UI Automation Support for the Separator Control Type
Note
This documentation is intended for .NET Framework developers who want to use the managed UI Automation classes defined in the System.Windows.Automation namespace. For the latest information about UI Automation, see Windows Automation API: UI Automation.
This topic provides information about UI Automation support for the Separator control type. In UI Automation, a control type is a set of conditions that a control must meet in order to use the ControlTypeProperty property. The conditions include specific guidelines for UI Automation tree structure, UI Automation property values, and control patterns.
Separator controls are used to visually divide a space into two regions. For example, a separator control can be a bar that defines two panes in a window. If the separator can be moved, the control should be exposed as Thumb in control type.
The following sections define the required UI Automation tree structure, properties, control patterns, and events for the Separator control type. The UI Automation requirements apply to all list controls, whether Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), Win32, or Windows Forms.
Required UI Automation Tree Structure
The following table depicts the Control View and the Content View of the UI Automation tree that pertains to separator controls and describes what can be contained in each view. For more information on the UI Automation tree, see UI Automation Tree Overview.
| Control View | Content View |
|---|---|
| Separator | - The Separator control never has content. |
Required UI Automation Properties
The following table lists the UI Automation properties whose value or definition is especially relevant to separator controls. For more information on UI Automation properties, see UI Automation Properties for Clients.
| UI Automation Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| AutomationIdProperty | See notes | The value of this property needs to be unique across all controls in an application. |
| BoundingRectangleProperty | See notes | The outermost rectangle that contains the whole control. |
| ClickablePointProperty | See notes | Supported if there is a bounding rectangle. If not every point within the bounding rectangle is clickable, and you perform specialized hit testing, then override and provide a clickable point. |
| IsKeyboardFocusableProperty | See notes | If the control can receive keyboard focus, it must support this property. |
| NameProperty | "" | The separator control does not require a NameProperty. |
| LabeledByProperty | null |
The separator control does not have a static label. |
| ControlTypeProperty | Separator | This value is the same for all UI frameworks. |
| LocalizedControlTypeProperty | "Separator" | Localized string corresponding to the Separator control type. |
| IsContentElementProperty | False | The separator control is never content. |
| IsControlElementProperty | True | The separator control must always be a control. |
Required UI Automation Control Patterns
The separator control is not required to support any control patterns.
Required UI Automation Events
The following table lists the UI Automation events required to be supported by all separator controls. For more information about events, see UI Automation Events Overview.
| UI Automation Event | Support | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| BoundingRectangleProperty property-changed event | Required | None |
| IsOffscreenProperty property-changed event | Required | None |
| IsEnabledProperty property-changed event | Required | None |
| AutomationFocusChangedEvent | Required | None |
| StructureChangedEvent | Required | None |