* VB-CODE (3)
Tip 85: Hiding MDI Child Forms at Run Time

May 15, 1995

Abstract
There may be situations in which you do not want a multiple-document
interface (MDI) child form displayed while your program is executing.
This article explains how you can hide an MDI child form.

Making MDI Forms Invisible
A multiple-document interface (MDI) child form allows you to have
several windows open at the same time with different documents loaded
in each window. This is how Notepad and similar programs operate so
that you can switch between different text files. You cannot, however,
hide an MDI child form at run time.

So how can you temporarily hide an MDI child window from the user? By
moving the window to a nonexistent position on your screen.
In the example program below, the MDI child form is moved off the
current viewing area of the screen. Windows=AE itself doesn't care where
you place the window; and, to your user, it appears as if the window
has been hidden.

Example Program
This program shows how you can temporarily hide an MDI child form in
your Visual Basic=AE application. Run the program by pressing the F5
function key. The MDI child window is visible on the screen. Click the
mouse on the main form. The MDI child window disappears from view.
Double-click the main form and the MDI child form is again visible on
the screen.

 1. Create a new project in Visual Basic. Form1 is created by default.
    Set the following properties for Form1:
        BorderStyle =3D 1-Fixed Single
        Height =3D 1140
        Left =3D 2220
        Top =3D 3030
        Width =3D 4605
 2. From the Insert menu, select MDI Form. MDIForm1 is created by
    default.
 3. From the Insert menu, select Form. Form2 is created by default.
    Set the form's MDIChild property to True.
 4. Add the following code to the Click event for MDIForm:

Private Sub MDIForm_Click()
     Form1.Move -(2 * Form1.Width), -(2 * Form1.Height)
End Sub

 5. Add the following code to the DblClick event for MDIForm:

Private Sub MDIForm_DblClick()
    Form1.Move 2220, 3030, 4605, 1140
End Sub

 6. Add the following code to the Form_Load event for MDIForm:

Private Sub
    MDIForm_Load()
    Form1.Show
    Form2.Show
End Sub

Additional References
Knowledge Base Q115781. "How to Create Hidden MDI Child Forms."
"Hide Method." (Product Documentation, Office Developer's Kit 1.0,
   Visual Basic 3.0 Professional Edition, Language Reference)
"Run-Time Features of MDI Child Forms." (Product Documentation,
   Office Developer's Kit 1.0, Visual Basic 3.0, Professional Edition,
   Programmer's Guide)