Multi-threaded splash screen in C#?

Question

I want a splash screen to show while the application is loading. I have a form with a system tray control tied to it. I want the splash screen to display while this form loads, which takes a bit of time since it's accessing a web service API to populate some drop-downs. I also want to do some basic testing for dependencies before loading (that is, the web service is available, the configuration file is readable). As each phase of the startup goes, I want to update the splash screen with progress.

I have been reading a lot on threading, but I am getting lost on where this should be controlled from (the main() method?). I am also missing how Application.Run() works, is this where the threads for this should be created from? Now, if the form with the system tray control is the "living" form, should the splash come from there? Wouldn't it not load until the form is completed anyway?

I'm not looking for a code handout, more of an algorithm/approach so I can figure this out once and for all :)

Answer 1

Well, for a ClickOnce app that I deployed in the past, we used the Microsoft.VisualBasic namespace to handle the splash screen threading. You can reference and use the Microsoft.VisualBasic assembly from C# in .NET 2.0 and it provides a lot of nice services.

1. Have the main form inherit from Microsoft.VisualBasic.WindowsFormsApplicationBase

2. Override the "OnCreateSplashScreen" method like so:

   protected override void OnCreateSplashScreen()
   {
       this.SplashScreen = new SplashForm();
       this.SplashScreen.TopMost = true;
   }
   

Very straightforward, it shows your SplashForm (which you need to create) while loading is going on, then closes it automatically once the main form has completed loading.

This really makes things simple, and the VisualBasic.WindowsFormsApplicationBase is of course well tested by Microsoft and has a lot of functionality that can make your life a lot easier in Winforms, even in an application that is 100% C#.

At the end of the day, it's all IL and bytecode anyway, so why not use it?

Answer 2

The trick is to to create separate thread responsible for splash screen showing.
When you run you app .net creates main thread and loads specified (main) form. To conceal hard work you can hide main form until loading is done.

Assuming that Form1 - is your main form and SplashForm is top level, borderles nice splash form:

private void Form1_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    Hide();
    bool done = false;
    ThreadPool.QueueUserWorkItem((x) =>
    {
        using (var splashForm = new SplashForm())
        {
            splashForm.Show();
            while (!done)
                Application.DoEvents();
            splashForm.Close();
        }
    });

    Thread.Sleep(3000); // Emulate hardwork
    done = true;
    Show();
}

Answer 3

After looking all over Google and SO for solutions, this is my favorite: http://bytes.com/topic/c-sharp/answers/277446-winform-startup-splash-screen

FormSplash.cs:

public partial class FormSplash : Form
{
    private static Thread _splashThread;
    private static FormSplash _splashForm;

    public FormSplash() {
        InitializeComponent();
    }

    /// <summary>
    /// Show the Splash Screen (Loading...)
    /// </summary>
    public static void ShowSplash()
    {
        if (_splashThread == null)
        {
            // show the form in a new thread
            _splashThread = new Thread(new ThreadStart(DoShowSplash));
            _splashThread.IsBackground = true;
            _splashThread.Start();
        }
    }

    // called by the thread
    private static void DoShowSplash()
    {
        if (_splashForm == null)
            _splashForm = new FormSplash();

        // create a new message pump on this thread (started from ShowSplash)
        Application.Run(_splashForm);
    }

    /// <summary>
    /// Close the splash (Loading...) screen
    /// </summary>
    public static void CloseSplash()
    {
        // need to call on the thread that launched this splash
        if (_splashForm.InvokeRequired)
            _splashForm.Invoke(new MethodInvoker(CloseSplash));

        else
            Application.ExitThread();
    }
}

Program.cs:

static class Program
{
    /// <summary>
    /// The main entry point for the application.
    /// </summary>
    [STAThread]
    static void Main(string[] args)
    {
        // splash screen, which is terminated in FormMain
        FormSplash.ShowSplash();

        Application.EnableVisualStyles();
        Application.SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault(false);
        // this is probably where your heavy lifting is:
        Application.Run(new FormMain());
    }
}

FormMain.cs

    ...

    public FormMain()
    {
        InitializeComponent();            

        // bunch of database access, form loading, etc
        // this is where you could do the heavy lifting of "loading" the app
        PullDataFromDatabase();
        DoLoadingWork();            

        // ready to go, now close the splash
        FormSplash.CloseSplash();
    }

I had issues with the Microsoft.VisualBasic solution -- Worked find on XP, but on Windows 2003 Terminal Server, the main application form would show up (after the splash screen) in the background, and the taskbar would blink. And bringing a window to foreground/focus in code is a whole other can of worms you can Google/SO for.