Folderbrowserdialog Unmasked: Everything You Wanted to Know About the Folder Browser Component From .net Framework
Original Article :http://www.ssware.com/articles/folderbrowserdialog-unmasked-everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-the-folder-browser-component-from-dotnet-framework.htm
Introduction
The FolderBrowserDialog, available as part of the .Net framework, provides a folder browser component for your C# and VB.Net applications. The UI consists of a modal dialog which contains a tree control displaying all the files and folders on the system. The user can then browse and select a folder from the tree. The full path of the selected folder is then returned.
Basic Usage
To display a folder explorer UI to the user, a FolderBrowserDialog instance is created and the ShowDialog method is called. This shows the modal dialog containing the folder browser control (tree) and an OK and Cancel button. If the user selects a folder and clicks the OK button, the ShowDialog method returns DialogResult.OK and the SelectedPath property contains the full path of the selected folder. If the user clicks the Cancel button, the ShowDialog method returns DialogResult.Cancel.
Advanced Usage
The FolderBrowserDialog has some additional features such as limiting the view of the file system that is displayed to the user, pre-selecting a folder when the dialog is first displayed and displaying a button to allow the user to create a new folder.
The RootFolder property can be set to the full path of the folder which is to be displayed as the root of the tree control of the folder browser component. For example, if this property is set to Environment.SpecialFolder.Personal, only folders from the 'My Documents' are displayed in the tree, so the user can only select 'My Documents' or its sub-folders.
Prior to displaying the folder browser control, the SelectedPath property can be set to the full path of a folder causing that folder to be pre-selected in the folder browser tree. For example, when this property is set to "c:", the node corresponding to the c: drive is pre-selected in the tree when the dialog is first displayed.
If the ShowNewFolderButton property is set to true, then, in addition to the folder browser tree control, and the OK and Cancel buttons, the folder browser dialog also displays an additional 'New Folder' button which when clicked, creates a new folder under the currently selected folder.
Limitations
While the folder browser component is a handy way to allow the users to browse and select folders, it suffers from many limitations, some of them preventing the component from being of practical use in applications.
Modal Functionality
The folder browser component of the most obvious drawback is that it is displayed in the form of a modal dialog user interface. Displayed, it will prevent the rest of the application until the user selects a folder. As long as the dialog box is displayed, there is no input (keyboard or mouse click) In addition to occur in the dialog box. The user must input may appear before the caller identification or the Cancel button.
This is a very annoying and limited FolderBrowserDialog function. Users are likely to be irritated, and tired when they interact with a modal dialog box each time they want to explore and select a folder. A non-modal user interface controls can be the application itself is a form or dialog box, which is a more user-friendly display of the same user-friendly way.
No Virtual (Non-file system) folders
The FolderBrowserDialog does not allow the user to select virtual (Non-file system) folders such as the Control Panel or My Computer. It only allows the user to select a file system path such as "c:" or "c:windows".
No Files
The component does not allow the user to select files. This is a major drawback since there are many circumstances where the user may need to select a file while still using the tree UI to browse to that file.
Limited Choice of RootFolder
The root folder of the folder browser control can be only set to one of the 'special folders' defined by Windows such as the 'My Documents' or 'My Computer'. This is a major limitation since this means you cannot set the root folder to a path such as the "d:" drive.
No Check Boxes
The folder explorer tree in the FolderBrowserDialog cannot show check boxes next to nodes. Ability to show multi-state check boxes can be a very handle feature for such a control.
No Filtering
The FolderBrowserDialog has no support for filtering. For example, it is not possible to display only network folders or only shared folders or only folders starting with the string "Documents" or files having a particular extension.
No Custom Controls
When using FolderBrowserDialog, you are only limited to the actual folder tree control manager to identify, cancel, and the New Folder button and description tags. This is a can not add custom control dialog box. This will be useful, in many cases, such as when you want to display thumbnails / preview of the selected file / folder, or any other relevant information.
No Appearance Control
The appearance of the FolderBrowserDialog and its constituent controls cannot be changed. Neither can attributes of individual folders show in the folder explorer control be changed. For example, it is not possible to change the background color of the tree control or to set the font and color of individual nodes/folders in the tree.
No Custom items
The FolderBrowserDialog cannot display external/custom items in the folder explorer tree. For example, it may be necessary to display items from an FTP location in addition to the file system items. This is not possible with the FolderBrowserDialog.
No Lockdown
The FolderBrowserDialog operations can freely Folder. The user can rename the folder, go drag
Beyond The FolderBrowserDialog : The FolderView Control
The Folder View Control brings a Windows Explorer-like folder browser component to your applications complete with AutoUpdate, dragdrop, icons, context menus, non-filesystem items, default key-handling, info tips and rename. It features powerful behavior control and customization functionality takes it miles ahead of Windows Explorer by adding features like filtering, checkboxes, custom items, more than one root node, dragdrop control and customization of default context menus, display names, icons and more tips.
The FolderView control is a UI control which can be dropped right inside your own forms and dialogs. A non-modal file & folder browsing/selection experience right inside your own dialogs and forms is something that users will appreciate and find intuitive and simple.
Additionally, FolderView overcomes all the limitations of the FolderBrowserDialog and provides far greater and advanced features and functionality than the FolderBrowserDialog. The following table is a quick comparison of the FolderView Control with the FolderBrowserDialog.
Drop-In Windows Explorer like folder browser functionality.
FolderView Control : Yes
FolderBrowserDialog : Modal UI. The component cannot be dropped in your own form.
- Complete Windows Explorer functionality include a file/folder browsing listview (similar to Windows Explorer's right-side) and a drive selection control (similar to Windows Explorer's address bar)
FolderView Control : Yes. As part of Shell MegaPack
FolderBrowserDialog : No
- Ability to select virtual (Non-file system) folders
FolderView Control : Yes
FolderBrowserDialog : No
- Ability to specify any and all folders as root.
FolderView Control : Yes
FolderBrowserDialog : No
- Ability to show files as well as folders.
FolderView Control : Yes
FolderBrowserDialog : No
- Multi-state check boxes
FolderView Control : Yes
FolderBrowserDialog : No
- Filtering capabilities
FolderView Control : Yes
FolderBrowserDialog : No
- Custom controls
FolderView Control : Yes
FolderBrowserDialog : No
- Appearance Control
FolderView Control : Colors and appearance of the control as a whole and of individual folders/files can be changed.
FolderBrowserDialog : No.
- Custom Items
FolderView Control : Yes
FolderBrowserDialog : No
- Prevent renaming, drag-drop, context menus
FolderView Control : Yes. For all folders or on a per-folder basis.
FolderBrowserDialog : No
- Multiple root folders
FolderView Control : Yes
FolderBrowserDialog : No
- Change default display names, icons, overlay icons, infotip, etc
FolderView Control : Yes
FolderBrowserDialog : No
- Simply and easy to use API
FolderView Control : Yes
Clumsy, inflexible API
- Access complete information of a file/folder including its displayname, fullpath, checkstate, selection state and attributes like whether it is a shortcut, shared, hidden, readonly, file and folder.
FolderView Control : Yes
FolderBrowserDialog : No
- Prevent display of contextmenus for all folders using a simple property or on a per-folder basis using an event.
FolderView Control : Yes
FolderBrowserDialog : No
- Prevent dragdrop for all folders using a simple property or on a per-folder basis using an event.
FolderView Control : Yes
FolderBrowserDialog : No
- Allow/disallow renaming for all folders using a simple property or on a per-folder basis using an event.
FolderView Control : Yes
FolderBrowserDialog : No
- Allow/disallow selection for all folders using a simple property or on a per-folder basis using an event.
FolderView Control : Yes
FolderBrowserDialog : No
- Allow/disallow expanding/collapsing on a per-folder basis using an event.
FolderView Control : Yes
FolderBrowserDialog : No
- Change default drag actions during dragdrop (e.g. from Copy To Move)
FolderView Control : Yes
FolderBrowserDialog : No
- Control checking/unchecking on a per-folder basis.
FolderView Control : Yes
FolderBrowserDialog : No
- Prevent execution of default shell commands ( e.g. Open, Cut, Properties, etc. in response to keystrokes or through the context menu) for all folders using a simple property or on a per-folder basis using an event.
FolderView Control : Yes
FolderBrowserDialog : No
- Show/hide hidden folders using a simple property.
FolderView Control : Yes
FolderBrowserDialog : No
- Show/hide virtual folders ( e.g. Control Panel ) using a simple property.
FolderView Control : Yes
FolderBrowserDialog : No
- Enumerate all folders shown in FolderView.
FolderView Control : Yes
FolderBrowserDialog : No
- Enumerate all folders according to folder hierarchy structure.
FolderView Control : Yes
FolderBrowserDialog : No
- Execute shell commands ( e.g. Cut, Delete, etc ) on folders.
FolderView Control : Yes
FolderBrowserDialog : No
- Associate developer defined data with each folder
FolderView Control : Yes
FolderBrowserDialog : No
The FolderView control (and Shell MegaPack ) is available in two editions :
.Net Edition : For use in .Net development using Windows Forms, WPF and ASP.Net
ActiveX Edition : For use in applications developed using Visual C++/MFC/ATL, Visual Basic 6, VBA (Access, Word, Excel, AutoCAD,etc), Borland Delphi and Borland Builder, and HTML/ASP pages.
Posted in: asp.net| Tags: Introduction Component article framework everything browser folder unmasked original folderbrowserdialogFeatures of Microsoft .net Framework
. NET Framework is a new Microsoft initiatives in the area in the software industry. For developers value. Operational tools and a variety of network systems and data sources, a perfect connection. . NET development is the IT industry, because of its development tools, server, software, large sets and services in today's rise. . NET framework allows developers to create in a very short time span is very advanced and complex software products.
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.NET Framework is platform independent and language independent. .NET web-applications adopt open standards such as extensible Markup Language, HyperText Transfer Protocol, and Simple Object Access Protocol to interact with applications, which are available in other platforms. .NET Framework allows one to use different programming languages such as VB.Net, C#, Jscript, VBScript, and Managed C++. It also allows running applications on different platforms such as UNIX, Macintosh, and Linux. Moreover, .NET development technology enables the development of applications faster, easier, and cheaper.
.NET Framework technology supports over 20 different programming languages. .NET Framework supports many programming languages with the help of a concept called ‘Common Language Runtime engine’. Instead of compiling the code into the native code, CLR engine compiles the code into Microsoft Intermediate Language. Microsoft Intermediate Language is a set of instructions which translates the code into native code. Further, CLR is responsible for run-time services such as language integration, security enforcement, memory process, and thread management. All this and much more make .NET development the most-desired arena for developing effective and quality products within a shorter period of time.
.NET Framework provides a wide infrastructure to create web-applications. .NET Framework is classified into two categories such as CLR and .NET Framework class library. Common Language Runtime provides common runtime services to all .NET applications. The main advantage of CLR is that, it reduces the developer’s time spent for writing lengthy code by using certain features such as life-cycle management, strong type naming, cross-language exception handling, and dynamic binding. .NET Framework class library contains predefined sets of functionality that developers can use for their own applications. This library consists of three main key components such as ASP.NET, Windows Forms and ADO.NET.
In the "." NET development framework provides the advantages such as fewer number of lines of code to complete the preparation, ease of deployment, network settings, network configuration and cache. By using less code. NET framework allows developers to spend more time in the implementation of application design and monitoring of the general process of the application. . NET provides a convenient application deployment. This means that, in the component. NET Framework can be compiled on your machine, and then with all the bin directory page uploaded. Important. NET Framework as part of a Web controls, Web forms and server-side code block can be compiled, the page is used to compile the requirements.
"." NET development framework to support 3, such as the output cache, data cache cache type, fragment caching. Therefore, the program written in any language and run on any operating system, you can access. For the Web service implementation NET applications.
Dot Net Development: Accomplish Large Functions through Class Library
. NET framework includes a set of standard class libraries. The library set up a namespace level. Work in the API, and most of the system or part of the Microsoft namespace. The implementation of these libraries, such as file reading and writing, graphic rendering, database interaction, and XML document manipulation, yes, the general functions of a large number of. The. NET class library is available to all. NET language. . NET Framework Class Library is the alienation is divided into two parts: the base class library and framework libraries.
Base Class Library (BCL): The Base Class Library (BCL) consists of a small subset of the entire class library and is the core set of classes that serve as the essential API of the Common Language Runtime.[10] The classes in mscorlib.dll and a few of the classes in System.dll and System.core.dll are considered to be a division of the BCL. The BCL classes are accessible in both .NET Framework as well as its substitute implementations counting .NET Compact Framework, Microsoft Silverlight and Mono.
Framework Class Library (FCL): The Framework Class Library (FCL) is a superset of the BCL classes and indicates the whole class library that ships with .NET Framework. It includes an extended set of libraries, including WinForms, ADO.NET, ASP.NET, Language Integrated Query, Windows Presentation Foundation, Windows Communication Foundation among others. The FCL is much superior in scope than standard libraries for languages likeC++, and comparable in capacity to the standard libraries of Java.
The Base Class Library (BCL) is a regular library available to all languages with the .NET Framework. .NET comprise the BCL in order to summarize a large number of ordinary functions, such as file reading and writing, graphic rendering, database interaction, and XML document manipulation, making easy the programmer's job. It is much better in scope than standard libraries for the majority other languages, together with C++, and would be similar in scope to the standard libraries of Java. The BCL is sometimes wrongly referred to as the Framework Class Library (FCL), which is a superset as well as the Microsoft.* namespaces.
BCL is. NET Framework are modernized versions of
?Namespaces
The namespace that some people may or may not be formally considered by Microsoft as part of first home buyers, but they are, as with Microsoft's. NET Framework included in the implementation of part of the pool equipment.
Standardized namespaces
These are the namespaces that are uniform in the ECMA 335 and ISO / IEC 23271:2006 standards.
System
This namespace is composed of a central requirement for programming. This string, DateTime, Boolean, etc., and the base class attributes, exceptions, math functions, including basic types such as array-like environment and the grace of the console.
System Collections
It provides many new common containers or collections used in programming, such as lists, queues, stacks, hashtables, and dictionaries. It consists of close to generic.
System Diagnostics
It offers the ability to diagnose your application. It consists of event logging, counters presentation, identification, and interaction with system processes.
The above article is important for dot net development.
Posted in: asp.net| Tags: NET BCL language system framework class library base set dllCreate Feature Rich PHP Web Applications using Zend Framework
"Zend Framework 1.8 Web Application Development" is a new book from Packt for PHP web developers who want to get started with Zend. It will help design, develop, and deploy feature-rich, high-performance PHP web applications. This book is an example-driven tutorial that would take readers through the process of building Model-View-Controller-based web applications. One can also create a real-life storefront application from design to deployment and explore all the major aspects of the Zend Framework.
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This book make it easy for developers to produce with Zend entry and a powerful and professional looking website. It would bring into the depth of examples that the fundamentals needed to get the most from the Zend Framework. Among them, a real-life application, this book also sheds light on the Best Practices and Design face when building complex MVC applications. It also covers access control, performance optimization and testing.
With this book, the user can discover important characteristics of the Zend Framework MVC architecture and learn about design and implementation of MVC applications. You can send applications with the popular PHPUnit framework test, and interact with a database of Zend_Db and Zend_Db_Table. One should also learn management functionality to add to their applications, optimize and secure.
Toward the end of the book readers would have a good understanding of the Zend Framework, its components, and the problems involved in implementing a Zend Framework based application. To read more about the book, please visit: http://www.packtpub.com/zend-framework-1-8-web-application-development/book
Posted in: ajax tutorial| Tags: Application MVC Feature web design framework development book building zendASP.NET 3.5 Hosting
The. NET Framework 3.5 is based on the new features found in. NET Framework 3.0 and brings a new version of ASP.NET on the main stage with ASP.NET 3.5. Innovations implemented fully supports ASP.NET 3,5 hospitality as well as earlier versions. NET Framework. Between the introduction of new technologies are:
Language Integrated Query (LINQ) in .NET 3.5:
With LINQ in .NET Framework 3.5, the process of building SQL queries using error-prone string manipulation is a thing of the past. LINQ makes your relational data queries a first-class language construct in C# and Visual Basic, complete with compiler and Intellisense support. For Web applications the ASP.NET LinqDataSource control allows you to easily use LINQ to filter, order and group data that can then be bound to any of the data visualization controls like the ListView and GridView controls.
New ListView and DataPager Controls:
AJAX Integration:
AJAX is one of the most promising technologies in web development and has already gone far in improving the web user’s experience. Basically what it means is that an AJAX enabled web page can query the server and redisplay a part or the web page without the whole page needing to be refreshed. The LINQ syntax is possible due to a number of new language features in C# and Visual Basic, including automatic properties, extension methods, and lambda expressions.
For example, in a registration form that asks you to type in a new username for yourself, you must have noticed that after typing in a username, some web pages tell you immediately whether or not that username is available after you remove focus from the textbox. Under normal circumstances, you would have to click a "Check if username is available" link, or wait for the form to be submitted before you were informed of the error.
In this case, AJAX is to be able to automatically query a backend database and allow the body of the page with the availability status without changing reload the entire page below. This has the advantage of saving bandwidth and improving the user experience.
Works best with SQL Server:
Several features of .NET are automatically configured for ease of use with Microsoft's SQL Server. However, with modern hosting plans these days, you get to use MSSQL's Web edition with unlimited scalability. This is a boon to .NET developers everywhere!
All in all, ASP.NET is the main programming platform, and the latest addition to the 3.5 release, SQL Server Web releases of the developers to hold back up anything from this fine programming framework is not.
Hence we conclude that new versions of Visual Studio and ASP.NET add some interesting and overdue features. With ASP.NET 3.5, Microsoft has moved the ASP.NET AJAX framework from a stand-alone extension to part of the .NET Framework, and has rounded out its data Web controls offerings with the addition of the ListView and DataPager controls. Visual Studio 2008 includes enhancements to the web developer experience, including a richer Designer, enhanced CSS editing capabilities, JavaScript IntelliSense and debugging, and the ability to mutli-target framework versions.
Posted in: asp.net| Tags: NET language framework version linq asp stage hosting innovations hospitalityASP.NET Consulting Gains Momentum in the Web Development Fertile Environment
In 2002 had introduced software giant Microsoft, which NET Framework than that known to the architecture, in the writing of the software contributes to a simple and orderly manner. It was more of a strategy to take to create the combination of Microsoft products in an effort to reliable solutions for those affected. The frame is supported by all computers that are on Microsoft Windows operating systems. Capitalizing on the immense potential of the. NET Framework, there has been a steady increase in the emergence of the ASP. NET consulting firms that offer their services on the market. And the success of these companies is due to the increasing popularity of Web applications, ASP.NET helps Augmented in.
ASP.NET or Active Server Pages.NET is a fully featured programming language that comes across as a highly useful tool in the development of dynamic web pages for your site, thus pushing your online endeavor further ahead. As more and more Microsoft Certified professionals are making their way for the arena of ASP.NET programming there is all the more reason for you to hire a .NET consulting company for your website requirements. These professionals come equipped with knowledge about various .NET development environments, which can be highly advantageous for your website development efforts. In an arena that’s alive with rampant web technologies for a battle of dominance between all kinds of websites, the more features you have, the more you flourish. An ASP.NET professional can not only develop web and software applications for your website, but for mobile phone and other handheld devices as well.
But there’s a hitch in hiring an in-house ASP.NET professional for your company. To avail a comprehensive service that would include ASP.NET development, testing and maintenance, it’s always best if you outsource your requirements to an ASP.NET consulting company. The .NET framework today poses as the ideal solution for all your web application requirements, including all the stages of development, deployment and its running. And since ASP.NET supports most of the programming languages like C#, JavaScript and Visual Basic there is no reason why you should look for other options.
Posted in: asp.net| Tags: Software NET Programming Microsoft web framework development asp consulting arenaAsp.net Controls: Important Controls in Web Site Development
ASP.NET is developed and marketed by Microsoft to allow web site development services build dynamic websites, web services and web application. This web application framework was first released in January 2002. It initiated with the version 1.0 of the .NET Framework. ASP.NET proved to be the best successor to Microsoft’s Active Server Pages (ASP) technology.
ASP.NET framework is built on the CLR, or Common Language Runtime, allowing programmers to write ASP.NET code using any supported. NET language. The Web application frameworks have a lot of trouble, free and easy programming interface. These controls are very important web site development services. The following controls in ASP.NET:
Validation Controls:
In a nutshell, is called a conditional validator controls. These controls, the programmer can test the user input. These controls need to test the pattern of string or a string or a specific value primarily. Web site development services, use the validation controls to check the position in the range of values. This is compared to them, you can get a validation service.
User Controls:
Programmers need controls for the use of a particular control in many places. User controls on the same web-form structure. A Web-Development Web-Form Service includes controls for creating menus, toolbars and other elements that are reusable.
HTML server controls:
These controls are all a great help to expose an object model that maps very closely with the elements of HTML. This helps develop a Web service to work more freely in programming HTML.
Web Server Controls:
A web site development services, the use of these controls because they have many functions. Web server controls include, such as calendar, the formation of a special type of control, such as text boxes and button control. The concept of control is more than HTML server controls and have more features.
There are many other tests used, but particularly for mobile applications. The controls used to create forms that are associated with mobile devices.
Posted in: asp.net| Tags: NET Microsoft Application site user framework development asp validation controlsASP NET programming for beginners
ASP NET programming is a web application developed by Microsoft. It is a powerful Web application that enables programmers to create dynamic websites, web services and web applications.
There are two important things to note about ASP.? It is not a programming language, but a technology that allows a web application development .? The action involved in this technology takes place on the server and not the personal computer.? When on a server, it can interpret different programming languages including JavaScript, PerlScript and VBScript.? It is also possible to mix these languages on the same ASP web page framework in order to obtain better results.
In order to get started with it, you need a web server and a .NET framework.? Make sure the web server supports the .NET framework.? It can wither be Microsoft IIS (Internet Information Services) or an Apache 2 with mod_aspdotnet in it.? Once the web server has bee set up,? you need to consider the text editor you would use.? Notepad on Windows or Emacs on Linux are good editor choices.? Of late, Notepad ++ has been used extensively since it has enhanced features like syntax highlighting, enables FTP and an integrated word count function as well.
Here is a simple series of steps to create an ASP.NET Web page:
- Choose and define the language you want to use on the framework.? Typically it is C# or VB.
- Next, create a HTML form.
- Ping this form to the server you want to use.
- Any processing on the server should be carried out.
Provides the necessary results for the customer depending on their needs.
Posted in: asp.net| Tags: NET Technology Programming Microsoft Application language web framework asp server