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Walkthrough: Creating a Professionally Styled ToolStrip Control

  • Article

You can give your application’s ToolStrip controls a professional appearance and behavior by writing your own class derived from the ToolStripProfessionalRenderer type.

This walkthrough demonstrates how to use ToolStrip controls to create a composite control that resembles the Navigation Pane provided by Microsoft® Outlook®. The following tasks are illustrated in this walkthrough:

  • Creating a Windows Control Library project.

  • Designing the StackView Control.

  • Implementing a Custom Renderer.

When you are finished, you will have a reusable custom client control with the professional appearance of a Microsoft Office® XP control.

To copy the code in this topic as a single listing, see How to: Create a Professionally Styled ToolStrip Control.

Prerequisites

You'll need Visual Studio to complete this walkthrough.

Create the control library project

  1. In Visual Studio, create a new Windows Control Library project named StackViewLibrary.

  2. In Solution Explorer, delete the project's default control by deleting the source file named "UserControl1.cs" or "UserControl1.vb", depending on your language of choice.

    For more information, see How to: Remove, Delete, and Exclude Items.

  3. Add a new UserControl item to the StackViewLibrary project. Give the new source file a base name of StackView.

Design the StackView control

The StackView control is a composite control with one child ToolStrip control. For more information about composite controls, see Varieties of Custom Controls.

  1. From the Toolbox, drag a ToolStrip control to the design surface.

  2. In the Properties window, set the ToolStrip control's properties according to the following table.

    Property Value
    Name stackStrip
    CanOverflow false
    Dock Bottom
    Font Tahoma, 10pt, style=Bold
    GripStyle Hidden
    LayoutStyle VerticalStackWithOverflow
    Padding 0, 7, 0, 0
    RenderMode Professional

  3. In the Windows Forms Designer, click the ToolStrip control's Add button and add a ToolStripButton to the stackStrip control.

  4. In the Properties window, set the ToolStripButton control's properties according to the following table.

    Property Value
    Name mailStackButton
    CheckOnClick true
    CheckState Checked
    DisplayStyle ImageAndText
    ImageAlign MiddleLeft
    ImageScaling None
    ImageTransparentColor 238, 238, 238
    Margin 0, 0, 0, 0
    Padding 3, 3, 3, 3
    Text Mail
    TextAlign MiddleLeft

  5. Repeat step 7 for three more ToolStripButton controls.

    Name the controls calendarStackButton, contactsStackButton, and tasksStackButton. Set the value of the Text property to Calendar, Contacts, and Tasks, respectively.

Handle events

Two events are important to make the StackView control behave correctly. Handle the Load event to position the control correctly. Handle the Click event for each ToolStripButton to give the StackView control state behavior similar to the RadioButton control.

  1. In the Windows Forms Designer, select the StackView control.

  2. In the Properties window, click Events.

  3. Double-click the Load event to generate the StackView_Load event handler.

  4. In the StackView_Load event handler, copy and paste the following code.

    C# 
    // This method handles the Load event for the UserControl.
private void StackView_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    // Dock bottom.
    this.Dock = DockStyle.Bottom;

    // Set AutoSize.
    this.AutoSize = true;
}

  5. In the Windows Forms Designer, select the mailStackButton control.

  6. In the Properties window, click Events.

  7. Double-click the Click event.

    The Windows Forms Designer generates the mailStackButton_Click event handler.

  8. Rename the mailStackButton_Click event handler to stackButton_Click.

    For more information, see Rename a code symbol refactoring.

  9. Insert the following code into the stackButton_Click event handler.

    C# 
    // This method handles the Click event for all
// the ToolStripButton controls in the StackView.
private void stackButton_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    // Define a "one of many" state, similar to
    // the logic of a RadioButton control.
    foreach (ToolStripItem item in this.stackStrip.Items)
    {
        if ((item != sender) &&
            (item is ToolStripButton))
        {
            ((ToolStripButton)item).Checked = false;
        }
    }
}

  10. In the Windows Forms Designer, select the calendarStackButton control.

  11. In the Properties window, set the Click event to the stackButton_Click event handler.

  12. Repeat steps 10 and 11 for the contactsStackButton and tasksStackButton controls.

Define icons

Each StackView button has an associated icon. For convenience, each icon is represented as a Base64-encoded string, which is deserialized before a Bitmap is created from it. In a production environment, you store bitmap data as a resource, and your icons appear in the Windows Forms Designer. For more information, see How to: Add Background Images to Windows Forms.

  1. In the Code Editor, insert the following code into the StackView class definition. This code initializes the bitmaps for the ToolStripButton icons.

    C# 
    private static Bitmap mailBmp;
private static Bitmap calendarBmp;
private static Bitmap contactsBmp;
private static Bitmap tasksBmp;

private static string mailBmpEnc = @"Qk32BgAAAAAAADYAAAAoAAAA"+
    "GAAAABgAAAABABgAAAAAAAAAAADEDgAAxA4AAAAAAAAAAAAA7u7u7u7u"+
    "7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u"+
    "7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u"+
    "7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u"+
    "7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u"+
    "7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u"+
    "7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u"+
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    "7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u";

private static string calendarBmpEnc = @"Qk32BgAAAAAAADYAAAAo"+
    "AAAAGAAAABgAAAABABgAAAAAAAAAAADEDgAAxA4AAAAAAAAAAAAA7u7u"+
    "7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u"+
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    "7u7u";

private static string contactsBmpEnc = @"Qk32BgAAAAAAADYAAAAo"+
    "AAAAGAAAABgAAAABABgAAAAAAAAAAADEDgAAxA4AAAAAAAAAAAAA7u7u"+
    "7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u"+
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    "//////////////////////////////////////79//z7//v4//n1//fy"+
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    "7u7u";

private static string tasksBmpEnc = @"Qk32BgAAAAAAADYAAAAoAAA"+
    "AGAAAABgAAAABABgAAAAAAAAAAADEDgAAxA4AAAAAAAAAAAAA7u7u7u7"+
    "u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7u7"+
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// Static constructor to initialize
// the form's static fields.
static StackView()
{
    // Create the static bitmaps from Base64 encoding.
    CreateBitmaps();
}

public StackView()
{
    this.InitializeComponent();

    // Assign icons to ToolStripButton controls.
    this.InitializeImages();

    // Set up renderers.
    this.stackStrip.Renderer = new StackRenderer();
}

// This utility method assigns icons to each
// ToolStripButton control.
private void InitializeImages()
{
    this.mailStackButton.Image = mailBmp;
    this.calendarStackButton.Image = calendarBmp;
    this.contactsStackButton.Image = contactsBmp;
    this.tasksStackButton.Image = tasksBmp;
}

// This utility method creates bitmaps for all the icons.
// It uses a utility method called DeserializeFromBase64
// to decode the Base64 image data.
private static void CreateBitmaps()
{
    mailBmp = DeserializeFromBase64(mailBmpEnc);
    calendarBmp = DeserializeFromBase64(calendarBmpEnc);
    contactsBmp = DeserializeFromBase64(contactsBmpEnc);
    tasksBmp = DeserializeFromBase64(tasksBmpEnc);
}

// This utility method cretes a bitmap from
// a Base64-encoded string.
internal static Bitmap DeserializeFromBase64(string data)
{
    // Decode the string and create a memory stream
    // on the decoded string data.
    MemoryStream stream =
        new MemoryStream(Convert.FromBase64String(data));

    // Create a new bitmap from the stream.
    Bitmap b = new Bitmap(stream);

    return b;
}

  2. Add a call to the InitializeImages method in the StackView class constructor.

    C# 
    public StackView()
{
    this.InitializeComponent();

    // Assign icons to ToolStripButton controls.
    this.InitializeImages();

    // Set up renderers.
    this.stackStrip.Renderer = new StackRenderer();
}

Implement a custom renderer

You can customize most elements of the StackView control my implementing a class that derives from the ToolStripRenderer class. In this procedure, you will implement a ToolStripProfessionalRenderer class that customizes the grip and draws gradient backgrounds for the ToolStripButton controls.

  1. Insert the following code into the StackView control definition.

    This is the definition for the StackRenderer class, which overrides the RenderGrip, RenderToolStripBorder, and RenderButtonBackground methods to produce a custom appearance.

    C# 
    internal class StackRenderer : ToolStripProfessionalRenderer
{
    private static Bitmap titleBarGripBmp;
    private static string titleBarGripEnc = @"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";

    // Define titlebar colors.
    private static Color titlebarColor1 = Color.FromArgb(89, 135, 214);
    private static Color titlebarColor2 = Color.FromArgb(76, 123, 204);
    private static Color titlebarColor3 = Color.FromArgb(63, 111, 194);
    private static Color titlebarColor4 = Color.FromArgb(50, 99, 184);
    private static Color titlebarColor5 = Color.FromArgb(38, 88, 174);
    private static Color titlebarColor6 = Color.FromArgb(25, 76, 164);
    private static Color titlebarColor7 = Color.FromArgb(12, 64, 154);
    private static Color borderColor = Color.FromArgb(0, 0, 128);

    static StackRenderer()
    {
        titleBarGripBmp = StackView.DeserializeFromBase64(titleBarGripEnc);
    }

    public StackRenderer()
    {
    }

    private void DrawTitleBar(Graphics g, Rectangle rect)
    {
        // Assign the image for the grip.
        Image titlebarGrip = titleBarGripBmp;

        // Fill the titlebar.
        // This produces the gradient and the rounded-corner effect.
        g.DrawLine(new Pen(titlebarColor1), rect.X, rect.Y, rect.X + rect.Width, rect.Y);
        g.DrawLine(new Pen(titlebarColor2), rect.X, rect.Y + 1, rect.X + rect.Width, rect.Y + 1);
        g.DrawLine(new Pen(titlebarColor3), rect.X, rect.Y + 2, rect.X + rect.Width, rect.Y + 2);
        g.DrawLine(new Pen(titlebarColor4), rect.X, rect.Y + 3, rect.X + rect.Width, rect.Y + 3);
        g.DrawLine(new Pen(titlebarColor5), rect.X, rect.Y + 4, rect.X + rect.Width, rect.Y + 4);
        g.DrawLine(new Pen(titlebarColor6), rect.X, rect.Y + 5, rect.X + rect.Width, rect.Y + 5);
        g.DrawLine(new Pen(titlebarColor7), rect.X, rect.Y + 6, rect.X + rect.Width, rect.Y + 6);

        // Center the titlebar grip.
        g.DrawImage(
            titlebarGrip,
            new Point(rect.X + ((rect.Width / 2) - (titlebarGrip.Width / 2)),
            rect.Y + 1));
    }

    // This method handles the RenderGrip event.
    protected override void OnRenderGrip(ToolStripGripRenderEventArgs e)
    {
        DrawTitleBar(
            e.Graphics,
            new Rectangle(0, 0, e.ToolStrip.Width, 7));
    }

    // This method handles the RenderToolStripBorder event.
    protected override void OnRenderToolStripBorder(ToolStripRenderEventArgs e)
    {
        DrawTitleBar(
            e.Graphics,
            new Rectangle(0, 0, e.ToolStrip.Width, 7));
    }

    // This method handles the RenderButtonBackground event.
    protected override void OnRenderButtonBackground(ToolStripItemRenderEventArgs e)
    {
        Graphics g = e.Graphics;
        Rectangle bounds = new Rectangle(Point.Empty, e.Item.Size);

        Color gradientBegin = Color.FromArgb(203, 225, 252);
        Color gradientEnd = Color.FromArgb(125, 165, 224);

        ToolStripButton button = e.Item as ToolStripButton;
        if (button.Pressed || button.Checked)
        {
            gradientBegin = Color.FromArgb(254, 128, 62);
            gradientEnd = Color.FromArgb(255, 223, 154);
        }
        else if (button.Selected)
        {
            gradientBegin = Color.FromArgb(255, 255, 222);
            gradientEnd = Color.FromArgb(255, 203, 136);
        }

        using (Brush b = new LinearGradientBrush(
            bounds,
            gradientBegin,
            gradientEnd,
            LinearGradientMode.Vertical))
        {
            g.FillRectangle(b, bounds);
        }

        e.Graphics.DrawRectangle(
            SystemPens.ControlDarkDark,
            bounds);

        g.DrawLine(
            SystemPens.ControlDarkDark,
            bounds.X,
            bounds.Y,
            bounds.Width - 1,
            bounds.Y);

        g.DrawLine(
            SystemPens.ControlDarkDark,
            bounds.X,
            bounds.Y,
            bounds.X,
            bounds.Height - 1);

        ToolStrip toolStrip = button.Owner;
        ToolStripButton nextItem = button.Owner.GetItemAt(
            button.Bounds.X,
            button.Bounds.Bottom + 1) as ToolStripButton;

        if (nextItem == null)
        {
            g.DrawLine(
                SystemPens.ControlDarkDark,
                bounds.X,
                bounds.Height - 1,
                bounds.X + bounds.Width - 1,
                bounds.Height - 1);
        }
    }
}

  2. In the StackView control's constructor, create a new instance of the StackRenderer class and assign this instance to the stackStrip control's Renderer property.

    C# 
    public StackView()
{
    this.InitializeComponent();

    // Assign icons to ToolStripButton controls.
    this.InitializeImages();

    // Set up renderers.
    this.stackStrip.Renderer = new StackRenderer();
}

Test the StackView control

The StackView control derives from the UserControl class. Therefore, you can test the control with the UserControl Test Container. For more information, see How to: Test the Run-Time Behavior of a UserControl.

  1. Press F5 to build the project and start the UserControl Test Container.

  2. Move the pointer over the buttons of the StackView control, and then click a button to see the appearance of its selected state.

Next steps

In this walkthrough, you have created a reusable custom client control with the professional appearance of an Office XP control. You can use the ToolStrip family of controls for many other purposes:

See also