is there any way around this?

Thanks in advance for any help

[stimbo]

So, if you set the scroll property to vertical and the textbox to read only, the scroll bars still work.

[tarencer]

suppose ur textbox name is text1 then add the following code

Private sub text1_keypress(byval keyascii as integer)
          Select case chr(keyascii)
                   case else
                         keyascii=0
           end select
end sub

If your problem has been solved then please mark the thread [RESOLVED].
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[jmcilhinney]

A disabled control is one that accepts no user interaction. Scrolling is user interaction so that's not disabled.

As I'm sure I've suggested to you before, if you want to do something with or to a class you should look at what members the class provides before doing ANYTHING else. Had you done that you'd have seen the ReadOnly property, which name I would think would suggest to you its use. If not then the description surely would have:

Controls whether the text in the edit control can be changed or not.

Presumably you were using the IDE when you decided you need this so the Properties window would have been right there in front of you. Don't ignore the obvious resources at your disposal.

[tarencer]

u dont have to alter the text box properties

[jmcilhinney]

u dont have to alter the text box properties

Your code is for VB6 so not relevant to VB.NET. Also, why would you bother writing code when you can set a single property at design time that is specifically designed to perform the desired task?

[Phill64]

A disabled control is one that accepts no user interaction. Scrolling is user interaction so that's not disabled.

As I'm sure I've suggested to you before, if you want to do something with or to a class you should look at what members the class provides before doing ANYTHING else. Had you done that you'd have seen the ReadOnly property, which name I would think would suggest to you its use. If not then the description surely would have:Presumably you were using the IDE when you decided you need this so the Properties window would have been right there in front of you. Don't ignore the obvious resources at your disposal.

lol, he makes a good point

[Kimmy4]

I tried the readonly option, but that made the appearance of the form seem worse because the backcolor of the textbox changed to the colour of the panel it was on and also it displayed the caret which i didn't want.

[stimbo]

but that made the appearance of the form seem worse because the backcolor of the textbox changed to the colour of the panel

Surely the simple solution would be to change its BackColor property again after making it Read Only....

[Kimmy4]

Nope...it tried that...the backcolor of the textbox is white, then when i make it readonly it changes it to the backcolor of the panel (which is blue).

[jmcilhinney]

I tried the readonly option, but that made the appearance of the form seem worse because the backcolor of the textbox changed to the colour of the panel it was on and also it displayed the caret which i didn't want.

It's always a good idea to provide all relevant information when posting. If you don't like the BackColor then change it. As for the caret, the text is still selectable to facilitate copying to the clipboard but I believe that there's a Windows API function that will hide it.

[pvbangera]

then, change the backcolor of ur textbox

TextBox1.BackColor = Color.White

[jmcilhinney]

Nope...it tried that...the backcolor of the textbox is white, then when i make it readonly it changes it to the backcolor of the panel (which is blue).

Setting the ReadOnly property to True sets the BackColor property to Control. You then simply set the BackColor rpoperty to Window AFTERWARDS.

[Phill64]

I tried the readonly option, but that made the appearance of the form seem worse because the backcolor of the textbox changed to the colour of the panel it was on and also it displayed the caret which i didn't want.

It just sets the backcolor property, you can change it back with no problem it's not property reliant.

As for the newline symbols, i dont seem to get that problem, are you using VbNewLine ?

[jmcilhinney]

then, change the backcolor of ur textbox

TextBox1.BackColor = Color.White

Use Window, not White. That way it will be consistent regardless of the current theme.

[stimbo]

edit: I'm too slow

[Kimmy4]

As for the caret, the text is still selectable to facilitate copying to the clipboard but I believe that there's a Windows API function that will hide it.

I found the code to get rid of the caret a while and tried it but couldn't get it to work as i kept getting an error, i found a post with someone else who was getting the same error and nobody had come up with a solution and i couldn't find one when searching the net for one.

Use Window, not White. That way it will be consistent regardless of the current theme.

In the code i am writing the lines:

txtMessage.ReadOnly = True
txtMessage.BackColor = Color.White

How do i set it to window in code (not using the properties) as it only gives the color. options? And even using that code it still made the textbox backcolor blue!

[jmcilhinney]

In the code i am writing the lines:

txtMessage.ReadOnly = True
txtMessage.BackColor = Color.White

How do i set it to window in code (not using the properties) as it only gives the color. options? And even using that code it still made the textbox backcolor blue!

That code worked perfectly for me.

[Kimmy4]

Edit: It seems there is another problem which is causing the text to disappear as my boss has changed the xml file i am getting it from so i've gotta wait until he changes it back before i can test properly whether the color change works.

I'll let you know.

[Phill64]

I added the color change code after i added the text to the textbox and it changed the color of the textbox...but now i have lost my text.

I guess i'm just going to have to leave it as blue!

Text being lost from a color change im pretty sure is NOT normal behaviour, either you have a problem with your framework, or more likely, there's more code to this issue that you're not telling us about.

[jmcilhinney]

Oops! I forgot to post my own code in post #18. Should have been:

txtMessage.ReadOnly = True
txtMessage.BackColor = SystemColors.Window

The actual Colors returned by the members of the SystemColors class are determine by the current Windows theme. Window will return White in the default theme but may return some other colour in another theme.

[Kimmy4]

Phill64 -> I editted my post before i got ur reply! There is another problem as explained in post #19.

jmcilhinney -> Thanks for that, i'll try that out as soon as my earlier problem is fixed by my boss.

[Kimmy4]

Tried it after my boss fixed his problem and it still didn't change the color, but my boss said the blue will do.

Thanks everyone for their input.

[jmcilhinney]

The colour change is supposed to be a visual cue to the user that the field is read-only anyway, so having it so not such a bad idea.