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Language: VB.NET
Expertise: Intermediate

Jan 20, 2004

I find this particularly useful in an MDI environment where you don't want to keep switching forms to read information—just make the front form transparent to read the one behind, then fade it in again. Much nicer than Alt+Tab!! Can also be used when quitting programs for a bit of extra class (no pun intended...)

Create a form with two buttons—btnFadeIn & btnFadeOut and execute the appropriate function.

Drop in the following code:

---------------------------
Private Function FadeIn()
   ' attach to BtnFadeIn_Click
   Dim start, finish As Double
   Dim i As Integer
   i = 1
   start = Microsoft.VisualBasic.DateAndTime.Timer
   finish = start + 2.0

   Do While Microsoft.VisualBasic.DateAndTime.Timer < finish
       If Me.Opacity < 1.0 Then
           Me.Opacity = ((i * 1) / 100)
           i = i + 1
       Else
           Exit Do
       End If
   Loop
End Function

Private Function FadeOut()
   ' attach to BtnFadeOut_Click - also Form1_Closing
   Dim start, finish As Double
   Dim i As Integer
   i = 1
   start = Microsoft.VisualBasic.DateAndTime.Timer
   finish = start + 1.0

   Do While Microsoft.VisualBasic.DateAndTime.Timer < finish
       If Me.Opacity > 0.25 Then
           Me.Opacity = ((100 - (i * 1)) / 100)
           i = i + 1
       Else
           Exit Do
       End If
   Loop
End Function