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A Simple VB.NET Freehand Drawing method

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4.63/5 (30 votes)
26 Jul 2003 184.7K   4.5K   33   28
The code uses a System.Drawing.Drawing2D.GraphicsPath method to follow the users mouse movements. The path is then painted in the control.

Sample Image - Freehand_Drawing.jpg

Introduction

This is a simple freehand drawing example for VB.NET. I was frustrated at not finding a simple way to draw on a control or a picture in VB.NET. What was a simple task in VB6, seemed to take hundreds of lines of code in .NET sample code. Hopefully this will give other VB.NET programmers ideas on a simple implementation of this type of code.

The code uses a System.Drawing.Drawing2D.GraphicsPath method to follow the users mouse movements. The path is then painted in the control.

Background

Ideas for this code came from the Microsoft "Scribble" sample code, Christian Graus's excellent article on a C++ code called "Doodle" and the Microsoft website.

Note that this is a VERY pedantic freehand drawing code, so be kind in you comments. :)

History

  • Written July, 2003

License

This article has no explicit license attached to it but may contain usage terms in the article text or the download files themselves. If in doubt please contact the author via the discussion board below.

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Comments and Discussions

 
BugUnwanted Line !? Pin
Member 1103453921-Nov-15 21:47
Member 1103453921-Nov-15 21:47 
QuestionVery Nice and Simple Pin
Member 40329031-Dec-13 8:38
Member 40329031-Dec-13 8:38 
GeneralVery Nice Pin
Alan Burkhart18-Sep-12 13:46
Alan Burkhart18-Sep-12 13:46 
Suggestionthank you Pin
medosalah974-Jul-12 11:15
medosalah974-Jul-12 11:15 
QuestionThank you so much Pin
mohammat suyanto20-Jun-12 19:36
mohammat suyanto20-Jun-12 19:36 
AnswerThanks Pin
Praveen288628-May-12 20:15
Praveen288628-May-12 20:15 
QuestionCan you do this for a web page? Pin
haherrera9-Sep-11 6:05
haherrera9-Sep-11 6:05 
QuestionThank you Pin
Sergey Chepurin4-Jul-11 2:04
Sergey Chepurin4-Jul-11 2:04 
GeneralThanks John this is awesome Pin
altenh3-Dec-10 7:19
altenh3-Dec-10 7:19 
I just registered on this site to say thanks. I used this on a Word document project to capture signatures and it works great. It seems like it's so simple but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have figured this out without your sample. -Andrew
GeneralThanks John Pin
rahulxlash27-Aug-09 20:29
rahulxlash27-Aug-09 20:29 
Questionhow to add pen width use text box and user change color use botton Pin
EPPYZA8-Oct-08 9:07
EPPYZA8-Oct-08 9:07 
GeneralSystem.OutOfMemoryException occurred in System.Drawing.dll (converted 2005) Pin
yalenap1-Apr-08 12:23
yalenap1-Apr-08 12:23 
GeneralRe: System.OutOfMemoryException occurred in System.Drawing.dll (converted 2005) Pin
Lucasussei25-Mar-10 18:12
Lucasussei25-Mar-10 18:12 
QuestionHow I erase ? Pin
demon.kiler7-Jun-07 10:44
demon.kiler7-Jun-07 10:44 
AnswerRe: How I erase ? Pin
amit122721-Jun-07 18:39
amit122721-Jun-07 18:39 
GeneralRe: How I erase ? Pin
Richard_Faulkner21-Aug-07 12:54
Richard_Faulkner21-Aug-07 12:54 
GeneralPaint above /on activexcontrol? [modified] Pin
turbovulc31-Jul-06 4:03
turbovulc31-Jul-06 4:03 
QuestionHow can I save content of PictureBox Pin
dragondrache19-Oct-04 4:55
dragondrache19-Oct-04 4:55 
AnswerRe: How can I save content of PictureBox Pin
NatBest23-Mar-06 17:53
NatBest23-Mar-06 17:53 
AnswerRe: How can I save content of PictureBox Pin
ThaSaint4-Dec-08 2:56
ThaSaint4-Dec-08 2:56 
GeneralClear PictureBox1 Pin
dragondrache18-Oct-04 6:50
dragondrache18-Oct-04 6:50 
GeneralRe: Clear PictureBox1 Pin
loay454528-Apr-06 17:32
loay454528-Apr-06 17:32 
Generaldrawing color Pin
Jason Rico5-Nov-03 9:51
Jason Rico5-Nov-03 9:51 
AnswerRe: drawing color Pin
Martin Houstrup19-Apr-09 6:04
Martin Houstrup19-Apr-09 6:04 
GeneralRe: drawing color Pin
shankarBangalore27-Apr-10 1:43
shankarBangalore27-Apr-10 1:43 

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