CODEWITHSUNDEEP
c#.netconsole-application
greatwhitehat
greatwhitehat

Reputation: 39

Multiple scrolling "windows" in a .NET console app

Back in the day when I learned programming in school we used Pascal to learn basic concepts. Now, using C#, I am trying to solve something I thought was basic, but I cannot find a solution.

What I am after is having multiple "windows" in the console that I can write output to and they scroll inside these "virtual windows" or "areas" individually without affecting the others. I also want an input line for commands, but I think that is easier to achieve.

An example could be for instance an IRC chat where I have one area for the chat, one area for the online users and one line for input.

Is there any other way than creating a class that keep track of all the "areas" and do a lot of SetCursorPosition()??? Isn't there anything built-in to .net for this?

Upvotes: 0

Views: 206

Answers (1)

C.Evenhuis
C.Evenhuis

Reputation: 26446

Even though the Console allows you to set a cursor position, the interface is designed towards being able to "dump and forget" output. Your user interface probably breaks when someone resizes the console.

However in a Windows Forms application, you can easily get an IRC-like interface by:

  • Adding a SplitContainer, where "panel2" can be used for users
  • Adding another SplitContainer in "panel1", set Oritentation to Horizontal
  • Add ListBox controls to the top and right panels, set Dock to Fill
  • Add a TextBox control to the bottom panel, and perhaps a Button with its Text set to "Send"

This should already be pretty close to where you want to be:

enter image description here

You can also play around with WPF if you don't like the typical WinForms controls, but the idea is the same.

Upvotes: 3

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