How to XML serialization a Form?

Question

0.00/5 (No votes)

See more:

I am trying to XML serialize a Form in Windows Application.

I draw two buttons, and write lines as below, when running this snippet,
it shows the line of
"XmlSerializer xs = new XmlSerializer(typeof(Form));"
is error (the form type is not correct ?)

How can I correct it to let it work fine? Thanks.

C#

private void button2_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
     Form SaveForm = new Form();
     SaveForm.Location = new Point(100, 100);
     FileStream fs = new FileStream("SaveForm.tmp",
                     FileMode.Create, FileAccess.Write);
     XmlSerializer xs = new XmlSerializer(typeof(Form));
     xs.Serialize(fs, SaveForm);
     fs.Close();
}

private void button3_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
     Form SaveForm;
     FileStream fs = new FileStream("SaveForm.tmp", 
                     FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read);
     XmlSerializer xs = new XmlSerializer(typeof(Form));
     SaveForm = (Form)xs.Deserialize(fs);
     fs.Close();
     SaveForm.BringToFront();
     SaveForm.Show();
}

Posted 17-Nov-10 0:12am

Sports Kuo

Updated 17-Nov-10 0:31am

Sandeep Mewara

v3

Add a Solution

Comments

Sandeep Mewara 17-Nov-10 6:31am

Use PRE tags to format the code part from next time. It makes the question readable.

2 solutions

Add a Solution

Add your solution here

Treat my content as plain text, not as HTML

Preview 0

…

Existing Members

Sign in to your account

...or Join us

Download, Vote, Comment, Publish.

Your Email
Password
Forgot your password?

Your Email
This email is in use. Do you need your password?
Optional Password

I have read and agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
Please subscribe me to the CodeProject newsletters

When answering a question please:

Read the question carefully.
Understand that English isn't everyone's first language so be lenient of bad spelling and grammar.
If a question is poorly phrased then either ask for clarification, ignore it, or edit the question and fix the problem. Insults are not welcome.
Don't tell someone to read the manual. Chances are they have and don't get it. Provide an answer or move on to the next question.

Let's work to help developers, not make them feel stupid.

This content, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under The Code Project Open License (CPOL)

Dave Kreskowiak · Accepted Answer · 2010-11-17T04:30:00

Solution 1

You can't. The Form class is not Serializable. You'll have to save off the properties you want yourself. Why are you trying to serialize a Form anyway? There's no reason for it.

Posted 17-Nov-10 4:30am

Dave Kreskowiak

Comments

Sports Kuo 17-Nov-10 21:17pm

======================================= new comment
Thanks Dave of your answer.

In fact it's a long story, please see below in patient.
1. I am writing a windows application, the main form includes :
1.1 a ContentPanel. (in order to add system built-in toolstripcontainer, since it can automatically doing docking/floating/... issues)
1.2 on this ContentPanel, user will create several forms. (so I have to do "toolStripContainer1.ContentPanel.Controls.Add(form)" for all forms created by user)
1.3 on each form, user will select several objects (it's a panel with an image on it), so I have to do
"Form.Controls.Add(ControlPanel);" for all objects)
2. After creating several forms with objects, user may save all data into files, and will read it for next use,
so I have to display all forms with objects on main form as defined at last time.
3. The questions now are :
3.1 How can I save those huge data into file ?
3.2 Is there any simple serialization / deserialization way to save form objects and panel objects into file ? (so I do not need to get/set form/object related data so detailed)
3.3 Any suggestion or comments on all possible way to quick reach the purpose ?

Dave Kreskowiak · Accepted Answer · 2010-11-17T15:53:00

OK, you still can't serialize a form.

You're going to implement a kind of Command pattern to keep track of the steps necessary to recreate what the user does. For example, if the user drops a panel control on the form, you create a Command object that contains the details of the type of control and its properties in a serializable collection. Then you send that command to your designer, which will actually create the panel with the proper properties and show it.