Newbie to C#

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Guest

Hi

I need to create a form that has a navigation panel similar to the outlook
bar in MS Outlook. Do I need to purchase a 3rd party tool for this, or is
this control available within C#. I am creating a windows application.

TIA
 
Do I need to purchase a 3rd party tool for this, or is
this control available within C#.
Click to expand...

Everything is available in C#, as long as you know how to write it. C# is a
programming language.

It sounds more like what you want to know is if a Windows Forms Control that
has the exact behavior of the Outlook navigation panel is available withing
the CLR, or more specifically, within the Windows.Forms.Controls namespace.
The answer to that is "no." As for a 3rd-party class, I doubt it. However,
you should be able to create your own User Control that behaves in much the
same way. If you're new to C# and .Net programming, this is a great
opportunity for you to learn!

--
HTH,

Kevin Spencer
Microsoft MVP
..Net Developer
A watched clock never boils.
 
Dear TIA,
Janus System does provide many Controls, One of them is
like what you require. You can visit there Website
http://www.janusys.com/controls/

But i have to agree with Kevin that u should build it yourself.

Regards,
Naveed Ahmad Bajwa
Kalsoft pvt Ltd
 
Bajoo said:
Dear TIA,
Janus System does provide many Controls, One of them is
like what you require. You can visit there Website
http://www.janusys.com/controls/

But i have to agree with Kevin that u should build it yourself.
Click to expand...

Why re-invent the wheel? It's simple math - a few hundred dollars versus a
lot of programming time.

SP
 
Its not the same. What if you find a bug? You've already spent the
money, and there's no guarantee that the bug will ever get fixed. If
the bug is a bad one for you, and they won't fix, you're out the few
hundred dollars AND a lot of time.

Write your own or be prepared to eat that money (and more) later.
 
jeremiah said:
Its not the same. What if you find a bug? You've already spent the
money, and there's no guarantee that the bug will ever get fixed. If
the bug is a bad one for you, and they won't fix, you're out the few
hundred dollars AND a lot of time.
Click to expand...

Whereas if you *don't* find a bug, you could easily have saved more
development cost by buying a 3rd party control.

It's a gamble, basically - it sounds like you're recommending gambling
on there being bugs which won't be fixed. How far do you take that
gamble, out of interest? Would you never be prepared to buy in *any*
code?

Jon
 
Why re-invent the wheel? It's simple math - a few hundred dollars versus
a lot of programming time.
Click to expand...

It's more than just that. First, the likelihood that you will find a
ready-made third-party Control that behaves in all of the ways you expect it
to (like Outlook Navigator), is slim. You will spend a lot of time looking
for one, a lot of time learning to use the ones you find, and probably throw
most of them away. You will be lucky if you find one. I pointed that out in
my first response. Depending upon your flexibility with regards to your
requirements, you may or may not be successful at all, in which case, you've
wasted days of your time trying. I speak from experience.

Secondly, third-party controls are not necessarily reliable, but they ARE
black boxes. You get what you pay for, and you're stuck with it. No
money-back guarantees.

Third, this sort of Control isn't that hard to write if you know how.
Improving your skill set is always worthwhile, that is, if you aspire to be
more than a hack.

But, hey, there are 2 ways to learn: (1) experience, and (2) by listening to
good advice. Both ways work equally well, but number 2 is easier on the
student.

--
HTH,

Kevin Spencer
Microsoft MVP
..Net Developer
A watched clock never boils.
 
Although I generally agree with you. I have used Janus controls before and
every time I have found the slightest bug or irritant, I post it to their
customer support forum and the response I get is always "This will be fixed
in the next build". They build about once or twice a month and my complaints
have always been addressed/fixed.

Not all 3rd party control companies do this, but Janus is great.

-David
 
There certainly are reputable third-party companies out there. However, I
still think the issue of the feature set he's looking for is a no-starter
with regards to finding a third-party off-the-shelf solution.

--
HTH,

Kevin Spencer
Microsoft MVP
..Net Developer
A watched clock never boils.
 
Kevin Spencer said:
It's more than just that. First, the likelihood that you will find a
ready-made third-party Control that behaves in all of the ways you expect
it to (like Outlook Navigator), is slim. You will spend a lot of time
looking for one, a lot of time learning to use the ones you find, and
probably throw most of them away. You will be lucky if you find one. I
pointed that out in my first response. Depending upon your flexibility
with regards to your requirements, you may or may not be successful at
all, in which case, you've wasted days of your time trying. I speak from
experience.
Click to expand...

There are a number of Outlook style controls on the market. In fact
Microsoft used themselves from Xceed in their Small Business Accounting
software.
Secondly, third-party controls are not necessarily reliable, but they ARE
black boxes. You get what you pay for, and you're stuck with it. No
money-back guarantees.

Third, this sort of Control isn't that hard to write if you know how.
Click to expand...

Nothing is hard to do if you know how to do it !!!
Improving your skill set is always worthwhile, that is, if you aspire to
be more than a hack.
Click to expand...

Personally I find it hard to justify spending a few weeks programming when I
can achieve what I want with a third party control in a day. As a programmer
writing business solutions I don't feel that I am in the business of writing
UI controls so I use those from Microsoft and other companies. Same goes for
databases, report generators etc.

SP
 
Well, heck, just tell him where to find them!

--
HTH,

Kevin Spencer
Microsoft MVP
..Net Developer
A watched clock never boils.
 
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