Use a Custom Class to Show a Splash Form (WinForms)

• Jun 19, 2024
• 3 minutes to read

This topic demonstrates how create a custom splash form and use a custom class to show this form.

1. Create a new Windows Form in your solution’s WinForms Application project, name the form SplashScreenForm, and design it to meet your requirements.

   

   Note

   To use designer tools for DevExpress controls in .NET applications, install the DevExpress.Win.Design package from the local NuGet feed, or from a remote NuGet feed at https://nuget.devexpress.com.

2. Add a new class to your WinForms Application Project and implement the ISplash interface.

   • Override the ISplash.Start method. Create a SplashScreenForm instance and call the form’s Show method.
   • In the ISplash.Stop method’s override, hide and close the SplashScreenForm.
   • The ISplash.IsStarted property indicates whether the SplashScreenForm is shown.
   • Override ISplash.SetDisplayText. You can call this method to change the SplashScreenForm‘s text.

   The code below demonstrates the MySplash class that implements the ISplash interface.

   C#

   using DevExpress.ExpressApp.Win;
   //...
   public class MySplash : ISplash {
       static private SplashScreenForm form;
       private static bool isStarted = false;
       public void Start() {
           isStarted = true;
           form = new SplashScreenForm();
           form.Show();
           System.Windows.Forms.Application.DoEvents();
       }
       public void Stop() {
           if(form != null) {
               form.Hide();
               form.Close();
               form = null;
           }
           isStarted = false;
       }
       public void SetDisplayText(string displayText) {
       }
       public bool IsStarted {
           get { return isStarted; }
       }
   }
   

   VB.NET

   Imports DevExpress.ExpressApp.Win
   '...
   Public Class MySplash
       Implements ISplash
       Private Shared form As SplashScreenForm
       Private _isStarted As Boolean
       Public Sub Start() Implements ISplash.Start
           _isStarted = True
           form = New SplashScreenForm()
           form.Show()
           System.Windows.Forms.Application.DoEvents()
       End Sub
       Public Sub [Stop]() Implements ISplash.Stop
           If form IsNot Nothing Then
               form.Hide()
               form.Close()
               form = Nothing
           End If
           _isStarted = False
       End Sub
       Public Sub SetDisplayText(ByVal displayText As String) Implements ISplash.SetDisplayText
       End Sub
       Public ReadOnly Property IsStarted() As Boolean Implements ISplash.IsStarted
           Get
               Return _isStarted
           End Get
       End Property
   End Class
   

3. Access the WinApplication.cs (WinApplication.vb) file. Set the SplashScreen property to a new MySplash class instance.

   C#

   public MySolutionWindowsFormsApplication() {
      //...
      SplashScreen = new MySplash();
      // ...
   }
   

   VB.NET

   Public Sub New()
      '...
      SplashScreen = New MySplash()
      ' ...
   End Sub
   

4. You can display loading progress information. To do this, implement the the ISupportUpdateSplash interface in the MySplash class and add the UpdateInfo method to the SplashScreenForm class.

   C#

   public class MySplash : ISplash, ISupportUpdateSplash {
       // ...
       public void UpdateSplash(string caption, string description, params object[] additionalParams) {
           form.UpdateInfo(description);
       }
   }
   // ...
   public partial class SplashScreenForm : Form {
       // ...
       internal void UpdateInfo(string info) {
           label2.Text = info;
       }
   }
   

   VB.NET

   Public Class MySplash
       Implements ISplash, ISupportUpdateSplash
       ' ...
       Public Sub UpdateSplash(ByVal caption As String, ByVal description As String, _
           ParamArray ByVal additionalParams() As Object)
           form.UpdateInfo(description)
       End Sub
   End Class
   ' ...
   Partial Public Class SplashScreenForm
       Inherits Form
       ' ...
       Friend Sub UpdateInfo(ByVal info As String)
           label2.Text = info
       End Sub
   End Class
   

5. Start the application to see the result.