Lesson 32: Using Timer in VB2019

Create time-based applications with the Timer control

Key Takeaway

The Timer control in Visual Basic 2019 enables you to create applications that execute code at specified intervals, perfect for clocks, animations, and time-based processes.

After learning about coloring shapes in the previous lesson, we'll now explore how to create time-based applications using the Timer control in VB2019. The Timer control allows you to execute code at regular intervals, enabling you to create clocks, stopwatches, animations, and much more.

Interval Property

Controls the time between timer events (in milliseconds)

Enabled Property

Turns the timer on or off programmatically

Start Method

Activates the timer by setting Enabled to True

Stop Method

Deactivates the timer by setting Enabled to False

32.1 Timer Control Fundamentals

The Timer control in VB2019 is a hidden component at runtime that triggers the Tick event at specified intervals. The key properties are:

Property	Description	Default Value
Interval	Time between timer events in milliseconds (1-65535)	100
Enabled	Determines whether the timer is active	False

To use a timer:

Drag the Timer control from the Toolbox onto your form
Set the Interval property to the desired time (in milliseconds)
Double-click the timer to create the Tick event handler
Add your time-based code to the Tick event

32.2 Creating a Digital Clock

Let's create a digital clock that updates every second:

Example 32.1: Digital Clock

This example creates a digital clock that updates every second:

Form1.vb

Private Sub Timer1_Tick(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Timer1.Tick
    ' Update the label with the current time
    LblClock.Text = TimeOfDay.ToString("hh:mm:ss tt")
End Sub

Private Sub Form1_Load(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load
    ' Configure the timer to trigger every 1000ms (1 second)
    Timer1.Interval = 1000
    Timer1.Enabled = True
End Sub

Digital Clock Demo

12:00:00 AM

Updates every second

Figure 32.1: Digital clock application

32.3 Creating a Stopwatch

Let's build a stopwatch with start, stop, and reset functionality:

Example 32.2: Stopwatch

This example creates a stopwatch with millisecond precision:

Form1.vb

Dim counter As Integer = 0

Private Sub BtnStart_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles BtnStart.Click
    Timer1.Enabled = True
End Sub

Private Sub Timer1_Tick(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Timer1.Tick
    counter += 1
    ' Convert milliseconds to time format
    Dim ms = counter Mod 1000
    Dim sec = (counter \ 1000) Mod 60
    Dim min = (counter \ 60000) Mod 60
    
    LblStopwatch.Text = $"{min:00}:{sec:00}.{ms \ 10:00}"
End Sub

Private Sub BtnStop_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles BtnStop.Click
    Timer1.Enabled = False
End Sub

Private Sub BtnReset_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles BtnReset.Click
    Timer1.Enabled = False
    counter = 0
    LblStopwatch.Text = "00:00.00"
End Sub

Stopwatch Demo

00:00.00

Figure 32.2: Stopwatch application

32.4 Creating a Digital Dice

Let's create a digital dice that simulates rolling with random numbers:

Example 32.3: Digital Dice

This example creates a dice that rolls when clicked:

Form1.vb

Dim rollCount As Integer = 0
Dim random As New Random()

Private Sub BtnRoll_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles BtnRoll.Click
    rollCount = 0
    Timer1.Enabled = True
End Sub

Private Sub Timer1_Tick(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Timer1.Tick
    ' Generate random number between 1 and 6
    Dim diceNumber As Integer = random.Next(1, 7)
    LblDice.Text = diceNumber.ToString()
    
    rollCount += 1
    ' Stop after 10 rolls
    If rollCount >= 10 Then
        Timer1.Enabled = False
    End If
End Sub

Digital Dice Demo

Figure 32.3: Digital dice application

Lesson Summary

In this lesson, you've learned how to use the Timer control in VB2019 to create time-based applications:

Timer Fundamentals

Understand the Interval and Enabled properties

Digital Clock

Create a clock that updates every second

Stopwatch

Build a stopwatch with start, stop, and reset functionality

Digital Dice

Create a random dice simulator with animation

With timer controls mastered, you're ready to explore animation. In the next lesson, we'll learn to create animations using timers and graphics.

Next Lesson

Learn to create dynamic animations in Lesson 33: Creating Animation.

Related Resources

VB2019 Timer Guide

Comprehensive guide to timer controls in VB2019

Explore Guide

Timer Sample Code

Practical VB2019 code samples for timer applications

View Examples

VB2019 Paperback

Comprehensive guide to Visual Basic 2019

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VB2019 Kindle Edition

Digital version of Visual Basic 2019 Made Easy

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by Dr. Liew Voon Kiong

Master Visual Basic 2019 with this comprehensive guide that includes detailed coverage of timer controls. Learn to create professional time-based applications.

Key Timer Topics:

Timer control fundamentals
Creating digital clocks
Building stopwatches
Animation with timers
Practical projects with full source code

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by Dr. Liew Voon Kiong

This comprehensive guide includes numerous examples of timer applications in both VB6 and VB.NET, helping you understand the evolution of time-based programming in Visual Basic.

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Step-by-step timer tutorials
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