Visual Basic WinForms Apps in .NET 5 and Visual Studio 16.8

iFour Team -July 06, 2021

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Visual Basic WinForms Apps in .NET 5 and Visual Studio 16.8

The Visual Basic, with its application framework is supported in .Net 5 and Visual Studio 16.8! The Visual Studio 16.8 includes Windows Forms Designer, so Visual Basic is ready for you to replace existing applications or create new ones.

While .Net Core has had Visual Basic since its first release, and since WinForms introduced it in .NET Core 3.1, it does not include the application framework library and WinForms designer support for Visual Basic programmers. .Net 5 is ready for you to replace existing .NET Framework applications or create new WinForms applications.

Visual Studio 16.8 and .Net 5 includes the following updates for WinForms development. Net 5:

Designer Event Handling Support: The handles on the back code of the Visual Basic Events method are paired with the keyword. This has been determined.
Application Framework: The Visual Basic application framework provides event-based start-ups, meaning you does not need a Sub Main for a WinForms application. New version of the application framework. Available in .Net 5.
Single Instance application: .NET 5 introduces a single instance application for the .NET Core family. The new version also updated the logic which works well in more scenarios.
Updates to Visual Studio dialogs: The dialogs have been updated to support Visual Basic features in the new project format. This work is ongoing.
Visual Basic WinForms template: We wait to add a template to Visual Studio until you create WinForms apps with the application framework. This new template is the default in Visual Studio and is available in the .NET CLI via the dot Net new.
Additional Visual Basic Runtime Features: The last few versions of .NET Core have a feature of the Visual Basic Runtime. We believe that this task is complete and that missing features cannot work the same way on .NET 5.

Creating .NET 5 Application Framework WinForms Applications in Visual Studio

You have found the new .NET 5 template in the Create New Project dialog. The naming for the templates has been updated, and you have to find the .NET Framework template names include "framework" and those templates that simply indicate .NET is for .NET 5.

Fig: Project View

Many aspects of the WinForms Application Framework application behavior are controlled by the project property designer's settings, which are shown by selecting Properties in the context menu of the VB project in Solution Explorer:

Fig: Project Property Menu

Target Framework: Net Core 3.1 or earlier versions of .Net Core did not support the Visual Basic application framework.
Enable Application Framework: Application Framework is enabled by default. When enabled, it provides easy one-click configuration settings and easy-to-access to coded application events.
Enable XP Visual Styles: This option enables OS-controlled themed rendering, which was first introduced in Windows XP and retained the name going forward.
Authentication mode: This option controls whether the user property mirrors the Windows user through My-Namespace, or if you want to implement user management manually. Please note that this does not display any login dialog or other authentication, it is exclusively for how the user property in my namespace works.
Splash Screen: WinForms lets you select a splash screen form when the application starts, which is displayed automatically.

Differences from the net framework

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.NET 5 is in the .NET core family and the difference in the APIs and libraries available, the project system, and the application are configured.

In general, your experience in a visual studio. Net 5 will be the same for the .NET framework. The empty ApplicationEvents.vb file to contain these events is created in the .NET 5 by the Windows template, while the file does not develop in the .NET Framework until the developer clicks the View Application Events button. As a result, the procedure for wiring application events in your application is as follows:

Switch to the ApplicationEvents.vb code file in the code editor.
From the drop-down view that appears in the middle of the code editor, select (My Apps).
From the drop-down view to the right in the code editor, select the application event you want to wire.
This will create a handler where you can add your code.

Project file format changed

The .NET Core and .NET 5 application uses the new project file (.vbproj) format. The new format has been created for humans to read and understand by MSBuild as well. The files are no longer explicitly listed. Rather, all the files in the folder where the .vbproj file is saved and any subfolders are an integral part of this project. This is called globbing. You will also see project level import, project and package reference and option settings in this file.

The new project file looks like this:


    
        winExe
        net5.0-windows
        VbWinForms5
        Sub Main
        true
        Windows Forms

The Visual Basic project files start with the tag. This tag is required for WinForms applications

Microsoft.NET.Sdk for .NET 5 (and higher version) applications and
Microsoft.NET.WindowsDesktop for .NET Core 3.1 applications.

To change the Target Framework in the WinForms application, change the target framework setting by editing the project file.

Change the targetframework tag in

netcoreapp3.1 for Applications.3.1. please note that those 3.1 applications do not support the Visual Basic application framework.
net5.0-windows for .NET 5.0 applications

Conclusion

We hope this article will help you to understand the Visual Basic WinForms Apps in .NET 5 and Visual Studio 16.8. In Visual Studio 16.8, WinForms Designer still lacks some features. Also, the project system manages the Project Dialog, does not fully support the Application Framework.