• 0

[VB.NET] Send form to always be in the back?


Question

17 answers to this question

Recommended Posts

  • 0
  gameguy said:
Why? What's the point of even having a form to show anything if it's never going to be seen?

585546886[/snapback]

Well, I want it to be in front while the form is visible, but when it is not visible it still takes the focus away from other windows that are open (which is a huge problem).

  • 0

I don't get it. When a form isn't visible (hidden or closed), it's not taking focus away from other windows :huh:

Also, wait at least 24 hours to bump a thread (Y) Not everyone is in the same time zone, not everyone is online every day, and not everyone checks every thread in every forum ;)

  • 0
  gameguy said:
I don't get it. When a form isn't visible (hidden or closed), it's not taking focus away from other windows :huh:

Also, wait at least 24 hours to bump a thread (Y) Not everyone is in the same time zone, not everyone is online every day, and not everyone checks every thread in every forum ;)

585550836[/snapback]

Sorry about the bump. :blush:

  weenur said:
I'm a little confused, too. How is it that a child window on a hidden form is taking focus?

585552122[/snapback]

The webbrowser control (the IE component) on the form automatically brings the form to the fore front. So when the form is visible, the form is on top of every other form - however, when the form is not visible the form just steals focus from the current window with focus.

I was thinking of a way to solve it- would it be possible to detect the process that has focus automatically. For example, if I have Firefox as my active window and then I switch to notepad as my active window, could I detect that change in focus using an existing library or class? That way I could automatically send focus back to the window that my form stole focus from.

I'm not asking you to write code for me, I just want to know if such a class exists.

Thanks

  • 0
  gameguy said:
I still don't see how a control on a hidden form is taking focus... can you post some code and a screenshot?

585552765[/snapback]

It's the webbrowser control. It's like using Internet Explorer and getting a pop-up. The webbrowser control somehow hooks into my program's form and sets it as the active form. A screenshot wouldn't really show you much - but I'll try to explain it a little better.

I create a program that sits in the system tray (just a little icon) while the form is invisble. While it's hidden I programmatically visit site and extract the important information from the HTML file. The problem is that some sites act as a "pop-up" and try to mimic the behavior of a popup. When the form is visible the form really does pop-up. It also pops-up when the form is invisible, but it remains invisible, so all that you see happening is the form taking the focus away from the window you were working in.

Maybe there is a way to suppress the browser control from altering any of the properties of my program. I'm not really sure. It's really bugging the heck out of me though.

  • 0
  weenur said:
Perhaps you should use the WebClient object to get your page data instead of the browser control, and only use the browser control when you want to display something.

585553577[/snapback]

I do ocassionally look at the rendered page - so the browser control is necessary.

  • 0

Try This:

Add a checkbox to the form.

- In my code I used "khchk" as the name of the checkbox.

Change "Form1" to whatever your form name is in the code below.

This makes sure it doesn't pop up without permission from the user(by checkbox).

 ? ?Private Sub Form1_GotFocus(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles Me.GotFocus

? ? ? ?If Me.khchk.Checked = True Then

? ? ? ? ? ?Me.Visible = False

? ? ? ?End If

? [b]This minimizes the form to tray.[/b] form to tray.

[code] ? ?Private Sub Form1_Resize(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles Me.Resize

? ? ? ?If Me.WindowState = FormWindowState.Minimized Then

? ? ? ? ? ?Me.Visible = False

? ?[b]Restores the window. This code is needed for the next code clip[/b]s needed for the next code clip

[code] ? ?Private Sub RestoreWindow()

? ? ? ?Me.Visible = True

? ? ? ?If Me.Visible = True Then

? ? ? ? ? ?Me.WindowState = FormWindowState.Normal

? ? ? ? ? ?Me.TopMost = True

? ? ? ?End If

? ? ? ?If Me.TopMost = True Then

? ?[b]This makes the form visible or hidden depending on whether it is visible or not and whether the checkbox is checked or not.[/b]ther it is visible or not and whether the checkbox is checked or not.

[code] ? ?Private Sub unhide()

? ? ? ?If Me.Visible = False Then

? ? ? ? ? ?If Me.khchk.Checked = False Then

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?Me.RestoreWindow()

? ? ? ? ? ?End If

? ? ? ?El[b]This is an option for a button to check to checkbox and keep the form from showing itself.[/b]/code]

This is an option for a button to check to checkbox and keep the form from showing itself.

[code] ? ?Private Sub KeepHidden()

? ? ? ?If Me.khchk.Checked = True Then

? ? ? ? ? ?Me.k[b]Add a context menu to the tray icon with a button that runs: Me.unhide() and a button that runs Me.KeepHidden()

Like maby just the tray icon's click sub[/b]h a button that runs: Me.unhide() a[b][color=lightblue]DigitalSnow[/color][/b]e tray icon's click sub

Hope this helps,

[color=lightblue]DigitalSnow[/color]

Edited by DigitalSnow
  • 0
  VB Guy said:
I do ocassionally look at the rendered page - so the browser control is necessary.

585553724[/snapback]

Then I suggest you use a WebClient object and when you wish to view the page, create a WebBrowser on the fly (Y)

  • 0

I'd be interested in this to....basically, if the z-order of the form gets changed, it sends itself right back to the bottom of the order. I'm just not sure what event is triggered, if any, when the z-order gets changed. If I know that, then I can simply use a sendtoback command.

  • 0
  Cool4 said:
well, i see everyone is creating a browser for SJ :p

i think you should look in the webbrowser control methods because it's WB that is taking the focus even if the form is hidden

585560391[/snapback]

SJ? I'm not sure what that stands for.

Anyway - I do recall seeing some code written for VB 6 that showed how to do it - but I can't find it. It was at PSCode.com. If anyone has any progress don't hesitate to post. I'll keep looking too - there has to some API that can accomplish this.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • Apple: lets take our inspiration from Windows 7/Vista and call it innovative
    • Nice! My $100 refurbished iPad 8 that I bought last year for a small project (and still runs like new cuz it's been mostly in storage the past several months) will get this v26 upgrade. I'm definitely gonna scope out OS26 on this device before upgrading my also-supported refurbished iPhone SE 3rd Gen (only got it for the 5G UW support).
    • Hello, The separate discussion about VLC has been moved to its own thread at  Regards, Aryeh Goretsky  
    • Hello, I am guessing this is the result of using a third-party tweaking tool instead of changing things within Windows settings. Windows 11 has a decent set of configuration options for the display, but they tend to be scattered throughout the operating system due to fragmentation of product ownership/inconsistent standards being applied by Microsoft. There are a few places in Windows 11 where you can modify the various display settings in order to get them to your liking: Under Settings → System → Display you can stroll down to the Scale & layout section and change the Scale and Display resolution settings to whatever you prefer.  For the Scale option, you can click on the text box to choose between the various pre-populated settings.  If none of those are exactly what you are looking for, click on the caret ("") caret to open the Custom scaling setting (also available under Settings → Display → Custom scaling).  I would recommend this as an option of last resort as this can cause display issues in various programs. I strongly recommend using the screen's native Display resolution here; it should show up as the "(Recommended)" resolution.  If it does not, you may need to install your monitor's profile information file (basically, a device driver for your monitor) to get the correct setting. Another place to look at making changes to fonts is under Accessiblity → Text size.  There is a slider bar for changing the text size from 100% to 225% there. You can try making changes to the ClearType settings.  It's a little bit finer-grained than the others, but it may make the text easier to view on the display.  Run the ClearType Text Tuner (filename: CTTUNE.EXE) and go through the wizard. You may want to do this several times under different lighting conditions or times of the day to figure out what works best for you overall. Lastly, you may want to look into using a dedicated assistive screen technology program from a third-party.  Microsoft provides a Screen Magnifier and a Narrator for text-to-speech, but they provide only basic functionality, and you may find that a third-party program works a lot better.  The pros of this is that third-party assistive technology programs tend to work quite well under Windows; Microsoft has historically worked closely with third-party developers of assistive technologies.  The cons of this are that such tools tend to be on the expensive side, since they are often sold to schools, businesses, or paid for by insurance companies, not individuals. Regards, Aryeh Goretsky  
    • Totally agree with you. I think people, especially on tech sites, need to realize that they’re the minority. Microsoft isn’t going to waste time on things that, in the big picture, don’t matter to the majority.
  • Recent Achievements

    • Dedicated
      MadMung0 earned a badge
      Dedicated
    • Rookie
      CHUNWEI went up a rank
      Rookie
    • Enthusiast
      the420kid went up a rank
      Enthusiast
    • Conversation Starter
      NeoToad777 earned a badge
      Conversation Starter
    • Week One Done
      VicByrd earned a badge
      Week One Done
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      506
    2. 2
      ATLien_0
      267
    3. 3
      +FloatingFatMan
      257
    4. 4
      Edouard
      203
    5. 5
      snowy owl
      178
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!