DesignerSerializationVisibilityAttribute Class

Definition

Specifies the type of persistence to use when serializing a property on a component at design time.

[System.AttributeUsage(System.AttributeTargets.Event | System.AttributeTargets.Field | System.AttributeTargets.Method | System.AttributeTargets.Property)]
public sealed class DesignerSerializationVisibilityAttribute : Attribute
public sealed class DesignerSerializationVisibilityAttribute : Attribute
[System.AttributeUsage(System.AttributeTargets.Method | System.AttributeTargets.Property)]
public sealed class DesignerSerializationVisibilityAttribute : Attribute
Inheritance
DesignerSerializationVisibilityAttribute
Attributes

Examples

The following code example demonstrates the use of a DesignerSerializationVisibilityAttribute set to Content. It persists the values of a public property of a user control, which can be configured at design time. To use the example, first compile the following code into a user control library. Next, add a reference to the compiled .dll file in a new Windows Application project. If you are using Visual Studio, the ContentSerializationExampleControl is automatically added to the Toolbox.

Drag the control from the Toolbox to a form, and set the properties of the DimensionData object listed in the Properties window. When you view the code for the form, code will have been added to the InitializeComponent method of the parent form. This code sets the values of the control's properties to those which you have set in design mode.

using System;
using System.Collections;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.ComponentModel.Design;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Windows.Forms;

namespace DesignerSerializationVisibilityTest
{
    // The code for this user control declares a public property of type DimensionData with a DesignerSerializationVisibility 
    // attribute set to DesignerSerializationVisibility.Content, indicating that the properties of the object should be serialized.

    // The public, not hidden properties of the object that are set at design time will be persisted in the initialization code
    // for the class object. Content persistence will not work for structs without a custom TypeConverter.		

    public class ContentSerializationExampleControl : System.Windows.Forms.UserControl
    {
    private System.ComponentModel.Container components = null;				
    
    [DesignerSerializationVisibility(DesignerSerializationVisibility.Content)]
    public DimensionData Dimensions
    {
        get 
        {
        return new DimensionData(this);
        }		
    }

    public ContentSerializationExampleControl()
    {
            InitializeComponent();		
    }
        
    protected override void Dispose( bool disposing )
    {
        if( disposing )
        {
        if( components != null )
            components.Dispose();
        }
        base.Dispose( disposing );
    }

    private void InitializeComponent()
    {
        components = new System.ComponentModel.Container();
    }
    }

    [TypeConverterAttribute(typeof(System.ComponentModel.ExpandableObjectConverter))]
    // This attribute indicates that the public properties of this object should be listed in the property grid.
    public class DimensionData
    {		
    private Control owner;

    // This class reads and writes the Location and Size properties from the Control which it is initialized to.
    internal DimensionData(Control owner)
    {
            this.owner = owner;			
    }

    public Point Location
    {
        get
        {
        return owner.Location;
        }
        set
        {
        owner.Location = value;
        }
    }

    public Size FormSize
    {
        get
            {
        return owner.Size;
        }
        set
        {
        owner.Size = value;
        }
    }
    }
}

Remarks

When a serializer persists the persistable state of a design mode document, it often adds code to the initialization method of components to persist values of properties that have been set at design time. This happens by default for most basic types, if no attribute has been set to direct other behavior.

With the DesignerSerializationVisibilityAttribute, you can indicate whether the value for a property is Visible, and should be persisted in initialization code, Hidden, and should not be persisted in initialization code, or consists of Content, which should have initialization code generated for each public, not hidden property of the object assigned to the property.

Members that do not have a DesignerSerializationVisibilityAttribute will be treated as though they have a DesignerSerializationVisibilityAttribute with a value of Visible. The values of a property marked as Visible will be serialized, if possible, by a serializer for the type. To specify custom serialization for a particular type or property, use the DesignerSerializerAttribute.

For more information, see Attributes.

Constructors

Fields

Content

Specifies that a serializer should serialize the contents of the property, rather than the property itself. This field is read-only.

Default

Specifies the default value, which is Visible, that is, a visual designer uses default rules to generate the value of a property. This static field is read-only.

Hidden

Specifies that a serializer should not serialize the value of the property. This static field is read-only.

Visible

Specifies that a serializer should be allowed to serialize the value of the property. This static field is read-only.

Properties

TypeId

When implemented in a derived class, gets a unique identifier for this Attribute.

(Inherited from Attribute)
Visibility

Gets a value indicating the basic serialization mode a serializer should use when determining whether and how to persist the value of a property.

Methods

Equals(Object)

Indicates whether this instance and a specified object are equal.

GetHashCode()

Returns the hash code for this object.

GetType()

Gets the Type of the current instance.

(Inherited from Object)
IsDefaultAttribute()

Gets a value indicating whether the current value of the attribute is the default value for the attribute.

IsDefaultAttribute()

When overridden in a derived class, indicates whether the value of this instance is the default value for the derived class.

(Inherited from Attribute)
Match(Object)

When overridden in a derived class, returns a value that indicates whether this instance equals a specified object.

(Inherited from Attribute)
MemberwiseClone()

Creates a shallow copy of the current Object.

(Inherited from Object)
ToString()

Returns a string that represents the current object.

(Inherited from Object)

Explicit Interface Implementations

_Attribute.GetIDsOfNames(Guid, IntPtr, UInt32, UInt32, IntPtr)

Maps a set of names to a corresponding set of dispatch identifiers.

(Inherited from Attribute)
_Attribute.GetTypeInfo(UInt32, UInt32, IntPtr)

Retrieves the type information for an object, which can be used to get the type information for an interface.

(Inherited from Attribute)
_Attribute.GetTypeInfoCount(UInt32)

Retrieves the number of type information interfaces that an object provides (either 0 or 1).

(Inherited from Attribute)
_Attribute.Invoke(UInt32, Guid, UInt32, Int16, IntPtr, IntPtr, IntPtr, IntPtr)

Provides access to properties and methods exposed by an object.

(Inherited from Attribute)

Applies to

Product Versions
.NET Core 1.0, Core 1.1, Core 2.0, Core 2.1, Core 2.2, Core 3.0, Core 3.1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
.NET Framework 1.1, 2.0, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, 4.5.1, 4.5.2, 4.6, 4.6.1, 4.6.2, 4.7, 4.7.1, 4.7.2, 4.8, 4.8.1
.NET Standard 2.0, 2.1

See also