Create customize notepad in Visual Basic.Net

In this tutorial shows how to create simple and customized notepad based on Visual Basic.Net language. Obviously, through Visual Basic we can make various applications quickly in an hour or even minutes. In addition, these program quite the same as usual notepad in our windows, but I make a little bit customization in my designed and source code. Some source codes applied in this simple notepad are gathered in different websites on the internet and add additional features so that it looks like something different. Added features such as counting the number of characters and words, recognize HTML, and color. Unfortunately, it’s not really the same as notepad where all functions are here, this is actually a simple notepad as what I had intended to work with and not necessarily exactly identical as notepad. However, if you want to contribute additional features, your comments plus source code if they have are welcome.

Now, to work with our notepad we need different controls can be drag on our Windows Form Application. Here are:

MenuStrip, ColorDialog, FontDialog, OpenFileDialog, SaveFileDialog, PrintDialog, PrintDocument, PrintPreviewDialog, StatusStrip, and ContextMenuStrip.

Note: When you drag StatusStrip don’t forget to add 2 Status label for counting words and character and Contextual menu, once you add menu items such as cut, copy, paste, etc..., click textbox, and on your properties window, locate contextmenustrip and select the value name MenuStrip1.

Your Form looks like the following: 

Final Output:

Source code for each menu:

New

 Dim Save As New SaveFileDialog()

        Dim myStreamWriter As System.IO.StreamWriter

        'Check if there's text added to the textbox

        If txtTextPad.Modified Then

            'If the text of notepad changed, the program will ask the user if they want to save the changes

            Dim ask As MsgBoxResult

            ask = MsgBox("Do you want to save the changes", MsgBoxStyle.YesNoCancel, "New Document")

            If ask = MsgBoxResult.No Then

                txtTextPad.Clear()

            ElseIf ask = MsgBoxResult.Cancel Then

            ElseIf ask = MsgBoxResult.Yes Then

                Save.Filter = "Text [*.txt*]|*.txt|All Files [*.*]|*.*"

                Save.CheckPathExists = True

                Save.Title = "Save File"

                Save.ShowDialog(Me)

                Try

                    myStreamWriter = System.IO.File.AppendText(Save.FileName)

                    myStreamWriter.Write(txtTextPad.Text)

                    myStreamWriter.Flush()

                Catch ex As Exception

                End Try

                txtTextPad.Clear()

            End If

            'If textbox's text is still the same, notepad will open a new page:

        Else

            txtTextPad.Clear()

        End If

Open

 Dim Save As New SaveFileDialog()

        Dim myStreamWriter As System.IO.StreamWriter

        If txtTextPad.Modified Then

            'If the text of notepad changed, the program will ask the user if they want to save the changes

            Dim ask As MsgBoxResult

            ask = MsgBox("Do you want to save the changes", MsgBoxStyle.YesNoCancel, "Open Document")

            If ask = MsgBoxResult.No Then

                OpenFileDialog1.ShowDialog()

                Try

                    txtTextPad.Text = My.Computer.FileSystem.ReadAllText(OpenFileDialog1.FileName)

                Catch ex As Exception

                End Try

            ElseIf ask = MsgBoxResult.Cancel Then

            ElseIf ask = MsgBoxResult.Yes Then

                Save.Filter = "Text [*.txt*]|*.txt|All Files [*.*]|*.*"

                Save.CheckPathExists = True

                Save.Title = "Save File"

                Save.ShowDialog(Me)

                Try

                    myStreamWriter = System.IO.File.AppendText(Save.FileName)

                    myStreamWriter.Write(txtTextPad.Text)

                    myStreamWriter.Flush()

                Catch ex As Exception

                End Try

            End If

        Else

            'If textbox's text is still the same, notepad will show the OpenFileDialog

            OpenFileDialog1.ShowDialog()

            txtTextPad.Text = My.Computer.FileSystem.ReadAllText(OpenFileDialog1.FileName)

        End If

Save

 Dim Save As New SaveFileDialog()

        Dim myStreamWriter As System.IO.StreamWriter

        Save.Filter = "Text [*.txt*]|*.txt|All Files [*.*]|*.*"

        Save.CheckPathExists = True

        Save.Title = "Save File"

        Save.ShowDialog(Me)

        Try

            myStreamWriter = System.IO.File.AppendText(Save.FileName)

            myStreamWriter.Write(txtTextPad.Text)

            myStreamWriter.Flush()

        Catch ex As Exception

        End Try

Save As

SaveFileDialog1.ShowDialog()

        ' the application will check if the file is already exists, if exists, it will ask the user if they want to replace it

        If My.Computer.FileSystem.FileExists(SaveFileDialog1.FileName) Then

            Dim ask As MsgBoxResult

            ask = MsgBox("File already exists, would you like to replace it?", MsgBoxStyle.YesNo, "File Exists")

            'if the user decides not to replace the existing file

            If ask = MsgBoxResult.No Then

                SaveFileDialog1.ShowDialog()

                'if the user decides to replace the existing file

            ElseIf ask = MsgBoxResult.Yes Then

                My.Computer.FileSystem.WriteAllText(SaveFileDialog1.FileName, txtTextPad.Text, False)

            End If

            'if the file doesn't exist

        Else

            My.Computer.FileSystem.WriteAllText(SaveFileDialog1.FileName, txtTextPad.Text, False)

        End If

Print Preview

        If txtTextPad.Text = "" Then

            MessageBox.Show("Empty is not allowed print out")

        Else

            PrintPreviewDialog1.Document = PrintDocument1

            PrintPreviewDialog1.ShowDialog()

        End If

Print

        If PrintDialog1.ShowDialog = Windows.Forms.DialogResult.OK Then

            PrintDocument1.Print()

        End If

Exit

If MessageBox.Show("Are you really want to exit to close the program?", "Closed", MessageBoxButtons.YesNo, MessageBoxIcon.Question) = Windows.Forms.DialogResult.Yes Then

            Me.Close()

        End If

Cut, Copy, Paste, Undo, Redo, Select All, and Date and Time

Private Sub UndoToolStripMenuItem_Click(sender As System.Object, e As System.EventArgs) Handles UndoToolStripMenuItem.Click

        txtTextPad.Undo()

    End Sub

    Private Sub CopyToolStripMenuItem_Click(sender As System.Object, e As System.EventArgs) Handles CopyToolStripMenuItem.Click

        txtTextPad.Cut()

    End Sub

    Private Sub PasteToolStripMenuItem_Click(sender As System.Object, e As System.EventArgs) Handles PasteToolStripMenuItem.Click

        txtTextPad.Copy()

    End Sub

    Private Sub PasteToolStripMenuItem1_Click(sender As System.Object, e As System.EventArgs) Handles PasteToolStripMenuItem1.Click

        txtTextPad.Paste()

    End Sub

    Private Sub SelectToolStripMenuItem_Click(sender As System.Object, e As System.EventArgs) Handles SelectToolStripMenuItem.Click

        txtTextPad.SelectAll()

    End Sub

    Private Sub RedoToolStripMenuItem_Click(sender As System.Object, e As System.EventArgs) Handles RedoToolStripMenuItem.Click

        txtTextPad.redo()

    End Sub

    Private Sub TimeAndDateToolStripMenuItem_Click(sender As System.Object, e As System.EventArgs) Handles TimeAndDateToolStripMenuItem.Click

        Dim h As String = My.Computer.Clock.LocalTime.Hour

        Dim m As String = My.Computer.Clock.LocalTime.Minute

        Dim d As String = My.Computer.Clock.LocalTime.Date

        If m < 10 Then m = "0" + m

        If h > 12 Then h = h - 12

        Dim time As String = h + ":" + m

        If h > 12 Then time = time + "AM"

        If h < 12 Then time = time + "PM"

        txtTextPad.Text = txtTextPad.Text + " " + time + ", " + d

    End Sub

Font

FontDialog1.Font = txtTextPad.Font

        FontDialog1.ShowDialog()

        txtTextPad.Font = FontDialog1.Font

Color

 Dim colorDialog As New ColorDialog

        Try

            colorDialog.ShowDialog()

            txtTextPad.ForeColor = colorDialog.Color

        Catch ex As Exception

        End Try

Find

 Dim x As String

        Dim y As String

        x = InputBox("Enter text to be found")

        y = InStr(txtTextPad.Text, x)

        If y Then

            txtTextPad.Focus()

            txtTextPad.SelectionStart = y - 1

            txtTextPad.SelectionLength = Len(x)

        Else

            MessageBox.Show("Text not found!")

        End If

Status Bar On and Off

StatusStrip1.Visible = True

StatusStrip1.Visible = False

Accept Tab

If txtTextPad.AcceptsTab = True Then

            txtTextPad.AcceptsTab = False

        Else

            txtTextPad.AcceptsTab = True

        End If

Recognize HTML

If txtTextPad.DetectUrls = True Then

            txtTextPad.DetectUrls = False

            RecognizeToolStripMenuItem.Checked = False

        Else

            txtTextPad.DetectUrls = True

            RecognizeToolStripMenuItem.Checked = True

        End If

About

MessageBox.Show("The features of this notepad the same in usual notepad can be found in your computer, a simple notepad program created in Visual Basic.Net 2010 with my own version of customization and function. " & vbNewLine & vbNewLine & "By: Tesear.Com", "About", MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Information)

Help

MessageBox.Show("Simply easy, almost the same function as notepad", "Help", MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Information)

Double click the textbox and put this code

        Dim split() As String = txtTextPad.Text.Split(" ")

        'count the number of characters

        'it will display on your status strip

        statusstripnumberoofchar.Text = "Characters: " & txtTextPad.Text.Count()

        'count the number of words

        statustripnumberofwords.Text = "Word: " & split.Length

   

Shortcut command can be found in your properties window.

Add item in listbox using c sharp in WPF

Windows Form Application and Window Presentation Foundation (WPF) are almost identical in some controls and coding style either Visual Basic or C# developer, but their some instances that both of them has their own advantages depends the users need. In this tutorials, I’ll show you a simple way how to add items in listbox when the user click add button and automatically add in a listbox list, I am using C# in WPF, this code also run in Windows Form Application.

Here is the source code:

using System;

using System.Collections.Generic;

using System.Linq;

using System.Text;

using System.Windows;

using System.Windows.Controls;

using System.Windows.Data;

using System.Windows.Documents;

using System.Windows.Input;

using System.Windows.Media;

using System.Windows.Media.Imaging;

using System.Windows.Navigation;

using System.Windows.Shapes;

namespace WPF_My_First_Apps

{

    /// <summary>

    /// Interaction logic for MainWindow.xaml

    /// </summary>

    public partial class MainWindow : Window

    {

        string name, address;//I declared this variable as public

                             //so that it will use when it call

                             //name and address value when the users

                             //click listbox item.

        public MainWindow()

        {

            InitializeComponent();

        }

        private void btnOk_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)

        {

            name = txtname.Text;

            address = txtaddress.Text;

            listBox1.Items.Add(name);

            listBox1.Items.Add(address);

        }

        private void listBox1_SelectionChanged(object sender, SelectionChangedEventArgs e)

        {

            int select;

            select = listBox1.SelectedIndex;

            switch (select)

            {

                case 0:

                    MessageBox.Show("You click name: " + name);

                    break;

                case 1:

                    MessageBox.Show("You click Address: " + address);

                    break;

            }

        }

    }

}

Sample screenshot:

To count the number items listed in the listbox, here is the code.

     int count;

            count = listBox1.Items.Count;

            MessageBox.Show(count.ToString());

To add item in listbox using checkbox, here is the code:

 private void checkBox1_Checked(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)

        {

            if (checkBox1.IsChecked == true)

            {

                listBox1.Items.Add("Banana");

            }

        }

        private void checkBox2_Checked(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)

        {

            if (checkBox1.IsChecked == true)

            {

                listBox1.Items.Add("Orange");

            }

        }

        private void checkBox3_Checked(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)

        {

            if (checkBox1.IsChecked == true)

            {

                listBox1.Items.Add("Grapes");

            }

        }

To clear items in listbox, here is the code:

     listBox1.Items.Clear();

            checkBox1.IsChecked = false;

            checkBox2.IsChecked = false;

            checkBox3.IsChecked = false;

How to use mail merge to print multiple certificate

Microsoft World mail merge wizard is very useful to print multiple names from a data source in ease of use, yet neglected by many newbie’s in MS Word because they don’t familiar to use it. For instance, to print a certificate with different names, with the help of mail merge wizard, no need to change each name or perhaps to create one by one certificate for its name to be printed rather, record first the list of names in a data source, for example in Excel, Access, etc. and link it to enable to print simultaneously based on the sequence of names you typed.

To do so, here are the samples step by step tutorial in how to use mail merge wizard.

Put the field name Name as a column and save it mailMerge, later on we are going to link it.

Now, back to MS Word Document and type the following. CERTIFICATE OF ATTENDANCE IS PRESENTED TO. The output looks like.

To link from our data source, we need to select Mailings Tab, select Start Mail Merge, and finally select Step by Step Mail Merge Wizard… in your right corner it shows.

 We have an option for what type of document are you working on. Let the default option Letters. In steps 1 to 6 we need to start our document, so next to step 3.

Now, we need to browse our files as what we created previously. Select browse and locate your files in the directory where you saved.

When you noticed, we had three Sheets, shows where our records are created, select Sheet1$ because we create our record in Sheet 1. Let’s continue to step 4.

In ribbon area, select Insert Merge Field, the Name appear when you select it, that’s name of your field name or column name in your Excel.

Noticed <<Name>> appears on your document to ensure you’ve already linked to your data source. Then continue to step 5. In arrow << Recipient: 1 >> determines the number of records in a list. Finally, step 6, mail merge is ready for printing.

Make a button and label at runtime in VB.NET

To create a control at design time is simply easy because you are free to decide which controls you want to add and no more codes needed to create controls. However, it’s more convenient to create controls at runtime specifically if you don’t know how many pieces of data you will need to display until runtime. In addition, displays unknown amounts of data in various controls is more flexible than creating at design time. For instance, you may want to output your result in label or to trigger a button to add controls to display a message, at runtime you’re free where to set its position of every control to display on your forms by setting SetBounds method.

To create a label at runtime, simply add this piece of code in you button.

 Dim lblNewLabel As New Label

        lblNewLabel.SetBounds(10, 10, 100, 25)

        lblNewLabel.Text = "Hello"

        Me.Controls.Add(lblNewLabel)

First declare a variable of type Label and initializes it with the New keyword. SetBounds methods set the position x, y, w, and h SetBounds(x,y,w,h) where the label shows in the forms.

If you are going to display the control in a container, you might use the statement grpLabels.Controls.Add(lblNewLabel)

Create a button at runtime using WithEvents keywords.

Sample Code #1.

Public Class FrmCreateButton

    Private WithEvents btnNewButton As Button

    Private Sub btnCreateButton_Click(sender As System.Object, e As System.EventArgs) Handles btnCreateButton.Click

        btnNewButton = New Button

        btnNewButton.SetBounds(16, 16, 80, 23)

        btnNewButton.Text = "Say Hi"

        Me.Controls.Add(btnNewButton)

    End Sub

    Private Sub btnNewButton_Click() Handles btnNewButton.Click

        MessageBox.Show("Now, I'm created")

    End Sub

End Class

This approach, when the user click btnCreateButton, Say Hi button created. When the users click btnNewButton_Click, event handler executes and displays a message.

Sample Code #2

Private Sub btnCreateHelloButton_Click(sender As System.Object, e As System.EventArgs) Handles btnCreateHelloButton.Click

        Dim CreateHelloButton As New Button

        CreateHelloButton.SetBounds(250, 65, 80, 23)

        CreateHelloButton.Text = "Hello"

        Me.Controls.Add(CreateHelloButton)

        AddHandler CreateHelloButton.Click, AddressOf Hello

    End Sub

    Private Sub Hello()

        MessageBox.Show("Hello Visual Basic.Net")

    End Sub

One solution to this dilemma is to use the AddHandler statement to add event handlers to the new controls. When you click the btnCreateHelloButton, its click event handler creates a new button object, storing it in a locally declared variable.

When you compare sample #1 and sample #2 is quite different.