Microsoft Visual Basic 2010 Step by Step eBook

374 Part III Designing the User Interface

To Do This

Create a new form

with program code

and set its properties

Create the form by using the Dim and New keywords and the Form

class, and then set any necessary properties. For example:

Dim form2 As New Form

form2.Text = "My New Form"

Position a startup form

on the Windows

desktop

Set the StartPosition property to one of the available options, such as

CenterScreen or CenterParent.

Size and position

a startup form on

the Windows desktop

by using code

Set the StartPosition to Manual, declare a Rectangle structure that

defines the form’s size and position, and then use the DesktopBounds

property to size and position the form on the desktop. For example:

form2.StartPosition = FormStartPosition.Manual

Dim Form2Rect As New Rectangle(200, 100, 300, 250)

form2.DesktopBounds = Form2Rect

Minimize, maximize,

or restore a form at

run time

Set the MaximizeBox and MinimizeBox properties for the form to

True in design mode to allow for maximize and minimize operations.

In the program code, set the form’s WindowState property to

FormWindowState .Minimized, FormWindowState .Maximized, or

FormWindowState .Normal when you want to change the window

state of the form.

Add controls to

a form at run time

Create a control of the desired type, set its properties, and then add it

to the form’s Controls collection. For example:

Dim button1 as New Button

button1.Text = "Click Me"

button1.Location = New Point(20, 25)

form2.Controls.Add(button1)

Anchor an object

a specific distance

from specific edges

of the form

Set the Anchor property of the object, and specify the edges you

want to remain a constant distance from. Use the Or operator when

specifying multiple edges. For example:

Button1.Anchor = AnchorStyles.Bottom Or AnchorStyles.Right

Dock an object to one

of the form’s edges

Set the Dock property of the object, and then specify the edge you want

the object to be attached to. For example:

PictureBox1.Dock = DockStyle.Top

Specify the startup

form in a project

Click the Properties command on the Project menu to open the

Project Designer. For a Windows Forms Application project, you can

specify any form in your project as the startup form by clicking the

form name in the Startup Form list box.

Create a Visual Basic

program with no

user interface (or

only a command-line

interface)

Create a console application project by clicking the New Project

command on the File menu, clicking the Console Application

template, and then clicking OK. You then add the program code to one

or more modules, not forms, and execution begins with a procedure

named Sub Main.