DateTimePicker appears flat

Hi,

Thanks for the great insight into the DateTimePicker control, it worked fabulously. However, the drop-down arrow button (same as combo-box drop-down button) doesn't appear to be flat styled. Is there a recent update that overrides this as well?

Cheers,

Kaine

P.S. - The button appears flat at design time but 3D during runtime. K

First, I wanted to say thanks for a great control. I have a problem and I am not sure exactly how to fix it. The flat DateTimePicker displays a calendar icon next to the dropdown arrow and on my Vista machine the calendar looking icon is slightly cut off by the dropdown arrow. Is there a way to make this icon move further left or disappear completely. Any help you can give me on this would be greatly appreciated.

I must say this is fine control.
I want to support showupdown property, so up-down box should be flat control.
The code that I change is:

private void OverrideDropDown(Graphics g)
 {
            if (!this.ShowUpDown)
            {
                Rectangle rect = new Rectangle(this.Width - DropDownButtonWidth, 0, DropDownButtonWidth, this.Height);
                ControlPaint.DrawComboButton(g, rect, ButtonState.Flat);
            }
            else
            {
                Rectangle rect = new Rectangle(this.Width - DropDownButtonWidth,
                    0, DropDownButtonWidth, this.Height/2);
                ControlPaint.DrawScrollButton(g, rect, ScrollButton.Up, ButtonState.Flat);
                rect.Y += this.Height / 2;
                ControlPaint.DrawScrollButton(g, rect, ScrollButton.Down, ButtonState.Flat);
         
            }
        }

But it does not display, flat up-down button continuously. I want to understand the reason for same.
Whether this is solvable or not, that is secondary thing.

I had a quick look and it seems like when ShowUpDown is true, this control has a child control with the name "msctls_updown32" (I found it through Spy++). It looks like the child control repaint itself and hence caused the inconsitency with the float display you did above. I'm not sure how you can intercept the child window paint message, but if you can that will probably be the way to get this working nicely.

Hi Fadrian, good job!

I would just add a small change on the SendMessage API declaration, to use the correct one and avoid the PInvoke exception (unbalanced stack):

[DllImport("user32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto)]
private static extern IntPtr SendMessage(IntPtr hwnd, int Msg, IntPtr wParam, IntPtr lParam);

Then, when calling, just pass IntPtr.Zero, instead of 0:

...
SendMessage(this.Handle, WM_ERASEBKGND, hDC, IntPtr.Zero);

...
SendMessage(this.Handle, WM_PRINTCLIENT, ptrClientDC, IntPtr.Zero);

Cheers,

C. Augusto Proiete
https://augustoproiete.net

modified 25-May-20 19:20pm.

I would like to change the color of the red rectangle which highlight the selected date and which appears at the left of Today.

There is also another limitation I would like to work around. When you change the CalendarTitleBackColor the font of DaysOfWeek also change its color, I want to hack this so that I can assign the color for DaysOfWeek on another property. Do you guys have any clue about how to do this?

Thanks in advance,

Here is the equivalent VB version.

Imports System
Imports System.Windows.Forms
Imports System.Drawing
Imports System.Drawing.Drawing2D
Imports System.Runtime.InteropServices

Public class FlatDateTimePicker

  Inherits DateTimePicker

	Private Class ComboInfoHelper
	
		Private Declare Function GetComboBoxInfo Lib "user32.dll" (hwndCombo As Int32, ByRef info As ComboBoxInfo) As Boolean

		Private Structure RECT 
			public Left    As Int32
			public Top     As Int32
			public Right   As Int32
			public Bottom  As Int32
		End Structure

    Private Structure ComboBoxInfo
      Public cbSize      As Int32
      Public rcItem      As RECT
      Public rcButton    As RECT
      Public stateButton As IntPtr
      Public hwndCombo   As IntPtr
      Public hwndEdit    As IntPtr
      Public hwndList    As IntPtr
    End Structure

    Public Shared Function GetComboDropDownWidth() As Int32
			Dim cb As ComboBox = new ComboBox()
			Dim width As Int32 = GetComboDropDownWidth(cb.Handle)
			cb.Dispose()
      Return Width
		End Function
		
    Public Shared Function GetComboDropDownWidth(ByVal handle As IntPtr) As Int32
      Dim cbi As ComboBoxInfo = New ComboBoxInfo()
      cbi.cbSize = Marshal.SizeOf(cbi)
			GetComboBoxInfo(handle.ToInt32, cbi)
      Dim Width As Int32 = cbi.rcButton.Right - cbi.rcButton.Left
      Return Width
    End Function
	
	End Class
	
  Private Declare Function SendMessage Lib "user32.dll" Alias "SendMessageA"(hwnd As Int32, wMsg As Int32, wParam As Int32, lParam As Int32) As Int32
  
  Private Declare Function GetWindowDC Lib "user32.dll"(hwnd As Int32) As IntPtr
  
  Private Declare Function ReleaseDC   Lib "user32.dll"(hwnd As Int32, hDC As Int32) As Int32

  Const WM_ERASEBKGND                As Int32   = &H14
  Const WM_PAINT                     As Int32   = &HF
  Const WM_NC_HITTEST                As Int32   = &H84
  Const WM_NC_PAINT                  As Int32   = &H85
  Const WM_PRINTCLIENT               As Int32   = &H318
  Const WM_SETCURSOR                 As Int32   = &H20


  Private BorderPen                  As Pen     = New Pen(Color.Black, 2)
  Private BorderPenControl           As Pen     = New Pen(SystemColors.ControlDark, 2)
  Private DroppedDown                As Boolean = False
  Private InvalidateSince            As Int32   = 0
  Private Shared DropDownButtonWidth As Int32   = 17

	Shared Sub New()
		'2 pixel extra is for the 3D border around the pulldown button on the left and right
		DropDownButtonWidth = ComboInfoHelper.GetComboDropDownWidth() + 2	
	End Sub

  Public Sub New()
    MyBase.New()
    Me.SetStyle(ControlStyles.DoubleBuffer, True)
    Me.SetStyle(ControlStyles.AllPaintingInWmPaint, True)
  End Sub

  Protected Overrides Function IsInputKey(ByVal keyData As System.Windows.Forms.Keys) As Boolean
    If keyData = (Keys.Tab Or Keys.Shift) Then
      Return True
    ElseIf keyData = Keys.Tab Then
      Return True
    Else
      Return MyBase.IsInputKey(keyData)
    End If
  End Function
	
  Protected Overrides Sub OnValueChanged(ByVal eventargs As EventArgs)
    MyBase.OnValueChanged(eventargs)
    Me.Invalidate()
  End Sub

  Protected Overrides Sub WndProc(ByRef m As Message)
    Dim hDC As IntPtr = IntPtr.Zero
    Dim gdc As Graphics = Nothing
    Select Case m.Msg
      Case WM_NC_PAINT
        hDC = GetWindowDC(m.HWnd.ToInt32)
        gdc = Graphics.FromHdc(hDC)
        SendMessage(Me.Handle.ToInt32, WM_ERASEBKGND, hDC.ToInt32, 0)
        SendPrintClientMsg()
        SendMessage(Me.Handle.ToInt32, WM_PAINT, IntPtr.Zero.ToInt32, 0)
        OverrideControlBorder(gdc)
        m.Result = New IntPtr(1)  'Indicate msg has been processed
        ReleaseDC(m.HWnd.ToInt32, hDC.ToInt32)
        gdc.Dispose()
      Case WM_PAINT
        MyBase.WndProc(m)
        hDC = GetWindowDC(m.HWnd.ToInt32)
        gdc = Graphics.FromHdc(hDC)
        OverrideDropDown(gdc)
        OverrideControlBorder(gdc)
        ReleaseDC(m.HWnd.ToInt32, hDC.ToInt32)
        gdc.Dispose()
      Case WM_SETCURSOR
        MyBase.WndProc(m)
        ' The value 3 is discovered by trial on error, and cover all kinds of scenarios
        ' InvalidateSince < 2 wil have problem if the control is not in focus and dropdown is clicked
        If DroppedDown And (InvalidateSince < 3) Then
          Invalidate()
          InvalidateSince = InvalidateSince + 1
        End If
      Case Else
        MyBase.WndProc(m)
    End Select
  End Sub

  Private Sub SendPrintClientMsg()
    'We send this message for the control to redraw the client area
    Dim gClient As Graphics = Me.CreateGraphics()
    Dim ptrClientDC As IntPtr = gClient.GetHdc()
    SendMessage(Me.Handle.ToInt32, WM_PRINTCLIENT, ptrClientDC.ToInt32, 0)
    gClient.ReleaseHdc(ptrClientDC)
    gClient.Dispose()
  End Sub

  Private Sub OverrideDropDown(ByVal g As Graphics)
    If Not Me.ShowUpDown Then
      Dim rect As Rectangle = New Rectangle(Me.Width - DropDownButtonWidth, 0, DropDownButtonWidth, Me.Height)
      ControlPaint.DrawComboButton(g, rect, ButtonState.Flat)
    End If
  End Sub

  Private Sub OverrideControlBorder(ByVal g As Graphics)
    If Not Me.Focused Or Not Me.Enabled Then
      g.DrawRectangle(BorderPenControl, New Rectangle(0, 0, Me.Width, Me.Height))
    Else
      g.DrawRectangle(BorderPen, New Rectangle(0, 0, Me.Width, Me.Height))
    End If
  End Sub

  Protected Overrides Sub OnDropDown(ByVal eventargs As EventArgs)
    InvalidateSince = 0
    DroppedDown = True
    MyBase.OnDropDown(eventargs)
  End Sub
	
  Protected Overrides Sub OnCloseUp(ByVal eventargs As EventArgs)
    DroppedDown = False
    MyBase.OnCloseUp(eventargs)
  End Sub

  Protected Overrides Sub OnLostFocus(ByVal e As System.EventArgs)
    MyBase.OnLostFocus(e)
    Me.Invalidate()
  End Sub

  Protected Overrides Sub OnGotFocus(ByVal e As System.EventArgs)
    MyBase.OnGotFocus(e)
    Me.Invalidate()
  End Sub
		
  Protected Overrides Sub OnResize(ByVal e As EventArgs)
    MyBase.OnResize(e)
    Me.Invalidate()
  End Sub

End Class

Malcolm Powell

I forgot to remove the following function before posting the VB version.

Protected Overrides Function IsInputKey(ByVal keyData As System.Windows.Forms.Keys) As Boolean
   If keyData = (Keys.Tab Or Keys.Shift) Then
     Return True
   ElseIf keyData = Keys.Tab Then
     Return True
   Else
     Return MyBase.IsInputKey(keyData)
   End If
 End Function

This was added because I needed special Tab key handling. You should remove this function if you want the default Tab key behaviour.

Malcolm Powell

Good work. That's exactly what I needed. Of course my thanks go also to Fadrian!

This is a work in progress, but can be used as it stands right now. This is an ExtendedDateTimePicker class which inherits from Windows.Systems.Forms.DateTimePicker and so can be used as a direct replacement.

**This control does not behave correctly as far as drawing in design mode, so if you can assist in that area it would be greatly appreciated....

    #region ExtendedDateTimePicker<br />
    /// <summary><br />
    /// Class extends the datetimepicker with popup style border<br />
    /// </summary><br />
    public class ExtendedDateTimePicker : System.Windows.Forms.DateTimePicker<br />
    {<br />
        #region Enums<br />
        public enum FLATSTYLE_STYLES<br />
        {<br />
            None = 0,<br />
            Popup = 1,<br />
            Standard = 2,<br />
            System = 3<br />
        }<br />
        #endregion<br />
<br />
        #region Property Variables<br />
        public FLATSTYLE_STYLES _flatStyle = FLATSTYLE_STYLES.Standard;<br />
        #endregion<br />
<br />
        #region Properties<br />
        [Browsable(true)]<br />
        [EditorBrowsable(EditorBrowsableState.Always)]<br />
        [Category("Appearance")]<br />
        [Description("Determines the display of the control.")]<br />
        public FLATSTYLE_STYLES FlatStyle<br />
        {<br />
            get { return _flatStyle; }<br />
            set <br />
            { <br />
                _flatStyle = value;<br />
                if (_flatStyle == FLATSTYLE_STYLES.Popup)<br />
                {<br />
                    _dropButton = new DropDownButton(this);<br />
                    _dropButton.Width = _buttonWidth + 2;<br />
                    _dropButton.Height = this.Height - 2;<br />
                    _dropButton.Top = 0;<br />
                    this.Controls.Add(_dropButton);<br />
                    if (this.RightToLeft == RightToLeft.No || !this.RightToLeftLayout)<br />
                        _dropButton.Left = this.Width - (_buttonWidth + 2);<br />
                }<br />
                else<br />
                {<br />
                    _dropButton = null;<br />
                }<br />
                this.Invalidate(); }<br />
        }<br />
        #endregion<br />
<br />
        /// <summary><br />
        /// Required by designer<br />
        /// </summary><br />
        private System.ComponentModel.Container components = null;<br />
<br />
        #region Member variables<br />
        protected int _buttonWidth = 17;<br />
        protected DropDownButton _dropButton = null;<br />
        protected bool _dropped = false;<br />
        #endregion<br />
<br />
        #region Contructors<br />
        /// <summary><br />
        /// Constructor for datetimepicker<br />
        /// </summary><br />
        public ExtendedDateTimePicker()<br />
        {<br />
            InitializeComponent();<br />
<br />
            // Add 2 pixels for the 3D border<br />
            _buttonWidth = GetComboDropDownWidth();<br />
        }<br />
<br />
        /// <summary><br />
        /// Clean up any resources being used.<br />
        /// </summary><br />
        protected override void Dispose(bool disposing)<br />
        {<br />
            if (disposing)<br />
            {<br />
                if (components != null)<br />
                    components.Dispose();<br />
            }<br />
            base.Dispose(disposing);<br />
        }<br />
        #endregion<br />
<br />
        #region Designer Generated code<br />
        /// <summary><br />
        /// Required method for Designer support - do not modify <br />
        /// the contents of this method with the code editor.<br />
        /// </summary><br />
        private void InitializeComponent()<br />
        {<br />
            components = new System.ComponentModel.Container();<br />
        }<br />
        #endregion<br />
<br />
        #region Overridden Control Functions<br />
        /// <summary><br />
        /// Repaint the control border and button when the mouse enteres<br />
        /// </summary><br />
        /// <param name="e"></param><br />
        protected override void OnMouseEnter(EventArgs e)<br />
        {<br />
            base.OnMouseEnter(e);<br />
<br />
            if (_flatStyle == FLATSTYLE_STYLES.Popup)<br />
            {<br />
                Win32.SendMessage(this.Handle, Win32.WM_NCPAINT, (IntPtr)1, 0);<br />
                _dropButton.Invalidate();<br />
            }<br />
        }<br />
<br />
        /// <summary><br />
        /// Repaint the border and button when the mouse leaves<br />
        /// </summary><br />
        /// <param name="e"></param><br />
        protected override void OnMouseLeave(EventArgs e)<br />
        {<br />
            base.OnMouseLeave(e);<br />
<br />
            if (_flatStyle == FLATSTYLE_STYLES.Popup)<br />
            {<br />
                Win32.SendMessage(this.Handle, Win32.WM_NCPAINT, (IntPtr)1, 0);<br />
                _dropButton.Invalidate();<br />
            }<br />
        }<br />
<br />
        /// <summary><br />
        /// Redraw the control button and button when the control gets focus<br />
        /// </summary><br />
        /// <param name="e"></param><br />
        protected override void OnGotFocus(EventArgs e)<br />
        {<br />
            base.OnGotFocus(e);<br />
<br />
            if (_flatStyle == FLATSTYLE_STYLES.Popup)<br />
            {<br />
                Win32.SendMessage(this.Handle, Win32.WM_NCPAINT, (IntPtr)1, 0);<br />
                _dropButton.Invalidate();<br />
            }<br />
        }<br />
<br />
        /// <summary><br />
        /// Redraw border and button when the control loses focus<br />
        /// </summary><br />
        /// <param name="e"></param><br />
        protected override void OnLostFocus(EventArgs e)<br />
        {<br />
            base.OnLostFocus(e);<br />
<br />
            if (_flatStyle == FLATSTYLE_STYLES.Popup)<br />
            {<br />
                Win32.SendMessage(this.Handle, Win32.WM_NCPAINT, (IntPtr)1, 0);<br />
                _dropButton.Invalidate();<br />
            }<br />
        }<br />
<br />
        /// <summary><br />
        /// Move the drop down button on resize.<br />
        /// </summary><br />
        /// <param name="e"></param><br />
        protected override void OnResize(EventArgs e)<br />
        {<br />
            base.OnResize(e);<br />
<br />
            if (_flatStyle == FLATSTYLE_STYLES.Popup)<br />
            {<br />
                if (this.RightToLeft == RightToLeft.No || !this.RightToLeftLayout)<br />
                    _dropButton.Left = this.Width - (_buttonWidth + 2);<br />
<br />
                Win32.SendMessage(this.Handle, Win32.WM_NCPAINT, (IntPtr)1, 0);<br />
            }<br />
        }<br />
<br />
        /// <summary><br />
        /// Override WndProc to do some drawing in the control<br />
        /// </summary><br />
        /// <param name="m"></param><br />
        protected override void WndProc(ref Message m)<br />
        {<br />
            IntPtr hDC = IntPtr.Zero;<br />
            Graphics gDC = null;<br />
<br />
            //base.WndProc(ref m);<br />
<br />
            if (_flatStyle == FLATSTYLE_STYLES.Popup)<br />
            {<br />
                switch (m.Msg)<br />
                {<br />
                    case Win32.WM_NCCALCSIZE:<br />
                        if (m.WParam == IntPtr.Zero)<br />
                        {<br />
                            Win32.NCCALCSIZE_PARAMS csp;<br />
<br />
                            csp = (Win32.NCCALCSIZE_PARAMS)Marshal.PtrToStructure(m.LParam,<br />
                                typeof(Win32.NCCALCSIZE_PARAMS));<br />
<br />
                            csp.rgrc0.Top += 1;<br />
                            csp.rgrc0.Bottom -= 1;<br />
                            csp.rgrc0.Left += 1;<br />
                            csp.rgrc0.Right -= 1;<br />
<br />
                            Marshal.StructureToPtr(csp, m.LParam, false);<br />
                        }<br />
                        else if (m.WParam == new IntPtr(1))<br />
                        {<br />
                            Win32.NCCALCSIZE_PARAMS csp;<br />
<br />
                            csp = (Win32.NCCALCSIZE_PARAMS)Marshal.PtrToStructure(m.LParam,<br />
                                typeof(Win32.NCCALCSIZE_PARAMS));<br />
<br />
                            csp.rgrc0.Top += 1;<br />
                            csp.rgrc0.Bottom -= 1;<br />
                            csp.rgrc0.Left += 1;<br />
                            csp.rgrc0.Right -= 1;<br />
                            Marshal.StructureToPtr(csp, m.LParam, false);<br />
                        }<br />
                        break;<br />
                    case Win32.WM_NCPAINT:<br />
                        hDC = Win32.GetWindowDC(m.HWnd);<br />
                        gDC = Graphics.FromHdc(hDC);<br />
                        Win32.SendMessage(m.HWnd, Win32.WM_ERASEBKGND, hDC, 0);<br />
                        OverrideControlBorder(gDC);<br />
                        m.Result = (IntPtr)0;   // we handled the message<br />
                        Win32.ReleaseDC(m.HWnd, hDC);<br />
                        gDC.Dispose();<br />
                        break;<br />
                    default:<br />
                        base.WndProc(ref m);<br />
                        break;<br />
                }<br />
            }<br />
            else<br />
            {<br />
                base.WndProc(ref m);<br />
            }<br />
        }<br />
        #endregion<br />
<br />
        #region Utility Functions<br />
        /// <summary><br />
        /// Determines if the mouse is within the control.<br />
        /// </summary><br />
        [Browsable(false)]<br />
        private bool IsMouseInControl<br />
        {<br />
            get<br />
            {<br />
                if (this.DesignMode)<br />
                {<br />
                    return false;<br />
                }<br />
<br />
                Point mPos = Control.MousePosition;<br />
                bool retVal = this.ClientRectangle.Contains(this.PointToClient(mPos));<br />
                return retVal;<br />
            }<br />
        }<br />
<br />
        /// <summary><br />
        /// This draws the controls border as required.<br />
        /// </summary><br />
        /// <param name="g"></param><br />
        private void OverrideControlBorder(Graphics g)<br />
        {<br />
            bool allowHot = (this.Enabled && !this.DesignMode) && !(this.IsMouseInControl && Control.MouseButtons == MouseButtons.Left && !this.ContainsFocus);<br />
            bool hot = (this.ContainsFocus || this.IsMouseInControl) && allowHot;<br />
            Pen border = null;<br />
<br />
            Rectangle rect = new Rectangle(0, 0,<br />
                this.ClientRectangle.Width + 1, this.ClientRectangle.Height + 1);<br />
<br />
            if (allowHot && hot)<br />
            {<br />
                //border = new Pen(SystemColors.HotTrack, 1);<br />
                border = new Pen(SystemColors.GrayText, 1);<br />
            }<br />
            else<br />
            {<br />
                border = new Pen(Color.White, 1);<br />
            }<br />
<br />
            g.DrawRectangle(border, rect);<br />
            border.Dispose();<br />
        }<br />
<br />
        /// <summary><br />
        /// Overrides and draws the combobox drop down button<br />
        /// </summary><br />
        /// <param name="g"></param><br />
        private void OverrideDropDown(Graphics g)<br />
        {<br />
            bool allowHot = (this.Enabled && !this.DesignMode) && !(this.IsMouseInControl && Control.MouseButtons == MouseButtons.Left && !this.ContainsFocus);<br />
            bool hot = (this.ContainsFocus || this.IsMouseInControl) && allowHot;<br />
            Pen border = null;<br />
            Brush button = new SolidBrush(SystemColors.Control);<br />
<br />
            border = (allowHot && hot) ? new Pen(SystemColors.GrayText, 1) : new Pen(Color.White, 1);<br />
            //button = (allowHot && hot) ? Brushes.Gray : Brushes.White;<br />
<br />
            if (!this.ShowUpDown)<br />
            {<br />
                Rectangle rect = new Rectangle(this.Width - _buttonWidth + 1, 0, _buttonWidth - 1, this.Height - 1);<br />
                g.DrawRectangle(border, rect);<br />
                rect.Inflate(-1, -1);<br />
                rect.Height += 1;<br />
                g.FillRectangle(button, rect);<br />
            }<br />
            else<br />
            {<br />
                Rectangle rect = new Rectangle(this.Width - _buttonWidth + 1, 0, _buttonWidth - 1, this.Height - 1);<br />
                g.DrawRectangle(border, rect);<br />
                rect.Inflate(-1, -1);<br />
                rect.Height += 1;<br />
                g.FillRectangle(button, rect);                <br />
            }<br />
            border.Dispose();<br />
            button.Dispose();<br />
        }<br />
<br />
        /// <summary><br />
        /// Gets the width of the drop down combobox button<br />
        /// </summary><br />
        /// <returns></returns><br />
        protected int GetComboDropDownWidth()<br />
        {<br />
            ComboBox cbo = new ComboBox();<br />
            Win32.COMBOBOXINFO cbi = new Win32.COMBOBOXINFO();<br />
            cbi.cbSize = Marshal.SizeOf(cbi);<br />
            Win32.GetComboBoxInfo(cbo.Handle, ref cbi);<br />
            cbo.Dispose();<br />
            return cbi.rcButton.Right - cbi.rcButton.Left;<br />
        }<br />
        #endregion<br />
<br />
        #region DropDownButton Private Class<br />
        protected class DropDownButton : System.Windows.Forms.Button<br />
        {<br />
            #region Windows API<br />
        [DllImport("user32")]<br />
        protected static extern IntPtr GetWindowDC(IntPtr hWnd);<br />
<br />
        [DllImport("user32")]<br />
        protected static extern int ReleaseDC(IntPtr hWnd, IntPtr hDC);<br />
        #endregion<br />
<br />
            /// <summary><br />
        /// Required by designer<br />
        /// </summary><br />
            private System.ComponentModel.Container components = null;<br />
<br />
            #region Member Variables<br />
            private ExtendedDateTimePicker _owner = null;<br />
            #endregion<br />
            <br />
            #region Constructor<br />
            /// <summary><br />
            /// Construct the control<br />
            /// </summary><br />
            public DropDownButton(<br />
                ExtendedDateTimePicker owner)<br />
            {<br />
                InitializeComponent();<br />
<br />
                // Make this an ownerdrawn control<br />
                this._owner = owner;<br />
                this.SetStyle(ControlStyles.UserPaint, true);<br />
                this.SetStyle(ControlStyles.Selectable, false);<br />
                this.FlatStyle = FlatStyle.Popup;<br />
            }<br />
<br />
            /// <summary><br />
        /// Clean up any resources being used.<br />
        /// </summary><br />
            protected override void Dispose(bool disposing)<br />
        {<br />
            if (disposing)<br />
            {<br />
                if (components != null)<br />
                    components.Dispose();<br />
            }<br />
            base.Dispose(disposing);<br />
        }<br />
            #endregion<br />
<br />
            #region Designer Generated code<br />
        /// <summary><br />
        /// Required method for Designer support - do not modify <br />
        /// the contents of this method with the code editor.<br />
        /// </summary><br />
        private void InitializeComponent()<br />
        {<br />
            components = new System.ComponentModel.Container();<br />
        }<br />
        #endregion<br />
<br />
            #region Overrides<br />
            /// <summary><br />
        /// Override the paint procedure to create the flat control<br />
        /// </summary><br />
        /// <param name="e"></param><br />
            protected override void OnPaint(PaintEventArgs e)<br />
            {<br />
                DrawControlBorder(e.Graphics);<br />
                DrawButton(e.Graphics);<br />
                DrawGlyph(e.Graphics);<br />
            }<br />
<br />
            protected override void OnMouseEnter(EventArgs e)<br />
            {<br />
                base.OnMouseEnter(e);<br />
<br />
                Win32.SendMessage(_owner.Handle, Win32.WM_NCPAINT, (IntPtr)1, 0);<br />
            }<br />
<br />
            protected override void OnMouseLeave(EventArgs e)<br />
            {<br />
                base.OnMouseLeave(e);<br />
<br />
                Win32.SendMessage(_owner.Handle, Win32.WM_MOUSELEAVE, IntPtr.Zero, 0);<br />
            }<br />
<br />
            protected override void OnMouseDown(MouseEventArgs mevent)<br />
            {<br />
                base.OnMouseDown(mevent);<br />
<br />
                if (mevent.Button == MouseButtons.Left)<br />
                {<br />
                    int x = _owner.Width - 10;<br />
                    int y = _owner.Height / 2;<br />
                    int lParam = x + y * 0x00010000;<br />
                    Win32.SendMessage(_owner.Handle, Win32.WM_LBUTTONDOWN, (IntPtr)1, lParam);<br />
                }<br />
            }<br />
            #endregion<br />
<br />
            #region Drawing Functions<br />
            /// <summary><br />
            /// Draw the controls border in the appropriate style<br />
            /// </summary><br />
            /// <param name="g"></param><br />
            protected virtual void DrawControlBorder(Graphics g)<br />
            {<br />
                /*bool allowHot = (this.Enabled && !this.DesignMode) &&<br />
                    !(this.IsMouseInControl && Control.MouseButtons == MouseButtons.Left<br />
                    && !this.ContainsFocus);*/<br />
                bool allowHot = (this.Enabled && !this.DesignMode) &&<br />
                    !(this.IsMouseInControl && this.ContainsFocus && _owner.ContainsFocus);<br />
                bool hot = (this.ContainsFocus || this.IsMouseInControl || _owner.ContainsFocus) && allowHot;<br />
<br />
                Rectangle rect = new Rectangle(0, 0,<br />
                    this.ClientRectangle.Width - 1, this.ClientRectangle.Height - 1);<br />
<br />
                Pen border = (hot) ? new Pen(SystemColors.GrayText, 1) : new Pen(Color.White, 1);<br />
<br />
                RightToLeft rtl = _owner.RightToLeft;<br />
                bool rtll = _owner.RightToLeftLayout;<br />
<br />
                Point leftTop = new Point(rect.Left, rect.Top);<br />
                Point leftBottom = new Point(rect.Left, rect.Bottom);<br />
                Point topLeft = new Point(rect.Left + 1, rect.Top);<br />
                Point topRight = new Point(rect.Right - 1, rect.Top);<br />
                Point rightTop = new Point(rect.Right, rect.Top);<br />
                Point rightBottom = new Point(rect.Right, rect.Bottom);<br />
                Point bottomLeft = new Point(rect.Left + 1, rect.Bottom);<br />
                Point bottomRight = new Point(rect.Right - 1, rect.Bottom);<br />
<br />
                Pen sides = new Pen(SystemColors.Control, 1);<br />
<br />
                g.DrawLine((rtl == RightToLeft.Yes || rtll) ? sides : border, leftTop, leftBottom);<br />
                g.DrawLine(sides, topLeft, topRight);<br />
                g.DrawLine((rtl == RightToLeft.Yes || rtll) ? border : sides, rightTop, rightBottom);<br />
                g.DrawLine(sides, bottomRight, bottomLeft);<br />
<br />
                //            g.DrawRectangle(border, rect);<br />
                border.Dispose();<br />
                sides.Dispose();<br />
            }<br />
<br />
            /// <summary><br />
            /// Draw the client area of the control with the appropriate style<br />
            /// </summary><br />
            /// <param name="g"></param><br />
            protected virtual void DrawButton(Graphics g)<br />
            {<br />
                bool allowHot = (this.Enabled && !this.DesignMode) &&<br />
                    !(this.IsMouseInControl && Control.MouseButtons == MouseButtons.Left<br />
                    && !this.ContainsFocus);<br />
                bool hot = (this.ContainsFocus || this.IsMouseInControl) && allowHot;<br />
<br />
                Rectangle rect = new Rectangle(1, 1,<br />
                    this.ClientRectangle.Width - 2, this.ClientRectangle.Height - 2);<br />
<br />
                Brush filler = (hot) ? new SolidBrush(SystemColors.Control) : <br />
                    new SolidBrush(SystemColors.Control);<br />
<br />
                g.FillRectangle(filler, rect);<br />
                filler.Dispose();<br />
            }<br />
<br />
            /// <summary><br />
            /// Draw the combobutton glyph<br />
            /// </summary><br />
            /// <param name="g"></param><br />
            protected virtual void DrawGlyph(Graphics g)<br />
            {<br />
                RightToLeft rtl = _owner.RightToLeft;<br />
                bool rtll = _owner.RightToLeftLayout;<br />
                <br />
                int xC = this.ClientRectangle.Left + ((this.ClientRectangle.Width / 2) - 1);<br />
                int yC = this.ClientRectangle.Top + ((this.ClientRectangle.Height / 2) - 1);<br />
<br />
                Pen pen = new Pen(SystemColors.ControlText, 1);<br />
<br />
                g.DrawLine(pen, xC - 2, yC - 1, xC + 2, yC - 1);<br />
                g.DrawLine(pen, xC - 1, yC, xC + 1, yC);<br />
                g.DrawLine(pen, xC, yC - 1, xC, yC + 1);<br />
<br />
                pen.Dispose();<br />
            }<br />
            #endregion<br />
<br />
            #region Utilities<br />
            /// <summary><br />
            /// Determines if the mouse is within the control.<br />
            /// </summary><br />
            [Browsable(false)]<br />
            private bool IsMouseInControl<br />
            {<br />
                get<br />
                {<br />
                    if (this.DesignMode)<br />
                    {<br />
                        return false;<br />
                    }<br />
<br />
                    Point mPos = Control.MousePosition;<br />
                    bool retVal = this.ClientRectangle.Contains(this.PointToClient(mPos)) ||<br />
                        _owner.ClientRectangle.Contains(_owner.PointToClient(mPos));<br />
                    return retVal;<br />
                }<br />
            }<br />
            #endregion<br />
        }<br />
        #endregion<br />
    }<br />
    #endregion

ToDo:
1. Make it draw properly in designer
2. Support the blue highlighting with the blue button when mousing over like VS2005 comboboxes
3. Figure out the difference between System and Standard drawing styles in other controls to implement here
4. Implement None flatstyle
5. Make RightToLeft adjustments work correctly (something is screwy there with the button as it doesn't draw as expected);

How it works:

Since pre-Windows Vista, there was no way to retrieve the internal structure of the datetimepicker control, I simply created an internal class to create and draw a button as a child of the date time picker, and simple moved my button over the datetimepicker's button. The button is only created when the control's flatstyle is set to Popup at this time. All other styles simple are the default datetimepicker.

Hi,
Not sure if I can help, but if you send the complete source code to me, I will give it a try. At the moment it is missing the Win32 class for the above code to compile

Fadrian

Here is the Win32.cs file contents. It only consists of API information:

using System;<br />
using System.Collections.Generic;<br />
using System.Text;<br />
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;<br />
<br />
namespace ExtendedControls<br />
{<br />
    internal class Win32<br />
    {<br />
        #region Windows Constants<br />
        // NonClient messages<br />
        public const int WM_NCCALCSIZE = 131;<br />
        public const int WM_NCHITTEST = 132;<br />
        public const int WM_NCPAINT = 133;<br />
        public const int WM_NCMOUSEMOVE = 160;<br />
<br />
        // Client messages<br />
        public const int WM_SETFOCUS = 7;<br />
        public const int WM_KILLFOCUS = 8;<br />
        public const int WM_PAINT = 15;<br />
        public const int WM_ERASEBKGND = 14;<br />
        public const int WM_SETCURSOR = 32;<br />
        public const int WM_MOUSEMOVE = 512;<br />
        public const int WM_LBUTTONDOWN = 513;<br />
        public const int WM_LBUTTONUP = 514;<br />
        public const int WM_MOUSELEAVE = 675;<br />
        public const int WM_PRINTCLIENT = 792;<br />
        public const int CB_GETCOMBOBOXINFO = 356;<br />
<br />
        // Window Style constants<br />
        public const int GWL_STYLE = -16;<br />
        public const int GWL_EXSTYLE = -20;<br />
        public const int ECM_FIRST = 0x1500;<br />
        public const int EM_SETCUEBANNER = (ECM_FIRST + 1);<br />
        #endregion<br />
<br />
        #region Windows Structures<br />
        #region RECT Structure<br />
        [StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)]<br />
        public struct RECT<br />
        {<br />
            public int Left;<br />
            public int Top;<br />
            public int Right;<br />
            public int Bottom;<br />
        }<br />
        #endregion<br />
<br />
        #region NCCALCSIZE_PARAMS Structure<br />
        [StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)]<br />
        public struct NCCALCSIZE_PARAMS<br />
        {<br />
            public RECT rgrc0, rgrc1, rgrc2;<br />
            public IntPtr lppos;<br />
        }<br />
        #endregion<br />
<br />
        #region COMBOBOXINFO Structure<br />
        [StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)]<br />
        public struct COMBOBOXINFO<br />
        {<br />
            public int cbSize;<br />
            public RECT rcItem;<br />
            public RECT rcButton;<br />
            public IntPtr stateButton;<br />
            public IntPtr hwndCombo;<br />
            public IntPtr hwndEdit;<br />
            public IntPtr hwndList;<br />
        }<br />
        #endregion<br />
<br />
        #region DATETIMEPICKERINFO Structure<br />
        [StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)]<br />
        public struct DATETIMEPICKERINFO<br />
        {<br />
            public int cbSize;                  // Marshal.SizeOf(DATETIMEPICKERINFO)<br />
            public RECT rcCheck;                // Rect structure of checkbox if any<br />
            public int stateCheck;              // State of rcCheck STATE_SYSTEM_CHECKED or STATE_SYSTEM_INVISIBLE<br />
            public RECT rcButton;               // Rect structure of dropdown button or up/down control<br />
            public int stateButton;             // State rcButton one or more of STATE_SYSTEM_UNAVAILABLE, STATE_SYSTEM_INVISIBLE, or STATE_SYSTEM_PRESSED (invisible if up/down in use)<br />
            public IntPtr hwndEdit;             // Handle to edit control<br />
            public IntPtr hwndUD;               // Handle to up/down control<br />
            public IntPtr hwndDropDown;         // Handle to grid drop down<br />
        }<br />
        #endregion<br />
<br />
        #endregion<br />
<br />
        #region Constructor<br />
        public Win32()<br />
        {<br />
            //<br />
            // Constructor<br />
            //<br />
        }<br />
        #endregion<br />
<br />
        #region Windows API<br />
        [DllImport("user32", CharSet = CharSet.Auto)]<br />
        public static extern int GetWindowLong(IntPtr hWnd, int index);<br />
<br />
        [DllImport("user32", CharSet = CharSet.Auto)]<br />
        public static extern int SetWindowLong(IntPtr hWnd, int index, int value);<br />
<br />
        [DllImport("user32", CharSet = CharSet.Unicode)]<br />
        public static extern bool SendMessage(IntPtr hWnd, int wMsg, IntPtr wParam, string lParam);<br />
<br />
        [DllImport("user32", CharSet = CharSet.Auto)]<br />
        public static extern bool SendMessage(IntPtr hWnd, int wMsg, IntPtr wParam, ref COMBOBOXINFO lParam);<br />
<br />
        [DllImport("user32")]<br />
        public static extern IntPtr GetWindowDC(IntPtr hWnd);<br />
<br />
        [DllImport("user32")]<br />
        public static extern int ReleaseDC(IntPtr hWnd, IntPtr hDC);<br />
<br />
        [DllImport("user32", CharSet = CharSet.Auto)]<br />
        public static extern int SendMessage(IntPtr hWnd, int wMsg, IntPtr wParam, int lParam);<br />
<br />
        [DllImport("user32")]<br />
        public static extern bool GetComboBoxInfo(IntPtr hwndCombo, ref COMBOBOXINFO info);<br />
        #endregion<br />
<br />
        #region Utility Functions<br />
        /// <summary><br />
        /// Retrieves the highorder word of a value<br />
        /// </summary><br />
        /// <param name="param"></param><br />
        /// <returns></returns><br />
        public static int HiWord(int param)<br />
        {<br />
            if ((param & 0x80000000) == 0x80000000)<br />
                return (param >> 16);<br />
            else<br />
                return (param >> 16) & 0xffff;<br />
        }<br />
<br />
        /// <summary><br />
        /// Retrieves the loworder word of a value<br />
        /// </summary><br />
        /// <param name="param"></param><br />
        /// <returns></returns><br />
        public static int LoWord(int param)<br />
        {<br />
            return param & 0xffff;<br />
        }<br />
        #endregion<br />
    }<br />
}<br />

-- modified at 11:35 Monday 7th May, 2007

There is also a strange bug that I cannot seem to pinpoint. In Popup style, when you mouse out of the right hand side of the control slowly, the border on the button does not redraw. Or, if it does redraw, the code is coming up with a result that the mouse is still in the control. If you drag out at a normal or fast speed, then the button border draws correctly. It's only one the right hand side though.

Ok, to fix the popup in design mode issue, you just have to remove the drop down control in the else block of the FlatStyle property.

else
{
if (this.Controls.Contains(_dropButton))
this.Controls.Remove(_dropButton);
_dropButton = null;
}

To fix the mouse move issue, modify the DropDownButton class:
Add field: bool mouseEnter
Set the value to true in the MouseEnter event and false in the MouseLeave event.
Then, modify the statement in IsMouseInControl property to use that value
bool retVal = (mouseEnter && this.ClientRectangle.Contains(this.PointToClient(mPos))) ||
_owner.ClientRectangle.Contains(_owner.PointToClient(mPos));

Other comments:
- Instead of creating new Pen object everywhere and dispose it, try using the predefined pen
Pen border = (hot) ? SystemPens.HotTrack : Pens.White;
- You can use ControlPaint to draw the
ControlPaint.DrawComboButton(g, this.ClientRectangle, ButtonState.Flat);
- Instead of comparing your LParam or WParam with new IntPtr(value), you can cast it
if ((int) m.WParam == 1)

Hope the above comments help

Fadrian

Update on the flat DateTimePicker:

First off, thanks Fadrian for suggesting not creating my own pens. That's just me being stupid, so definitely cudos on that one.

Ok, the drawing in design mode is nearly working, just the button draws the border when you click on the control. Not sure why, but !this.designmode isn't making the bool statement false, and it should.

As far as the mouseleave issue, that was also my fault. I did have a function that checks if the mouse is in the control based on the pointtoclient, but my button was a few pixels too wide, and so even when the mouse was out of the control, it was technically still over the button. Fixed that problem by making the button the correct size. Not even sure why I was enlarging the button by 2 pixels...anyway

I tried using the ControlPaint.DrawComboButton function. Great little built in function, but does not work correctly in this situation. The function draws the flat button with the dark gray borders all the time (in this case, not desireable). Also, the glyph on the button does not match the combobox glyph when in Popup style. So I'm going to keep my drawing functions in there.

Also, at this time, I've added the 'None' style flat style. So basically, at this point, all the styles work the same as the combobox as I can't see a difference between Standard and System when it comes to these controls in particular.

If anyone is interested in the code and the dll file at this point, let me know and I'll put it up on my ftp server. Included in the source code is a textbox control with flatstyle and cuebanner support, and also combobox with cuebanner support.

Great to hear that it is almost working now.
It will be great if you can send me a copy of the complete source for future reference. Only if you don't mind Smile | :)

I'm thinking that if there is further post on this, with the source code in hand I maybe be able to help answering.

My email fsudaman@gmail.com

Thanks,
FS

I have the zip file up if anyone is interested. The address is

http://www.miltontrans.com/~jawst81/VS2005/ExtendedControls.zip[^]

Is there a VB version?

Thanks

Sorry for the late response. I missed this post completely.

I dont have a VB.NET version but you can just take the code and compile it as a library and include that to your project. Check this post for more info.

http://www.codeproject.com/cs/combobox/ComboBox_appears_flat.asp?df=100&forumid=43335&fr=26&select=994303#xx994303xx

I just posted a VB version but made it a new thread with the same title by mistake. This message is just to trigger automatic email for this thread.

Malcolm Powell

Hello,

When I'm using FlatDateTimePicker class.
The problem is, that when a control containing it is going to be displayed, an PInvokeStackInbalanceException is raised Frown | :(

The debugger points to the line containing:

SendMessage(this.Handle, WM_ERASEBKGND, hDC, 0);

I don't know how to fix it or where to search for the source of the error...

Jacek Osiecki
Poland

Hi,
I think I know the problem you are having.
Similar issue was raised for my combobox control a while ago and it has been fixed.

Check out this article, and look at the "Support for .net 2005" message posting.
http://www.codeproject.com/cs/combobox/ComboBox_appears_flat.asp

The problem is caused by pinvoke signature.

Fadrian

Thanks, that's exactly what I was looking for!

I owe you one Smile | :)

Jacek
Poland

The flat DateTimePicker doesn't work properly with TransparencyKey set on a Form-owner of the control. 3-D background is showing on bottom and right edges. Do you have any idea how to fix that?

Alex

Hi Alex,
Been a while since I last work on this. I tried a few things before discovering the fix by trapping a calcsize message and handle it.
Declare
---------
const int WM_NCCALCSIZE = 0x83;

Add to the WndProc:
-------------------
case WM_NCCALCSIZE:
m.Result = (IntPtr) 1; // indicate msg has been processed
break;

I did some testing and seems to work well. I am not sure if there is any other implications, but maybe you can tell me. I'm no expert on this and ain't sure as in why this fixed the problem either. If anyone reading this knows the answer, please comments on this.

Fadrian

I tried, and find the control still does not have support for the time element
what's wrong?

DateTimePicker appears flat

Introduction

Using the Class

Code Explanation

Change Logs

License

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