To save a file, the values currently displayed in the form's text boxes are gathered and used to populate the properties contained in a new instance of the PersonalData class. Once the deserialized values are applied back to the PersonalData object, the Open File function populates the form textboxes from the values contained in that object. To open a file, the application captures the path to the file by means of an OpenFileDialog, the path of the file along with a new instance of the PersonalData class is subsequently passed to the ProjectSerializer's deserialize function which in turn deserializes the content of the stored file and passes it back to the Open File function. It only contains three primary functions, one to save a file as the custom type, one to open a file on startup, and one to open a file of the custom type through a file open dialog. This form contains a collection of text boxes used to capture or display values associated with instances of the PersonalData class. Within the project you will find three main files: frmMain.cs, ProjectSerializer.cs, and PersonalData.cs.įrmMain.cs: This is the application and it is used to represent an application that interacts exclusively with the custom file type. In order to get started, unzip the downloaded files and open the project provided. The approach is useful if you are in need of a way to create a file type that is specific to a particular application. It is possible to include more than a single data container class as the basis for the file type placing a collection of objects into a hash table will allow for greater complexity but will still operate in the same manner. A separate module is used to serialize and deserialize files of this user defined file type. In the example provided, a custom file type is created around a serializable class that is used as a data container holding all of the elements necessary to support an application designed to interact with the defined file type. This article describes a simple approach to creating a custom file type.

Easy new file