Property Grid Control(Visual F#)

A property grid cotrol is a control used to display the properties associated to an object. To make a property grid control, use the following syntax:

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1. Let propertygridobjvariable=new PropertyGrid()  

Let propertygridobjvariable=new PropertyGrid()

For example:

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1. let props=new PropertyGrid()  

let props=new PropertyGrid()

One of the important property is the SelectedObject property which defines the name of the object from which the grid control will get its returned properties. The syntax for SelectedObject property is:

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1. Propertygridvariable.SelectedObject<-Objvariable  

Propertygridvariable.SelectedObject<-Objvariable

For example:

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1. Props.SelectedObject<-button  

Props.SelectedObject<-button

For the sake of example, follow these steps: 1. Click Start>All Programs>Microsoft Visual Studio 2008>Microsoft Visual Studio 2008. 2. Click File>New>Project>Select Visual F# in the project types>Select F# application in the Visual Studio installed templates category. 3. Click the Project menu>Add reference>Click the .Net tab>Locate then double-click System.Windows.Forms. Do step 3 again and this time, select System.Drawing from the .Net tab. 4. Enter the following code after the line “// Learn more about F# at http://fsharp.net “:

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1. // Learn more about F# at http://fsharp.net  
2. //use the F# library  
3. open System  
4. //use the drawing class. Enables intellisense  
5. open System.Drawing  
6. //use the form class  
7. open System.Windows.Forms  
8. //creates a new form  
9. let myform=new Form(Text="Use Process Grid",StartPosition=FormStartPosition.CenterScreen,AutoScaleMode=AutoScaleMode.Font)  
10. //creates a textbox  
11. let txtbox=new TextBox(Text="Textbox", Location=new System.Drawing.Point(5, 240))  
12. //creates a label  
13. let lbl=new Label(Text="Label", Location=new System.Drawing.Point(120, 240),AutoSize=true,BorderStyle=BorderStyle.FixedSingle)  
14. //make a button from the button class  
15. let button=new Button(Text="Button", Location=new System.Drawing.Point(200, 240))  
16. //make a property grid control  
17. let props=new PropertyGrid(Size=new System.Drawing.Size(180, 220),Left=50)  
18. //adds a descriptive label  
19. let desc=new Label(Text="Click the control below to view its properties...",AutoSize=true,Top=220)  
20. //add the controls to our form  
21. myform.Controls.Add(txtbox)  
22. myform.Controls.Add(lbl)  
23. myform.Controls.Add(button)  
24. myform.Controls.Add(props)  
25. myform.Controls.Add(desc)  
26. //when the txtbox is clicked,display its properties in the property grid  
27. txtbox.Click.Add(fun txtprops->props.SelectedObject<-txtbox)  
28. //when the label is clicked,display its properties in the property grid  
29. lbl.Click.Add(fun txtprops->props.SelectedObject<-lbl)  
30. //when the button is clicked,display its properties in the property grid  
31. button.Click.Add(fun txtprops->props.SelectedObject<-button)  
32. myform.Show()  
33. //executes our application  
34. Application.Run(myform)  

// Learn more about F# at http://fsharp.net
//use the F# library
open System
//use the drawing class. Enables intellisense
open System.Drawing
//use the form class
open System.Windows.Forms
//creates a new form
let myform=new Form(Text="Use Process Grid",StartPosition=FormStartPosition.CenterScreen,AutoScaleMode=AutoScaleMode.Font)
//creates a textbox
let txtbox=new TextBox(Text="Textbox", Location=new System.Drawing.Point(5, 240))
//creates a label
let lbl=new Label(Text="Label", Location=new System.Drawing.Point(120, 240),AutoSize=true,BorderStyle=BorderStyle.FixedSingle)
//make a button from the button class
let button=new Button(Text="Button", Location=new System.Drawing.Point(200, 240))
//make a property grid control
let props=new PropertyGrid(Size=new System.Drawing.Size(180, 220),Left=50)
//adds a descriptive label
let desc=new Label(Text="Click the control below to view its properties...",AutoSize=true,Top=220)
//add the controls to our form
myform.Controls.Add(txtbox)
myform.Controls.Add(lbl)
myform.Controls.Add(button)
myform.Controls.Add(props)
myform.Controls.Add(desc)
//when the txtbox is clicked,display its properties in the property grid
txtbox.Click.Add(fun txtprops->props.SelectedObject<-txtbox)
//when the label is clicked,display its properties in the property grid
lbl.Click.Add(fun txtprops->props.SelectedObject<-lbl)
//when the button is clicked,display its properties in the property grid
button.Click.Add(fun txtprops->props.SelectedObject<-button)
myform.Show()
//executes our application
Application.Run(myform)

5. Click the run icon to execute your application. You should now see an output similar to the following screen shot: