I am planning to create a WPF application with a main window which would launch various WinForms. Some of the WinForms use the System.Windows.Forms.Application class (DoEvents, Application.Path, etc). Do you think that there will be a problem in doing this?
Can I still use System.Windows.Forms.Application.DoEvents() from a WinForm that is launched from a WPF application?
The main problem will the ability to instantiate the Windows Forms window and set it's owner to that of the WPF window. The Winforms will want a IWin32Window which a WPF window isn't. To get around this, you need to make a custom class.
I found this code on Mark Rendle's blog (I've copied it here as I had to use the Google Cache to access the page).
LINK - WARNING: May not work
class Shim : IWin32Window
{
public Shim(System.Windows.Window owner)
{
// Create a WindowInteropHelper for the WPF Window
interopHelper = new WindowInteropHelper(owner);
}
private WindowInteropHelper interopHelper;
#region IWin32Window Members
public IntPtr Handle
{
get
{
// Return the surrogate handle
return interopHelper.Handle;
}
}
#endregion
}
and it's method of use:
namespace System.Windows.Forms
{
public static class WPFInteropExtensions
{
public static DialogResult ShowDialog(
this System.Windows.Forms.Form form,
System.Windows.Window owner)
{
Shim shim = new Shim(owner);
return form.ShowDialog(shim);
}
}
}
I haven't tested this code, but reading around the internet, it appears that you can host Winforms windows inside of a WPF app.
I just found this link on MSDN that has a very detailed description of how to interop a Win32 control/window in a WPF application.
Hope these help you out.
I've been doing this sometimes and didn't encounter any problem.
However i don't really recommend it, you should prefer WPF when you are in a WPF Application.
for exemple if you want application path use this :
System.Reflection.Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().Location
Related
I need to convert existing plugin for CAD systems from WinForm based UI to WPF. The plugin is a basic dll library with Main method used by main application as an entry point to call this plugin. Also it includes a couple of mandatory methods to load/unload the library with plugin.
Long story short. How it looks today (WinForm based):
public class MyPluginClass : System.Windows.Forms.Form
{
private static MyPluginClass thePlugin;
public MyPluginClass()
{
InitializeComponent();
// Make the displayed window a child of the main application window
Reparent(this);
}
private void InitializeComponent()
{
//UI initialization logic
}
// The main entry point. Called when this library is loaded
public static void Main()
{
thePlugin = new MyPluginClass();
thePlugin.Show();
}
}
Once I load this dll, the parent app executes the Main methods and I get the plugin form loaded and displayed.
Now I'm trying to use WPF instead of WinForm (and I have zero experience in WPF, so apologize for silly questions if any).
First thing I tried is to apply the same logic I used with WinForms - just extend Window class:
public class MyPluginClass : Window
{
private static MyPluginClass thePlugin;
.....
public static void Main()
{
thePlugin = new MyPluginClass();
thePlugin.Show();
}
}
...and I didn't find the way to load required XAML file with my window layout. While trying to find solution, I read several posts saying that maybe it's not a good approach to create derived class based on Window. Though, examples I found so far, describe the standalone application (.exe), while in my case I'm trying to invoke WPF UI while being inside the dll file called by parent application.
Is there a way to specify the required XAML file in this case (when I derive my class from Window class) or I'm going completely wrong way?
We have a (massive) legacy WinForms app which, through a menu item, opens up a WPF form. This WPF form will host an Infragistics grid, and some buttons/drop-downs.
This lone WPF form represents the nascent stage of a migration to WPF. Later on, more components of the app will move to WPF, and ultimately the entire app itself.
As part of the migration, we would like to use Caliburn Micro. Hence, it would be nice if we could start by using it with this lone WPF form.
Can someone please provide some pointers on how to use Caliburn Micro with the WPF form?
Or perhaps tell me why it may not make sense to use Caliburn Micro just yet?
The documentation I've read so far involves boot strappers that ensure the application starts with the desired root view model, rather than the scenario above.
Many thanks!
After much Googling and going through the Caliburn Micro source code, I've come up with an approach that works in a sample test application. I can't post the test application here for certain reasons, but here's the approach in a nutshell.
Create a WinForm with a button.
On button click, show a ChildWinForm
In the load handler of the ChildWinForm:
// You'll need to reference WindowsFormsIntegration for the ElementHost class
// ElementHost acts as the "intermediary" between WinForms and WPF once its Child
// property is set to the WPF control. This is done in the Bootstrapper below.
var elementHost = new ElementHost{Dock = DockStyle.Fill};
Controls.Add(elementHost);
new WpfControlViewBootstrapper(elementHost);
The bootstrapper above is something you'll have to write.
For more information about all it needs to do, see Customizing the Bootstrapper from the Caliburn Micro documentation.
For the purposes of this post, make it derive from the Caliburn Bootstrapper class.
It should do the following in its constructor:
// Since this is a WinForms app with some WPF controls, there is no Application.
// Supplying false in the base prevents Caliburn Micro from looking
// for the Application and hooking up to Application.Startup
protected WinFormsBootstrapper(ElementHost elementHost) : base(false)
{
// container is your preferred DI container
var rootViewModel = container.Resolve();
// ViewLocator is a Caliburn class for mapping views to view models
var rootView = ViewLocator.LocateForModel(rootViewModel, null, null);
// Set elementHost child as mentioned earlier
elementHost.Child = rootView;
}
Last thing to note is that you'll have to set the cal:Bind.Model dependency property in the XAML of WpfControlView.
cal:Bind.Model="WpfControls.ViewModels.WpfControl1ViewModel"
The value of the dependency property is used passed as a string to Bootstrapper.GetInstance(Type serviceType, string key), which must then use it to resolve the WpfControlViewModel.
Since the container I use (Autofac), doesn't support string-only resolution, I chose to set the property to the fully qualified name of the view model. This name can then be converted to the type, and used to resolve from the container.
Following up on the accepted answer (good one!), I'd like to show you how to implement the WinForms Bootstrapper in a ViewModel First approach, in a way that:
You won't have to create a WPF Window and,
You won't have to bind directly to a ViewModel from within a View.
For this we need to create our own version of WindowManager, make sure we do not call the Show method on the Window (if applicable to your case), and allow for the binding to occur.
Here is the full code:
public class WinformsCaliburnBootstrapper<TViewModel> : BootstrapperBase where TViewModel : class
{
private UserControl rootView;
public WinformsCaliburnBootstrapper(ElementHost host)
: base(false)
{
this.rootView = new UserControl();
rootView.Loaded += rootView_Loaded;
host.Child = this.rootView;
Start();
}
void rootView_Loaded(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
DisplayRootViewFor<TViewModel>();
}
protected override object GetInstance(Type service, string key)
{
if (service == typeof(IWindowManager))
{
service = typeof(UserControlWindowManager<TViewModel>);
return new UserControlWindowManager<TViewModel>(rootView);
}
return Activator.CreateInstance(service);
}
private class UserControlWindowManager<TViewModel> : WindowManager where TViewModel : class
{
UserControl rootView;
public UserControlWindowManager(UserControl rootView)
{
this.rootView = rootView;
}
protected override Window CreateWindow(object rootModel, bool isDialog, object context, IDictionary<string, object> settings)
{
if (isDialog) //allow normal behavior for dialog windows.
return base.CreateWindow(rootModel, isDialog, context, settings);
rootView.Content = ViewLocator.LocateForModel(rootModel, null, context);
rootView.SetValue(View.IsGeneratedProperty, true);
ViewModelBinder.Bind(rootModel, rootView, context);
return null;
}
public override void ShowWindow(object rootModel, object context = null, IDictionary<string, object> settings = null)
{
CreateWindow(rootModel, false, context, settings); //.Show(); omitted on purpose
}
}
}
I hope this helps someone with the same needs. It sure saved me.
Here are somethings you can start with
Create ViewModels and inherit them from PropertyChangedBase class provided by CM framework.
If required use the EventAggregator impelmentation for loosly coupled communication \ integration
Implement AppBootStrapper without the generic implementation which defines the root view model.
Now you can use the view first approach and bind the view to model using the Bind.Model attached property on view. I have created a sample application to describe the approach here.
I have this problem that My WPF App in its MainWindow:
public partial class MainWindow : Window, ICallbackNotify
this " ICallbackNotify " is to communicate with MapInfo COM
and to assure The interactivity between UI & MapInfo
public interface ICallbackNotify : ISynchronizeInvoke
{
// Method called by MapInfoCallback class when user chooses custom OLE menuitem
void OnMenuItemClick(uint id);
// Method called by MapInfoCallback class when the status bar text changes
void OnStatusBarTextChanged(string text);
// Method called by MapInfoCallback class when window changes
void OnWindowContentsChanged(uint windowId);
}
The problem is, this code is working just fine in Windows From but when i put it into WPF there is an ERROR msg :
Error 1 'WpfApplication3.MainWindow' does not implement interface member 'System.ComponentModel.ISynchronizeInvoke.InvokeRequired' c:\users\dragon\documents\visual studio 2010\Projects\WpfApplication3\WpfApplication3\MainWindow.xaml.cs 25 26 WpfApplication3
and i cant figure out why or how to solve this problem
Under the hood Windows Forms and WPF are very different.
ISynchronizeInvoke is a Windows Form concept built upon Win32 API that doesn't apply to WPF. In WPF, we use the Dispatcher for communicating between threads.
From your question it sounds like what you want to do is host a WinForms COM control inside a WPF application. In order to bridge these two technologies, Microsoft has a WindowsFormHost control that you can use to contain your component. This blog post has a pretty good write up on that. Checkout this MSDN example: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/vstudio/ms751761(v=vs.100).aspx
Update:
It sounds like the problem you are having isn't at runtime but during compilation?? Let slow down and be clear:
In Windows Forms, all user controls and windows implement ISynchronizeInvoke. WPF isn't built on the traditional Win32 WinProc message pump, so they do not implement this interface. If you copy and paste your INotifyCallBack interface and implementation "as is" into the MainWindow.xaml.cs, you will get a compilation error because the base interface ISynchronizeInvoke is not implemented in that class. To bypass the compilation error you will have to implement the ISynchronizeInvoke signature:
public partial class MainWindow : Window, ISynchronizeInvoke
{
public IAsyncResult BeginInvoke(Delegate method, object[] args)
{
throw new NotImplementedException();
}
public object EndInvoke(IAsyncResult result)
{
throw new NotImplementedException();
}
public object Invoke(Delegate method, object[] args)
{
throw new NotImplementedException();
}
public bool InvokeRequired
{
throw new NotImplementedException();
}
}
But guess what? If you do this, it's up to you to provide the proper mapping between ISynchronizeInvoke and the WPF Dispatcher. So don't do this! The above code might compile but it likely won't work correctly (or at all).
Instead, use the Windows Form Integration capabilities provided by Microsoft to host your control inside a WindowsFormHost control. As you need to implement custom code in your INotifyCallback, you'll need to put that code into a custom windows forms user control.
All said, you need to follow the direction provided by the article listed above:
Reference System.Windows.Forms.dll and WindowsFormsIntegration.dll
Add the appropriate namespaces to your MainWindow.xaml
Add the WindowsFormsHost as a container into your MainWindow.xaml, and then put your custom control inside of that.
So instead of putting your ICallbackNotify implementation on the WPF MainWindow, put it in a standard Windows Form UserControl:
namespace YourProject {
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Windows.Forms;
public class MyCustomMapControl : UserControl, ICallbackNotify
{
// your custom code goes here
}
}
I got my hands om MEF for a week now and I am trying to build up a WPF application that loads imported controls from MEF.
I created a WPF application project and removed the default window and application start up URI. Then I handled the application startup event to compose the application:
public partial class App : Application, IPartImportsSatisfiedNotification
{
{...}
private void App_Startup(object sender, StartupEventArgs e)
{
this.Compose();
}
public void Compose()
{
try
{
globalCatalog.Catalogs.Add(new DirectoryCatalog(extensionsDirectoryPath));
CompositionContainer container = new CompositionContainer(globalCatalog);
container.ComposeParts(this);
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
// Do something
}
}
{...}
}
Actually, when debugging and watching objects after imports are satisfied, everything has hierarchically composed fine like I wanted. But when I try to show up the MainWindow of the application an exception is thrown on MainWindow.Show() call:
"Specified element is already the logical child of another element. Disconnect it first."
Though my code in OnImportsSatisfied method seems fine as it is working when not using MEF mecanism:
public void OnImportsSatisfied()
{
Window mainWindow = new Window();
mainWindow.Content = this.importedControl;
this.MainWindow = mainWindow;
this.MainWindow.Show();
}
I insist on the fact that this works perfectly when not importing controls with MEF. What is surprising is that this code does not work too:
Window mainWindow = new Window();
//mainWindow.Content = this.importedControl;
this.MainWindow = mainWindow;
this.MainWindow.Show();
So I suspect that ComposeParts is doing a bit more than what it says as it is the only member acting on my actual application instance.
Hope someone can help me (Glenn?).
Thanks.
Edit:
I discovered that when I remove the IPartImportsSatisfiedNotification interface from my parts, no exception is thrown and the window shows up. But of course the window is empty as I need this OnImportsSatisfied method to set the DataContext of the window to its associated imported view model.
The sample applications of the WPF Application Framework (WAF) show how to use MEF within a WPF application.
I finally discovered that I was importing my WPF user controls by using the default ImportAttribute constructor, which in fact will make a shared instance of the class if the creation policy is not specified during export. And as many of my controls were implementing the same interface and I was binding them in my views, I was actually trying to add this shared user control instance to different visual elements, which is not permited by WPF (and so the exception).
I marked my imports using the RequiredCreationPolicy set to NonShared and everything got back in order! That was all about learning MEF...
I am having problems with hosting a WPF prism app in an ElementHost control and am desparate for help.
The PRISM app runs fine in silverlight and in a standalone WPF.
The main Shell seems to setup fine in the elementHost on a WinForm however other views only load with the “RegisterViewWithRegion” and not the “Add,Activate” procedure. I need “Add,Activate” for scoping. However I beleive the problem is that I am loading my shell twice … not on purpose. I cannot find a way to call the bootsrapper and set the elementHot without calling “Resolve” twice.
Here is the code for my WinForm and my bootstrapper. Again everything works when using "RegisterViewWithRegion".
Here is the Winform Constructor:
public Form1()
{
InitializeComponent();
if (System.Windows.Application.Current == null)
{
new MyApp();
}
Bootstrapper bootStrapper = new Bootstrapper();
bootStrapper.Run();
var shellElement = bootStrapper.Container.Resolve<ShellContainer>();
//Attach the WPF control to the host
elementHost.Child = shellElement;
}
Here is the bootstrapper:
public class Bootstrapper : UnityBootstrapper
{
protected override DependencyObject CreateShell()
{
return Container.Resolve<ShellContainer>();
}
protected override void InitializeModules()
{
IModule moduleSurvey = Container.Resolve<SurveyModule>();
moduleSurvey.Initialize();
}
}
The Bootstrapper automatically sets Application.Current.MainForm to whatever you returned in the CreateShell method. Hopefully you are setting up an Application (I think that's what you are doing in the first If block). If so, you can just change this:
var shellElement = bootStrapper.Container.Resolve<ShellContainer>();
To this:
var shellElement = Application.Current.MainForm;
That ought to work, but there are definitely some weirdnesses with the ElementHost. We ended up with a lot of strange rendering bugs, especially in a Citrix environment. I don't know if this is a limitation of your setup, but I thought I would mention it.
Good luck!
I had the same GCE (Gross Conceptual Error). I was seeing the same behavior of my views being instantiated twice when using Add or Activate. I was deep into debugging the behaviors when it hit me.
The following is returning a new instance of the ShellContainer.
var shellElement = bootStrapper.Container.Resolve<ShellContainer>();
Either register your ShellContainer type in the container with a ContainerControlledLifetimeManager or put a prublic property on your bootstrapper to access the ShellContainer instance to set into your ElementHost.