Code Snippets

.NET Property Grid

If you are trying to use the .NET Property Grid, here are three links that will save you a ton of time:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/dndotnet/html/usingpropgrid.asp

http://www.codeproject.com/cs/miscctrl/customizingcollectiondata.asp

http://www.codeproject.com/cs/miscctrl/bending_property.asp

Do you find this useful? If so please check out Windward Reports.

TextLayout.getAdvance() is not re-entrant

We found through a bunch of testing that TextLayout.getAdvance() is not re-entrant. If you have 10 threads that are constantly calling this, you will get a NullPointerException.

The problem is it is not enough to insure that your code is synchronized when calling getAdvance. All running code in a JVM must be synchronized on the same object to insure that no two calls are made to getAdvance from different threads at the same time.

Therefore, all calls to getAdvance should be:

  synchronized (TextLayout.class) {
   advance = src.getAdvance();
  }

so that they are all synchronized on the same object. And the common object that makes sense for this is the TextLayout class as it is the class getAdvance is a member of.

Do you find this useful? If so please check out Windward Reports.

save/restore toolbar in a Word Add-In

Hi;

I don't know about others but I hate how Acrobat always blasts it's toolbar back up to the same place every time Word starts. It's like they're saying screw you - we know where it should be.
So, for my add-in (AutoTag) I was determined to track and retain what the user wanted. And it turns out to be pretty easy.

In OnBeginShutdown I have:
CommandBars bars = (CommandBars) ThisApplication.GetType().InvokeMember("CommandBars",
  System.Reflection.BindingFlags.GetProperty, null, ThisApplication, null);
foreach (CommandBar barOn in bars)
{
  if(barOn.Name == "AutoTag")
  {
   RegistryKey key = Registry.LocalMachine.CreateSubKey(Util.regBase);
   if (key != null)
   {
    key.SetValue("toolbar_visible", barOn.Visible);
    key.SetValue("toolbar_position", barOn.Position);
    key.SetValue("toolbar_left", barOn.Left);
    key.SetValue("toolbar_top", barOn.Top);
    key.SetValue("toolbar_row", barOn.RowIndex);
    key.SetValue("toolbar_width", barOn.Width);
    key.SetValue("toolbar_height", barOn.Height);
    key.Close();
   }
  }
}

Then in my startup code I have:
RegistryKey key = Registry.LocalMachine.OpenSubKey(Util.regBase);
if (key != null)
{
  String pos = (string) key.GetValue("toolbar_position", MsoBarPosition.msoBarTop);
  toolbar.Position = (MsoBarPosition) MsoBarPosition.Parse(typeof(MsoBarPosition), pos);
  int num = (int) key.GetValue("toolbar_left", -1);
  if (num != -1)
   toolbar.Left = num;
  if (toolbar.Position == MsoBarPosition.msoBarFloating)
  {
   num = (int) key.GetValue("toolbar_top", -1);
   if (num != -1)
    toolbar.Top = num;
   num = (int) key.GetValue("toolbar_width", -1);
   if (num != -1)
    toolbar.Width = num;
   num = (int) key.GetValue("toolbar_height", -1);
   if (num != -1)
    toolbar.Height = num;
  }
  else
  {
   num = (int) key.GetValue("toolbar_row", -1);
   if (num != -1)
    toolbar.RowIndex = num;
   num = (int) key.GetValue("toolbar_top", -1);
   if (num != -1)
    toolbar.Top = num;
  }
  toolbar.Visible = ((String)key.GetValue("toolbar_visible", "true")).ToLower() == "true";
  key.Close();
}
else
  toolbar.Visible = true;

That's it. Your toolbar will then reappear (or stay hidden) in the same location that the user last left it.

Do you find this useful? If so please check out Windward Reports.

Save/restore Word toolbar

If you have ever added Acrobat (the full version) to you system, it has a toolbar that no matter what you do - the next time you start Word it pops back up in the same start location. Personally I find this very annoying.

So if you have a toolbar in your Word Add-in, here is how you have it come back up in the state that the user last put it in.

Part 1:

public void OnBeginShutdown(ref Array custom)
{

CommandBars bars = (CommandBars) ThisApplication.GetType().InvokeMember("CommandBars",
   System.Reflection.BindingFlags.GetProperty, null, ThisApplication, null);
foreach (CommandBar barOn in bars)
{
  if(barOn.Name == "AutoTag")
  {
   RegistryKey key = Registry.LocalMachine.CreateSubKey(Util.regBase);
   if (key != null)
   {
    key.SetValue("toolbar_visible", barOn.Visible);
    key.SetValue("toolbar_position", barOn.Position);
    key.SetValue("toolbar_left", barOn.Left);
    key.SetValue("toolbar_top", barOn.Top);
    key.SetValue("toolbar_row", barOn.RowIndex);
    key.SetValue("toolbar_width", barOn.Width);
    key.SetValue("toolbar_height", barOn.Height);
    key.Close();
   }
  }
}

}

Part 2 - in your startup code:

CommandBars bars = (CommandBars) ThisApplication.GetType().InvokeMember("CommandBars",
System.Reflection.BindingFlags.GetProperty, null, ThisApplication, null);
toolbar = bars.Add("AutoTag", MsoBarPosition.msoBarTop, false, true);
for (int ind=0; ind<toolItems.Length; ind++)
InitToolbar(ind, toolItems[ind]);

RegistryKey key = Registry.LocalMachine.OpenSubKey(Util.regBase);
if (key != null)
{
String pos = (string) key.GetValue("toolbar_position", MsoBarPosition.msoBarTop);
toolbar.Position = (MsoBarPosition) MsoBarPosition.Parse(typeof(MsoBarPosition), pos);
int num = (int) key.GetValue("toolbar_left", -1);
if (num != -1)
  toolbar.Left = num;
if (toolbar.Position == MsoBarPosition.msoBarFloating)
{
  num = (int) key.GetValue("toolbar_top", -1);
  if (num != -1)
   toolbar.Top = num;
  num = (int) key.GetValue("toolbar_width", -1);
  if (num != -1)
   toolbar.Width = num;
  num = (int) key.GetValue("toolbar_height", -1);
  if (num != -1)
   toolbar.Height = num;
} else
{
  num = (int) key.GetValue("toolbar_row", -1);
  if (num != -1)
   toolbar.RowIndex = num;
  num = (int) key.GetValue("toolbar_top", -1);
  if (num != -1)
   toolbar.Top = num;
}
toolbar.Visible = ((String)key.GetValue("toolbar_visible", "true")).ToLower() == "true";
key.Close();
} else
toolbar.Visible = true;

Do you find this useful? If so please check out Windward Reports.

Ensuring complete code coverage

Now at Ensuring complete code coverage