[VBnet Forms] Pure VB: Easily Add a Raised or Etched 3D Line Beneath a Menu


	Visual Basic Window/Form Routines Pure VB: Easily Add a Raised or Etched 3D Line Beneath a Menu

Posted:	Tuesday March 04, 2003
Updated:	Monday December 26, 2011

Applies to:	VB4-32, VB5, VB6
Developed with:	VB6, Windows XP
OS restrictions:	None
Author:	dnagel, msnews groups

Related:	FillRect: Gradient Form Backgrounds GradientFill: Gradient Form Backgrounds GradientFill: Triangular Gradient Form Backgrounds Pure VB: Tile an Image as a Form Background

Prerequisites

None.

When I create an application containing a menu, I always add two line controls to the form and position them in the resize event such as to create an etched line below the menu. This code uses VB's Line method instead, and when called from the Form_Paint event, guarantees the line will always fill the client area of the form.

For this demo, I've placed the code in command buttons so you can see the difference between the etched and raised look.

BAS Module Code

None.

Form Code

Add the following code to a form containing two command buttons (Command1, Command2):

Option Explicit

''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
' Copyright ©1996-2011 VBnet/Randy Birch, All Rights Reserved.
' Some pages may also contain other copyrights by the author.
''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
' Distribution: You can freely use this code in your own
'               applications, but you may not reproduce 
'               or publish this code on any web site,
'               online service, or distribute as source 
'               on any media without express permission.
''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Private Declare Function GetSysColor Lib "user32" _
   (ByVal nIndex As Long) As Long

Private Const COLOR_BTNFACE = 15
Private Const COLOR_BTNSHADOW = 16


Private Sub Command1_Click()

  'raised
   Me.Line (0, 15)-(ScaleWidth, 15), GetSysColor(COLOR_BTNSHADOW)
   Me.Line (0, 0)-(ScaleWidth, 0), vbWhite
    
End Sub

Private Sub Command2_Click()

  'etched
   Me.Line (0, 15)-(ScaleWidth, 15), vbWhite
   Me.Line (0, 0)-(ScaleWidth, 0), GetSysColor(COLOR_BTNSHADOW)
    
End Sub

Comments

Once you've chosen a style, use the code to the Form_Paint event to ensure the line is always repainted, regardless of the form resizing. This same technique can also be used to draw 3D lines anywhere on the form.

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