Customize Titlebar

Question

I want to remove title bar and replace it with custom title Bar that:

• I can put custom controls(like text,label,button,...) to it
• No change in Os Style 
• Not remove control box
• The form must be sizable

Is this possible?

thanks

Answer 1

Hello, I think this is possible if you set the formBoarderStyle properties to none and set your custom items on top of the form, like close button.

 

You will need to add handlers on load of the form.

Example for the close button :

  Private Sub Form1_Load(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load
        AddHandler Button1.Click, AddressOf CloseForm
    End Sub
  Private Sub CloseForm()
        Me.Close()
    End Sub

Answer 2

Hi birjand,

In addition to Aggelos gkoutis's reply, when you set the formBorderStyle property to none, the form will be not sizable with mouse.

You could override the WndProc() method to make the form sizable when formBorderStyle is none.

Private Const cGrip As Integer = 16
    ' Grip size
    Private Const cCaption As Integer = 32
    ' Caption bar height;
    Protected Overrides Sub WndProc(ByRef m As Message)
        If m.Msg = &H84 Then
            ' Trap WM_NCHITTEST
            Dim pos As New Point(m.LParam.ToInt32() And &HFFFF, m.LParam.ToInt32() >> 16)
            pos = Me.PointToClient(pos)
            If pos.Y < cCaption Then
                m.Result = IntPtr.op_Explicit(2)
                ' HTCAPTION
                Return
            End If
            If pos.X >= Me.ClientSize.Width - cGrip AndAlso pos.Y >= Me.ClientSize.Height - cGrip Then
                m.Result = IntPtr.op_Explicit(17)

                ' HTBOTTOMRIGHT
                Return
            End If
        End If
        MyBase.WndProc(m)
    End Sub

If you have any other concern regarding this issue, please feel free to let me know.

Best regards,
Youjun Tang

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Answer 3

I want to remove title bar and replace it with custom title Bar that:

• I can put custom controls(like text,label,button,...) to it
• No change in Os Style 
• Not remove control box
• The form must be sizable

Is this possible?

thanks

Yes. If you know what to do.

---

La vida loca

Answer 4

Hi birjand,

In addition to Aggelos gkoutis's reply, when you set the formBorderStyle property to none, the form will be not sizable with mouse.

You could override the WndProc() method to make the form sizable when formBorderStyle is none.

Private Const cGrip As Integer = 16
    ' Grip size
    Private Const cCaption As Integer = 32
    ' Caption bar height;
    Protected Overrides Sub WndProc(ByRef m As Message)
        If m.Msg = &H84 Then
            ' Trap WM_NCHITTEST
            Dim pos As New Point(m.LParam.ToInt32() And &HFFFF, m.LParam.ToInt32() >> 16)
            pos = Me.PointToClient(pos)
            If pos.Y < cCaption Then
                m.Result = IntPtr.op_Explicit(2)
                ' HTCAPTION
                Return
            End If
            If pos.X >= Me.ClientSize.Width - cGrip AndAlso pos.Y >= Me.ClientSize.Height - cGrip Then
                m.Result = IntPtr.op_Explicit(17)

                ' HTBOTTOMRIGHT
                Return
            End If
        End If
        MyBase.WndProc(m)
    End Sub

If you have any other concern regarding this issue, please feel free to let me know.

Best regards,
Youjun Tang

---

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Click HERE to participate the survey.

Ok

But Where I can run this command?

Into sub form_Load???

sub form_load()

WndProc(m=???)

End Sub

Answer 5

I want to remove title bar and replace it with custom title Bar that:

• I can put custom controls(like text,label,button,...) to it
• No change in Os Style 
• Not remove control box
• The form must be sizable

Is this possible?

thanks

Yes. If you know what to do.

---

La vida loca

Thank you 

I want to create a form exactly like this.

But How I can do this?

Answer 6

Hello,

Check this Code Project article for one method of doing buttons in the title bar.

---

Please remember to mark the replies as answers if they help and unmark them if they provide no help, this will help others who are looking for solutions to the same or similar problem.

Answer 7

Hi birjand,

In addition to Aggelos gkoutis's reply, when you set the formBorderStyle property to none, the form will be not sizable with mouse.

You could override the WndProc() method to make the form sizable when formBorderStyle is none.

Private Const cGrip As Integer = 16
    ' Grip size
    Private Const cCaption As Integer = 32
    ' Caption bar height;
    Protected Overrides Sub WndProc(ByRef m As Message)
        If m.Msg = &H84 Then
            ' Trap WM_NCHITTEST
            Dim pos As New Point(m.LParam.ToInt32() And &HFFFF, m.LParam.ToInt32() >> 16)
            pos = Me.PointToClient(pos)
            If pos.Y < cCaption Then
                m.Result = IntPtr.op_Explicit(2)
                ' HTCAPTION
                Return
            End If
            If pos.X >= Me.ClientSize.Width - cGrip AndAlso pos.Y >= Me.ClientSize.Height - cGrip Then
                m.Result = IntPtr.op_Explicit(17)

                ' HTBOTTOMRIGHT
                Return
            End If
        End If
        MyBase.WndProc(m)
    End Sub

If you have any other concern regarding this issue, please feel free to let me know.

Best regards,
Youjun Tang

---

We are trying to better understand customer views on social support experience, so your participation in this interview project would be greatly appreciated if you have time. Thanks for helping make community forums a great place.
Click HERE to participate the survey.

This works great! I also used Agg's button. Now all it needs is Monkey's glass.

Public Class Form6
    Private WithEvents button1 As New Button With {.Parent = Me, .Width = 32, .Text = "X", .BackColor = Color.White, .ForeColor = Color.Red}
    Private flagbmp As New Bitmap("c:\bitmaps\us flag2.jpg")

    Private Sub Form6_Load(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load
        Me.FormBorderStyle = Windows.Forms.FormBorderStyle.None
        Me.BackColor = Color.Teal
        Me.DoubleBuffered = True

        AddHandler Button1.Click, AddressOf CloseForm

    End Sub
    Private Const cGrip As Integer = 16
    ' Grip size
    Private Const cCaption As Integer = 32
    ' Caption bar height;
    Protected Overrides Sub WndProc(ByRef m As Message)
        If m.Msg = &H84 Then
            ' Trap WM_NCHITTEST
            Dim pos As New Point(m.LParam.ToInt32() And &HFFFF, m.LParam.ToInt32() >> 16)
            pos = Me.PointToClient(pos)
            If pos.Y < cCaption Then
                m.Result = IntPtr.op_Explicit(2)
                ' HTCAPTION
                Return
            End If
            If pos.X >= Me.ClientSize.Width - cGrip AndAlso pos.Y >= Me.ClientSize.Height - cGrip Then
                m.Result = IntPtr.op_Explicit(17)
                ' HTBOTTOMRIGHT
                Return
            End If
        End If
        MyBase.WndProc(m)
    End Sub

    Private Sub Form6_Paint(sender As Object, e As PaintEventArgs) Handles Me.Paint
        e.Graphics.DrawRectangle(New Pen(Brushes.SteelBlue, 6), Me.ClientRectangle)
        e.Graphics.DrawString("My Form", New Font("Tahoma", 14), Brushes.White, 100, 0)
        e.Graphics.DrawImage(flagbmp, 1, 1)
    End Sub

    Private Sub Form6_Resize(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Me.Resize
        button1.Left = Me.ClientSize.Width - button1.Width
        Me.Refresh()
    End Sub
    Private Sub CloseForm()
        Me.Close()
    End Sub
End Class

Answer 8

Hi,

 Here is another example. You can change the Titlebar color, border color, and the caption text color. You just need to change these lines to create the colors you want for everything.

    Private ClientBrush As New SolidBrush(Color.WhiteSmoke) 'Color of client area
    Private CaptionColor As Color = Color.Green 'Color of the Caption area
    Private CaptionTextBrush As New SolidBrush(Color.White) 'Color of the Caption Text
    Private BorderPen As New Pen(Color.Black) 'Color of the Border

 

 Here is the full code i have made so far. I did not get to the Icon, Minimize button, or Maximize button yet though. It is resizable too.

Imports System.Drawing.Drawing2D

Public Class Form1
    Private Const WM_LBUTTONDOWN As Integer = &H201
    Private Const WM_NCHITTEST As Integer = &H84
    Private Const HTCAPTION As Integer = &H2
    Private Const HTLEFT As Integer = &HA
    Private Const HTRIGHT As Integer = &HB
    Private Const HTTOP As Integer = &HC
    Private Const HTBOTTOM As Integer = &HF
    Private Const HTBOTTOMLEFT As Integer = &H10
    Private Const HTBOTTOMRIGHT As Integer = &H11

    Private ClientBrush As New SolidBrush(Color.WhiteSmoke) 'Color of client area
    Private CaptionColor As Color = Color.Green 'Color of the Caption area
    Private CaptionTextBrush As New SolidBrush(Color.White) 'Color of the Caption Text
    Private BorderPen As New Pen(Color.Black) 'Color of the Border

    Private CloseBtnBounds As New Rectangle(Me.Width - SystemInformation.CaptionHeight, CInt(SystemInformation.CaptionHeight / 2) - CInt((SystemInformation.CaptionHeight - 8) / 2), SystemInformation.CaptionHeight - 8, SystemInformation.CaptionHeight - 8)
    Private bBlend As New Blend

    Private Sub Form1_Load(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load
        Me.DoubleBuffered = True
        Me.FormBorderStyle = Windows.Forms.FormBorderStyle.None
        Me.BackColor = Color.Lime
        Me.TransparencyKey = Color.Lime
        bBlend.Positions = New Single() {0.0F, 0.1F, 0.2F, 0.3F, 0.4F, 0.5F, 0.6F, 0.7F, 0.8F, 0.9F, 1.0F}
    End Sub

    Protected Overrides Sub OnFormClosing(ByVal e As System.Windows.Forms.FormClosingEventArgs)
        ClientBrush.Dispose()
        CaptionTextBrush.Dispose()
        BorderPen.Dispose()
        MyBase.OnFormClosing(e)
    End Sub

    Protected Overrides Sub OnPaint(ByVal e As System.Windows.Forms.PaintEventArgs)
        MyBase.OnPaint(e)
        Dim FrmBnds As Rectangle = New Rectangle(0, 0, Me.Width - 1, Me.Height - 1)
        Dim ClntBnds As New Rectangle(0, SystemInformation.CaptionHeight, Me.Width - 1, FrmBnds.Height)

        e.Graphics.FillRectangle(ClientBrush, ClntBnds)

        Using CapBrdrPath As New GraphicsPath
            CapBrdrPath.AddArc(FrmBnds.X, FrmBnds.Y, 14, 14, 180, 90)
            CapBrdrPath.AddArc(FrmBnds.Right - 14, FrmBnds.Y, 14, 14, 270, 90)
            CapBrdrPath.AddLine(FrmBnds.Width, SystemInformation.CaptionHeight, FrmBnds.X, SystemInformation.CaptionHeight)
            CapBrdrPath.CloseFigure()
            bBlend.Factors = New Single() {0.5F, 0.6F, 0.7F, 0.7F, 0.6F, 0.5F, 0.4F, 0.3F, 0.2F, 0.1F, 0.0F}
            Using capbrush As New LinearGradientBrush(Point.Empty, New Point(0, SystemInformation.CaptionHeight), CaptionColor, Color.White)
                capbrush.Blend = bBlend
                e.Graphics.FillPath(capbrush, CapBrdrPath)
            End Using
            CapBrdrPath.StartFigure()
            CapBrdrPath.AddLine(ClntBnds.X, ClntBnds.Y, ClntBnds.X, ClntBnds.Height)
            CapBrdrPath.AddLine(ClntBnds.Width, ClntBnds.Height, ClntBnds.Width, ClntBnds.Y)
            e.Graphics.DrawPath(BorderPen, CapBrdrPath)
        End Using

        Using fnt As New Font(Me.Font.FontFamily, Me.Font.Size + 2, FontStyle.Bold)
            Dim txtpnt As New Point(10, CInt(SystemInformation.CaptionHeight / 2) - CInt(fnt.GetHeight / 2))
            e.Graphics.DrawString(Me.Text, fnt, CaptionTextBrush, txtpnt)
        End Using

        Using ClsBtnPath As New GraphicsPath
            Dim rad As Integer = 6
            ClsBtnPath.AddArc(CloseBtnBounds.Right - rad, CloseBtnBounds.Y, rad, rad, 270, 90)
            ClsBtnPath.AddArc(CloseBtnBounds.Right - rad, CloseBtnBounds.Bottom - rad, rad, rad, 0, 90)
            ClsBtnPath.AddArc(CloseBtnBounds.X, CloseBtnBounds.Bottom - rad, rad, rad, 90, 90)
            ClsBtnPath.AddArc(CloseBtnBounds.X, CloseBtnBounds.Y, rad, rad, 180, 90)
            ClsBtnPath.CloseFigure()
            bBlend.Factors = New Single() {0.4F, 0.5F, 0.6F, 0.6F, 0.5F, 0.4F, 0.3F, 0.2F, 0.1F, 0.0F, 0.0F}
            Using cbbrush As New LinearGradientBrush(Point.Empty, New Point(0, SystemInformation.CaptionHeight), Color.Red, Color.White)
                cbbrush.Blend = bBlend
                e.Graphics.FillPath(cbbrush, ClsBtnPath)
            End Using
            e.Graphics.DrawPath(Pens.Black, ClsBtnPath)
        End Using
        Using xpen As New Pen(Color.White, 2)
            e.Graphics.DrawLine(xpen, CloseBtnBounds.X + 4, CloseBtnBounds.Y + 4, CloseBtnBounds.Right - 4, CloseBtnBounds.Bottom - 4)
            e.Graphics.DrawLine(xpen, CloseBtnBounds.Right - 4, CloseBtnBounds.Y + 4, CloseBtnBounds.X + 4, CloseBtnBounds.Bottom - 4)
        End Using
    End Sub

    Protected Overrides Sub OnResize(ByVal e As System.EventArgs)
        CloseBtnBounds = New Rectangle(Me.Width - SystemInformation.CaptionHeight, CInt(SystemInformation.CaptionHeight / 2) - CInt((SystemInformation.CaptionHeight - 8) / 2), SystemInformation.CaptionHeight - 8, SystemInformation.CaptionHeight - 8)
        MyBase.OnResize(e)
    End Sub

    Protected Overrides Sub WndProc(ByRef m As Message)
        If m.Msg = WM_LBUTTONDOWN Then
            If CloseBtnBounds.Contains(Me.PointToClient(MousePosition)) Then
                Me.Close()
                m.Result = CType(0, IntPtr)
                Return
            End If
        ElseIf m.Msg = WM_NCHITTEST Then
            Dim loc As Point = Me.PointToClient(MousePosition)
            Dim bTop As Boolean = (loc.Y < 4)
            Dim bLeft As Boolean = (loc.X < 4)
            Dim bRight As Boolean = (loc.X > Me.ClientSize.Width - 4)
            Dim bBottom As Boolean = (loc.Y > Me.ClientSize.Height - 4)
            Dim bCaption As Boolean = (loc.Y > 3 And loc.Y < SystemInformation.CaptionHeight And loc.X < Me.Width - 3)
            Dim bClose As Boolean = CloseBtnBounds.Contains(loc)
            If bCaption And Not bClose Then
                m.Result = CType(HTCAPTION, IntPtr)
                Return
            ElseIf bBottom And bLeft Then
                m.Result = CType(HTBOTTOMLEFT, IntPtr)
                Return
            ElseIf bBottom And bRight Then
                m.Result = CType(HTBOTTOMRIGHT, IntPtr)
                Return
            ElseIf bLeft Then
                m.Result = CType(HTLEFT, IntPtr)
                Return
            ElseIf bTop Then
                m.Result = CType(HTTOP, IntPtr)
                Return
            ElseIf bRight Then
                m.Result = CType(HTRIGHT, IntPtr)
                Return
            ElseIf bBottom Then
                m.Result = CType(HTBOTTOM, IntPtr)
                Return
            End If
        End If
        MyBase.WndProc(m)
    End Sub
End Class

 

 In the image you can see on the left what the form looks like in the vb [Design] tab and on the right is the form when the app is running. You will notice it may take a little messing around to get your controls in the correct spot.

---

If you say it can`t be done then i`ll try it

Answer 9

Ahha! Now I see what you are doing. Using Razerz and Monkey methods I came up with this.

Imports System.Runtime.InteropServices
Public Class Form7
    Private WithEvents button1 As New Button With {.Parent = Me, .Width = 32, .Height = 24, .Top = 2, .Text = "X", .Font = New Font("Microsoft Sans Serif", 9, FontStyle.Bold), .ForeColor = Color.Firebrick, .BackColor = SystemColors.Control}
    Private WithEvents checkbox1 As New CheckBox With {.Parent = Me, .Width = 70, .Height = 18, .Left = 170, .Top = 4, .Text = "Glassy", .Font = New Font("Microsoft Sans Serif", 9, FontStyle.Bold), .BackColor = SystemColors.ActiveCaption}
    Private WithEvents checkbox2 As New CheckBox With {.Parent = Me, .Width = 100, .Height = 18, .Left = 170, .Top = 50, .Text = "CheckBox", .Font = New Font("Microsoft Sans Serif", 9, FontStyle.Bold), .BackColor = SystemColors.InactiveCaption}
    Private WithEvents groupbox1 As New GroupBox With {.Parent = Me, .Width = 130, .Height = 100, .Left = 10, .Top = 40, .Text = "GroupBox", .BackColor = SystemColors.InactiveCaption}
    Private WithEvents textbox1 As New TextBox With {.Parent = Me, .Width = 100, .Height = 24, .Left = 170, .Top = 80, .Text = "TextBox"}
    <StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)> _
    Public Structure MARGINS
        Public cxLeftWidth As Integer
        Public cxRightWidth As Integer
        Public cyTopHeight As Integer
        Public cyBottomHeight As Integer
    End Structure
    <DllImport("DwmApi.dll")> _
    Public Shared Function DwmExtendFrameIntoClientArea(hwnd As IntPtr, ByRef pMarInset As MARGINS) As Integer
    End Function

    Private flagbmp As New Bitmap("c:\bitmaps\us flag2.jpg")
    Private MouseDownX, MouseDownY As Integer
    Private draggingEnabled As Boolean
    Private headerheight As Integer = 30

    Private Sub Form7_Load(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load
        Me.Text = String.Empty
        Me.ControlBox = False
        Me.TransparencyKey = Color.Silver
        Me.DoubleBuffered = True
    End Sub

    Private Sub Form7_Paint(sender As Object, e As PaintEventArgs) Handles Me.Paint
        e.Graphics.FillRectangle(New SolidBrush(SystemColors.ActiveCaption), Me.ClientRectangle.Left + 1, Me.ClientRectangle.Top + 1, Me.ClientRectangle.Width - 2, headerheight - 4)
        e.Graphics.DrawString("My Form", New Font("Tacoma", 16), SystemBrushes.ActiveCaptionText, 50, 0)
        e.Graphics.DrawString("My Form", New Font("Tacoma", 16), Brushes.White, 51, 1)
        e.Graphics.DrawImage(flagbmp, 1, 1, CInt(1.3 * headerheight), headerheight - 4)
    End Sub
    Private Sub Form3_MouseDown(sender As Object, e As MouseEventArgs) Handles Me.MouseDown
        If e.Y < headerheight Then
            draggingEnabled = True
            MouseDownX = e.X
            MouseDownY = e.Y
        End If
    End Sub

    Private Sub Form3_MouseMove(sender As Object, e As MouseEventArgs) Handles Me.MouseMove
        If draggingEnabled Then
            Dim movePoint As Point = New Point(e.X, e.Y)
            movePoint = Me.PointToScreen(movePoint)
            Me.Left = movePoint.X - MouseDownX
            Me.Top = movePoint.Y - MouseDownY
        End If
    End Sub

    Private Sub Form3_MouseUp(sender As Object, e As MouseEventArgs) Handles Me.MouseUp
        draggingEnabled = False
    End Sub

    Private Sub Form7_Resize(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Me.Resize
        button1.Left = Me.ClientSize.Width - (button1.Width + 1)
        SetGlassEffect()
        Me.Refresh()
    End Sub

    Private Sub button1_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles button1.Click
        Me.Close()
    End Sub

    Private Sub checkbox1_CheckedChanged(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles checkbox1.CheckedChanged
        SetGlassEffect()
        Me.Refresh()
    End Sub

    Private Sub SetGlassEffect()
        Dim BordersWidth As Integer = 3
        Dim margins As New MARGINS()
        margins.cxLeftWidth = BordersWidth
        margins.cxRightWidth = BordersWidth
        margins.cyBottomHeight = BordersWidth
        If checkbox1.Checked Then
            margins.cyTopHeight = Me.ClientRectangle.Height 
            Me.BackColor = Color.Silver
        Else
            margins.cyTopHeight = 0
            Me.BackColor = SystemColors.Control
        End If
        DwmExtendFrameIntoClientArea(Me.Handle, margins)
    End Sub
End Class

Answer 10

Well, duh, this is easy. You can just turn off the form header in the IDE by setting the ControlBox False and Text to nothing. Then you can add controls as normal using the IDE. This has no code. The borders resize. But you would need to add dragging the form to move it.

Answer 11

Apparently from the posts above this one there's a variety of ways to do this.

Unfortunately controls in the glass area seem affected with regard to displayed text. So I drew the text in the Button and had to use a Double Buffered TextBox in order to draw text in it also. Other methods may be able to overcome those issues. But I didn't try any others. Also the TextBox class could probably have an overrides paint event within it rather than the TextBox having a paint event outside of the class for the TextBox.

The new ControlBox is just 3 buttons with no text. And their background images have transparent pixels in areas of the images so you can see through them. The minimize button has an image of a Ghost in it that doesn't look that great. It's white background was altered to transparent pixels using GIMP. As were the background colors of the crescent moon and full moon used in the normal/maximize button (normal = crescent and maximized = full) and the white in the crossbones image. You can see through those areas and therefore through the glass in those areas.

You could also set the alpha channel on a ControlBox buttons mouse hover or mouse down like Color.FromArgb(40, 255, 255, 0) which would be a semi transparent yellowish color.

Option Strict On

Imports System.Runtime.InteropServices

Public Class Form1

    <StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)>
    Public Structure MARGINS
        Public cxLeftWidth As Integer
        Public cxRightWidth As Integer
        Public cyTopHeight As Integer
        Public cyBottomHeight As Integer
    End Structure

    <DllImport("DwmApi.dll")>
    Public Shared Function DwmExtendFrameIntoClientArea(hwnd As IntPtr, ByRef pMarInset As MARGINS) As Integer
    End Function

    Dim TextBox1 As New DoubleBufferedTextBox

    Dim margins1 As New MARGINS()

    Private Sub Form1_Load(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load
        Me.Text = ""
        Me.ControlBox = False
        Me.FormBorderStyle = FormBorderStyle.SizableToolWindow
        Me.Location = New Point(CInt((Screen.PrimaryScreen.WorkingArea.Width / 2) - (Me.Width / 2)), CInt((Screen.PrimaryScreen.WorkingArea.Height / 2) - (Me.Height / 2)))
        Me.DoubleBuffered = True

        TextBox1.Left = Button1.Right + 30
        TextBox1.Top = Button1.Top
        TextBox1.Text = "Custom Titlebar"
        TextBox1.Font = New Font("Book Antiqua", 11, FontStyle.Bold)
        TextBox1.Width = 150
        AddHandler TextBox1.TextChanged, AddressOf TextBox1_TextChanged
        AddHandler TextBox1.Paint, AddressOf TextBox1_Paint
        Me.Controls.Add(TextBox1)

        Button2.Text = ""
        Button2.BackColor = Color.Transparent
        Button2.BackgroundImageLayout = ImageLayout.Stretch
        Button2.BackgroundImage = My.Resources.Ghost
        Button2.FlatStyle = FlatStyle.Flat
        Button2.FlatAppearance.BorderColor = Me.BackColor
        Button2.FlatAppearance.MouseDownBackColor = Color.Aqua
        Button2.FlatAppearance.MouseOverBackColor = Color.Yellow

        Button3.Text = ""
        Button3.BackColor = Color.Transparent
        Button3.BackgroundImageLayout = ImageLayout.Stretch
        Button3.BackgroundImage = My.Resources.Crescent2
        Button3.FlatStyle = FlatStyle.Flat
        Button3.FlatAppearance.BorderColor = Me.BackColor
        Button3.FlatAppearance.MouseDownBackColor = Color.Gold
        Button3.FlatAppearance.MouseOverBackColor = Color.HotPink

        Button4.Text = ""
        Button4.BackColor = Color.Transparent
        Button4.BackgroundImageLayout = ImageLayout.Stretch
        Button4.BackgroundImage = My.Resources.Crossbones_Clear
        Button4.FlatStyle = FlatStyle.Flat
        Button4.FlatAppearance.BorderColor = Me.BackColor
        Button4.FlatAppearance.MouseDownBackColor = Color.Red
        Button4.FlatAppearance.MouseOverBackColor = Color.Lime

        Button3.Left = Button2.Right
        Button3.Top = Button2.Top
        Button4.Left = Button3.Right
        Button4.Top = Button3.Top
        Button2.Anchor = CType(AnchorStyles.Right + AnchorStyles.Top, AnchorStyles)
        Button3.Anchor = CType(AnchorStyles.Right + AnchorStyles.Top, AnchorStyles)
        Button4.Anchor = CType(AnchorStyles.Right + AnchorStyles.Top, AnchorStyles)
        Try
            margins1.cxLeftWidth = 0
            margins1.cxRightWidth = 0
            margins1.cyTopHeight = 36
            margins1.cyBottomHeight = 0
            If Environment.OSVersion.Version.Major >= 6 Then
                DwmExtendFrameIntoClientArea(Me.Handle, margins1)
            End If
        Catch ex As Exception
        End Try
    End Sub

    Private Sub Form1_Resize(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Me.Resize
        Button2.BringToFront()
        Button3.BringToFront()
        Button4.BringToFront()

        Me.Refresh()
    End Sub

    Dim MoveForm As Boolean = False
    Dim InitialX As Integer = 0
    Dim InitialY As Integer = 0

    Private Sub Form1_MouseDown(sender As Object, e As MouseEventArgs) Handles Me.MouseDown
        If e.Button = MouseButtons.Left Then
            Dim MoveArea As New Rectangle(Me.ClientRectangle.Top, Me.ClientRectangle.Left, Me.ClientRectangle.Width, 36)
            If MoveArea.Contains(e.Location) Then
                MoveForm = True
                InitialX = e.X
                InitialY = e.Y
            End If
        End If
    End Sub

    Private Sub Form1_MouseMove(sender As Object, e As MouseEventArgs) Handles Me.MouseMove
        If MoveForm = True Then
            Me.Location = New Point(Me.Left + e.X - InitialX, Me.Top + e.Y - InitialY)
        End If
    End Sub

    Private Sub Form1_Up(sender As Object, e As MouseEventArgs) Handles Me.MouseUp
        If MoveForm = True Then MoveForm = False
    End Sub

    Protected Overrides Sub OnPaintBackground(e As PaintEventArgs)
        MyBase.OnPaint(e)
        e.Graphics.SmoothingMode = Drawing2D.SmoothingMode.AntiAlias
        e.Graphics.TextRenderingHint = Drawing.Text.TextRenderingHint.AntiAlias
        e.Graphics.Clear(Color.Transparent)
        Dim clientArea As New Rectangle(margins1.cxLeftWidth, margins1.cyTopHeight, Me.ClientRectangle.Width - margins1.cxLeftWidth - margins1.cxRightWidth, Me.ClientRectangle.Height - margins1.cyTopHeight - margins1.cyBottomHeight)
        Using b As Brush = New SolidBrush(Me.BackColor)
            e.Graphics.FillRectangle(b, clientArea)
        End Using
        e.Graphics.DrawString("Custom Form1", New Font("Book Antiqua", 12), Brushes.Black, 0, 4)
    End Sub

    Private Sub Button2_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Button2.Click
        Me.WindowState = FormWindowState.Minimized
    End Sub

    Private Sub Button3_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Button3.Click
        If Me.WindowState = FormWindowState.Maximized Then
            Button3.BackgroundImage = My.Resources.Crescent2
            Me.WindowState = FormWindowState.Normal
        Else
            Button3.BackgroundImage = My.Resources.Moon2
            Me.WindowState = FormWindowState.Maximized
        End If
    End Sub

    Private Sub Button4_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Button4.Click
        Application.Exit()
    End Sub

    Private Sub Button1_Paint(sender As Object, e As PaintEventArgs) Handles Button1.Paint
        e.Graphics.TextRenderingHint = Drawing.Text.TextRenderingHint.AntiAlias
        Dim StrWidth As Integer = CInt(e.Graphics.MeasureString("Button1", New Font("Book Antiqua", 11)).Width / 2)
        e.Graphics.DrawString("Button1", New Font("Book Antiqua", 11), Brushes.Black, New Point(CInt((Button1.Width / 2) - StrWidth), 2))
    End Sub


    Private Sub TextBox1_Paint(sender As Object, e As PaintEventArgs)
        e.Graphics.SmoothingMode = Drawing2D.SmoothingMode.AntiAlias
        e.Graphics.TextRenderingHint = Drawing.Text.TextRenderingHint.AntiAlias
        e.Graphics.DrawString(TextBox1.Text, New Font("Book Antiqua", 11, FontStyle.Bold), Brushes.Black, 2, 2)
    End Sub

    Private Sub TextBox1_TextChanged(sender As Object, e As EventArgs)

    End Sub

    Public Class DoubleBufferedTextBox
        Inherits TextBox
        Public Sub New()
            Me.SetStyle(ControlStyles.OptimizedDoubleBuffer, True)
            Me.SetStyle(ControlStyles.UserPaint, True)
            Me.SetStyle(ControlStyles.AllPaintingInWmPaint, True)
        End Sub
    End Class

End Class

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La vida loca

Answer 12

Ha, ha, ha, Monkey. It took all day to figure out how you did it.

Answer 13

Ha, ha, ha, Monkey. It took all day to figure out how you did it.

:)

I'm sorry. I've been busy all day with other things and alot of yesterday too or I would've posted the code. But I had to figure out the issues with the controls displayed in the glass area. A DateTimePicker in it is really ugly!

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La vida loca

Answer 14

Ha, ha, ha, Monkey. It took all day to figure out how you did it.

:)

I'm sorry. I've been busy all day with other things and alot of yesterday too or I would've posted the code. But I had to figure out the issues with the controls displayed in the glass area. A DateTimePicker in it is really ugly!

---

La vida loca

Oh, I meant I enjoyed it. The basic solution is so simple using the IDE just his me an hour ago. Adding the glass is something else. I first realized turn off the control and text looking at Razerz but was still in code.

Yes the glassy has some gotchas. Since its transparent you cant click it so dragging the header to move is more difficult. Any transparent control with text is a problem due to the background coming through.

Answer 15

Ha, ha, ha, Monkey. It took all day to figure out how you did it.

:)

I'm sorry. I've been busy all day with other things and alot of yesterday too or I would've posted the code. But I had to figure out the issues with the controls displayed in the glass area. A DateTimePicker in it is really ugly!

---

La vida loca

Oh, I meant I enjoyed it. The basic solution is so simple using the IDE just his me an hour ago. Adding the glass is something else. I first realized turn off the control and text looking at Razerz but was still in code.

Yes the glassy has some gotchas. Since its transparent you cant click it so dragging the header to move is more difficult. Any transparent control with text is a problem due to the background coming through.

Yeah the glass is something to work with regarding having controls in it.

I had some old code I modified for dragging the Form if the cursor is in the glass area but not the border area of the Form. It seems to work when the Form is resized also.

One thing I notice is when I set the Form to Maximized (at least when running it in Visual Studio 2015 preview) it fills the entire screen covering the TaskBar. I don't know why though. Perhaps because the Forms border style is tool window for all I know.

Dim MoveForm As Boolean = False
    Dim InitialX As Integer = 0
    Dim InitialY As Integer = 0

    Private Sub Form1_MouseDown(sender As Object, e As MouseEventArgs) Handles Me.MouseDown
        If e.Button = MouseButtons.Left Then
            Dim MoveArea As New Rectangle(Me.ClientRectangle.Top, Me.ClientRectangle.Left, Me.ClientRectangle.Width, 36)
            If MoveArea.Contains(e.Location) Then
                MoveForm = True
                InitialX = e.X
                InitialY = e.Y
            End If
        End If
    End Sub

    Private Sub Form1_MouseMove(sender As Object, e As MouseEventArgs) Handles Me.MouseMove
        If MoveForm = True Then
            Me.Location = New Point(Me.Left + e.X - InitialX, Me.Top + e.Y - InitialY)
        End If
    End Sub

    Private Sub Form1_Up(sender As Object, e As MouseEventArgs) Handles Me.MouseUp
        If MoveForm = True Then MoveForm = False
    End Sub

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La vida loca

Answer 16

Ha, ha, ha, Monkey. It took all day to figure out how you did it.

:)

I'm sorry. I've been busy all day with other things and alot of yesterday too or I would've posted the code. But I had to figure out the issues with the controls displayed in the glass area. A DateTimePicker in it is really ugly!

---

La vida loca

Oh, I meant I enjoyed it. The basic solution is so simple using the IDE just his me an hour ago. Adding the glass is something else. I first realized turn off the control and text looking at Razerz but was still in code.

Yes the glassy has some gotchas. Since its transparent you cant click it so dragging the header to move is more difficult. Any transparent control with text is a problem due to the background coming through.

Yeah the glass is something to work with regarding having controls in it.

I had some old code I modified for dragging the Form if the cursor is in the glass area but not the border area of the Form. It seems to work when the Form is resized also.

One thing I notice is when I set the Form to Maximized (at least when running it in Visual Studio 2015 preview) it fills the entire screen covering the TaskBar. I don't know why though. Perhaps because the Forms border style is tool window for all I know.

Dim MoveForm As Boolean = False
    Dim InitialX As Integer = 0
    Dim InitialY As Integer = 0

    Private Sub Form1_MouseDown(sender As Object, e As MouseEventArgs) Handles Me.MouseDown
        If e.Button = MouseButtons.Left Then
            Dim MoveArea As New Rectangle(Me.ClientRectangle.Top, Me.ClientRectangle.Left, Me.ClientRectangle.Width, 36)
            If MoveArea.Contains(e.Location) Then
                MoveForm = True
                InitialX = e.X
                InitialY = e.Y
            End If
        End If
    End Sub

    Private Sub Form1_MouseMove(sender As Object, e As MouseEventArgs) Handles Me.MouseMove
        If MoveForm = True Then
            Me.Location = New Point(Me.Left + e.X - InitialX, Me.Top + e.Y - InitialY)
        End If
    End Sub

    Private Sub Form1_Up(sender As Object, e As MouseEventArgs) Handles Me.MouseUp
        If MoveForm = True Then MoveForm = False
    End Sub

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La vida loca

In my last example if you dont draw the header a different color then the mousedown event does not fire on the glass because of the transparancy. The glassy does not work without the transparancy. Does it work on yours? Im using 2013.

Answer 17

Hi,

Thanks for the code, it was just what I needed. Once I got that title bar customized, I realized that I need it to be in a separate class that I can call from each form. Is that possible? And if so, how would I go about accomplishing this? I've tried variations of the following code, but I all do is throw exceptions. Thank you

Public Class Form1

    Protected Friend p As PaintEventArgs 

   Private Sub FormLoad(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load
        'Link to homemade CSS file
        SetMenuFormStyle(Me)

        Me.DoubleBuffered = True
        Me.FormBorderStyle = Windows.Forms.FormBorderStyle.None
        Me.TransparencyKey = Color.FromKnownColor(KnownColor.Control)
        bBlend.Positions = New Single() {0.0F, 0.1F, 0.2F, 0.3F, 0.4F, 0.5F, 0.6F, 0.7F, 0.8F, 0.9F, 1.0F}
        ' MyBase.OnPaint(p)
        Try
            Using l As New TitleBar
                Dim newName As Object = Me.Name
                l.OnPaint(newName, e)
            End Using
        Catch ex As Exception
            MessageBox.Show(ex.ToString, "From Form Load", MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Error)
        End Try
    End Sub
End Class

Public Class TitleBar
    Inherits Control
    Private Const WM_LBUTTONDOWN As Integer = &H201
    Private Const WM_NCHITTEST As Integer = &H84
    Private Const HTCAPTION As Integer = &H2
    Private Const HTLEFT As Integer = &HA
    Private Const HTRIGHT As Integer = &HB
    Private Const HTTOP As Integer = &HC
    Private Const HTBOTTOM As Integer = &HF
    Private Const HTBOTTOMLEFT As Integer = &H10
    Private Const HTBOTTOMRIGHT As Integer = &H11

    Private ReadOnly CaptionColor As Color = Color.FromArgb(31, 78, 121) 'Color of the Caption area
    Private CaptionTextBrush As New SolidBrush(Color.White) ' 'Color of the Caption Text
    Private ClientBrush As New SolidBrush(Color.WhiteSmoke) 'Color of client area
    Private MinimizeBtnBounds As New Rectangle(Me.Width - SystemInformation.CaptionHeight, CInt(SystemInformation.CaptionHeight / 2) - CInt((SystemInformation.CaptionHeight - 8) / 2), SystemInformation.CaptionHeight - 8, SystemInformation.CaptionHeight - 8)
    Private bBlend As New Blend

    Public Sub OnPaint(sender As Object, ByVal e As PaintEventArgs)
        'For TitleBar
        Try
            sender.OnPaint(e)
        Catch ex As Exception
            MessageBox.Show(ex.ToString, "It's right here", MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Error)
        End Try