Open Image File Dialog Component
Specification
The Open Image File Dialog component targets version 2.0 of the .Net Framework and
requires, at least, this version to function successfully. The component is supplied,
with full source code, as part of either a Visual Studio 2005 CSharp or Visual Studio
2005 Visual Basic demonstration project. Both projects can be loaded into Visual
Studio 2008 and can be converted to Visual Studio 2008 format.
Introduction
The Open Image File Dialog component is supplied free of charge and you can use
the component in your own personal or commercial projects without restriction, although
Blayd Software Limited retain the intellectual property rights to the original design and
source code.
The Open Image File Dialog component references and depends on the Blayd File System
UI library, therefore, the library must be installed on the machine running the
dialog demonstration.
An evaluation version the of the Blayd File System UI library can be downloaded
free of charge and will be fine for evaluating the Open Image File Dialog from within
the development environment. You should note, however, that the Blayd File System
UI library will not run outside of the development environment without a valid license
key.
Features
The Blayd Software Open Image File Dialog component provides a file open dialog
in which the user can browse to and select a file to open. The dialog provides a
preview of a selected image file, so the user can browse and preview images before
deciding on which image file to select for opening. The dialog can be used to select
any other file type for opening but is primarily intended for use in image related
applications.
The main Open Image File Dialog features are as follows:
- Resizable Dialog
- The Open Image File Dialog can be resized both vertically and horizontally.
- Resizable Image Preview Pane
-
The image preview pain resizes automatically when the dialog is resized vertically,
it can also be resized horizontally using the splitter that separates the preview
pane from the sub-folder and file listing pane.
- Previews Multiple Image Types
-
The Open Image File Dialog can preview graphics from a bitmap, icon, JPEG, GIF,
or PNG file and the supported file types are as follows: *.bmp, *.gif, *.ico, *.jpg,
*.png and *.tif.
- Clip or Scale the Preview Image
-
By default, the Open Image File Dialog displays an image preview in the centre of
the preview pane and clips any overflow. However, the user can specify either centre
or top left positioning or specify that the image is stretched or shrunk to fit
the preview pane.
- File Name AutoComplete
-
The Open Image File Dialog will automatically suggest drive, sub-folder and file
names as the user types in the File Name combo box control.
- Most Recently Used List
-
The Open Image File Dialog can display a MRU list containing the full path of
the most recently opened files. The MRU list is displayed when the user drops down
the File Name combo box.
- Easy To Use File Type Filters
-
The Open Image File Dialog component implements the filters used for specifying
file types as a collection so developers can specify dialog file type filters in
the component designer.
- Can Be Used As Conventional File Open Dialog
-
Although primarily intended as an image preview and open dialog the Open Image File
Dialog can be used to select any file type for opening. If the user selects a compatible
image file type, the dialog will preview it, if the user selects another non-image
file, the dialog acts as a normal file open dialog i.e. a preview is not created.
- Supports Custom UI Images
-
The images used by the Open Image File Dialog component are fully customizable and
developers can specify images for the various drive types, folder and if required
even file types. Choose to use a Windows XP or Windows Vista look and feel or use
your own style of images.