Need help managing multiple forms

[westong5]

Hey everyone,

I am a beginner programmer, and taking my first course in VB.NET in college.

I am writing a program that teaches the user step by step to solve a rubiks cube.

One problem I am having is how to manage the 20 forms that make up my program.

Currently, when the user procedes to the next step, I make the current form invisible, and show the next form.
ex. Nextbutton click
form2.show()
me.visible = false

This causes two problems. When the user closes the application, the program still is "running", and you have to go to a task manager and end the .exe process.

I have tried doing
form2.show()
me.close()
but that closes the entire program instead of just showing the next step.

I had no idea how to word this problem, so if it has already been answered, will you please direct me to the other thread?

Thanks!
Weston

[cicatrix]

What you need is a wizard type application. You're familiar with such types of applications (nearly all installation programs have Next, Previous buttons so the user can go back if he desires or proceed to the next step). This design is perfect for the app you create.
Basically it's a single form that has a number of containers (panel, for example) each of them represents a single 'step' of the wizard. When user clicks the Next button one panel is hidden and another one is displayed (do not be afraid to modify the appearance of your forms from the code rather than in the designer window).

As for the mistake you're doing in your current design - you're using the default instances of your forms. I wish Microsoft didn't allow that in the first place.

You can show a form like this (wrong way):

Form2.Show

In this case you allow something within the vb compiler to instantiate your form for you (form2 is a class, not an instance).

The correct way is doing this explicitly. In this case you will control every aspect of your form's behaviour:

Dim frm2 As New Form2
frm2.Show

But I still think you're ought to redesign your app into a wizard.

[minitech]

If you've already got 20 forms and don't want to redesign, use your second code (with the Me.Close()) and set the project's shutdown mode to "When the last form closes". (Double-click on "My Project" in your solution, and find the drop-down.)

[westong5]

Thank you so much for the advice. This will fix a lot of headaches I have been having in runtime.

I see you are from Russia, so

Болшое спасибо!

[westong5]

I decided to just go ahead with what I originally thought as the quickest solution of changing every

Formx.show
me.visible = false

with

dim frmx as new formx
frmx.show
me.close

It has created another issue with the rest of my program, I am assuming because it is a "new" form.

In form3 I have a Friend string variable, that was used in just about every other form such as

How many stickers are on the & Form3.topface & face?

Since making the change to every form as a new form, the variable no longer is stored and doesn't appear on any of the other forms after making the change.

Again, I am a beginning programmer, so if anyone could let me know 1) why this is truly happening, and 2) the easiest way to fix it.

Thanks

[jmcilhinney]

In form3 I have a Friend string variable, that was used in just about every other form

Get it out of Form3 and put it in a module, so it's accessible anywhere in your project.

[westong5]

Works perfectly.

thanks a lot