Save all inserted textbox data on a windows form application

Rick van Leeuwen

Hello,
i am a bit experienced with C#, i know what everything means and what is does and stuff :D
But I'm making a windows forms application now with lots of textboxes.
What i want is that when the user presses a "save" button(already got the button :P), the inserted strings in the texboxes are saved and can be loaded on next use.
Can anyone explain how i can do that? I think it is very easy, but i just don't know how :)

So all i need to know, is what is the C# code to save all inserted text and load it on next use.

Many thanks in advance,

Rick

22 Replies

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Javeed M Shaikh15y ago
Accepted answer
No Problem Rick.

If you do not have database installed on your machine I would suggest to install SQL Server Express Edition on your machine, following is the link:

http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=1695

After you have installed the above then you can install the Management Studio Express which will allow you to create database, tables and stored procedures easily, following is the link:

http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=8961

Follow this link to create a database:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms186312.aspx

Follow this link to create the tables in that database, be certain of your storage needs when you are creating the tables:

http://www.ehow.com/how_5877415_create-tables-sql-management-studio.html

Follow this link to create the stored procedure which will help us do the database insert/update/delete etc from our c# application:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms345415.aspx

Let me know if you need more help in this and once you are done we can run the code from .cs file.

alternatively there are a lot of article/books available which will teach you from the basic.

Please do not forget to mark "Accepted Answer".
Sam Hobbs15y ago
I think it is not necessary to use a database for that. If that is the only data you need to save, then there are other ways to do it. One possibility is to use an XML file. Another possibility is to use the application's settings. The application's settings are saved in a XML file and .Net has special functions and such to make it easier. You could save the data in just one line of code per textbox and also load it with just line per textbox, plus one line to do the Save function. You might be able to do it with less code.

It is good to learn about databases, but if I had been able to see this thread earlier, I would have make the suggestion earlier.
Javeed M Shaikh15y ago
or you can use the function, its the same thing:

TimeSpan ts = date1.Subtract(date2); // both are DateTime
Vulpes15y ago
On the time question you should be able to do:

DateTime dt1 = DateTime.Parse(textBox1.Text);
DateTime dt2 = DateTime.Parse(textBox2.Text);
TimeSpan ts = dt2 - dt1;
double hours = ts.TotalHours;
Rick van Leeuwen15y ago
I'm downloading right now

i have a simple offtopic question
how can i subtract time? (inserted in textbox)

like 16:00 - 10:00
i tried things like:
convert.ToDateTime
and
DateTime time = NewDateTime()
Javeed M Shaikh15y ago
install this patch:

http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=9969
Rick van Leeuwen15y ago
No,
when i try to login with either
localhost
.
or computername,

i get this
Javeed M Shaikh15y ago
so were you able to login and what happens after that?
Rick van Leeuwen15y ago

i just have to be able to login there to proceed with your tutorial few posts back (i just installed the one you linked me)
Javeed M Shaikh15y ago
you installed SQL 2005.

open the sql management UI and show me the screenshot on how it looks, can you right click and create a new database?
Rick van Leeuwen15y ago
Thanks, that worked.
But now it says it can only connect to sql 2000 and 2005 servers :(
Javeed M Shaikh15y ago
you server name can be one of the following:

1. Your Machine name
2. localhost
3. . (just a dot)
Rick van Leeuwen15y ago
I done it,

but now i have other problem

i installed the sql server management studio express to,
Now it asks server name, what is the server name?
i tried the name i gave to my sql server (called it MYDATABASE) but that wont work
Javeed M Shaikh15y ago
I think you need to provide one login while installing SQL 2008 which will have sysadmin privilege in SQL Server 2008.
If you click Add current user on the same screen then the user who is installing SQL 2008 will become an admin in SQL..otherwise you can choose the account you wish to add there. Atleast one account should be present..
Javeed M Shaikh15y ago
No Problem Rick, you will be just fine. C# Corner is here to help.
Rick van Leeuwen15y ago
Thank you very much, i am pretty sure i will get it fixed now :D and i will be quite a bit more experienced then the other students in my class when i worked this out :D

Thanks again

Rick
Rick van Leeuwen15y ago
ok, i'll try in my best English.

I am new to C#, i am doing a Software Engineering Education which started this September
The things i mastered right now are only:
variables
simple maths (+,-,*,/)
if/for/while statements
methods

that's about it.

Now i am at home trying some stuff and wanted to make an application where i can insert the time i start working(i have parttime job beside education), when i stop and breaks and total and so on, but the maths will be no problem.
you think to complicated :). i just want when i press a save button, that the times i inserted in the textbox are remembered for when i start the app next time.

I hope this will help you helping me :D

Rick
Javeed M Shaikh15y ago
Please tell us more about your application and what it does, is it just a one time thing i mean just insert once and then just display from next time onwards? are there multiple users who will insert data? is this the only windows form?
Rick van Leeuwen15y ago
uhm, i dont have a data base yet :D
all i have is the form with the textboxes and button :)

i never used database

do i have to put that code in my program.cs, and if yes where?

can you explain to me or is it like a year learning to know it ?
Javeed M Shaikh15y ago
lets use database and stored procedure, I am assuming you already have a table setup/stored procedure in your database. Following is the code for Insert.

OracleConnection myConnection = new OracleConnection();
string myConnStr = "YourConnectionString";
myConnection = new OracleConnection(myConnStr);
myConnection.Open();
OracleCommand myCommand = new OracleCommand("yourprocedurename", myConnection);
myCommand.CommandType = CommandType.StoredProcedure;
myCommand.Parameters.Add(new OracleParameter("parameter1", OracleDbType.Varchar2)).Value = textbox1.Text;
myCommand.Parameters.Add(new OracleParameter("parameter2", OracleDbType.Varchar2)).Value = textbox2.Text;
myCommand.ExecuteNonQuery();
myConnection.Close();

Please do not forget to mark "Accepted Answer".
Rick van Leeuwen15y ago
It doesn't really matter,

all i want is just that the numbers that the user typed in the textboxes are there again when you close and open the application again.
i dont care how, because i dont know anything about either way :D

Rick
Javeed M Shaikh15y ago
do you want the code to insert the data in the database or an external file? do you want to use stored procedure or Query in the application (in case of DB storage)?