set item property values dynamically?

[adshocker]

hi all,

i'm trying to create a procedure that changes an items property value dynamically.

something like...

    Public Sub SetItemProperty(ByVal item_name As String, ByVal property_name As String, ByVal value As String)
        item_name.property_name = value
    End Sub

   'Call it by.
   SetItemProperty("Textbox1", "Text", "Hello World")

but of course that's just a sample of what i want to accomplish..

i'd appreciate any help.

thanks.

[Atheist]

You'd have to use reflection to accomplish that, search this forum for "Reflection Set Property" or something similar.

Edit: I feel generous today, so I searched for you

[adshocker]

hi,

thanks for the link... very informative.

but the approach might not be applicable to my situation.

forgive me if i didn't mention this earlier but the situation i am in right now is that i am planning to create this procedure inside an interface... which is why i planned to pass the control/item as string type instead of control type.

what work-arounds can i do for this?

thanks

[Shaggy Hiker]

I may be mistaken, but I'd suggest that you explain your ultimate objective more thoroughly, as I feel that you have backed yourself into a corner from which any solution, if one exists, will be very difficult to create or maintain.

[adshocker]

I may be mistaken, but I'd suggest that you explain your ultimate objective more thoroughly, as I feel that you have backed yourself into a corner from which any solution, if one exists, will be very difficult to create or maintain.

hi,

to explain further, i have here a plugin architecture.. i have an MdiForm as the executable file.. then i have a couple of dll that has child forms and are loaded at runtime. i have reach the point where these child forms will need to modify items in the MdiForm like for example, I have a toolstrip on the MdiForm and it has a few ToolStripButtons. not all these buttons are enabled in every child form. some are disabled. so in my child form, i'm trying to find a way to disable the ToolStripButtons that are not required.

i've thought of using another Interface for this as well and create procedures for each item but this will lead to a lot of codes. which is why i thought maybe i can use the approach i mentioned above which is to just use a procedure that can change item properties in the MdiForm dynamically just by specifying the item / control name, what property and the value.

i'm not sure if it's possible thought.

thanks.

[jmcilhinney]

Your plugin interface should define a property that the parent form can read to determine which tool buttons and menu items should be enabled. It should also define an event that provides a notification when this property value has changed. The parent form can then read that property value and set the state of its own menus and tool bars.

[adshocker]

thanks..

haven't had the chance to try this yet.

will get back to you.