Property with Collection (Of RichTextBox)

[tim8w]

OK,
I've created a custom Calendar control that works very well. I'm now trying to provide the user a way to load and save the Calendar data. I've chosen to save the data in a Collection (Of RichTextBox).

Here's the Property definition:

Private m_MonthItemCollection As New Collection(Of RichTextBox)

<Category("Appearance"), _
DesignerSerializationVisibility(DesignerSerializationVisibility.Content), _
Description("Calendar Item Data Collection.")> _
Public Property MonthItemCollection() As Collection(Of RichTextBox)
    Get
        MonthItemCollection = m_MonthItemCollection
    End Get
    Set(ByVal value As Collection(Of RichTextBox))
        Dim iIndex As Integer

        m_MonthItemCollection = value
        For iIndex = 1 To m_MonthItemCollection.Count
            AssignValuesToCalendar(iIndex)
        Next iIndex
    End Set
End Property

Here's the initialization of the Collection in New():

    Dim iIndex As Integer
    Dim MyRTB As RichTextBox

    For iIndex = 0 To 30
        MyRTB = New RichTextBox
        m_MonthItemCollection.Add(MyRTB)
    Next iIndex

and here's the code that assigns the correct RichTextBox to the Collection:

Private Sub RichTextBox1_TextChanged(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles RichTextBox1.TextChanged
    Dim iCollectionIndex As Integer

    iCollectionIndex = CInt(Val(lblDay1.Text)) - 1
    m_MonthItemCollection(iCollectionIndex) = RichTextBox1
End Sub

and here's the code that the user calls to get the data from the control:

Private Sub Button1_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click
    RichTextBox1 = CalendarControl1.MonthItemCollection(CInt(NumericUpDown1.Text) - 1)
End Sub

If I stop in the Control (i.e. in RichTextBox1_TextChanged), the data looks fine, but when I stop in Button1_Click, there is no text in the collection. Any ideas?

[jmcilhinney]

You should NOT be serialising a collection of RichTextBoxes. Each RTB containsa string. THAT is what you should be serialising. When you load your collection you can then create the required number of RTBs and load your strings into them.

Also, as I believe a mentioned in one of your previous threads, you should not be declaring a Collection of anything. The Collection(Of T) class is intended to be used as a base class only. Either inherit Collection(Of T) to create your own strongly-typed collection or just use List(Of T).

[tim8w]

jmcilhinney,
That's fine but I don't just want a Text String, I want a richtextbox (i.e. support for colors, pictures, etc. that come with RichTextBox) for each day of the month. I want the user to be able to set the RTB for any date and retrieve the RTB for any date...

[jmcilhinney]

When you view a Web page in your browser, what does the Web server send to you? Does it send an entire browser? Of course not. It sends a string containing HTML code. Your browser then interprets that code and displays the result.

The RichTextBox control is the same, although simpler. You read a string containing RTF code. The RichTextBox then interprets that and displays the result. It is THAT string - the one containing the RTF code - that you should be saving, NOT the RichTextBox control. You get that string from the control's Rtf property.

I suggest that you read the documentation for the classes you're using to get a general understanding of how they work. The help topic for the RTB class would have enlightened you.

[tim8w]

jmcilhinney,
Fine. I still need a Collection of Strings to hold the 31 days worth of rtf info. If I change the code above to use a collection of strings, the results are the same...