Bugs: Actipro changing files immediately after compile - Docking/MDI for Windows Forms Forum

Posted 19 years ago by John Mancine

I am still trying to debug this, but I came across a very frustrating bug. (I have full licensed version)

The following code was generated by the designer, which leads to multiple 'tabs' on a tool container - and if you select one in the designer you promptly get a crash which forces you to reboot visual studio:


            // 
            // toolWindowContainer2
            // 
            this.toolWindowContainer2.Dock = System.Windows.Forms.DockStyle.Left;
            this.toolWindowContainer2.DockManager = this.dockManager;
            this.toolWindowContainer2.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(0, 0);
            this.toolWindowContainer2.Name = "toolWindowContainer2";
            this.toolWindowContainer2.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(200, 327);
            this.toolWindowContainer2.TabIndex = 5;
            toolWindowContainer2.Controls.Add(toolWindow1);
            toolWindowContainer2.Controls.Add(toolWindow2);
            toolWindowContainer2.Controls.Add(toolWindow3);
            toolWindowContainer2.Controls.Add(toolWindow1); // DUPE!
            toolWindowContainer2.Controls.Add(toolWindow2); // DUPE!
            toolWindowContainer2.Controls.Add(toolWindow3); // DUPE!

This problem seems to be a symptom of something bigger, potentially 'license' related issue. The reason I say this, is because when I compile my Form - it immediately is changed again if I use Actipro controls (ie. the '*' sign appears by it again, as if it needs to be saved again). If I close the designer file after the '*' shows up - it tells me that Properties/Licenses.licx has changed and would I like to save it. What is going on behind the scenes with this licensing stuff that is causing all this headache?

This is not very consistant right now, but if I remove the OwnerDrawnMainMenu from my Form - the "last second change" bug seems to go away. But this quickly cascades into a huge mess -- all of which seems to begin with the "last second change" to my Form by the Actipro controls.

Bottom line: What is executing on the Acipro side that causes it to continually alter my Form immediately after I compile? As soon as I see this start to happen, I am in for a world of hurt.

I would be more than happy to discuss this over the phone, as it may be easier to explain all the strange ins and outs of this nasty bug.

I am using Visual Studio 2005 beta2 / Windows XP.

Thank you,
John

Comments (4)

Posted 19 years ago by John Mancine

Update:
If I manually go into the Form.designer.cs code and remove the OwnerDrawMainMenu control, the strange last-second-edit bug goes away and my project returns to normal. As soon as I drop a OwnerDrawMainMenu control into my Form ... I get the above duplicate garabge, and then I proceed down the path to more and more bugs.

Temporary Fix:
Don't use OwnerDrawMainMenu. Using the normal menu control seems to solve this for now, although I was under the impression that we *should* in fact be using the OwnerDrawMainMenu along with the docking controls, correct?

[Modified at 07/13/2005 05:16 PM]

Posted 19 years ago by Actipro Software Support - Cleveland, OH, USA

Hi John,

It should only be updating the form (with the asterisk) if you make a change. I'm not sure what could be executing after you compile. That's certainly odd. I haven't seen the licenses.licx issue you're describing before but we are mostly still running on .NET 1.0 and 1.1. However no other users have reported issues with it in .NET 2.0.

OwnerDrawMainMenu and the related menu item class can be used in your programs if you want but they aren't really considered supported controls. We're currently working on full menus/toolbars for the UIStudio suite.

Are you able to tell us how to reproduce this issue in the sample project? The sample project uses the owner draw menu so if that is the issue, it should be able to be duplicated there, right?

Actipro Software Support

Posted 19 years ago by John Mancine

Thanks for getting back to me. I was not able to immediately reproduce the problem in the sample project. I am short on time to play around with it right now (upcoming milestone, so work around will be fine for now), but after things settle down I will try again. I have a feeling it will require really tearing apart the sample app to reproduce it, so it will be quite time consuming.

Oh well, despite a couple headaches today, the actual controls are a *great* addition to my application.

Thanks,
John

Posted 19 years ago by Actipro Software Support - Cleveland, OH, USA

Ok John, after things settle down, check it out again and let us know if you can narrow it down. Thanks!

Actipro Software Support

The latest build of this product (v24.1.0) was released 5 months ago, which was after the last post in this thread.

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