Create your Own TaskBar Control in VB5/6

Source code is included.

Properties

HangDown

The number of pixels that will hang down into the screen when the taskbar is hidden.

NumSteps

The number of steps drawn while moving the taskbar down.

Events

AppGotFocus

Similar to Form.GotFocus, but also works when the application gets the focus.

AppLostFocus

Similar to Form.LostFocus, but also works when the application loses focus.

MouseOver

The mouse was moved over the taskbar.

MouseLeft

The mouse left the taskbar window.

StartOpenUp

The taskbar started to open up.

StartCloseUp

The taskbar started to close up.

ChangeOpenUp

The taskbar was closing, but started to open.

ChangeCloseUp

The taskbar was opening, but started to close.

EndOpenUp

The taskbar is open all the way.

EndCloseUp

The taskbar is closed all the way.

Source Code

The control is distributed via source code. The license is GPL. (see www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html) If you make any significant changes, please let me know and I'll distribute them with this. Or if you're just using it for something amazingly cool, I'd be interested to know about that too.

Limitations/Problems

• Taskbar can only be placed at the center top of the screen.
• "Runs" while in the IDE.
• Opening and closing are somewhat slow (especially compared to start menu).
• The whole thing has too many hacks involving timers.

Author

Any suggestions, helpful hints, or flames should be directed to:

David Newcum
newcumdb@cs.purdue.edu
http://www.cs.purdue.edu/homes/newcumdb/

Download Zipped Project File (13k)