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Windows Form Applications in Visual C++/CLR 2012

How to use GUI components of Visual C++/CLR is explained at this website.

How to copy an old form is explained at this website.

Programming a windows form application in Visual C++/CLR (simply, .NET programming or .NET Framework programming in Visual C++) lessens auxiliary programming and allows a programmer to concentrate on substantial algorithms, by which you would exploit the power of Visual C++/CLR more easily. The CLR (the Common Language Runtime) is the Microsoft version of the CLI (the Common Language Infrastructure).

As a little introduction to Visual C++/CLR 2012 programming, this website consists of three parts, “How to Create a New Windows Form Application”, “How to Hide the Console Window” and “Controlling Two (or More than Two) Forms”.

How to Create a New Windows Form Application

Creating a new windows form application in Visual C++/CLR consists of the following two steps:

1. Prepare a new form.

2. Write simple codes to present the form.

The two steps are explained below.

1. Prepare a form.

Start Visual Studio 2012, and select the menu “FILE|New Project”(Figure 1).

Figure 1

The new project dialog box will appear (Figure 2). Select the template “Visual C++|CLR|CLR Empty Project”.

Figure 2

If you want to change the Name, Location or Solution name, you can set them as you like.

Click OK button, then the new project will be created (Figure 3). Select the menu “PROJECT|Add New Item”.

Figure 3

“Add New Item” window will be presented (Figure 4). Select item “Visual C++|UI|Windows Form” and click Add button.

Figure 4

Form designer window will be presented (Figure 5). Click Toolbox tab.

Figure 5

Click the lying pin (Figure 6).

Figure 6

The form designer window will be reappear (Figure 7). Copy the Button on the form by click and drag. Double click the button on the form.

Figure 7

Event handler button1_Click will be automatically prepared (Figure 8).

Figure 8

In Figure 9, “this->Close();” is inserted, so the form will be closed when the button is clicked.

Figure 9

2. Write simple codes to present the form.

Select the menu “PROJECT|Add New Item”. “Add New Item” window will appear (Figure 10).

Figure 10

Choose the template “Visual C++|Code|C++ File (.cpp)”, then click Add button. The source code file will be prepared (Figure 11).

Figure 11

Write the following codes (Figure 12):

#include "MyForm.h" // The header file of the form

using namespace Project1; // The name of the namespace in MyForm.h

[STAThreadAttribute] // Run this program in STA mode

int main(){

MyForm fm; // The form to be created and shown

fm.ShowDialog(); // Show the form

return 0;

}

Figure 12

The included file “MyForm.h”, namespace “Project1” and ref class name “MyForm” correspond to those for the window form to be presented (Figure 13).

Figure 13

After you finished the above work, click “BUILD|Build Solution” menu (Figure 14).

Figure 14

If Build succeeded (Figure 15), then press the function key F5 to run the program.

Figure 15

A console window will appear (Figure 16).

Figure 16

Then the form will appear (Figure 17).

Figure 17

How to Hide the Console Window

If you don’t want the console window to appear, set the two properties of the project, SubSystem and Entry Point, as follows.

Click menu “PROJECT|(project name) Properties” (Figure 18).

Figure 18

Property Pages window will appear (Figure 19). Select “Configuration Properties|Linker|System”, then Click cell “SubSystem”

Figure 19

A button will appear at the right end of the cell (Figure 20).

Figure 20

Click the button, then a list of values will be presented (Figure 21).

Figure 21

Select “Windows (/SUBSYSTEM:WINDOWS)”, then push Apply button (Figure 22).

Figure 22

Next, Select “Linker|Advanced”, then property “Entry Point” will be shown (Figure 23).

Figure 23

As “Entry Point” value, enter the same name “main” as in the source code file, then push Apply button (Figure 24).

Figure 24

Click OK button.

After the above setting of the two properties of the project, the console window will not appear.

How to use components in Visual C++/CLR is explained at this website.

Controlling Two (or More than Two) Forms

If you create a Windows form application on an Empty Project, several forms can be handled at the same level. For example, in the following program, two forms are alternately presented on clicking the buttons.

#include "MyForm.h"

#include "MyFormNoFrame.h"

#include "common.h"

using namespace TwoForms;

[STAThreadAttribute]

int main(){

MyForm mf;

MyFormNoFrame mfnf;

ck_exit = false;

do{

mf.ShowDialog();

if (ck_exit) break;

mfnf.ShowDialog();

if (ck_exit) break;

}while(true);

return 0;

}

Variable ck_exit is declared in header file common.h and defined in code file common.cpp. The program is zipped in TwoForms.zip , which can be down loaded by click. Unzipped files can be opened by Visual Studio 2012.

If error messages are shown (Figure A1), you can simply ignore them.

Figure A1

If an error concerning a pane, on which forms would be displayed, is shown, delete the pane that caused the error by clicking “X” on the tab.

Then, reopen the pane by double clicking the name in Solution Explorer. The form or the file will be opened without troulbes.

The two forms are designed as Figure25.

Figure 25

Properties of form MyFormNoFrame are set as Figure 26.

Figure 26

Properties of button Next are set as Figure 27.

Figure 27

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