Windows Form Application in F#

Introduction

This article is an explanation of how to create a Windows Forms application in F#. The Windows Forms classes are contained in System.Drawing.dll and System.Forms.Drawing.dll. The libraries are based on the System.Windows.Forms.Form class which shows a Window visible to the user.

Steps to Create Windows Application

1. Open Visual Studio 2010; select the Menu File, then select new and click on Project (File->New->Project). A New project Dialog box will open. This will show the available installed templates in Visual Studio. Select Visual F# Template from the Installed Templates like in the following Image.
   
   
   

2. Now expand the Visual F# template and select Windows than choose F# window app (winform). If this is not installed in your Visual Studio then you can install it from here.
   http://www.c-sharpcorner.com/Resources/1201/f-window-app-winform-template.aspx
   
   When you install this template the New Project dialog box will display like below.
   
   
   

3. Now give a name to your project in the given TextBox and click on OK Button.
   
   
   

4. Your Solution Explorer will look like below.
   
   
   

5. Now write the following code in the Program.fs file.

Example

The Program.fs window will look like the following:

namespace Firstform
open System
open System.Drawing
open System.Windows.Forms
 
module Main =
    //to add label in form
    let label =
        let temp = new Label()
        do temp.Size <- new System.Drawing.Size(100,100)
        do temp.Text<- "My First F# windows application!"
        do temp.AutoSize <- true
        do temp.Location <- new Drawing.Point(25,25)
        temp
    //to creat a form
    let form = new Form(BackColor = Color.Pink, Text = "First Window App")
    form.Controls.Add(label)

    Application.Run(form)

    6. Now Press f5 to execute the program.

Output

Summary

In this article I have discussed how to create a Windows Forms application in F#.