This nice tip allows the addition of a drop shadow to any form you want. The drop shadow is a nice effect that comes standard with Windows XP and Vista. It just gives the form a little mode depth and a nicer more modern look.

As you can see above, the difference is slight, but in the right hand image you can see a drop shadow around the form.

To implement this feature, you need to add in the following code to your forms.

PLAIN TEXT
C#:




using System;


using System.Windows.Forms;


using System.Security;


using System.Security.Permissions;


 


namespace System.Windows.Forms


{


    public class DropShadowForm : Form


    {


        private const int CS_DROPSHADOW = 0x00020000;


 


        public DropShadowForm()


        {


        }


 


        protected override CreateParams CreateParams


        {


            [SecurityPermission(SecurityAction.LinkDemand, UnmanagedCode = true)]


            get


            {


                CreateParams parameters = base.CreateParams;


 


                if (DropShadowSupported)


                {


                    parameters.ClassStyle = (parameters.ClassStyle | CS_DROPSHADOW);


                }


                return parameters;


            }


        }


 


        public static bool DropShadowSupported


        {


            get { return IsWindowsXPOrAbove; }


        }


 


        public static bool IsWindowsXPOrAbove


        {


            get


            {


                OperatingSystem system = Environment.OSVersion;


                bool runningNT = system.Platform == PlatformID.Win32NT;


 


                return runningNT && system.Version.CompareTo(new Version(5, 1, 0, 0))>= 0;


            }


        }


    }


}