An Office 2003-like popup notifier

Introduction

This is a simple project, a control that mimics the Microsoft® Outlook® 2003 mail alert.

Features

This control has several features. Among them, you'll find:

Progressive appearance - transparency

MSN Messenger like pop-ups (any size, color, etc.)

Another sample

This control is 100% drawn in the code, there is absolutely no other dependencies than System.Drawing and System.Windows.Forms.

You can include a ContextMenuStrip when clicking on the "down arrow" button.

Using the code

The controls is made of two basic classes:

A form (the part that will actually show up).
A class that contains all the properties that will be includable on forms.

The class contains two timers, one used for the appearing/disappearing animation, the other (configurable) is used to define how much time the popup is shown before it disappears.

This is how the form is actually shown:

fPopup.Size = Size
fPopup.Opacity = 0
fPopup.Location = _
  New Point(Screen.PrimaryScreen.WorkingArea.Right_
   - fPopup.Size.Width - 1, _
   Screen.PrimaryScreen.WorkingArea.Bottom)
fPopup.Show()

The form is does the drawing in the Paint event.

I'm using these functions to obtain a color that is similar but lighter/darker. There might exist another method.

Private Function GetDarkerColor(ByVal Color As Color) As Color
    Dim clNew As Color
    clNew = Drawing.Color.FromArgb(255, DedValueMin0(CInt(Color.R), _
            Parent.GradientPower), DedValueMin0(CInt(Color.G), _
            Parent.GradientPower), DedValueMin0(CInt(Color.B), _
            Parent.GradientPower))
    Return clNew
End Function

And to avoid flickering...

Me.SetStyle(ControlStyles.OptimizedDoubleBuffer, True)
Me.SetStyle(ControlStyles.ResizeRedraw, True)
Me.SetStyle(ControlStyles.AllPaintingInWmPaint, True)

Points of Interest

None really, it's nice, it's fun, it's colorful... that's it :)

History

March 2006 - V 1.0.

License

This article, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under The Code Project Open License (CPOL)

About the Author

Nicolas Wälti

Software Developer (Senior)

Switzerland

Member

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New Version of this Control with many Bugs fixed (Link inside)

Simon B.

4:54 3 Nov '11

Hello all Because this control has not been updated quite a while and still contains a lot of bugs, I decided to fix them myself. I released an improved version of this control in a new article: Notification Window[^] regards, Simon
Sign In·View Thread·Permalink	1.00/5 (1 vote)

controls property

sergio58

4:08 22 Jul '11

this control is lacking of the controls property, how can I do? PopupNotifier1.controls ????? i would like to add a panel ,for add other controls
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Showing multiple popups at the same time.

kdlc

7:56 19 Jan '09

Just that, what would be the best way to display multiple popups at the same time?
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Unable to close the popup with the close button!!!

harvindersingh115

3:04 1 Oct '08

Hello

I am trying to close the popup through the Close event and calling the Dispose method on the PopupNotifier. However it does not close the popup, is there anything wrong I am trying to do here? please advise on this, below is the code I am working with.

            PopupNotifier pn;
        
        void popUp()
        {
 
            pn = new PopupNotifier();
 
            pn.BodyColor = System.Drawing.Color.Beige;
            pn.BorderColor = System.Drawing.Color.Black;
            pn.ButtonHoverColor = System.Drawing.Color.LightGoldenrodYellow;
            pn.ContentColor = System.Drawing.Color.Black;
            pn.ContentFont = new System.Drawing.Font("Tahoma", 8F);
            pn.ContentText = "You\'ve got mail... (I always wanted to say that !)";
            pn.HeaderColor = System.Drawing.Color.Black;
 
            pn.ImagePosition = new System.Drawing.Point(12, 21);
            pn.ImageSize = new System.Drawing.Size(24, 24);
            pn.LinkHoverColor = System.Drawing.Color.DarkSlateGray;
            pn.OptionsMenu = null;
            pn.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(400, 100);
            pn.TextPadding = new System.Windows.Forms.Padding(10);
            pn.TitleColor = System.Drawing.Color.Black;
            pn.TitleFont = new System.Drawing.Font("Trebuchet MS", 9.75F, System.Drawing.FontStyle.Bold);
            pn.TitleText = "Office 2003 anyone ?";
            pn.ShowDelay = 5000;
            pn.OptionsButton = true;
            pn.ShowGrip = true;
 
            pn.Click += new PopupNotifier.ClickEventHandler(pn_Click);
            pn.Close += new PopupNotifier.CloseEventHandler(pn_Close);
            pn.Disposed += new EventHandler(pn_Disposed);
 
            pn.Popup();
        }
 
        void pn_Disposed(object sender, EventArgs e)
        {
            MessageBox.Show("Closing");
            
        }
 
        void pn_Close()
        {
            pn.Dispose();
        }

Re: Unable to close the popup with the close button!!!

edzjx

8:49 13 Feb '10

me too i adi that hide it PopupNotifier.vb : Sub Hide() Sub Hide() tmWait.Stop() tmAnimation.Start() End Sub in form Private Sub PopupNotifier1_Close() Handles PopupNotifier1.Close PopupNotifier1.Hide() End Sub
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Re: Unable to close the popup with the close button!!!

jamslove

4:29 16 Aug '10

Can you post the final .dll file here or make clear how to close the popup using the close button..
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Re: Unable to close the popup with the close button!!!

nikoskritikos

5:47 30 Aug '10

you have to catch those events ... Dim pop As New PopupNotifier pop.Popup() AddHandler pop.Click, AddressOf popclick AddHandler pop.Close, AddressOf popclose Public Sub popclick() ' End Sub Public Sub popclose() me.close (maybe ?) End Sub
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How to use this in a project C#

harvindersingh115

3:22 29 Sep '08

Hello I am a new to Visual Studio and C# as well. I am having hard time in trying to use this. I would really appreciate if someone explains to me how I can make this code to work in an example? I would like to create an example notification using the PopupNotifier that is similar to the first example above. Please help.
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Re: How to use this in a project C#

harvindersingh115

4:03 1 Oct '08

Just to update I am now okay with this, as I was able to create an example working very nicely. Only one issue left and I have posted a new thread with the issue for clsoing the popu when the lose button is pressed.
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Re: How to use this in a project C#

lasai

15:48 27 Jan '10

Would you post your sourcecode here? I try to convert sourcecode to c# but it won't work. It popup error when I drop this componet to windows form. Thank you.
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Excellent Work...........

Member 4017381

6:14 19 Aug '08

Hye Nick........... AWESOM ARTICLE man ..Thanks for making this difficult code so simple & understandable.... Looking forward to ur next post Cheerz !
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From right to left order

ammsamm

0:40 22 Oct '07

Keep the good work can u inculde a right to left order in the project....
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New version anyone

Nick Waelti

23:21 25 Aug '07

I will design a new version of this tool (among other things for Office 2007...) stay tuned ! http://www.blueactivity.com http://www.blueactivity.com
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Re: New version anyone - I'd be glad

semmel71

8:04 10 Oct '07

Hi Nick, yes please , a new version that would be grand ! Not that I would not like the current version - no it is sufficient for my needs in the moment. It will be a real quality eye candy for my application. However I would not disregard a newer version with perhaps some text formatting capabilites. Keep on Your good work! Semmel
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Re: New version anyone

Member 1315320

6:22 23 Dec '07

Link for download ?
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Re: New version anyone

garyjohn_2000

6:06 31 Dec '07

Is it done yet? (I think I heard that before! "are we there yet?!" LOL!) Btw, this control works great except while threading. Keep up the great job but please post a solution for using this great class in a managed thread.
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Unused Code

pablleaf

12:07 21 Jun '07

The function GetLighterTransparentColor is not used.
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Redundant Line of Code

pablleaf

10:38 21 Jun '07

Just an FYI. In the Sub New function the .FormBorderStyle is being set twice. `Sub New() With fPopup .TopMost = False -----> .FormBorderStyle = System.Windows.Forms.FormBorderStyle.None <----- .StartPosition = System.Windows.Forms.FormStartPosition.Manual .FormBorderStyle = Windows.Forms.FormBorderStyle.None .ShowInTaskbar = False End With tmAnimation.Interval = 50 End Sub`
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Small Doubt

GayuDams

2:05 26 Apr '07

Can we use this project for .Net 2003 version. If we open the project we are getting the following error "The selected file is a visual studio solution file,but was created with a newer version of visual studio and cannot be opened. gayathri
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Opacity Problem with multiple stacking popups

fperugini

10:18 22 Mar '07

I implemented the PopupNotifierCollection to manage multiple stacking popups. The only problem I see is that the Opacity level of the popup windows are different. The bottom most popup is transparent, and the top most one is fully solid. It may have to do with the animation. Did anyone correct this? It would be nice to have a setting for the maximum opacity too. -Frank
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Re: Opacity Problem with multiple stacking popups

fperugini

4:33 23 Mar '07

I think I figured it out. You need to take the offset into account in this Function:

    Private Function GetOpacityBasedOnPosition() As Double
        Dim iCentPourcent As Integer = fPopup.Height
        Dim iCurrentlyShown As Integer = Screen.PrimaryScreen.WorkingArea.Height - fPopup.Top - iOffset
        Dim dPourcentOpacity As Double = iCentPourcent / 100 * iCurrentlyShown
        Return (dPourcentOpacity / 100) - 0.05
    End Function

-Frank

Re: Opacity Problem with multiple stacking popups

Styxke

20:27 5 Apr '07

Is it possible to share the source with me ? Thanks in advance !
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Re: Opacity Problem with multiple stacking popups

fperugini

7:16 13 Apr '07

Hi, The code for the multiple stacking popups was already posted here: http://www.codeproject.com/vb/net/PopupNotifier.asp?msg=1429432#xx1429432xx[^]
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Multiple Highlight Lines

b00tleg

9:38 22 Mar '07

I got it to run correctly, but how can I add more than one contex line item? I want to create two lines/links that both take seperate actions on their click events... I am finding it hard to change the way it looks, I tried adding labels to popupnotifierform.vb but it does not carry over to the actual popup. I am decent enough with VB but have not tried creating my own component. I was expecting just a form I could change the design of that would pop up.

Thanks on the code though - gives me a place to learn.

Re: Multiple Highlight Lines

Nick Waelti

22:34 22 Mar '07

In fact, I've not been using other controls on that form. The form is a placeholder.

Its content is only painted and is not "existing".

You can see for instance in PopupNotifierRenderersOffice2003.vb



    Protected Overrides Sub OnRenderContent(ByVal e As PopupNotifierRenderArgs)

        If Not e.Parent.Image Is Nothing Then

            e.Graphics.DrawImage(e.Parent.Image, e.Parent.ImagePosition.X, e.Parent.ImagePosition.Y, e.Parent.ImageSize.Width, e.Parent.ImageSize.Height)

        End If

 

        e.Parent.Form.HeightOfTitle = e.Graphics.MeasureString("A", e.Parent.TitleFont).Height

 

        Dim iTitleOrigin As Integer

        If Not e.Parent.Image Is Nothing Then

            iTitleOrigin = e.Parent.ImagePosition.X + e.Parent.ImageSize.Width + e.Parent.TextPadding.Left

        Else

            iTitleOrigin = e.Parent.TextPadding.Left

        End If

 

        If e.Parent.Form.MouseIsOnTextLink Then

            e.Parent.Form.Cursor = Cursors.Hand

            e.Graphics.DrawString(e.Parent.ContentText, New Font(SystemFonts.DialogFont, FontStyle.Underline), New SolidBrush(Color.Black), e.Parent.Form.RectText)

        Else

            e.Parent.Form.Cursor = Cursors.Default

            e.Graphics.DrawString(e.Parent.ContentText, New Font(SystemFonts.DialogFont, FontStyle.Regular), New SolidBrush(Color.Black), e.Parent.Form.RectText)

        End If

        e.Graphics.DrawString(e.Parent.TitleText, New Font(SystemFonts.DialogFont, FontStyle.Bold), New SolidBrush(Color.Black), iTitleOrigin, e.Parent.TextPadding.Top + e.Parent.HeaderHeight)

    End Sub

There is a call to e.Graphics.Drawstring to print the text link and there is a variable that is set by PopupNotifier to define whether we are on the link with the mouse or not. If you just want to have another link, you need to double that feature.



        If e.Parent.Form.MouseIsOnSecondTextLink Then

            e.Parent.Form.Cursor = Cursors.Hand

            e.Graphics.DrawString(e.Parent.SecondContentText, New Font(SystemFonts.DialogFont, FontStyle.Underline), New SolidBrush(Color.Black), e.Parent.Form.RectSecondText)

        Else

            e.Parent.Form.Cursor = Cursors.Default

            e.Graphics.DrawString(e.Parent.SecondContentText, New Font(SystemFonts.DialogFont, FontStyle.Regular), New SolidBrush(Color.Black), e.Parent.Form.SecondRectText)

        End If

then in PopupNotifier.vb:



    Private sText2 As String

     _

    Property SecondContentText() As String

        Get

            Return sText2

        End Get

        Set(ByVal value As String)

            sText2 = value

 

        End Set

    End Property

And then for PopupNotifierForm.vb:



    Public ReadOnly Property SecondRectText() As RectangleF

        Get

            If Not Parent.Image Is Nothing Then

                Return New RectangleF(Parent.ImagePosition.X + Parent.ImageSize.Width + Parent.TextPadding.Left, Parent.TextPadding.Top + Parent.TextPadding.Top + HeightOfTitle + Parent.HeaderHeight + RectText.Height, Me.Width - Parent.ImageSize.Width - Parent.ImagePosition.X - 16 - 5 - Parent.TextPadding.Left - Parent.TextPadding.Right, Me.Height - Parent.HeaderHeight - Parent.TextPadding.Top - Parent.TextPadding.Top - Parent.TextPadding.Bottom - HeightOfTitle - 1)

            Else

                Return New RectangleF(Parent.TextPadding.Left, Parent.TextPadding.Top + Parent.TextPadding.Top + HeightOfTitle + Parent.HeaderHeight + RectText.Height , Me.Width - 16 - 5 - Parent.TextPadding.Left - Parent.TextPadding.Right, Me.Height - Parent.HeaderHeight - Parent.TextPadding.Top - Parent.TextPadding.Top - Parent.TextPadding.Bottom - HeightOfTitle - 1)

            End If

        End Get

    End Property

Then alors in the mouse_move event



        If SecondRectText.Contains(e.X, e.Y) Then

            bMouseOnLink2 = True

        Else

            bMouseOnLink2 = False

        End If

And that should pretty much do the trick Smile | :)