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Building a Formless WinForms Application with a NotifyIcon in VB.Net 2008

Mike TomlinsonHigh School Computer Science, Computer Applications, Digital Design, and Mathematics Teacher
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This tutorial demonstrates one way to create an application that runs without any Forms but still has a GUI presence via an Icon in the System Tray.

The magic lies in Inheriting from the ApplicationContext Class and passing that to Application.Run() instead of a Form instance.  With this approach we automatically get a built-in message pump and do not see any ugly Console windows.  Having a message pump means that an infinite loop is not necessary to keep the app "alive".  It also means that we can freely create Controls and Forms at run-time and respond to their events as usual.  We can even elegantly multi-thread the application by using a BackgroundWorker() Control from within the Inherited ApplicationContext Class.

Why would you want to do this?  Perhaps you have a "background" operation that needs to run all the time and would like to give the user a way to interact with the application.  The tray icon gives you the option to display menus or simply popup a configuration dialog if clicked.  This is an easy approach compared to implementing a full blown service.

The ApplicationContext provides complete freedom in controlling when the program is closed.  You are no longer constrained to just the two shutdown mode choices of "When startup form closes" or "When last form closes".  With no "startup form" you can now freely switch between forms without worrying about the app closing on you.  You can display a Login form and then actually completely close it before moving on to the Main form.  No more need to show the Main form with ShowDialog() or keep the Login form hidden just to keep the app alive!  Shared variables in the ApplicationContext class can be used to store information that the entire program needs access to (such as privilege levels).  Since the app only shuts down when you explicitly call Application.Exit() you can build a program that only closes when the conditions are right for your particular scenario.

Note that this technique can also be used without any GUI elements at all!  The app will happily run without any interface and will still have a message pump making it easier to work with than a Console app.

Let's get started:

1. Project Type

Start with a standard WinForms ApplicationStart with a standard WinForms Project

2. Project Properties

Click on Project --> PropertiesClick on Project --> Properties

3. Change the Entry Point

Disable the Application Framework and set the "Startup Object"Disable the Application Framework and Change the "Startup Object"

4. Add Tray Icon

Switch to the Resources Tab and add your Icon File (.ico)Add the Icon for you NotifyIcon to the Resources Tab

5. Embed the Icon

Change the Persistence Mode of the Icon to EmbeddedChange the Persistence Mode of the Icon

6. Add Module

Add a Module to the Project.  Leave the default name, Module1Add a Module to the Project

7. ([b]Optional[/b]) Remove Form1

Delete the default Form if you don't need it
(Forms can still be used in the application if you desire!)Optionally Delete the default Form if you don't need it

8. Add Code

Replace the code in the Module with the listing below.
Important! Change "My.Resources.Happy" in line #17 so that it correctly reflects the name of your Embedded Icon
Module Module1
                      
                          Public Sub Main()
                              Application.Run(New MyContext)
                          End Sub
                      
                      End Module
                      
                      Public Class MyContext
                          Inherits ApplicationContext
                      
                          Private WithEvents TrayIcon As New NotifyIcon
                          Private WithEvents CMS As New ContextMenuStrip
                          Private WithEvents ExitMenu As New ToolStripMenuItem("Exit")
                      
                          Public Sub New()
                              TrayIcon.Icon = My.Resources.Happy
                              TrayIcon.Text = "ApplicationContext with a NotifyIcon" ' <-- Tooltip on the NotifyIcon
                              TrayIcon.Visible = True
                      
                              CMS.Items.Add(ExitMenu)
                              TrayIcon.ContextMenuStrip = CMS
                      
                              ' You can add a BackgroundWorker control to the class and start a lengthy process from here...
                          End Sub
                      
                          Private Sub CMS_Opening(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.ComponentModel.CancelEventArgs) Handles CMS.Opening
                              ' From this event you can control which menu items appear (visibility or disabled) or 
                              ' even cancel the event and prevent the context menu from appearing at all
                          End Sub
                      
                          Private Sub ExitMenu_Click(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles ExitMenu.Click
                              Application.Exit()
                          End Sub
                      
                          Private Sub MyContext_ThreadExit(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles Me.ThreadExit
                              TrayIcon.Visible = False
                          End Sub
                      
                      End Class
                      

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9. Test it out!

Run the Project
Hopefully you'll get an Icon in the System Tray that has an "Exit" option when you Right Click it

In the images below, the Happy face is the icon being displayed by the application:The NotifyIcon in the System Tray displaying its ToolTipThe NotifyIcon in the System Tray displaying its ContextMenuStrip
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Mike TomlinsonHigh School Computer Science, Computer Applications, Digital Design, and Mathematics Teacher
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Comments (10)

Commented:
Thanks for the article.One of the best article I ever read.
As always brilliant and truly Genius IDLE_MIND.

Commented:
X E Lent. Works in VS 2005 as well.
Shahan AyyubStaff Software Engineer
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Commented:

Idle_Mind great Article. Thanks for sharing it.
I think the rumor is not rumor it is reality. ;)  just kidding

Commented:
Thanks, very useful.

Great Article...
Hi guys

Thanks for all your comments unfortuntately all seem to have a problem in that if "Enable application framework" is unchecked then the Splash Screen I have added is not called and displayed.

Any ideas?

Issac

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