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This document walks through the process of embedding and
using an ActiveX control within a C# Visual Studio .NET project.
Before starting, the ActiveX control must already by registered
on the computer. For this walkthrough, the Animated Gif control,
called MVSGif.ocx, will be used as an example.
Step 1 - Add ActiveX Control to Toolbar
Before embedding an ActiveX control into a project, it must
first be put into the toolbar. This is done by right-clicking
the design toolbar and selecting "Add/Remove Items".
In the following dialog that pops up, Microsoft-specific
.NET controls are listed in the immediate window. To select
ActiveX controls, select the "COM Components" tab.
For this example, the Animated Gif control will be selected
from the ones possible.
At this point, there will be a new button added to the end
of the design toolbar; specifically, the one that was just
added, or in our case, the Animated Gif Control. Click on
the button to select it, and then either drag or click within
your C# project to embed the control. Most controls are visible
when they are added to a project. Don't be shocked when nothing
is immediately visible after adding Animated Gif. It is the
inherent nature of the control to be invisible until an animated
gif is loaded into it. In the meantime, the location of the
control may be discovered by noticing the border that surrounds
it.
Step 2 - Change or Set Properties
After adding the control, properties for it may be changed
or set within the properties view of the project. It is usually
a good idea to change the name of the control to something
easily recognizable, rather than the default name Microsoft
gives a new control.
Step 3 - Call Functions or Handle Events
Now that the control is added, its functions may be called
or events handled in any way seen fit. For example, to tell
the control to "play", the following line of code
would be added to the project, somewhere in the code (perhaps
in response to clicking a button).
gifControl.Play();
In addition to directly invoking the ActiveX control's methods,
one may also cause it to respond to events. To view a list
of possible events that the control can respond to, click
on the Events button within the Properties view (the button
denoted by a lightning bolt).
While in the Events view, one may choose any event to handle
by selecting it and pressing the Enter key. After doing so,
Visual Studio automatically generates headings for a new function
that will handle the event. In this example, when the user
clicks the left mouse button on the control, the ActiveX control
will "Stop" playing the animated gif.
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