FormCast v1.0 – GUI Framework for TCC v36 .NET Plugins

TimButterfield · 2026-04-22

Hi all,

With the release of TCC v36 and .NET plugin support, I wanted to share something I’ve been working on.

FormCast is a .NET plugin that allows BTM batch scripts to create and interact with native Windows GUI forms.

The idea is to add a structured UI layer on top of TCC scripts so they can be used to build interactive tools and run as standalone desktop applications.

Some highlights:

39 control types and 6 common dialogs
multiple layout systems (absolute, flow, grid, dock)
event-driven scripting via FORMEVENTS and @FORMBIND
FORMPIPE to stream command output into UI controls
standalone app mode (/app) that hides the console
a visual designer implemented in BTM

The README includes screenshots (generated headlessly) and example scripts ranging from simple dialogs to more complex layouts.

GitHub (source, docs, examples, release zip):

GitHub - Tim-Butterfield/FormCast: A .NET GUI framework for TCC batch scripts: native Windows forms with events, layouts, JSONC templates, and a visual designer.

A .NET GUI framework for TCC batch scripts: native Windows forms with events, layouts, JSONC templates, and a visual designer. - Tim-Butterfield/FormCast

github.com

Quickstart:

GitHub - Tim-Butterfield/FormCast: A .NET GUI framework for TCC batch scripts: native Windows forms with events, layouts, JSONC templates, and a visual designer.

A .NET GUI framework for TCC batch scripts: native Windows forms with events, layouts, JSONC templates, and a visual designer. - Tim-Butterfield/FormCast

github.com

Thanks,
Tim

Joe Caverly · 2026-04-23

Very impressive!

A few findings...

I run TCC as a stand-alone window.

Thus, I had to change this line in formcast-check.btm

Code:

if "%@index[%_parent,explorer]" != "-1" exit

...as it kept closing my TCC session.

Not necessary if running TCC from Windows Terminal.

Cannot get formcast-visual-designer.btm to work yet;

Code:

E:\...\designer>formcast-visual-designer.btm
ERROR: Failed to load toolbox template.

Checked to make sure file exists...

Code:

:: Toolbox loaded from template
if exist %_batchpath\templates\toolbox.jsonc echo Yes
set hTool=%@formload[%_batchpath\templates\toolbox.jsonc]

...but...

Code:

E:\...\designer>formcast-visual-designer.btm
Yes
ERROR: Failed to load toolbox template.

Other examples I have tried work as they should.

Joe

TimButterfield · 2026-04-23

Thanks, Joe. I was trying to balance the different ways of starting TCC. I usually start my TCC sessions under TCMD except for one elevated session at work. But, I wanted to also be able to double-click the .btm in Windows Explorer to launch. And, I also wanted to be able to launch a 'Windows App' from a shortcut. I was testing the designer that way without another TCC nor TCMD active to verify the app icon in the taskbar was working. Like this:

If you have the FORMCAST_DLL path env var set, that should work.

If you can, please document the issues on github so I can track them and fix them when I get a chance.

Thanks again.

Tim

MGibs · 2026-04-25

Very cool plugin Tim! Thanks for building and sharing!

Just started playing around with it. I can definitely see some use cases. First thing that comes to mind is creating "command dialog" functionality for a couple of my .BTMs with multiple command line parameters (which I can never remember) that control script behavior.

Joe Caverly · 2026-04-25

Also take a look at TASKDIALOG
Ref: TASKDIALOG command - Display a Windows Task Dialog

Here are some examples of how to use TASKDIALOG
Example of using TASKDIALOG for menu item selection
Example of using TASKDIALOG Custom Buttons for menu item selection
TASKDIALOG and ^n
Command Link Buttons

Joe

MGibs · 2026-04-26

Joe Caverly said:
Also take a look at TASKDIALOG
Ref: TASKDIALOG command - Display a Windows Task Dialog

Here are some examples of how to use TASKDIALOG
Example of using TASKDIALOG for menu item selection
Example of using TASKDIALOG Custom Buttons for menu item selection
TASKDIALOG and ^n
Command Link Buttons

Joe

I am familiar with TaskDialog and have used it for certain use cases. But in this particular situation it doesn't provide the variety of controls needed to do something like this:

Joe Caverly · 2026-04-26

Here's a (not polished) sample dialog similar to yours,
but written using PowerShell 5.1

Code:

R:\>pshell test.ps1
StartDate     : 2026-04-26 12:00:00 AM
LookAheadDays : 0
IncludeHome   : False
IncludeWork   : False
OutputTarget  : Screen

Code:

Add-Type -AssemblyName System.Windows.Forms
Add-Type -AssemblyName System.Drawing

#-------------------------
# Form
#-------------------------
$form               = New-Object System.Windows.Forms.Form
$form.Text          = 'Canvas - BDaysTest.jsonc'
$form.StartPosition = 'CenterScreen'
$form.Size          = New-Object System.Drawing.Size(520,260)
$form.FormBorderStyle = 'FixedDialog'
$form.MaximizeBox   = $false
$form.MinimizeBox   = $false

#-------------------------
# Start Date
#-------------------------
$lblStartDate              = New-Object System.Windows.Forms.Label
$lblStartDate.Text         = 'Start Date'
$lblStartDate.AutoSize     = $true
$lblStartDate.Location     = New-Object System.Drawing.Point(15,15)
$form.Controls.Add($lblStartDate)

$dtpStart                  = New-Object System.Windows.Forms.DateTimePicker
$dtpStart.Format           = 'Long'
$dtpStart.Location         = New-Object System.Drawing.Point(15,35)
$dtpStart.Width            = 200
$dtpStart.Value            = Get-Date '2026-04-26'
$form.Controls.Add($dtpStart)

# Optional: label to show day-of-week explicitly
$lblDow                    = New-Object System.Windows.Forms.Label
$lblDow.AutoSize           = $true
$lblDow.Location           = New-Object System.Drawing.Point(205,60)
$lblDow.Text               = $dtpStart.Value.ToString('dddd')
$form.Controls.Add($lblDow)

$dtpStart.Add_ValueChanged({
    $lblDow.Text = $dtpStart.Value.ToString('dddd')
})

#-------------------------
# Look Ahead Days
#-------------------------
$lblLookAhead              = New-Object System.Windows.Forms.Label
$lblLookAhead.Text         = 'Look Ahead Days'
$lblLookAhead.AutoSize     = $true
$lblLookAhead.Location     = New-Object System.Drawing.Point(15,75)
$form.Controls.Add($lblLookAhead)

$numLookAhead              = New-Object System.Windows.Forms.NumericUpDown
$numLookAhead.Location     = New-Object System.Drawing.Point(130,72)
$numLookAhead.Width        = 60
$numLookAhead.Minimum      = 0
$numLookAhead.Maximum      = 365
$numLookAhead.Value        = 0
$form.Controls.Add($numLookAhead)

#-------------------------
# Include (checkboxes)
#-------------------------
$grpInclude                = New-Object System.Windows.Forms.GroupBox
$grpInclude.Text           = 'Include'
$grpInclude.Location       = New-Object System.Drawing.Point(15,110)
$grpInclude.Size           = New-Object System.Drawing.Size(200,80)
$form.Controls.Add($grpInclude)

$chkHome                   = New-Object System.Windows.Forms.CheckBox
$chkHome.Text              = 'Home reminders'
$chkHome.AutoSize          = $true
$chkHome.Location          = New-Object System.Drawing.Point(10,25)
$grpInclude.Controls.Add($chkHome)

$chkWork                   = New-Object System.Windows.Forms.CheckBox
$chkWork.Text              = 'Work Reminders'
$chkWork.AutoSize          = $true
$chkWork.Location          = New-Object System.Drawing.Point(10,45)
$grpInclude.Controls.Add($chkWork)

#-------------------------
# Output to (radio buttons)
#-------------------------
$grpOutput                 = New-Object System.Windows.Forms.GroupBox
$grpOutput.Text            = 'Output to:'
$grpOutput.Location        = New-Object System.Drawing.Point(240,15)
$grpOutput.Size            = New-Object System.Drawing.Size(250,175)
$form.Controls.Add($grpOutput)

$rbScreen                  = New-Object System.Windows.Forms.RadioButton
$rbScreen.Text             = 'Screen'
$rbScreen.AutoSize         = $true
$rbScreen.Location         = New-Object System.Drawing.Point(10,25)
$rbScreen.Checked          = $true
$grpOutput.Controls.Add($rbScreen)

$rbSticky                  = New-Object System.Windows.Forms.RadioButton
$rbSticky.Text             = 'Sticky Note'
$rbSticky.AutoSize         = $true
$rbSticky.Location         = New-Object System.Drawing.Point(10,45)
$grpOutput.Controls.Add($rbSticky)

$rbMJG                     = New-Object System.Windows.Forms.RadioButton
$rbMJG.Text                = 'Push to MJG'
$rbMJG.AutoSize            = $true
$rbMJG.Location            = New-Object System.Drawing.Point(10,65)
$grpOutput.Controls.Add($rbMJG)

$rbJMG                     = New-Object System.Windows.Forms.RadioButton
$rbJMG.Text                = 'Push to JMG'
$rbJMG.AutoSize            = $true
$rbJMG.Location            = New-Object System.Drawing.Point(10,85)
$grpOutput.Controls.Add($rbJMG)

$rbGibFamily               = New-Object System.Windows.Forms.RadioButton
$rbGibFamily.Text          = 'Push to GibFamily'
$rbGibFamily.AutoSize      = $true
$rbGibFamily.Location      = New-Object System.Drawing.Point(10,105)
$grpOutput.Controls.Add($rbGibFamily)

#-------------------------
# OK / Cancel buttons
#-------------------------
$btnOK                     = New-Object System.Windows.Forms.Button
$btnOK.Text                = 'OK'
$btnOK.Size                = New-Object System.Drawing.Size(80,25)
$btnOK.Location            = New-Object System.Drawing.Point(310,200)
$btnOK.DialogResult        = [System.Windows.Forms.DialogResult]::OK
$form.AcceptButton         = $btnOK
$form.Controls.Add($btnOK)

$btnCancel                 = New-Object System.Windows.Forms.Button
$btnCancel.Text            = 'Cancel'
$btnCancel.Size            = New-Object System.Drawing.Size(80,25)
$btnCancel.Location        = New-Object System.Drawing.Point(400,200)
$btnCancel.DialogResult    = [System.Windows.Forms.DialogResult]::Cancel
$form.CancelButton         = $btnCancel
$form.Controls.Add($btnCancel)

#-------------------------
# Show dialog and capture result
#-------------------------
$result = $form.ShowDialog()

if ($result -eq [System.Windows.Forms.DialogResult]::OK) {
    $selectedDate   = $dtpStart.Value
    $lookAheadDays  = [int]$numLookAhead.Value
    $includeHome    = $chkHome.Checked
    $includeWork    = $chkWork.Checked

    if     ($rbScreen.Checked)    { $outputTarget = 'Screen' }
    elseif ($rbSticky.Checked)    { $outputTarget = 'Sticky Note' }
    elseif ($rbMJG.Checked)       { $outputTarget = 'Push to MJG' }
    elseif ($rbJMG.Checked)       { $outputTarget = 'Push to JMG' }
    elseif ($rbGibFamily.Checked) { $outputTarget = 'Push to GibFamily' }

    # For now just dump the selections; wire this into your pipeline as needed.
    [PSCustomObject]@{
        StartDate      = $selectedDate
        LookAheadDays  = $lookAheadDays
        IncludeHome    = $includeHome
        IncludeWork    = $includeWork
        OutputTarget   = $outputTarget
    }
}

Joe

Joe Caverly · 2026-04-26

Apologies to @TimButterfield as it feels like I am high-jacking his OP.

For those interested,
PSScriptPad is a great GUI designer,
for WPF Forms,
and as a regular Windows Form Designer.

Ref: PSScriptPad | PowerShell Pro Tools

Joe

MGibs · 2026-04-26

Joe Caverly said:
Here's a (not polished) sample dialog similar to yours,
but written using PowerShell 5.1

Lots of options out there and what you created seems like a very viable alternative...especially for people already proficient in PowerShell programming.

Still playing with Tim's plugin, and I like what I've seen so far.

TimButterfield · 2026-05-27

Thanks for the bug reports — v1.1.0 is up with fixes for both issues.

Unload closing your TCC session: formcast-check.btm was checking if Explorer was the parent process, which is true for any TCC window launched from the Start Menu or a shortcut. It now checks %_transient instead, so only double-click-spawned windows auto-close on unload. Persistent sessions are left alone.

Toolbox template failing to load: The designer was passing the raw %_batchpath to @FORMLOAD, which hands it to .NET's File.ReadAllText. On SUBST drives or mapped shares, TCC can resolve the path internally (so IF EXIST succeeds) but .NET can't. All @FORMLOAD calls now go through @TRUENAME first, matching the pattern already used for PLUGIN /L in formcast-check.btm.

Also flattened the release zip — DLLs are in the root now instead of a bin\ subfolder, so the install is just extract and point FORMCAST_DLL at FormCast.dll.

Download: Release v1.1.0 · Tim-Butterfield/FormCast

MGibs · 2026-05-27

Hi @TimButterfield - I reported several issues on Github since I saw you requested that Joe log his issues there.
Were you able to look at those issues to see if they are addressable?

TimButterfield · 2026-05-27

Hi @MGibs.
I missed those. I'll take a look now.

TimButterfield · 2026-05-27

Thanks for the bug reports (GitHub issues #1–#4) — v1.1.1 is up with fixes for all of them.

Template loading (issue #1): In addition to the BTM-side @truename fix in v1.1.0, the plugin now normalizes all file paths internally via Path.GetFullPath() before calling .NET file APIs. This covers @FORMLOAD, @FORMIMPORT, @FORMSAVE, @FORMSAVEIMAGE, and @FORMSAVECOMPOSITE, so double backslashes, SUBST drives, and mapped shares work without needing %@truename[] on the BTM side.

CheckBox and Radio pre-show initialization (issues #2, #4): @FORMSET for the checked property before @FORMSHOW now works correctly. Previously, CHECKBOX and RADIO ignored the property bag during control realization — TOGGLE and NUMERICUPDOWN already handled this, and now CHECKBOX and RADIO follow the same pattern. @FORMGET and @FORMSET for checked also work on RADIO controls now (previously only CHECKBOX and TOGGLE were wired up). To set the initially selected radio button:
set RC=%@formadd[%h,grp,GROUPBOX,12,12,200,80,Pick one]
set RC=%@formadd[%h,grp/r1,RADIO,10,24,80,20,Alpha]
set RC=%@formadd[%h,grp/r2,RADIO,10,48,80,20,Beta]
set RC=%@formset[%h,grp/r1,checked,true]
And to read which one is selected after the form closes:
set sel=%@formget[%h,grp/r1,checked]
Returns true or false.

DateTimePicker value (issue #3): You can now set and read the date via the value property. It accepts ISO 8601 or common date strings for setting, and returns ISO 8601 on read:
set RC=%@formset[%h,dtp,value,2026-06-15]
set dt=%@formget[%h,dtp,value]

GroupBox Z-order note: The overlay issue MGibs reported (GROUPBOX hiding radio buttons when added first) is standard WinForms Z-order behavior. The fix is to nest radio buttons inside the GROUPBOX using the slash-id syntax (grp/r1) with coordinates relative to the GroupBox client area — not to add them as siblings at the form level.

Documentation for CHECKBOX, RADIO, and DATETIMEPICKER properties has been added to the Function Reference and Template Reference docs.

Download: Release v1.1.1 · Tim-Butterfield/FormCast

Please log any other issues you find.

Thanks,
Tim

MGibs · 2026-05-27

Thanks for the quick response Tim. I'll take another look.
-Michael

TimButterfield · 2026-06-01

Thanks, Michael, for the additional testing. Next issue fixed. Version 1.1.2 released.

I also added a common URL that doesn't require navigating to a release folder.

https://github.com/Tim-Butterfield/FormCast/releases/latest/download/FormCast.zip

MGibs · 2026-06-12

TimButterfield said:
Thanks, Michael, for the additional testing. Next issue fixed. Version 1.1.2 released.

I also added a common URL that doesn't require navigating to a release folder.

https://github.com/Tim-Butterfield/FormCast/releases/latest/download/FormCast.zip

Everything I've tried seems to be working as expected now. Thanks Tim! I'll let you know if I see anything else unexpected.

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Welcome!

FormCast v1.0 – GUI Framework for TCC v36 .NET Plugins

TimButterfield

GitHub - Tim-Butterfield/FormCast: A .NET GUI framework for TCC batch scripts: native Windows forms with events, layouts, JSONC templates, and a visual designer.

GitHub - Tim-Butterfield/FormCast: A .NET GUI framework for TCC batch scripts: native Windows forms with events, layouts, JSONC templates, and a visual designer.

Joe Caverly

TimButterfield

MGibs

Joe Caverly

MGibs

Joe Caverly

Joe Caverly

MGibs

TimButterfield

MGibs

TimButterfield

TimButterfield

MGibs

TimButterfield

MGibs