How to Dynamically Change the Background Color of a WinForms Control Based on External Data Source?
This might be a silly question, but I'm getting frustrated with I'm stuck on something that should probably be simple. I'm working on a WinForms application where I need to change the background color of a specific control dynamically based on values fetched from an external data source (like a database). I've set up a Timer to poll the data source every minute, but I'm working with issues with updating the UI properly. I've defined a Timer in my form: ```csharp private Timer updateTimer; private void InitializeTimer() { updateTimer = new Timer(); updateTimer.Interval = 60000; // 1 minute updateTimer.Tick += UpdateTimer_Tick; updateTimer.Start(); } ``` In the `UpdateTimer_Tick` method, I'm fetching data and trying to set the background color of a Panel control based on the fetched value. Here's the relevant code: ```csharp private void UpdateTimer_Tick(object sender, EventArgs e) { var status = FetchStatusFromDatabase(); // Assume this fetches 'Online' or 'Offline' if (status == "Online") { panelStatus.BackColor = Color.Green; } else if (status == "Offline") { panelStatus.BackColor = Color.Red; } } ``` The question I'm working with is that the background color does not change when the Timer ticks, and I suspect it's due to cross-thread operation issues since I'm invoking this from a Timer. I've also tried using `InvokeRequired`, but it still doesn't seem to work. I'm seeing no exceptions, but the colors remain unchanged. I understand that using `Invoke` might be necessary here, but I'm not sure how to do it correctly in this context. Any suggestions on how to properly update the control's background color based on the data fetched every minute? Should I consider a different approach altogether for handling the polling? I'm using .NET Framework 4.8 and Visual Studio 2019. Thanks for any help! For context: I'm using Csharp on macOS. How would you solve this? My development environment is Windows 11. Am I approaching this the right way? Could someone point me to the right documentation? What would be the recommended way to handle this?