Programmatically change the startup form on application launch?

Question

Can I programmatically change the startup form on application launch in VB.Net?

Answer 1

Sure you can!

In your Project Properties, set Startup Object to Sub Main, and make sure that there's a Public Sub Main method somewhere in your application. A separate startup class may be a good idea:

Public Class myStartupClass

''' <summary>
''' This is the method that will be run when the application loads, 
''' because Project Properties, Startup Object is set to SubMain
''' </summary>
''' <remarks>
''' </remarks>
''' --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Public Shared Sub Main()

    'The form that we will end up showing
    Dim formToShow As System.Windows.Forms.Form = Nothing

    'The determiner as to which form to show
    Dim myMood As String = "Happy"

    'Choose the appropriate form
    Select Case myMood
        Case "Happy"
            formToShow = New Form1
        Case Else
            formToShow = New Form2
    End Select

    'Show the form, and keep it open until it's explicitly closed.
    formToShow.ShowDialog()

End Sub

End Class