Using a TreeView Form for the UI

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Adding Microsoft Office CommandBarControls

Compared to Microsoft Office CommandBarControls, the methods provided by the DTE for creating menus and toolbars are not only primitive, they are also very limited and leave the commands in the registry. In some cases, the commands cannot be deleted, and therefore you can unknowingly clutter the registry. Because the text or captions of the DTE commands are stored in some cryptic manner (probably Unicode), it is also very difficult to find the controls in the registry.

I was extremely pleased to find that the method of creating menus and toolbars in VB 6.0 add-ins is still available in .NET. That method was using the Microsoft Office CommandBarControls. The object model for these commands is very flexible and powerful, and is not overly complex.

Note 

I have previously demonstrated the use of DTE command bars and menus because they are available and needed to be covered. However, I personally will not use them because the Office Command model is so superior in its power and flexibility.

Listing 7-7 shows the code for creating a very complete toolbar and menu structure using the Microsoft Office Command object model. This code creates a new add-in named CommandBar. You can create an add-in yourself in the wizard, without any further help from me. Alternately, you can just open the project from the code in this chapter.

Listing 7-7: Microsoft Office Toolbar and Menus

 '**************************** '* Copyright HHI Software, Inc. '* All Rights Reserved '* Date Created: 02/03/2002 '* Author: Les Smith '**************************** Imports Microsoft.Office.Core Imports EnvDTE Imports Extensibility Imports System.Runtime.InteropServices Imports System.Windows.Forms #Region " Read me for Add-in installation and setup information. " ' When run, the Add-in wizard prepared the registry for the Add-in. ' At a later time, if the Add-in becomes unavailable for reasons such as: '   1) You moved this project to a computer other than the one it was '         originally created on. '   2) You chose 'Yes' when presented with a message asking if you '         wish to remove the Add-in. '   3) Registry corruption. '         you will need to re-register the Add-in by building the CommandBarSetup project ' by right-clicking the project in the Solution Explorer, then choosing install. #End Region <GuidAttribute("D08E0D55-064B-450F-BD32-11A06F17E0DE"), _ ProgIdAttribute("CommandBar.Connect")> _ Public Class Connect     Implements IDTExtensibility2     Dim frm As New frmPictures()     Private oAddin As AddIn     Dim oVB As EnvDTE.DTE     Private TBar As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBar     Private mcbBrowseProcs As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBarControl     Private mcbBrowseVars As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBarControl     Private mcbQuikFind As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBarControl     Private mcbExplorer As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBarControl     Private mcbMultiSearch As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBarControl     Private mcbIfAnalyser As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBarControl     Private mcbScanProcs As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBarControl     Private mcbScanVars As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBarControl     Private mcbSetupAbout As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBarControl     Private Kind As Byte     ' Menu controls     Dim mnuVBExpoPopup As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBarControl     Dim mnuCompile As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBarControl     Dim mnuBrowse As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBarControl     Dim mnuScan As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBarControl     Dim mnuBrowsePrj As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBarControl     Dim mnuObjBrowse As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBarControl     Dim mnuAbout As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBarControl     Dim mnuReports As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBarControl     Dim mnuSearch As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBarControl     Dim mnuIfAnalyzer As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBarControl     Dim mnuProjectExplorer As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBarControl     Dim mnuQuikFind As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBarControl     Dim mnuVarScan As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBarControl     Dim mnuVarBrowse As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBarControl     'command bar event handler     Public WithEvents mnuScanHandler As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents mnuBrowsePrjHandler As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents mnuVarScanHandler As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents mnuVarBrowseHandler As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents mnuObjBrowseHandler As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents mnuAboutHandler As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents mnuReportsHandler As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents mnuSearchHandler As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents mnuIfAnalyzerHandler As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents mnuProjectExplorerHandler As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents commandBarEvents As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents commandBarEvents2 As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents commandBarEvents3 As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents commandBarEvents4 As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents commandBarEvents5 As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents commandBarEvents6 As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents commandBarEvents7 As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents commandBarEvents8 As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents commandBarEvents9 As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents commandBarEvents10 As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents commandBarEvents11 As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents commandBarEvents12 As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents commandBarEvents13 As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents commandBarEvents14 As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents commandBarEvents15 As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents commandBarEvents16 As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents commandBarEvents17 As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents commandBarEvents18 As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents commandBarEvents19 As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents commandBarEvents20 As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents commandBarEvents21 As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public Sub OnBeginShutdown(ByRef custom As System.Array)          Implements IDTExtensibility2.OnBeginShutdown     End Sub     Public Sub OnAddInsUpdate(ByRef custom As System.Array)          Implements IDTExtensibility2.OnAddInsUpdate     End Sub     Public Sub OnStartupComplete(ByRef custom As System.Array)          Implements IDTExtensibility2.OnStartupComplete     End Sub     Public Sub OnDisconnection(ByVal RemoveMode As _                                  ext_DisconnectMode, _                                  ByRef custom As System.Array) _                                  Implements _                                  IDTExtensibility2.OnDisconnection         On Error Resume Next         mcbBrowseProcs.Delete()         mcbBrowseVars.Delete()         mcbMultiSearch.Delete()         mcbIfAnalyser.Delete()         mcbExplorer.Delete()         mcbScanProcs.Delete()         mcbSetupAbout.Delete()         mcbScanVars.Delete()         mcbQuikFind.Delete()         TBar.Delete()         mnuIfAnalyzer.Delete()         mnuQuikFind.Delete()         mnuScan.Delete()         mnuVarScan.Delete()         mnuVarBrowse.Delete()         mnuProjectExplorer.Delete()         mnuSearch.Delete()         mnuAbout.Delete()         mnuBrowsePrj.Delete()         mnuCompile.Delete()         mnuBrowse.Delete()         mnuVBExpoPopup.Delete()     End Sub     Public Sub OnConnection(ByVal application As Object, _                               ByVal connectMode As ext_ConnectMode, _                               ByVal addInInst As Object, _                               ByRef custom As System.Array) _     Implements IDTExtensibility2.OnConnection         Dim commandBars As _CommandBars         Dim toolsCommandBar As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBar         Dim commandBarControls As CommandBarControls         Dim strCommandBarItem As String = "Tools"         oVB = CType(application, EnvDTE.DTE)         oAddin = CType(addInInst, AddIn)         Try             ' load the bitmap container             frm.Show()             frm.Hide()             CreateOfficeToolBar()             CreateOfficeToolBarButtons()             SetupOfficeMenus()             'destroy the bitmap container             frm.Dispose()         Catch ex As System.Exception             System.Windows.Forms.MessageBox.Show(ex.ToString())         End Try     End Sub     Private Sub commandBarEvents_Click(          ByVal CommandBarControl As Object, _         ByRef handled As Boolean, _         ByRef CancelDefault As Boolean) _         Handles commandBarEvents.Click         MessageBox.Show("Browse Procedures clicked")     End Sub     Private Sub commandBarEvents2_Click(          ByVal CommandBarControl As Object, _         ByRef handled As Boolean, _         ByRef CancelDefault As Boolean) _         Handles commandBarEvents2.Click         MessageBox.Show("Var Browse Clicked")     End Sub     Private Sub commandBarEvents3_Click(          ByVal CommandBarControl As Object, _         ByRef handled As Boolean, _         ByRef CancelDefault As Boolean) _         Handles commandBarEvents3.Click         MessageBox.Show("Scan Procedures Clicked")     End Sub     Private Sub commandBarEvents4_Click(          ByVal CommandBarControl As Object, _         ByRef handled As Boolean, _         ByRef CancelDefault As Boolean) _         Handles commandBarEvents4.Click         MessageBox.Show("Multi Search Clicked")     End Sub     Private Sub commandBarEvents5_Click(          ByVal CommandBarControl As Object, _         ByRef handled As Boolean, _         ByRef CancelDefault As Boolean) _         Handles commandBarEvents5.Click         MessageBox.Show("Quik Find Clicked")     End Sub     Private Sub commandBarEvents6_Click(          ByVal CommandBarControl As Object, _         ByRef handled As Boolean, _         ByRef CancelDefault As Boolean) _         Handles commandBarEvents6.Click         MessageBox.Show("Control Structure Analyzer Clicked")     End Sub     Private Sub commandBarEvents7_Click(          ByVal CommandBarControl As Object, _         ByRef handled As Boolean, _         ByRef CancelDefault As Boolean) _         Handles commandBarEvents7.Click         MessageBox.Show("Project Explorer Clicked")     End Sub     Private Sub commandBarEvents8_Click(          ByVal CommandBarControl As Object, _         ByRef handled As Boolean, _         ByRef CancelDefault As Boolean) _         Handles commandBarEvents8.Click         MessageBox.Show("Scan variables Clicked")     End Sub     Private Sub commandBarEvents9_Click(          ByVal CommandBarControl As Object, _         ByRef handled As Boolean, _         ByRef CancelDefault As Boolean) _         Handles commandBarEvents9.Click         MessageBox.Show("About Clicked")     End Sub     Private Sub commandBarEvents13_Click(          ByVal CommandBarControl As Object, _         ByRef handled As Boolean, _         ByRef CancelDefault As Boolean) _         Handles commandBarEvents13.Click         MessageBox.Show("Browse Procs Clicked")     End Sub     Private Sub commandBarEvents14_Click(          ByVal CommandBarControl As Object, _         ByRef handled As Boolean, _         ByRef CancelDefault As Boolean) _         Handles commandBarEvents14.Click         MessageBox.Show("Browse variables Clicked")     End Sub     Private Sub commandBarEvents15_Click(          ByVal CommandBarControl As Object, _         ByRef handled As Boolean, _         ByRef CancelDefault As Boolean) _         Handles commandBarEvents15.Click         MessageBox.Show("Multi Search Clicked")     End Sub     Private Sub commandBarEvents16_Click(          ByVal CommandBarControl As Object, _         ByRef handled As Boolean, _         ByRef CancelDefault As Boolean) _         Handles commandBarEvents16.Click         MessageBox.Show("Control Structure Analyzer Clicked")     End Sub Private Sub commandBarEvents17_Click(          ByVal CommandBarControl As Object, _         ByRef handled As Boolean, _         ByRef CancelDefault As Boolean) _         Handles commandBarEvents17.Click         MessageBox.Show("Project Explorer Clicked")     End Sub     Private Sub commandBarEvents18_Click(          ByVal CommandBarControl As Object, _         ByRef handled As Boolean, _         ByRef CancelDefault As Boolean) _         Handles commandBarEvents18.Click         MessageBox.Show("Scan Procedures Clicked")     End Sub     Private Sub commandBarEvents19_Click(          ByVal CommandBarControl As Object, _         ByRef handled As Boolean, _         ByRef CancelDefault As Boolean) _         Handles commandBarEvents19.Click         MessageBox.Show("Setup About Clicked")     End Sub     Private Sub commandBarEvents20_Click(          ByVal CommandBarControl As Object, _         ByRef handled As Boolean, _         ByRef CancelDefault As Boolean) _         Handles commandBarEvents20.Click         MessageBox.Show("Scan variables Clicked")     End Sub     Private Sub commandBarEvents21_Click(          ByVal CommandBarControl As Object, _         ByRef handled As Boolean, _         ByRef CancelDefault As Boolean) _         Handles commandBarEvents21.Click         MessageBox.Show("Scan variables Clicked")     End Sub     Private Sub CreateOfficeToolBar()         ' This method creates the office toolbar         TBar = AddOfficeToolBar(oVB, _                                 "VBXRTBar", _                                  False)     End Sub     Private Sub CreateOfficeToolBarButtons()         ' This method calls the low level method that         ' adds the tool buttons to the toolbar         Try             ' note that the bitmap can come from a variety             ' of places. Here it is pulled from an imagelist             ' the next menu pulls from an image control on the form             mcbBrowseProcs = AddOfficeToolBarButton(oVB, _             TBar, _             "Browse Procedures", _             frm.ImageList1.Images(0))         commandBarEvents13 = _          CType(oVB.Events.CommandBarEvents(           mcbBrowseProcs), EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents)         mcbBrowseVars = AddOfficeToolBarButton(oVB, _             TBar, _             "Browse Variables", _             frm.pic8.Image)         commandBarEvents14 = _          CType(oVB.Events.CommandBarEvents(           mcbBrowseVars), EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents)         mcbMultiSearch = AddOfficeToolBarButton(oVB, _             TBar, _             "Multi Search", _             frm.pic1.Image)         commandBarEvents15 = _          CType(oVB.Events.CommandBarEvents(mcbMultiSearch), _          EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents)         mcbIfAnalyser = AddOfficeToolBarButton(oVB, _             TBar, _             "Control Structure Analyzer", _             frm.PictureBox36.Image) commandBarEvents16 = _             CType(oVB.Events.CommandBarEvents(mcbIfAnalyser), _             EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents)         mcbExplorer = AddOfficeToolBarButton(oVB, _             TBar, _             "Project Explorer", _             frm.PictureBox32.Image)         commandBarEvents17 = _             CType(oVB.Events.CommandBarEvents(mcbExplorer), _             EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents)         mcbScanProcs = AddOfficeToolBarButton(oVB, _             TBar, _             "Scan Procedures", _             frm.pic3.Image)             commandBarEvents18 = _                 CType(oVB.Events.CommandBarEvents(mcbScanProcs), _                 EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents)             mcbSetupAbout = AddOfficeToolBarIconAndCaption(oVB, _                 TBar, _                 "About VBXRef", _                 frm.PictureBox33.Image)             commandBarEvents19 = _                 CType(oVB.Events.CommandBarEvents(mcbSetupAbout), _                 EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents)             mcbSetupAbout.TooltipText = "Setup Interface"         Catch e As System.Exception             MsgBox(e.Message)         End Try     End Sub     Private Sub SetupOfficeMenus()         ' This method sets up the office menu, including         ' the popup and menu item menus         Dim cmdBar As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBarControl         Try             cmdBar = oVB.CommandBars("MenuBar").Controls("Tools")             ' set up top level popup menu             mnuVBExpoPopup = AddOfficePopupMenu(VBE:=oVB, _                 Menu:=cmdBar, _                 Caption:="&VBXRef2000", _                 sep:=True)             ' set up submenus             mnuBrowse = AddOfficePopupMenu(VBE:=oVB, _                 Menu:=mnuVBExpoPopup, _                 Caption:="&Browse Procedures")             mnuCompile = AddOfficePopupMenu(VBE:=oVB, _                 Menu:=mnuVBExpoPopup, _                 Caption:="Compile Project")             ' add submenus             mnuBrowsePrj = AddOfficeMenuItem(VBE:=oVB, _                 Menu:=mnuBrowse, _                 Caption:="&Procedures", _                 Bitmap:=frm.pic5.Image)             commandBarEvents = _                 CType(oVB.Events.CommandBarEvents(mnuBrowsePrj), _                 EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents)             mnuVarBrowse = AddOfficeMenuItem(VBE:=oVB, _                 Menu:=mnuBrowse, _                 Caption:="Variables", _                 Bitmap:=frm.pic5.Image)             commandBarEvents2 = _                 CType(oVB.Events.CommandBarEvents(mnuVarBrowse), _                 EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents)             mnuScan = AddOfficeMenuItem(VBE:=oVB, _                 Menu:=mnuCompile, _                 Caption:="&Procedures", _                 Bitmap:=frm.pic1.Image)             commandBarEvents3 = _                 CType(oVB.Events.CommandBarEvents(mnuScan), _                 EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents)             mnuSearch = AddOfficeMenuItem(VBE:=oVB, _                 Menu:=mnuVBExpoPopup, _                 Caption:="&Multi-String Search", _                 Bitmap:=frm.pic6.Image)             commandBarEvents4 = _                 CType(oVB.Events.CommandBarEvents(mnuSearch), _                 EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents)             mnuQuikFind = AddOfficeMenuItem(VBE:=oVB, _                 Menu:=mnuVBExpoPopup, _                 Caption:="&Quik Find Selection", _                 Bitmap:=frm.PictureBox25.Image)             commandBarEvents5 = _                 CType(oVB.Events.CommandBarEvents(mnuQuikFind), _                 EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents)             mnuIfAnalyzer = AddOfficeMenuItem(VBE:=oVB, _                 Menu:=mnuVBExpoPopup, _                 Caption:="CtrlStructure &Analyzer", _                 Bitmap:=frm.PictureBox36.Image)             commandBarEvents6 = _                 CType(oVB.Events.CommandBarEvents(mnuIfAnalyzer), _                 EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents)             mnuProjectExplorer = AddOfficeMenuItem(VBE:=oVB, _                 Menu:=mnuVBExpoPopup, _                 Caption:="&Project Explorer", _                 Bitmap:=frm.PictureBox21.Image)             commandBarEvents7 = _                 CType(oVB.Events.CommandBarEvents                 (mnuProjectExplorer), _                 EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents)             mnuVarScan = AddOfficeMenuItem(VBE:=oVB, _                 Menu:=mnuCompile, Caption:="&Variables", _                 Bitmap:=frm.PictureBox16.Image)             commandBarEvents8 = _                 CType(oVB.Events.CommandBarEvents(mnuVarScan), _                 EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents)             mnuAbout = AddOfficeMenuItem(VBE:=oVB, _                 Menu:=mnuVBExpoPopup, _                 Caption:="&About", _                 Bitmap:=frm.PictureBox32.Image)             commandBarEvents9 = _                 CType(oVB.Events.CommandBarEvents(mnuAbout), _                 EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents)             Exit Sub         Catch e As System.Exception             MsgBox(e.Message)         End Try     End Sub     Public Function AddOfficeMenuItem(ByVal VBE As EnvDTE.DTE, _         ByVal Menu As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBarControl, _         ByVal Caption As String, _         Optional ByVal pos As Byte = 0, _         Optional ByVal sep As Boolean = False, _         Optional ByVal Bitmap As Object = Nothing) _         As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBarControl         ' This method will add an office menu item         ' to an existing         ' office popupmenu         Dim menuItem As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBarControl         Try             If Not (Bitmap Is Nothing) Then                 System.Windows.Forms.Clipboard.SetDataObject(Bitmap)             End If             ' Add menu item to VB menu:             If pos = 0 Then pos = Menu.Controls.Count + 1                 menuItem = _                     Menu.Controls.Add(Type:= _             Microsoft.Office.Core.MsoControlType.msoControlButton, _                     Before:=pos, _                     Temporary:=True)             ' Set properties of menu item:             menuItem.Caption = Caption             If sep Then menuItem.BeginGroup = True             If Not (Bitmap Is Nothing) Then                 menuItem.Style = _                     Microsoft.Office.Core.MsoButtonStyle.                      smoButtonIconAndCaption                 menuItem.PasteFace()             End If             Return menuItem         Catch e As System.Exception             Return menuItem         End Try     End Function     Public Function AddOfficePopupMenu(ByVal VBE As EnvDTE.DTE, _         ByVal Menu As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBarControl, _         ByVal Caption As String, _         Optional ByVal pos As Byte = 0, _         Optional ByVal sep As Boolean = False) _         As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBarControl         ' This method adds an office popup menu to an existing menu         ' The existing menu can be another popup menu.         Dim popupMenu As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBarControl         Try             ' Add popupMenu menu to VB menu:             If pos = 0 Then pos = Menu.Controls.Count + 1             popupMenu = _                 Menu.Controls.Add(Type:=          Microsoft.Office.Core.MsoControlType.msoControlPopup, _                 Before:=pos, _                 Temporary:=True)             ' Set properties of popupMenu menu:             popupMenu.Caption = Caption             If sep Then popupMenu.BeginGroup = True             Return popupMenu         Catch e As System.Exception             Return popupMenu         End Try     End Function     Public Function AddOfficeToolBar(ByVal VBE As EnvDTE.DTE, _         ByVal Caption As String, _         Optional ByVal Floating As Boolean = False) _         As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBar         ' This method adds an office commandbar (toolbar) to         ' the IDE. It will become the container for command buttons.         Dim Kind As Byte         Dim toolBar As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBar         Try             ' Set parameter for pos argument:             If Floating Then                 Kind = Microsoft.Office.Core.MsoBarPosition.msoBarFloating             Else                 Kind = Microsoft.Office.Core.MsoBarPosition.msoBarTop             End If             ' Add custom toolbar and display it:             toolBar = VBE.CommandBars.Add(Name:=Caption, _                                           Position:=Kind, _                                           Temporary:=True)             toolBar.Visible = True             Return toolBar         Catch e As System.Exception             Return toolBar         End Try     End Function     Public Function AddOfficeToolBarButton(ByVal VBE As EnvDTE.DTE, _         ByVal ToolBar As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBar, _         ByVal Caption As String, _         ByVal Bitmap As Object, _         Optional ByVal pos As Byte = 0, _         Optional ByVal sep As Boolean = False) _         As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBarControl         ' Variables:         Dim cmdBtn As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBarControl         Try             If Caption = "" Or Bitmap Is Nothing Then Exit Function             Clipboard.SetDataObject(Bitmap)             ' Add button to Visual Studio IDE toolbar             If pos = 0 Then pos = ToolBar.Controls.Count + 1                 cmdBtn = ToolBar.Controls.Add(Type:=          Microsoft.Office.Core.MsoControlType.msoControlButton, _                 Before:=pos, _                 Temporary:=True)                 ' Set properties of button                 cmdBtn.Caption = Caption                 If sep Then cmdBtn.BeginGroup = True                 cmdBtn.Style = Microsoft.Office.Core.MsoButtonStyle.msoButtonIcon                 cmdBtn.PasteFace()                 Return cmdBtn         Catch e As System.Exception             Return cmdBtn         End Try     End Function     Public Function AddOfficeToolBarIconAndCaption(ByVal VBE As EnvDTE.DTE, _         ByVal ToolBar         As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBar, _         ByVal Caption As String, _         ByVal Bitmap As Object, _         Optional ByVal pos As Byte = 0, _         Optional ByVal sep As Boolean = False) _         As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBarControl         ' Variables:         Dim cmdBtn As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBarControl         Try             If Caption = "" Or Bitmap Is Nothing Then Exit Function             Clipboard.SetDataObject(Bitmap)             ' Add button to VB toolbar:             If pos = 0 Then pos = ToolBar.Controls.Count + 1                 cmdBtn = ToolBar.Controls.Add(Type:=          Microsoft.Office.Core.MsoControlType.msoControlButton, _             Before:=pos, _             Temporary:=True)             ' Set properties of button:             cmdBtn.Caption = Caption             If sep Then cmdBtn.BeginGroup = True             cmdBtn.Style = _                 Microsoft.Office.Core.MsoButtonStyle.                  msoButtonIconAndCaption             cmdBtn.PasteFace()             Return cmdBtn         Catch e As System.Exception             Return cmdBtn         End Try     End Function  End Class 

I do not attempt to explain all of the code in this listing. First, it is very lengthy. Second, it is self-documenting. One thing that I did for you was create several reusable methods that simplify the process of creating toolbars, buttons, menus, and submenus. For the most part, you will find that the main body of the code is simply calling these methods and passing parameters, such as captions, tool tips, and bitmaps.

Creating an Office Toolbar

In Listing 7-8, the first line dimensions the toolbar as CommandBar. The next lines dimension the individual buttons as CommandBarControl. You are setting up a toolbar with nine picture buttons on it. The last line declares a variable that will be used to tell Office the type of command that you want to create.

Listing 7-8: Dimensioning Toolbar and Buttons

     Private TBar As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBar     Private mcbBrowseProcs As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBarControl     Private mcbBrowseVars As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBarControl     Private mcbQuikFind As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBarControl     Private mcbExplorer As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBarControl     Private mcbMultiSearch As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBarControl     Private mcbIfAnalyser As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBarControl     Private mcbScanProcs As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBarControl     Private mcbScanVars As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBarControl     Private mcbSetupAbout As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBarControl     Private Kind As Byte 

In Listing 7-9, the event handlers for the toolbar buttons are declared. A later code segment will declare the event-handling procedures and also link the event to the handler.

Listing 7-9: Dimensioning Command Bar Events

     Public WithEvents commandBarEvents As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents commandBarEvents2 As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents commandBarEvents3 As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents commandBarEvents4 As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents commandBarEvents5 As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents commandBarEvents6 As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents commandBarEvents7 As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents commandBarEvents8 As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents commandBarEvents9 As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents commandBarEvents10 As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents commandBarEvents11 As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents commandBarEvents12 As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents commandBarEvents13 As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents commandBarEvents14 As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents commandBarEvents15 As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents commandBarEvents16 As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents commandBarEvents17 As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents commandBarEvents18 As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents commandBarEvents19 As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents commandBarEvents20 As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents commandBarEvents21 As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents 

The method calls in Listing 7-10 call some macro methods that are responsible for creating the respective command controls.

Listing 7-10: Calling the Command Creation Methods

     ' load the bitmap container     frm.Show()     frm.Hide()     CreateOfficeToolBar()     CreateOfficeToolBarButtons()     SetupOfficeMenus()     'destroy the bitmap container     frm.Dispose() 

In order to get pictures (bitmaps) to load into the controls, you simply create a form that is used only to house the bitmaps. The form is shown in Figure 7-3. You create a number of picture controls with images set to various bitmaps. Additionally, you add an ImageList control with many more bitmaps in it. You can go to the property page for the ImageList to view the bitmaps. The methods that actually create the controls and place the pictures on them can use the bitmaps from either source. You could also create a resource file and load the pictures from it, but that process is a little more complex, and resource manipulation is beyond the scope of this book. So, having created the form, you simply load it, hide it, and leave it loaded just long enough to retrieve the pictures from it as you create the controls. After that, you dispose of the form, as it is no longer needed.

Figure 7-3: Picture container form

In Listing 7-11, you see the methods for calling the low-level methods that will actually communicate with the Microsoft Office object model to create the controls. The code in the CreateOfficeToolBar method calls the AddOfficeToolBar library method to create the toolbar. It will be named VBXRTBar. If you position the client instance of the IDE and step through the code for this add-in, you will see the controls appear to the IDE as they are added. When the ToolBar is first added, it will appear completely blank.

Listing 7-11: Calling the Office Control Creation Methods

     Private Sub CreateOfficeToolBar()         ' This method creates the office toolbar         TBar = AddOfficeToolBar(oVB, _                                 "VBXRTBar", _                                 False)     End Sub     Private Sub CreateOfficeToolBarButtons()         ' This method adds the tool buttons to the toolbar         Try             mcbBrowseProcs = AddOfficeToolBarButton(oVB, _                 TBar, _                 "Browse Procedures", _                 frm.pic5.Image)             commandBarEvents13 = _                 CType(oVB.Events.CommandBarEvents(mcbBrowseProcs), _                  EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents)             mcbBrowseVars = AddOfficeToolBarButton(oVB, _                 TBar, _                 "Browse Variables", _                 frm.pic8.Image)             commandBarEvents14 = _                 CType(oVB.Events.CommandBarEvents(mcbBrowseVars), _                 EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents)             mcbMultiSearch = AddOfficeToolBarButton(oVB, _                 TBar, _                 "Multi Search", _                 frm.pic1.Image)             commandBarEvents15 = _                 CType(oVB.Events.CommandBarEvents(mcbMultiSearch), _                 EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents)             mcbIfAnalyser = AddOfficeToolBarButton(oVB, _                 TBar, _                 "Control Structure Analyzer", _                 frm.PictureBox36.Image)             commandBarEvents16 = CType(oVB.Events.CommandBarEvents(mcbIfAnalyser), _                 EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents)             mcbExplorer = AddOfficeToolBarButton(oVB, _                 TBar, _                 "Project Explorer", _                 frm.PictureBox32.Image)             commandBarEvents17 = CType(oVB.Events.CommandBarEvents(mcbExplorer), _                 EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents)             mcbScanProcs = AddOfficeToolBarButton(oVB, _                 TBar, _                 "Scan Procedures", _                 frm.pic3.Image)             commandBarEvents18 = CType(oVB.Events.CommandBarEvents(mcbScanProcs), _                 EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents)             mcbSetupAbout = AddOfficeToolBarIconAndCaption(oVB, _                 TBar, _                 "About VBXRef", _                 frm.PictureBox33.Image)             commandBarEvents19 = CType(oVB.Events.CommandBarEvents(mcbSetupAbout), _                 EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents)             mcbSetupAbout.TooltipText = "Setup Interface"         Catch e As System.Exception             MsgBox(e.Message)     End Try End Sub 

The code in CreateOfficeToolBarButtons consists of paired commands for each button being added to the ToolBar. The first command is a call to AddOfficeToolBarButton, passing the application object, the ToolBar object, aCaption (which actually is a tool tip), and the bitmap that will appear on the button. The second command links the event handler to event for each button added to the ToolBar.

Note 

The code for creating the toolbar, buttons, and menus was taken directly from one of my commercially available add-ins, VBXRef2000. The bitmaps are not necessarily the same and therefore are not meant to be meaningful in every instance.

You can examine the reusable library methods I have provided for you to see the actual calls to manipulate the Microsoft Office Command object model. You can find them at the end of the code in Listing 7-7. Once the ToolBar has been created, it will appear as shown in Figure 7-4. Clicking any of the buttons will cause a message box to display that indicates which button was clicked.

Figure 7-4: Office CommandBar

Note 

The last tool button is of a different type. Notice that a call is made to the AddOfficeToolBarIconAndCaption method. This method creates a style of button that includes both a picture and a caption.

Creating Office Menus

As I mentioned earlier, I choose to use the Microsoft Office Command object model because of its power and flexibility. With this model, you can create any number and level of menus and menu items. In this section, I demonstrate the creation of a fairly complex menu system. Listing 7-12 shows the code for dimensioning the menu commands and their respective events.

Listing 7-12: Dimensioning Menus and Events

     ' Menu controls     Dim mnuVBExpoPopup As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBarControl     Dim mnuCompile As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBarControl     Dim mnuBrowse As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBarControl     Dim mnuScan As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBarControl     Dim mnuBrowsePrj As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBarControl     Dim mnuObjBrowse As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBarControl     Dim mnuAbout As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBarControl     Dim mnuReports As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBarControl     Dim mnuSearch As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBarControl     Dim mnuIfAnalyzer As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBarControl     Dim mnuProjectExplorer As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBarControl     Dim mnuQuikFind As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBarControl     Dim mnuVarScan As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBarControl     Dim mnuVarBrowse As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBarControl     'command bar event handler     Public WithEvents mnuScanHandler As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents mnuBrowsePrjHandler As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents mnuVarScanHandler As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents mnuVarBrowseHandler As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents mnuObjBrowseHandler As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents mnuAboutHandler As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents mnuReportsHandler As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents mnuSearchHandler As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents mnuIfAnalyzerHandler As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents     Public WithEvents mnuProjectExplorerHandler As EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents 

Note 

You will notice that all of the menu command controls in Listing 7-12 are dimensioned as CommandBarControl, just the same as the buttons in the previous section. Also, notice that the menu controls are all the same type, regardless of the type of menu, Popup or MenuItem. That type will be determined by the specific method called to create the respective type.

In Listing 7-13, you can see the code that creates the menus, both Popup and MenuItem. These methods call the lower level methods that actually manipulate the Microsoft Office command bar object model. You will see that no bitmap parameter is supplied on the pop-up menus (menus that have submenus or menu items under them). A pop-up menu cannot have a picture on it. Only the menu items (lowest level menus) may have bitmaps. If you pass a bitmap parameter to the menu creation method of the Office object, it will simply be ignored.

Listing 7-13: SetupOfficeMenus

     Private Sub SetupOfficeMenus()         ' This method sets up the office menu, including         ' the popup and menu item menus         Dim cmdBar As Microsoft.Office.Core.CommandBarControl         Try             cmdBar = oVB.CommandBars("MenuBar").Controls("Tools")             ' set up top level popup menu             mnuVBExpoPopup = AddOfficePopupMenu(VBE:=oVB, _                 Menu:=cmdBar, _                 Caption:="&VBXRef2000", _                 Separator:=True)             ' set up submenus             mnuBrowse = AddOfficePopupMenu(VBE:=oVB, _                 Menu:=mnuVBExpoPopup, _                 Caption:="&Browse Procedures")             mnuCompile = AddOfficePopupMenu(VBE:=oVB, _                 Menu:=mnuVBExpoPopup, _                 Caption:="Compile Project")             ' add submenus             mnuBrowsePrj = AddOfficeMenuItem(VBE:=oVB, _                 Menu:=mnuBrowse, _                 Caption:="&Procedures", _                 Bitmap:=frm.pic5.Image)             commandBarEvents = CType(oVB.Events.CommandBarEvents(mnuBrowsePrj), _                 EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents)             mnuVarBrowse = AddOfficeMenuItem(VBE:=oVB, _                 Menu:=mnuBrowse, _                 Caption:="Variables", _                 Bitmap:=frm.pic5.Image)             commandBarEvents2 = CType(oVB.Events.CommandBarEvents(mnuVarBrowse), _                 EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents)             mnuScan = AddOfficeMenuItem(VBE:=oVB, _                 Menu:=mnuCompile, _                 Caption:="&Procedures", _                 Bitmap:=frm.pic1.Image)             commandBarEvents3 = CType(oVB.Events.CommandBarEvents(mnuScan), _                 EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents)             mnuSearch = AddOfficeMenuItem(VBE:=oVB, _                 Menu:=mnuVBExpoPopup, _                 Caption:="&Multi-String Search", _                 Bitmap:=frm.pic6.Image)             commandBarEvents4 = CType(oVB.Events.CommandBarEvents(mnuSearch), _                 EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents)             mnuQuikFind = AddOfficeMenuItem(VBE:=oVB, _                 Menu:=mnuVBExpoPopup, _                 Caption:="&Quik Find Selection", _                 Bitmap:=frm.PictureBox25.Image)             commandBarEvents5 = CType(oVB.Events.CommandBarEvents(mnuQuikFind), _                 EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents)             mnuIfAnalyzer = AddOfficeMenuItem(VBE:=oVB, _                 Menu:=mnuVBExpoPopup, _                 Caption:="CtrlStructure &Analyzer", _                 Bitmap:=frm.PictureBox36.Image)             commandBarEvents6 = CType(oVB.Events.CommandBarEvents(mnuIfAnalyzer), _                 EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents)             mnuProjectExplorer = AddOfficeMenuItem(VBE:=oVB, _                 Menu:=mnuVBExpoPopup, _                 Caption:="&Project Explorer", _                 Bitmap:=frm.PictureBox21.Image)             commandBarEvents7 = _                 CType(oVB.Events.CommandBarEvents                  (mnuProjectExplorer), _                 EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents)             mnuVarScan = AddOfficeMenuItem(VBE:=oVB, _                 Menu:=mnuCompile,                 Caption:="&Variables", _                 Bitmap:=frm.PictureBox16.Image)             commandBarEvents8 = _                 CType(oVB.Events.CommandBarEvents(mnuVarScan), _                 EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents)             mnuAbout = AddOfficeMenuItem(VBE:=oVB, _                 Menu:=mnuVBExpoPopup, _                 Caption:="&About", _                 Bitmap:=frm.PictureBox32.Image)             commandBarEvents9 = _                 CType(oVB.Events.CommandBarEvents(mnuAbout), _                 EnvDTE.CommandBarEvents) 

Figure 7-5 shows the menu extended. Clicking any one of the menu items will cause a message box to display that denotes the tool button clicked.

Figure 7-5: Office menu

Interfacing with the Office Command Objects

I have created several low-level methods to use to make the calls to the Microsoft Office Command objects. Without these methods, you would have to have access to the Microsoft Office SDK documentation, and then the interface objects and methods are not intuitive. I do not go over the details of each method; they are straightforward and you can easily follow them. Table 7-1 simply lists each method and describes its purpose.

Table 7-1: Interfacing the Office Command Objects

METHOD	DESCRIPTION
AddOfficeMenuItem	Adds a MenuItem to a Popup menu. A Popup menu is a parent menu and normally acts as a top-level menu. However, it can be the parent of another Popup menu to create a hierarchy of menu items.
AddOfficePopupMenu	Adds a Popup menu to a VSIDE menu or to an existing Popup menu.
AddOfficeToolBar	Adds a new ToolBar (CommandBar) to the VSIDE. It is automatically added below the existing menus. You cannot control where it is placed. This is something that users of your add-in usually request. They want the ToolBar to remember where they left it, but you have no control over its placement.
AddOfficeToolBarButton	Adds ToolBar picture buttons to the Office ToolBar.

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