Welcome to ClickableButton!
As useful and as popular as
Chris Maunder's
"An unclickable button" article and class is, I thought that a clickable
button might also be useful. While my ClickableButton class is implemented
specifically for .NET, the very same techniques can be used in nearly every
object-oriented windowing library.
Sample
Here's a sample of using the ClickableButton class. Notice that we've handled
the Click event to show a message box of appreciation:
Usage
To use ClickableButton, simple add it to your form, either via the WinForms
designer or manually, setting properties as appropriate:
class Form1 : Form {
ClickableButton button1;
...
void InitializeComponent() {
this.button1 = new ClickableButton();
...
this.button1.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(24, 24);
this.button1.Name = "button1";
this.button1.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(200, 120);
this.button1.TabIndex = 0;
this.button1.Text = "Click Me!";
this.button1.Click += new System.EventHandler(this.button1_Click);
...
this.Controls.AddRange(new System.Windows.Forms.Control[] { this.button1});
...
}
}
Behavior
Notice from the sample application that the ClickableButton will show itself
as a shadowed square with a text label. When the user uses the mouse to click on
the ClickableButton, it will take on a depressed look 'n' feel and fire the
Click event, which a hosting program can handle. For example, the sample handles
the Click event like so:
void button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e) {
MessageBox.Show("Ohhh... That's nice.", "ClickableButton Clicked");
}
Implementation
My ClickableButton class derives from the base class
System.Windows.Forms.Button class and adds absolutely nothing:
public class ClickableButton : System.Windows.Forms.Button
{
}
Issues
While this button is fairly functional, it's not nearly as fun as ChrisM's
unclickable button. Potential ways to make it more fun include:
- Calling the user nasty names.
- Formatting "c:".
- Switching the user interface language to Spanish.
- Spawning a virus.
- Overheating the CPU.
- Resetting the user's MineSweeper high scores.
