If you are new to the .NET platform, you might be unfamiliar with how to start a new project using a component. To use the Spread Windows Forms product, you need to add the component to a project in Visual Studio .NET.

The first step is to create a new project in Visual Studio .NET, and to add a Spread Windows Forms component to the project.

1. Start Visual Studio .NET.
2. From the File menu, choose New, Project or select New Project... under Start.
3. In the New Project dialog, in the Installed area, select a project type depending on the language environment in which you are developing. For example, choose Windows under Visual Basic.

   

   1. Choose the type of project such as Windows Forms Application.
   2. In the Name box, type the name of the new project. The default is WindowsApplication1 for the first Windows Forms application.
   3. In the Location box, leave the location path as the designated path, or click Browse to change the path to a new directory.
   4. Click OK.

   If your project does not display the Solution Explorer, from the View menu, choose Solution Explorer.

4. In the Solution Explorer, right-click on the form name, Form1. Choose Rename from the pop-up menu, then type the new form name you prefer for the new form name.

The next step is to add the Spread component to the tool box. This only has to be done once.

1. If the Toolbox is not displayed, from the View menu choose Toolbox.
2. Once the Toolbox is displayed, look in the ComponentOne Spread category (or in any other category if you have installed Spread and placed the toolbox icon in a different category).
3. If the Spread component is not in the Toolbox, right-click in the Toolbox, and from the pop-up menu choose Choose Items.
4. In the Customize Toolbox dialog, click the .NET Framework Components tab.
5. In the .NET Framework Components tab, the Spread component (in the FarPoint.Win.Spread namespace) should be displayed in the list of components. Select the Spread component check box and click OK. Select fpChart (FarPoint.Win.Chart namespace) for the chart control.

   If the Spread component is not displayed in the list of components, click Browse and browse to the installation path for the Spread Windows Forms component. Once there, select the FarPoint.Win.Spread.dll and click Open. The Spread component is now displayed in the list of components. Select it and click OK. Select FarPoint.Win.Chart.dll for the chart control.

6. You can test that the component has been added by opening a project and inserting the component.

The next step is to add the Spread component to a project.

1. With an open project, in the Toolbox under Windows Forms (or whatever category to which you added it), select the Spread component.
2. On your Windows Forms page, draw a Spread component by dragging a rectangle the size that you would like the initial component or simply double click on the page.The Spread component appears.

Your project should now look similar to the picture shown here.

You have added the Spread component to the project.