' ' Simple Serial Monitor V1.0.0.1 ' A stand alone replacement for the Arduino Serial Monitor ' © Martyn Currey 2024 ' www.martyncurrey.com ' ' Visual Studio 2022 ' Visual Basic.Net (Framework).NET V4.8. The version with the drag & drop serial port :-) ' Imports System Imports System.IO.Ports Imports System.Windows.Forms.VisualStyles.VisualStyleElement Imports System.Windows.Forms.VisualStyles.VisualStyleElement.Button Imports System.Windows.Forms.VisualStyles.VisualStyleElement.ToolTip Public Class SimpleSerial ' global variables. Sometimes bad, sometimes good, sometimes just what you need. Dim comPORT As String Dim serialPropertiesBoxOpen = False Dim MAIN_RichTextBox_textSize As Integer = 1 ' colours used for the text in the main text box ' Black = received text ' Blue = sent text ' Red = system message Dim colBlack As Color = Color.Black Dim colBlue As Color = Color.Blue Dim colRed As Color = Color.Red Dim colGreen As Color = Color.Green Dim lastMessageType As String = "" ' comPortListLength and oldComPortListLength are used to determine is the number of available com ports has changed ' when the new list length <> the old list length something has changed and the com port drop down list can be updated Dim comPortListLength As Integer = 0 Dim oldComPortListLength As Integer = 0 Private Sub Form1_Load(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load ' Form1_Load(~) runs once when the app first loads ' minimum size for the app window Me.MinimumSize = New Size(520, 420) ' populate the combobox drop down lists Dim baudRatesArray() As Integer = {300, 1200, 2400, 4800, 9600, 19200, 38400, 57600, 74880, 115200, 230400, 250000, 500000, 1000000, 2000000} BAUD_ComboBox.MaxDropDownItems = baudRatesArray.Length For Each baudRate As Integer In baudRatesArray BAUD_ComboBox.Items.Add(baudRate) Next BAUD_ComboBox.SelectedIndex = 4 ' items.add also works. I prefer this way when there are not too many items. LE_ComboBox.Items.Clear() LE_ComboBox.Items.Add("Both NL & CR") LE_ComboBox.Items.Add("No Line Ending") LE_ComboBox.Items.Add("Carriage Return") LE_ComboBox.Items.Add("New Line") LE_ComboBox.SelectedIndex = 0 ' the SEND button is enabled only when there is an active connection SEND_Button.Enabled = False CONNECT_BTN.BackColor = Color.FromArgb(255, 50, 50) Dim dataBitsArray() As String = {"5 bits", "6 bits", "7 bits", "8 bits"} dataBits_ComboBox.MaxDropDownItems = dataBitsArray.Length For Each dataBit As String In dataBitsArray dataBits_ComboBox.Items.Add(dataBit) Next dataBits_ComboBox.SelectedIndex = 3 Dim parityOptionsArray() As String = {"None", "Odd", "Even"} parityBit_ComboBox.MaxDropDownItems = dataBitsArray.Length For Each parity As String In parityOptionsArray parityBit_ComboBox.Items.Add(parity) Next parityBit_ComboBox.SelectedIndex = 0 Dim stopBitsArray As String() = {"1 bit", "2 bits"} stopBits_ComboBox.MaxDropDownItems = stopBitsArray.Length For Each stopBit As String In stopBitsArray stopBits_ComboBox.Items.Add(stopBit) Next stopBits_ComboBox.SelectedIndex = 0 Dim charEncodesArray() As String = {"Default", "UTF8", "Unicode", "ASCII", "UTF7", "UTF32"} encode_ComboBox.MaxDropDownItems = charEncodesArray.Length For Each charEncode As String In charEncodesArray encode_ComboBox.Items.Add(charEncode) Next encode_ComboBox.SelectedIndex = 0 ' timers ' - Timer_checkSerialIn. used to check if there is any new data on the serial port ' - Timer_slide. used to slide the serial port settings port panel in and out ' - Timer_updateComPorts. used to check if the number of available com ports has changed Timer_checkSerialIn.Enabled = False Timer_slide.Enabled = False Timer_updateComPorts.Enabled = True ' load the settings that were saved the last time the app was used LoadSettings() ' serialProperties_GroupBox contains the serial port settings. ' it is hidden to one side when not in use. serialProperties_GroupBox.Left = Me.Width + 10 serialProperties_GroupBox.Top = 30 message1_LBL.Text = " " End Sub Private Sub MainForm_FormClosing(sender As Object, e As FormClosingEventArgs) Handles MyBase.FormClosing ' when the form closes save the settings saveSettings() End Sub Private Sub ExitToolStripMenuItem_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles ExitToolStripMenuItem.Click ' if File > Exit is clicked, close the program. ' calling me.close() will call MainForm_FormClosing(~) Me.Close() End Sub Private Sub AboutToolStripMenuItem_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles AboutToolStripMenuItem.Click ' show the about form AboutBox1.Show() End Sub ' _____ ______ _____ _____ _ _____ ____ _____ _______ ' / ____|| ____|| __ \ |_ _| /\ | | | __ \ / __ \ | __ \|__ __| ' | (___ | |__ | |__) | | | / \ | | | |__) || | | || |__) | | | ' \___ \ | __| | _ / | | / /\ \ | | | ___/ | | | || _ / | | ' ____) || |____ | | \ \ _| |_ / ____ \ | |____ | | | |__| || | \ \ | | ' |_____/ |______||_| \_\|_____|/_/ \_\|______| |_| \____/ |_| \_\ |_| ' and related ' Private Sub connect_BTN_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles CONNECT_BTN.Click ' the connect button is used to connect and disconnect If (SerialPort1.IsOpen) Then DISCONNECT() Else CONNECT() End If End Sub Private Sub BAUD_ComboBox_SelectedIndexChanged(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles BAUD_ComboBox.SelectedIndexChanged ' if a different com port is selected when there is an active serial connection the app will close the current connection ' and try to make a new one using the new com port ' if there isn't an active connection nothing happens If (SerialPort1.IsOpen) Then DISCONNECT() CONNECT() End If End Sub Private Sub CONNECT() ' baud rate is taken from selected item value. ' parity and stop bits are derived from the list index value of the selected item. ' Serial Parity ' index 0 = None ' index 1 = odd ' index 2 = even ' ' Serial Stop Bits ' index 0 = One ' index 1 = Two ' com port is taken from the user selected item value comPORT = comPort_ComboBox.SelectedItem ' for the baud rate and com port I want the value of the item that is selected in the drop down list ' for data bits, parity and stops bits, VB uses an integer, SerialPort1.DataBits is an integer, this means ' as long as the drop down lists use the same order that VB serialport1.~ uses I can use the list index (also an integer). ' sometimes the list index matches exactly what VB expects, for example SerialPort1.Parity = parityBit_ComboBox.SelectedIndex ' sometimes you need to change the index slightly, for example SerialPort1.DataBits = dataBits_ComboBox.SelectedIndex + 5 'if a com port has been selected, try to open a channel If (comPORT <> "") Then SerialPort1.Close() SerialPort1.PortName = comPORT SerialPort1.BaudRate = BAUD_ComboBox.SelectedItem SerialPort1.DataBits = dataBits_ComboBox.SelectedIndex + 5 SerialPort1.Parity = parityBit_ComboBox.SelectedIndex SerialPort1.StopBits = stopBits_ComboBox.SelectedIndex + 1 SerialPort1.Handshake = Handshake.None If (encode_ComboBox.SelectedIndex = 0) Then SerialPort1.Encoding = System.Text.Encoding.Default ElseIf (encode_ComboBox.SelectedIndex = 1) Then SerialPort1.Encoding = System.Text.Encoding.UTF8 ElseIf (encode_ComboBox.SelectedIndex = 2) Then SerialPort1.Encoding = System.Text.Encoding.Unicode ElseIf (encode_ComboBox.SelectedIndex = 3) Then SerialPort1.Encoding = System.Text.Encoding.ASCII ElseIf (encode_ComboBox.SelectedIndex = 4) Then SerialPort1.Encoding = System.Text.Encoding.UTF7 ElseIf (encode_ComboBox.SelectedIndex = 5) Then SerialPort1.Encoding = System.Text.Encoding.UTF32 Else SerialPort1.Encoding = System.Text.Encoding.Default End If SerialPort1.ReadTimeout = 500 SerialPort1.WriteTimeout = 500 SerialPort1.RtsEnable = True SerialPort1.DtrEnable = True ' SerialPort1.Open() may fail and if it fails without the try/catch the program will crash. Try SerialPort1.Open() Catch ex As Exception MsgBox("Failed to open " & comPORT) End Try ' the serial port may or may not be open ' if it is open, update the sreen and the timers ' if it is not open, print a system message in the main text box. If (SerialPort1.IsOpen) Then ' serial_connected = True CONNECT_BTN.BackColor = Color.FromArgb(128, 225, 128) SEND_Button.Enabled = True Timer_checkSerialIn.Enabled = True Timer_updateComPorts.Enabled = False AddSysMsgToMainTextBox("Serial port open" + vbCrLf, colRed, "yes") Else AddSysMsgToMainTextBox("Failed to open " & comPORT & vbCrLf, colRed, "yes") End If Else MsgBox("No COM port selected") End If End Sub Private Sub DISCONNECT() Timer_checkSerialIn.Enabled = False Timer_updateComPorts.Enabled = True SEND_Button.Enabled = False Try SerialPort1.Close() Catch ex As Exception MsgBox("Serial port already closed") End Try ' serial_connected = False CONNECT_BTN.BackColor = Color.FromArgb(255, 50, 50) AddSysMsgToMainTextBox("Serial port closed" + vbCrLf, colRed, "yes") End Sub Private Sub Timer_checkSerialIn_Tick(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Timer_checkSerialIn.Tick ' timer used to check for incoming serial data ' could be replaced with the serial received event. ' first things first, turn the timer off. ' can't have Timer_checkSerialIn_Tick(~) being called while we are still here ' otherwise we never get out - serious case of check serial inception Timer_checkSerialIn.Enabled = False ' if you try to read from a serial port that is not open all sorts of bad things hapen and the program crashes. ' so use a try/catch Dim tmpDataIn As String = "" If (SerialPort1.IsOpen) Then If (SerialPort1.BytesToRead > 0) Then Try tmpDataIn = SerialPort1.ReadExisting() Catch ex As Exception MsgBox("Error reading from the serial port") End Try End If ' if there is new received data add it to the main text box If (tmpDataIn <> "") Then addReceivedTextToMainTextBox(tmpDataIn, colBlack) End If ' and finally start the timer again. Timer_checkSerialIn.Enabled = True Else ' no serial port DISCONNECT() MsgBox("The serial port has unexpectedly closed") End If End Sub Private Sub Timer_updateComPorts_Tick(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Timer_updateComPorts.Tick ' Timer_updateComPorts is active only when there isn't an active serial port ' it is used to see if there are any changes to the available com ports list updateCOMlist() End Sub Private Sub updateCOMlist() ' the previous number of available com ports Is stored in oldComPortListLength ' the current number of available com ports is put in to comPortListLength ' if they are not equal then the com port list has changed and should be updated. comPortListLength = My.Computer.Ports.SerialPortNames.Count ' The com port drop down list is only updated if the number of available com ports has changed If (comPortListLength <> oldComPortListLength) Then oldComPortListLength = comPortListLength comPORT = comPort_ComboBox.SelectedItem comPort_ComboBox.Items.Clear() For Each sp As String In My.Computer.Ports.SerialPortNames comPort_ComboBox.Items.Add(sp) Next If (My.Computer.Ports.SerialPortNames.Contains(comPORT)) Then comPort_ComboBox.SelectedItem = comPORT Else comPORT = "" comPort_ComboBox.Text = "COM Port" End If ' AddSysMsgToMainTextBox("Updated COM port list" + vbCrLf, colRed,"yes") End If End Sub ' __ __ _____ _ _ _______ ______ __ __ _______ ____ ____ __ __ ' | \/ | /\ |_ _|| \ | | |__ __|| ____|\ \ / /|__ __| | _ \ / __ \\ \ / / ' | \ / | / \ | | | \| | | | | |__ \ V / | | | |_) || | | |\ V / ' | |\/| | / /\ \ | | | . ` | | | | __| > < | | | _ < | | | | > < ' | | | | / ____ \ _| |_ | |\ | | | | |____ / . \ | | | |_) || |__| |/ . \ ' |_| |_|/_/ \_\|_____||_| \_| |_| |______|/_/ \_\ |_| |____/ \____//_/ \_\ ' Private Sub addReceivedTextToMainTextBox(text As String, c As Color) ' if the previous text/data was a system message without line end characters then print a newline before adding the new received data If (lastMessageType = "system") Then Dim currentPos As Integer = MAIN_RichTextBox.SelectionStart() If (currentPos > 0) Then If (MAIN_RichTextBox.Text.Chars(currentPos - 1) <> vbLf) Then MAIN_RichTextBox.AppendText(vbLf) End If End If End If MAIN_RichTextBox.SelectionStart = MAIN_RichTextBox.Text.Length MAIN_RichTextBox.SelectionColor = c MAIN_RichTextBox.AppendText(text) scrollTextBox() lastMessageType = "received" End Sub Private Sub AddSysMsgToMainTextBox(Text As String, c As Color, NL As String) ' NL is used as a flag to say if the system message is to be displayed on a new line ' however, we don't want a new line if there is already one there. This would result in a blank line ' so only add the new line if the last character is not a new line. If (SYS_MSG_CheckBox.CheckState = 1) Then If (NL.ToUpper = "YES") Then Dim currentPos As Integer = MAIN_RichTextBox.SelectionStart() If (currentPos > 0) Then If (MAIN_RichTextBox.Text.Chars(currentPos - 1) <> vbLf) Then MAIN_RichTextBox.AppendText(vbLf) End If End If End If MAIN_RichTextBox.SelectionStart = MAIN_RichTextBox.Text.Length ' change the text colour MAIN_RichTextBox.SelectionColor = c MAIN_RichTextBox.AppendText(Text) scrollTextBox() lastMessageType = "system" End If End Sub Private Sub scrollTextBox() ' scroll the text box the end If (SCROLL_CheckBox.CheckState = 1) Then MAIN_RichTextBox.SelectionStart = MAIN_RichTextBox.TextLength MAIN_RichTextBox.ScrollToCaret() End If End Sub Private Sub clear_BTN_Click_1(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles clear_BTN.Click ' clear the main text box MAIN_RichTextBox.Text = "" End Sub Private Sub TEXT_SMALL_BUTTON_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles TEXT_SMALL_BUTTON.Click ' reduce the main text box font size If (MAIN_RichTextBox_textSize > 1) Then MAIN_RichTextBox_textSize = MAIN_RichTextBox_textSize - 1 End If updateTextSize() End Sub Private Sub TEXT_BIG_BUTTON_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles TEXT_BIG_BUTTON.Click ' increase the main text box font size If (MAIN_RichTextBox_textSize < 5) Then MAIN_RichTextBox_textSize = MAIN_RichTextBox_textSize + 1 End If updateTextSize() End Sub Private Sub updateTextSize() ' there are 5 sizes; 1 to 5. ' 1 is whatever the default size is (if you haven't changed anything it is courier new size 10) ' 5 is the largest Dim zoomFactor As Single = 0 If (MAIN_RichTextBox_textSize = 1) Then fonSize_LBL.Text = "|----" zoomFactor = 1 ElseIf (MAIN_RichTextBox_textSize = 2) Then fonSize_LBL.Text = "-|---" zoomFactor = 1.2 ElseIf (MAIN_RichTextBox_textSize = 3) Then fonSize_LBL.Text = "--|--" zoomFactor = 1.4 ElseIf (MAIN_RichTextBox_textSize = 4) Then fonSize_LBL.Text = "---|-" zoomFactor = 1.6 ElseIf (MAIN_RichTextBox_textSize = 5) Then fonSize_LBL.Text = "----|" zoomFactor = 1.8 End If ' using zoom, rather than changing the font, keeps the original formating (ie the coloured text) MAIN_RichTextBox.SelectAll() MAIN_RichTextBox.ZoomFactor = zoomFactor End Sub '' _____ ______ _ _ _____ '' / ____|| ____|| \ | || __ \ ''| (___ | |__ | \| || | | | '' \___ \ | __| | . ` || | | | '' ____) || |____ | |\ || |__| | ''|_____/ |______||_| \_||_____/ ' Private Sub SEND_Button_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles SEND_Button.Click ProcessSendText(SEND_RichTextBox.Text) SEND_RichTextBox.Text = "" SEND_RichTextBox.Select() End Sub Private Sub SEND_RichTextBox_KeyPress(sender As Object, e As KeyEventArgs) Handles SEND_RichTextBox.KeyUp ' TO STOP THE ANOYING BEEP SOUND WHEN THE ENTER KEY IS PRESSED I AM USING A MULTLINE TEXTBOX FOR SEND ' TO STOP THE SCROLL BARS FLASHING WHEN THE ENTER KEY IS PRESSED THEY HAVE BEEN DISABLED ' CAVEAT: THE ENTER KEY IS ADDED TO THE TEXTBOX CONTENTS AND NEEDS TO BE REMOVED ' has the enter key been pressed? If (e.KeyCode = Keys.Enter) Then ' when using a multiline rich-textbox, if the content length = 1 it means the content is a ' new line character only and it can be ignored. It means the user has pressed enter without ' entering anything in the SEND text box. ' you can see this is you uncomment the below ' however, if the content length > 1 it means there is actual content If (SEND_RichTextBox.Text.Length() > 1) Then ' Dim lastChar As String = SEND_RichTextBox.Text(SEND_RichTextBox.Text.Length - 1) ' Dim lastCharInAscii = Asc(lastChar) ' AddSysMsgToMainTextBox("length = " & SEND_RichTextBox.Text.Length(), colRed, "yes") ' AddSysMsgToMainTextBox("last char = " & lastChar, colRed, "yes") ' AddSysMsgToMainTextBox("last ASCII = " & lastCharInAscii, colRed, "yes") ' remove the last character (don't uncomment this) SEND_RichTextBox.Text = SEND_RichTextBox.Text.Substring(0, SEND_RichTextBox.Text.Length() - 1) ProcessSendText(SEND_RichTextBox.Text) Else Beep() End If ' we have finished with the key event and can now pretend it never happened. e.Handled = True e.SuppressKeyPress = True SEND_RichTextBox.Text = "" SEND_RichTextBox.Select() End If End Sub Private Sub ProcessSendText(textToSend As String) ' send only. Does not clear text box ' textToSend should never be blank but you never know. better to have a check. If (textToSend <> "") Then ' line end characters are based on the user selected preference ' index 0 = Both NL & CR ' index 1 = No Line Ending ' index 2 = Carriage Return ' index 3 = New Line Dim EOL As String = "" If (LE_ComboBox.SelectedIndex = 0) Then EOL = vbCrLf ElseIf (LE_ComboBox.SelectedIndex = 2) Then EOL = vbCr ElseIf (LE_ComboBox.SelectedIndex = 3) Then EOL = vbLf End If If (showSent_checkBox.CheckState = 1) Then AddSysMsgToMainTextBox(textToSend, colBlue, "yes") End If sendSerial(textToSend & EOL) End If End Sub Private Sub sendSerial(data As String) ' the part that actual sends the data is in it's own subroutine incase I expand the app later ' this could be converted to a function with a success/failure return ' anything serialport should be wrapped in a try/catch If (SerialPort1.IsOpen) Then Try SerialPort1.Write(data) Catch ex As Exception DISCONNECT() MsgBox("Error: failed to write to the serial port") End Try End If End Sub ' _ ____ _____ __ _____ __ __ ______ ' | | / __ \ /\ | __ \ / / / ____| /\\ \ / /| ____| ' | | | | | | / \ | | | | / / | (___ / \\ \ / / | |__ ' | | | | | | / /\ \ | | | | / / \___ \ / /\ \\ \/ / | __| ' | |____| |__| |/ ____ \ | |__| | / / ____) |/ ____ \\ / | |____ ' |______|\____//_/ \_\|_____/ /_/ |_____//_/ \_\\/ |______| ' Private Sub resetSettings() comPort_ComboBox.SelectedItem = "" BAUD_ComboBox.SelectedItem = "9600" LE_ComboBox.SelectedItem = "Both NL & CR" comPort_ComboBox.SelectedItem = "" MAIN_RichTextBox_textSize = 2 SYS_MSG_CheckBox.CheckState = 0 SCROLL_CheckBox.CheckState = 1 ' other things, like the window size already have defaults written in to the app, and do not need to be reset End Sub Private Sub LoadSettings() ' App settings are saved in a text file Dim filename As String = "simpleSerial.ini" Dim tmpInputLine As String = "" Dim foundPos As Integer = 0 ' kind of wasteful. ' if the settings file does not exist, create it, then read from it. ' if all the settings have just been reset why bother reading them from the file If Not System.IO.File.Exists(filename) Then ' file does not exist, use default values, create a new settings file resetSettings() saveSettings() End If Dim fileReader As System.IO.StreamReader fileReader = My.Computer.FileSystem.OpenTextFileReader(filename) tmpInputLine = fileReader.ReadLine() While tmpInputLine <> "END" tmpInputLine = fileReader.ReadLine() foundPos = InStr(1, tmpInputLine, "=", CompareMethod.Text) If (foundPos > 0) Then Dim tmpInputLineSplit() As String = Split(tmpInputLine, "=", -1, CompareMethod.Text) ' tmpInputLineSplit ' form size ' all the local variables aren't really needed but they make the code easier to read. ' and at least i didn't use global variables! If (tmpInputLineSplit(0) = "size") Then If (tmpInputLineSplit(1) <> "") Then Dim tmpSize() As String = Split(tmpInputLineSplit(1), ",", -1, CompareMethod.Text) Dim tmpWidth As Integer = Val(tmpSize(0)) Dim tmpHeight As Integer = Val(tmpSize(1)) If (tmpWidth >= 520 And tmpHeight >= 420) Then Me.Width = tmpWidth Me.Height = tmpHeight End If Else ' this is not really required, 520x420 is the default start size. Me.Width = 520 Me.Height = 420 End If End If ' baudrate ' if baudrate is not found the default 9600 is still there If (tmpInputLineSplit(0) = "baudrate") Then If (tmpInputLineSplit(1) <> "" And BAUD_ComboBox.Items.Contains(tmpInputLineSplit(1))) Then BAUD_ComboBox.SelectedItem = tmpInputLineSplit(1) End If End If ' line end characters If (tmpInputLineSplit(0) = "eol") Then If (tmpInputLineSplit(1) <> "" And LE_ComboBox.Items.Contains(tmpInputLineSplit(1))) Then LE_ComboBox.SelectedItem = tmpInputLineSplit(1) Else LE_ComboBox.SelectedItem = "" End If End If ' COM port is not saved If (tmpInputLineSplit(0) = "textsize") Then If (tmpInputLineSplit(1) <> "") Then If (Val(tmpInputLineSplit(1)) >= 1 And Val(tmpInputLineSplit(1) <= 5)) Then MAIN_RichTextBox_textSize = Val(tmpInputLineSplit(1)) Else MAIN_RichTextBox_textSize = 2 End If End If updateTextSize() End If If (tmpInputLineSplit(0) = "sysmsg") Then If (tmpInputLineSplit(1) = "yes") Then SYS_MSG_CheckBox.CheckState = 1 ElseIf (tmpInputLineSplit(1) = "no") Then SYS_MSG_CheckBox.CheckState = 0 Else SYS_MSG_CheckBox.CheckState = 1 End If End If If (tmpInputLineSplit(0) = "scroll") Then If (tmpInputLineSplit(1) = "yes") Then SCROLL_CheckBox.CheckState = 1 ElseIf (tmpInputLineSplit(1) = "no") Then SCROLL_CheckBox.CheckState = 0 Else SCROLL_CheckBox.CheckState = 1 End If End If If (tmpInputLineSplit(0) = "showsent") Then If (tmpInputLineSplit(1) = "yes") Then showSent_checkBox.CheckState = 1 ElseIf (tmpInputLineSplit(1) = "no") Then showSent_checkBox.CheckState = 0 Else showSent_checkBox.CheckState = 1 End If End If If (tmpInputLineSplit(0) = "databits") Then If (tmpInputLineSplit(1) <> "") Then dataBits_ComboBox.SelectedItem = tmpInputLineSplit(1) End If End If If (tmpInputLineSplit(0) = "parity") Then If (tmpInputLineSplit(1) <> "") Then parityBit_ComboBox.SelectedItem = tmpInputLineSplit(1) End If End If If (tmpInputLineSplit(0) = "stopbits") Then If (tmpInputLineSplit(1) <> "") Then stopBits_ComboBox.SelectedItem = tmpInputLineSplit(1) End If End If End If End While fileReader.Close() AddSysMsgToMainTextBox("Previous settings loaded", colRed, "yes") End Sub Private Sub saveSettings() Dim tmpString As String = "" Dim filename As String = "simpleSerial.ini" If (System.IO.File.Exists(filename) = False) Then System.IO.File.Create(filename).Dispose() End If Dim objWriter As New System.IO.StreamWriter(filename, False) objWriter.WriteLine("Simple Serial Monitor Settings") objWriter.WriteLine("size=" & Me.Width & "," & Me.Height) ' baud rate tmpString = BAUD_ComboBox.SelectedItem If (tmpString = "") Then tmpString = "9600" End If objWriter.WriteLine("baudrate=" & tmpString) 'eol tmpString = LE_ComboBox.SelectedItem objWriter.WriteLine("eol=" & tmpString) 'main text box text size objWriter.WriteLine("textsize=" & MAIN_RichTextBox_textSize) If (SCROLL_CheckBox.CheckState = 1) Then objWriter.WriteLine("scroll=yes") Else objWriter.WriteLine("scroll=no") End If If (SYS_MSG_CheckBox.CheckState = 1) Then objWriter.WriteLine("sysmsg=yes") Else objWriter.WriteLine("sysmsg=no") End If If (showSent_checkBox.CheckState = 1) Then objWriter.WriteLine("showsent=yes") Else objWriter.WriteLine("showsent=no") End If tmpString = dataBits_ComboBox.SelectedItem objWriter.WriteLine("databits=" & tmpString) tmpString = parityBit_ComboBox.SelectedItem objWriter.WriteLine("parity=" & tmpString) tmpString = stopBits_ComboBox.SelectedItem objWriter.WriteLine("stopbits=" & tmpString) objWriter.WriteLine("END") objWriter.Close() End Sub Private Sub SCROLL_CheckBox_CheckedChanged(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) If (SCROLL_CheckBox.CheckState = 1) Then scrollTextBox() End If End Sub ' _____ ______ _______ _______ _____ _ _ _____ _____ _____ _ _ ______ _ ' / ____|| ____||__ __||__ __||_ _|| \ | | / ____| / ____| | __ \ /\ | \ | || ____|| | ' | (___ | |__ | | | | | | | \| || | __ | (___ | |__) |/ \ | \| || |__ | | ' \___ \ | __| | | | | | | | . ` || | |_ | \___ \ | ___// /\ \ | . ` || __| | | ' ____) || |____ | | | | _| |_ | |\ || |__| | ____) | | | / ____ \ | |\ || |____ | |____ ' |_____/ |______| |_| |_| |_____||_| \_| \_____||_____/ |_| /_/ \_\|_| \_||______||______| ' ' ' clicking the settings button enables a timer ' the timer is used to slide the serial port settings panel in and out Private Sub Setting_BTN_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles setting_BTN.Click If (SerialPort1.IsOpen) Then message1_LBL.Text = "Changes will update when" & vbCrLf & "a new connection is made" Else message1_LBL.Text = " " End If Timer_slide.Enabled = True End Sub Private Sub SerialPropertiesClose_BTN_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles serialPropertiesClose_BTN.Click ' the CLOSE button is the settings panel has patent pending InstaClose functionality :-) serialProperties_GroupBox.Left = Me.Width + 10 serialPropertiesBoxOpen = False End Sub Private Sub Timer_slide_Tick(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Timer_slide.Tick ' if the settings panel is not open, open it, else close it. ' you could get rid of all this and just open and close the panel but where is the fun in that. ' living dangerously, I don't disable the timer while moving the settings panel. ' I am trusting that the windows PC/VB can move the panel 20 pixels before the timer fires again. ' of course, once the panel is in the fully opened or fully closed position I stop the timer so ' the panel doesn't move anymore. If (serialPropertiesBoxOpen = False) Then If (serialProperties_GroupBox.Left > (Me.Width - 280)) Then serialProperties_GroupBox.Left = serialProperties_GroupBox.Left - 20 Else Timer_slide.Enabled = False serialPropertiesBoxOpen = True serialProperties_GroupBox.Left = Me.Width - 300 End If Else If (serialProperties_GroupBox.Left < (Me.Width + 10)) Then serialProperties_GroupBox.Left = serialProperties_GroupBox.Left + 20 Else Timer_slide.Enabled = False serialPropertiesBoxOpen = False End If End If End Sub ' _____ ______ _____ _____ ______ ______ __ __ _____ _ _ _____ ____ __ __ ' | __ \ | ____| / ____||_ _||___ /| ____| \ \ / /|_ _|| \ | || __ \ / __ \\ \ / / ' | |__) || |__ | (___ | | / / | |__ \ \ /\ / / | | | \| || | | || | | |\ \ /\ / / ' | _ / | __| \___ \ | | / / | __| \ \/ \/ / | | | . ` || | | || | | | \ \/ \/ / ' | | \ \ | |____ ____) | _| |_ / /__ | |____ \ /\ / _| |_ | |\ || |__| || |__| | \ /\ / ' |_| \_\|______||_____/ |_____|/_____||______| \/ \/ |_____||_| \_||_____/ \____/ \/ \/ ' Private Sub Form1_Resize(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Me.Resize ' not an elegant solution, everything is manually placed, but it works. ' Might have been better to use one of the layout tools ' serialProperties_GroupBox If (serialPropertiesBoxOpen = True) Then serialProperties_GroupBox.Left = Me.Width - 300 Else serialProperties_GroupBox.Left = Me.Width + 20 End If MAIN_RichTextBox.Width = Me.Width - 40 MAIN_RichTextBox.Height = Me.Height - 180 MAIN_RichTextBox.Left = 10 Dim baseOffset As Integer = 152 SCROLL_CheckBox.Top = Me.Height - baseOffset TEXT_SMALL_BUTTON.Top = Me.Height - (baseOffset + 2) fonSize_LBL.Top = Me.Height - (baseOffset - 2) TEXT_BIG_BUTTON.Top = Me.Height - (baseOffset + 2) SYS_MSG_CheckBox.Top = Me.Height - baseOffset showSent_checkBox.Top = Me.Height - baseOffset clear_BTN.Left = Me.Width - 30 - clear_BTN.Width clear_BTN.Top = Me.Height - (baseOffset + 4) SEND_RichTextBox.Width = Me.Width - 124 SEND_RichTextBox.Top = Me.Height - (baseOffset - 32) SEND_Button.Left = Me.Width - 30 - SEND_Button.Width SEND_Button.Top = Me.Height - (baseOffset - 31) ' 133 baseOffset = 82 BAUD_ComboBox.Top = Me.Height - baseOffset LE_ComboBox.Top = Me.Height - baseOffset comPort_ComboBox.Top = Me.Height - baseOffset CONNECT_BTN.Top = Me.Height - baseOffset setting_BTN.Top = Me.Height - baseOffset setting_BTN.Left = Me.Width - 30 - setting_BTN.Width scrollHandle.Left = Me.Width - 31 scrollHandle.Top = Me.Height - 54 End Sub End Class