CODEWITHSUNDEEP
vb.netpositionmessageboxgrowl
StealthRT
StealthRT

Reputation: 10542

GROWL effect in VB.net app

i came up with the following code to produce a "GROWL" like effect that you see on MAC's and some jquery websites. (example of something like this can be found HERE. The code i am using works great and displays the message(s) just fine. However, the problem i am having a hard time trying to get working is how to display the current message ABOVE each previous message thats still on screen and having a timer for EACH message that pops up. Currently it closes all the message boxes at the same time.

The code is this:

Public Class Growl
Private _notifications As New Dictionary(Of Integer, msgWindow)
Private _count As Integer = 0

Public Sub Remove(ByVal Sender As msgWindow, ByVal e As EventArgs)
    _notifications.Remove(CInt(Val(Sender.Name.Substring(1))))
    RefreshPositions()
End Sub

Private Sub RefreshPositions()
    Dim _top As Integer = 5
    For a As Integer = 0 To _count
        If _notifications.ContainsKey(a) Then
            _notifications.Item(a).Top = _top
            _top += _notifications.Item(a).Height + 5
        End If
    Next
End Sub

Public Sub ShowMessageBox(ByVal typeOfNotification As String, ByVal msg As String)
    Dim x As New msgWindow

    x.Name = "m" & _count
    AddHandler x.FormClosed, AddressOf Remove
    _notifications(_count) = x
    _count += 1
    x.showMessageBox(typeOfNotification, msg)
    RefreshPositions()
End Sub
End Class

And this is the messagebox code itself:

Public Class msgWindow
Public howLong As Integer
Public theType As String
Private loading As Boolean
Dim intX As Integer = Screen.PrimaryScreen.Bounds.Width

Protected Overrides Sub OnPaint(ByVal pe As System.Windows.Forms.PaintEventArgs)
    Dim pn As New Pen(Color.DarkGreen)

    If theType = "OK" Then
        pn.Color = Color.DarkGreen
    ElseIf theType = "ERR" Then
        pn.Color = Color.DarkRed
    Else
        pn.Color = Color.DarkOrange
    End If

    Me.Width = intX
    Me.Left = 0
    Me.Top = 0

    lblSaying.Width = Me.Width
    pn.Width = 2
    pe.Graphics.DrawRectangle(pn, 0, 0, Me.Width, Me.Height)
    pn = Nothing
End Sub

Public Sub showMessageBox(ByVal typeOfBox As String, ByVal theMessage As String)
    Me.Opacity = 0
    Me.Show()
    'Me.SetDesktopLocation(My.Computer.Screen.WorkingArea.Width - 300, 15)

    Me.loading = True
    theType = typeOfBox
    lblSaying.Text = theMessage

    If typeOfBox = "OK" Then
        Me.BackColor = Color.FromArgb(192, 255, 192)
    ElseIf typeOfBox = "ERR" Then
        Me.BackColor = Color.FromArgb(255, 192, 192)
    Else
        Me.BackColor = Color.FromArgb(255, 255, 192)
    End If

    If Len(theMessage) <= 30 Then
        howLong = 4000
    ElseIf Len(theMessage) >= 31 And Len(theMessage) <= 80 Then
        howLong = 7000
    ElseIf Len(theMessage) >= 81 And Len(theMessage) <= 100 Then
        howLong = 12000
    Else
        howLong = 17000
    End If

    Me.opacityTimer.Start()
End Sub

Private Sub opacityTimer_Tick(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles opacityTimer.Tick
    If Me.loading Then
        Me.Opacity += 0.8

        If Me.Opacity >= 0.8 Then
            Me.opacityTimer.Stop()
            Me.opacityTimer.Dispose()
            Pause(howLong)
            Me.loading = False
            Me.opacityTimer.Start()
        End If
    Else
        Me.Opacity -= 0.08

        If Me.Opacity <= 0 Then
            Me.opacityTimer.Stop()
            Me.Close()
        End If
    End If
End Sub

Public Sub Pause(ByVal Milliseconds As Integer)
    Dim dTimer As Date

    dTimer = Now.AddMilliseconds(Milliseconds)

    Do While dTimer > Now
        Application.DoEvents()
    Loop
End Sub

Private Sub lblSaying_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles lblSaying.Click
    Me.opacityTimer.Stop()
    Me.Close()
End Sub
End Class

Right now it will display the newest post BELOW the old post. What do i need to change in order for it to display the newest one top and keep working its way down the list as other message boxes appear?

Any help would be great!

David

Upvotes: 0

Views: 331

Answers (1)

Christopher Forsythe
Christopher Forsythe

Reputation: 61

Just a heads up, I believe Growl for Windows and Snarl both support GNTP. Meaning that you could simply implement a GNTP VB based library (or use an existing one) and talk to those. :)

Upvotes: 1

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