How To Add Explorer Style Rename Capability to TreeView Control (192170)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Visual Basic Learning Edition for Windows 5.0
  • Microsoft Visual Basic Learning Edition for Windows 6.0
  • Microsoft Visual Basic Professional Edition for Windows 5.0
  • Microsoft Visual Basic Professional Edition for Windows 6.0
  • Microsoft Visual Basic Enterprise Edition for Windows 5.0
  • Microsoft Visual Basic Enterprise Edition for Windows 6.0
This article was previously published under Q192170

SUMMARY

The following procedure can be used to edit the node name on the TreeView side of the Windows Explorer:
  1. Click on a node with focus to place it in edit mode.
  2. Remove all the text from the Node label.
  3. Move focus to a different Node.
  4. You receive the following error message:
    You must type in a file name.
  5. Focus returns to the Node you were editing and you remain in edit mode.
  6. If you hit the Esc Key, the original text is placed back in the Node label.

MORE INFORMATION

This sample demonstrates how to achieve the same effect using the TreeView control in Visual Basic. It also shows how to verify that when a user edits a Node label that it is not left blank.

Step-by-Step Example

  1. Create a new standard EXE project. Form1 is created by default.
  2. From the Project menu, select Components, check "Microsoft Windows Common Controls 6.0," and then click OK.
  3. Add a TreeView and Timer control to Form1.
  4. Add the following to the code window of Form1: 
          Option Explicit

      Dim sNodeText As String  ' to hold the node text

      Private Sub Form_Load()
        'Add some nodes to the TreeView
        TreeView1.Nodes.Add , , , "test"
        TreeView1.Nodes.Add , , , "test 1"
        TreeView1.Nodes.Add , , , "test 2"
      End Sub

      Private Sub Timer1_Timer()
        ' Put the TreeView in edit mode
        TreeView1.StartLabelEdit
        Timer1.Enabled = False
      End Sub

      Private Sub TreeView1_AfterLabelEdit(Cancel As Integer, _
          NewString As String)
        ' Make sure that we have a value in the Label
        If Len(NewString) < 1 Then
           ' The Label is empty
           MsgBox "Error! You must enter a value"
           ' enable the Timer to get us back to edit mode
           Timer1.Interval = 100
           Timer1.Enabled = True
        End If
      End Sub

      Private Sub TreeView1_BeforeLabelEdit(Cancel As Integer)
        ' If the label is not empty store the string
        If Len(TreeView1.SelectedItem.Text) > 0 Then
           sNodeText = TreeView1.SelectedItem.Text
        End If
      End Sub

      Private Sub TreeView1_KeyUp(KeyCode As Integer, Shift As Integer)
        ' If the user hits the Esc key then restore the old label
        If KeyCode = vbKeyEscape Then
           TreeView1.SelectedItem.Text = sNodeText
        End If
      End Sub
  5. Save and run the project. Click on a Node to select it, then click on it again to place it in edit mode.
  6. Follow steps 1-7 as described in the Summary above. When you hit the ESC key, you will see that the old value for the Node label has been restored.
(c) Microsoft Corporation 1998. All Rights Reserved.
Contributions by Brian Combs, Microsoft Corporation.
Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:6/29/2004
Keywords:kbhowto KB192170
©2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.