PRB: Incorrect Code is Generated for the HelpProvider Component (325159)

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Visual C# .NET (2002)

This article was previously published under Q325159

SYMPTOMS

If you set the Localizable property of a C# Windows form to True, incorrect code is generated for the HelpProvider component.

With the C# compiler, you receive the following errors:

error CS1502: The best overloaded method match for 'System.Windows.Forms.HelpProvider.SetHelpKeyword(System.Windows.Forms.Control, string)' has some invalid arguments

error CS1503: Argument '2': cannot convert from 'object' to 'string'

CAUSE

The code that is generated by the Windows Forms Designer is incorrect.

Both the HelpProvider.SetHelpKeyword and the HelpProvider.SetHelpString methods expect a string as their second argument, however, the code that is generated passes an object as the second argument instead.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, use either of the following methods:

Cast the second argument into a String.
Use the ToString() method of the object.

NOTE: After you use either of these methods, you have to specify a valid second argument to the method call. For example, the SetHelpKeyword method of the HelpProvider class expects a Help keyword to be associated with a control.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a bug in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.

MORE INFORMATION

Steps to Reproduce the Behavior

Create a new Visual C# Windows application. Form1 is added by default.
Set the Localizable property of Form1 to True.
Add a Windows Forms HelpProvider component to Form1. When it is added to a form, the HelpProvider component appears in the notification area at the bottom of the Windows Forms Designer.
Build the project. You receive the errors that are mentioned in the "Symptoms" section.

Modification Type:	Major	Last Reviewed:	7/26/2002
Keywords:	kbprb KB325159