Dark Mode Project Template

[vshanecurtis]

Hello Ms. Payne,

I was hoping that you might be able to help point me in the right direction in solving another Dark Mode issue. I need to create a Dark Mode Project Template that will produce a Dark Mode form at design time and also add Dark Mode of the correct color as they are being added to the form.

I would appreciate any help you can provide

[karenpayneoregon]

1. Create a new Windows Form project
2. Add Configuration class from WinFormsSystemColorModeLibrary into a folder named Classes in the new project
3. Copy my appsettings.json file into your new project, set copy to output Directory to Copy if newer
4. Add to Program.cs Application.SetColorMode(Configuration.Instance.ColorMode);
5. Under the Project menu, export template

[vshanecurtis]

Thank you Ms. Payne. I will check this out. Although, I'm not sure if the code will convert to VB.

[vshanecurtis]

Ms. Payne,

I attempted to convert the code to VB. The conversion failed with a couple of errors that I do not know how to fix. 'null-forgiving operator' Here is the converted file.

`Option Infer On

Imports System.Text.Json
Imports WinFormsSystemColorModeLibrary.Models

#Disable Warning BCCS8601 ' Possible null reference assignment.
#Disable Warning BCCS8618, BCCS9264

Namespace WinFormsSystemColorModeLibrary

''' <summary>
''' Represents the configuration settings for the application.
''' This class is implemented as a singleton to ensure a single instance of the configuration is used throughout the application.
''' </summary>
Public NotInheritable Class Configuration

	Private Shared ReadOnly Lazy As New Lazy(Of Configuration)(Function() New Configuration())
	Public Shared ReadOnly Property Instance As Configuration
		Get
			Return Lazy.Value
		End Get
	End Property

	''' <summary>
	''' Gets or sets the color mode for the application.
	''' </summary>
	''' <value>
	''' A <see cref="SystemColorMode"/> value that indicates the current color mode of the application.
	''' </value>
	Public Property ColorMode As SystemColorMode

	''' <summary>
	''' Gets a value indicating whether the application is in dark mode.
	''' </summary>
	''' <value>
	''' <c>true</c> if the application is in dark mode; otherwise, <c>false</c>.
	''' </value>
	Public ReadOnly Property IsDarkMode As Boolean
		Get
			Return ColorMode = SystemColorMode.Dark
		End Get
	End Property
	''' <summary>
	''' Gets a value indicating whether the application is in light mode.
	''' </summary>
	''' <value>
	''' <c>true</c> if the application is in light mode; otherwise, <c>false</c>.
	''' </value>
	''' <remarks>
	''' This property returns <c>true</c> if the <see cref="ColorMode"/> is set to <see cref="SystemColorMode.Classic"/>.
	''' </remarks>
	Public ReadOnly Property IsLightMode As Boolean
		Get
			Return ColorMode = SystemColorMode.Classic
		End Get
	End Property
	''' <summary>
	''' Gets a value indicating whether the current color mode is set to system mode.
	''' </summary>
	''' <value>
	''' <c>true</c> if the current color mode is system mode; otherwise, <c>false</c>.
	''' </value>
	''' <remarks>
	''' The system mode color setting allows the application to adapt its color scheme based on the system's settings.
	''' </remarks>
	Public ReadOnly Property IsSystemMode As Boolean
		Get
			Return ColorMode = SystemColorMode.System
		End Get
	End Property

	''' <summary>
	''' Gets or sets the text representation of the current color mode.
	''' </summary>
	''' <value>
	''' A string that represents the current color mode. Possible values are "Dark mode", "Light mode", and "System mode".
	''' </value>
	''' <remarks>
	''' This property is set based on the <see cref="ColorMode"/> property during the initialization of the <see cref="Configuration"/> class.
	''' </remarks>
	Public Property ModeText As String

	''' <summary>
	''' Gets or sets an array of mode names representing the different system color modes available.
	''' </summary>
	''' <value>
	''' An array of strings where each string is the name of a system color mode.
	''' </value>
	''' <remarks>
	''' This property is initialized with the names of the <see cref="SystemColorMode"/> enumeration values.
	''' </remarks>
	Public Property ModesArray As String()

	''' <summary>
	''' Sets the mode text based on the specified <paramref name="mode"/> and updates the configuration file.
	''' </summary>
	''' <param name="mode">The system color mode to set.</param>
	''' <remarks>
	''' This method reads the current configuration from "appsettings.json", updates the visual configuration's system color mode,
	''' and writes the updated configuration back to the file.
	''' </remarks>
	Public Sub SetModeText(ByVal mode As SystemColorMode)

		Dim json = File.ReadAllText("appsettings.json")
		Dim settings? As ApplicationSetting = JsonSerializer.Deserialize(Of ApplicationSetting)(json)

		' INSTANT VB TASK: There is no VB equivalent to the C# 'null-forgiving operator':
		' ORIGINAL LINE: settings!.VisualConfiguration.SystemColorMode = mode.ToString();
		settings.VisualConfiguration.SystemColorMode = mode.ToString()
		File.WriteAllText("appsettings.json", JsonSerializer.Serialize(settings, Indented))
	End Sub

	''' <summary>
	''' Initializes a new instance of the <see cref="Configuration"/> class.
	''' This constructor reads the configuration settings from the "appsettings.json" file and sets the <see cref="ColorMode"/> property.
	''' </summary>
	''' <remarks>
	''' The constructor is private to enforce the singleton pattern. It reads the JSON configuration file, deserializes it to retrieve the
	''' visual configuration settings, and sets the <see cref="ColorMode"/> property based on the deserialized value.
	''' </remarks>
	Private Sub New()

		' for use in SettingsForm ComboBox
		ModesArray = System.Enum.GetValues(GetType(SystemColorMode)).Cast(Of SystemColorMode)().Select(Function(e) e.ToString()).ToArray()

		Dim json = File.ReadAllText("appsettings.json")

		Try
			'            
			'             * Read color mode, convert to enum and set ColorMode.
			'             * Note, SystemColorMode in appsettings is case-insensitive.
			'             * If the value is not a valid SystemColorMode, the ColorMode is set to System.
			'             
			' INSTANT VB TASK: There is no VB equivalent to the C# 'null-forgiving operator':
			' ORIGINAL LINE: var settings = JsonSerializer.Deserialize<ApplicationSetting>(json)!.VisualConfiguration;
			Dim settings = JsonSerializer.Deserialize(Of ApplicationSetting)(json).VisualConfiguration
			Dim mode As SystemColorMode
			Dim test = System.Enum.TryParse(settings.SystemColorMode, True, mode)
			ColorMode = If(test, mode, SystemColorMode.System)
		Catch e1 As Exception
			ColorMode = SystemColorMode.System
		End Try

		Dim tempVar As String
		Select Case ColorMode
			Case SystemColorMode.Dark
				tempVar = "Dark mode"
			Case SystemColorMode.Classic
				tempVar = "Light mode"
			Case SystemColorMode.System
				tempVar = "System mode"
			Case Else
				tempVar = ModeText
		End Select
		ModeText = tempVar
	End Sub

	Public Shared ReadOnly Property Indented As JsonSerializerOptions
		Get
			Return New() { WriteIndented = True }
		End Get
	End Property
End Class

End Namespace`

[karenpayneoregon]

For VB help ask here https://www.vbforums.com/forumdisplay.php?25-Visual-Basic-NET

[vshanecurtis]

I would happily do so but the forum displays in white mode and it fries my eyes. Not all web sites get converted to display in dark mode. Perhaps if you could explain what the purpose of the function is I might be able to figure out how to duplicate the function in VB

[karenpayneoregon]

See https://github.com/karenpayneoregon/csharp-11-ef-core-7-features/tree/master/DarkModeVB