WPF C# - Timer countdown

Question

How can I implement the following in my piece of code written in WPF C#?

I have a ElementFlow control in which I have implemented a SelectionChanged event which (by definition) fires up a specific event when the control's item selection has changed.

What I would like it to do is:

1. Start a timer
2. If the timer reaches 2 seconds then launch a MessageBox saying ("Hi there") for example
3. If the selection changes before the timer reaches 2 seconds then the timer should be reset and started over again.

This is to ensure that the lengthy action only launches if the selection has not changed within 2 seconds but I am not familiar with the DispatcherTimer feature of WPF as i am more in the know when it comes to the normal Timer of Windows Forms.

Thanks,

S.

Answer 1

Try this:

private int timerTickCount = 0;
private bool hasSelectionChanged = false;
private DispatcherTimer timer;

In your constructor or relevant method:

timer = new DispatcherTimer();
timer.Interval = new TimeSpan(0, 0, 1); // will 'tick' once every second
timer.Tick += new EventHandler(Timer_Tick);
timer.Start();

And then an event handler:

private void Timer_Tick(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    DispatcherTimer timer = (DispatcherTimer)sender;
    if (++timerTickCount == 2)
    {
        if (hasSelectionChanged) timer.Stop();
        else MessageBox.Show("Hi there");
    }
}

Finally, to make this work, you just need to set the hasSelectionChanged variable when the selection has changed according to your SelectionChanged event.

Answer 2

I've figured the complete code out as such:

DispatcherTimer _timer;

public MainWindow()
{
    _myTimer = new DispatcherTimer();
    _myTimer.Tick += MyTimerTick;
    _myTimer.Interval = new TimeSpan(0,0,0,1);
}

private void ElementFlowSelectionChanged(object sender, SelectionChangedEventArgs e)
{
    _counter = 0;
    _myTimer.Stop();
    _myTimer.Interval = new TimeSpan(0, 0, 0, 1);
    _myTimer.Start();
}

private int _counter;
public int Counter
{
    get { return _counter; }
    set
        {
            _counter = value;
            OnPropertyChanged("Counter");
        }
}
private void MyTimerTick(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    Counter++;
    if (Counter == 2)
    {
        _myTimer.Stop();
        MessageBox.Show(“Reached the 2 second countdown”);
    }
}
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
protected virtual void OnPropertyChanged(string propertyName)
{
    PropertyChangedEventHandler e = PropertyChanged;
    if (e != null)
        {
            e(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(propertyName));
}
}

Answer 3

look here is the code of how to use DispatherTimer and you can add your own logic in it. that will depends on you..

 private void ListBox_SelectionChanged_1(object sender, SelectionChangedEventArgs e)
    {
        DispatcherTimer timer = new DispatcherTimer();
        timer.Interval = TimeSpan.FromMilliseconds(2000);
        timer.Tick += timer_Tick;
        timer.Start();

    }

    void  timer_Tick(object sender, object e)
    {
       // show your message here..
    }

Answer 4

To use a DispatcherTimer:

    private DispatcherTimer _timer;
    public void StartTimer()
    {
        if (_timer == null)
        {
            _timer = new DispatcherTimer();
            _timer.Tick += _timer_Tick;
        }

        _timer.Interval = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(2);
        _timer.Start();
    }

    void _timer_Tick(object sender, EventArgs e)
    {
        MessageBox.Show("Hi there");
        _timer.Stop();
    }

    void SelectionChangedEvent()
    {
        StartTimer();
    }