Set ADXOlExplorerLayout as DockRight

Question

I am developing an Outlook plugin using add-in-express. I have added an adxOlFormsManager there. Which contains a Forms collection named ‘adxOlFormsCollectionItem1’. I have set the form class name to as “FlowOutlook.Plugins.Chat.ChatExplorerPane”. Yes, ChatExplorerPane is my ADXOlForm.

I implement a custom event for the my ADXOlform using following code:

        private void AddinModule_AddinStartupComplete(object sender, EventArgs e)
        {
            try
            {
var currentChatTypeForm = AddinModule.CurrentInstance.adxOlFormsCollectionItem1.FormInstances(0) as ChatExplorerPane;
                currentChatTypeForm.OnChatTypeSelected += currentChatTypeForm_OnChatTypeSelected;                

}
            catch (Exception ex)
            {
                Debug.DebugMessage(2, "AddinModule : Error in AddinModule_AddinStartupComplete() : " + ex.Message);
            }
        }

My Problem is :

If I explorer layout as “RightSubpane” this works fine. But after I changing the explorer layout as dock right (using Properties window), adxOlFormsCollectionItem1.FormInstanceCount is 0. (Which means “currentChatTypeForm” will be null).

What I am supposed to do :

        private void ChangeExplorerLayout(AddinExpress.OL.ADXOlForm form)
        {
            if (form == null) return;
            form.XXX = AddinExpress.OL.ADXOlExplorerLayout.DockRight;            
        }

I wrote above method to change the explorer layout by code. I hope I may be able to call that safely inside AddinModule_AddinStartupComplete, after initializing my custom method. But I need to know the code for replacing ‘XXX’ to complete the method and have a try.

Please advice me to change explorer layout as dock right according to my requirements.

Kushan Randima.

Answer 1

Below is a citation from the manual - see section Accessing a Form Instance in the PDF file in the folder {Add-in Express}\Docs on your development PC.

It is essential that Add-in Express panes are built on the windowing of the host application, not on the events of the application's object model. This means that getting an instance of an Add-in Express pane in a certain event may result in getting null (Nothing in VB.NET) if the call is issued before the pane is shown or after it is hidden. For instance, it is often the case with WindowActivate/WindowDeactivate in Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.

...

So, you may encounter a problem if your add-in retrieves a pane instance in an event above. To bypass this problem, we suggest modifying the code of the add-in so that it gets notified about a pane instance being shown or hidden (instead of getting the pane instance by handling the events above). Use the ADXBeforeTaskPaneShow event of the task pane class (Excel, Word, and PowerPoint) and the ADXOlForm.ADXBeforeFormShow (Outlook) event to be notified about the specified pane instance being shown. When the form becomes hidden, you'll get ADXOlForm.ADXAfterFormHide (Outlook) and the ADXAfterTaskPaneHide event of the task pane class (Excel, Word, and PowerPoint).

That is, instead of getting a form instance in the AddinStartupcomplete event, you can handle the ADXOlForm.ADXBeforeFormShow event.

Hope this helps.