Group Control Type
This topic provides information about Microsoft UI Automation support for the Group control type.
A group control represents a node within a hierarchy. The Group control type creates a separation in the UI Automation tree so items that are grouped together have a logical division within the UI Automation tree.
The following sections define the required UI Automation tree structure, properties, control patterns, and events for the Group control type. The UI Automation requirements apply to all group controls where the UI framework/platform integrates UI Automation support for control types and control patterns.
This topic contains the following sections.
Typical Tree Structure
The following table depicts a typical control and content view of the UI Automation tree that pertains to group controls and describes what can be contained in each view. For more information about the UI Automation tree, see UI Automation Tree Overview.
| Control View | Content View |
|---|---|
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Group controls typically include UI Automation support for control types found below them in the subtree, including the ListItem, TreeItem, and DataItem control types. Because a group control is a generic container, it is possible for any type of control to be under the group control in the tree.
Relevant Properties
The following table lists the UI Automation properties whose value or definition is especially relevant to the group controls. For more information about UI Automation properties, see Retrieving Properties from UI Automation Elements.
| UI Automation Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| UIA_AutomationIdPropertyId | See notes. | The value of this property must be unique among all peer elements in the raw view of the UI Automation tree. |
| UIA_BoundingRectanglePropertyId | See notes. | The outermost rectangle that contains the whole control. |
| UIA_ClickablePointPropertyId | See notes. | Supported if there is a bounding rectangle. If not every point within the bounding rectangle is clickable, and the element performs specialized hit testing, override and provide a clickable point. |
| UIA_ControlTypePropertyId | Group | |
| UIA_IsContentElementPropertyId | TRUE | The group control is always included in the content view of the UI Automation tree. |
| UIA_IsControlElementPropertyId | TRUE | The group control is always included in the control view of the UI Automation tree. |
| UIA_IsKeyboardFocusablePropertyId | See notes. | If the control can receive keyboard focus, it must support this property. |
| UIA_LabeledByPropertyId | See notes. | Group controls are typically self-labeling. In these cases, return NULL. If the group has a static text label, return the label as the value of the LabeledBy property. |
| UIA_LocalizedControlTypePropertyId | See notes. | Localized string corresponding to the Group control type. The default value is "group" for en-US or English (United States). |
| UIA_NamePropertyId | See notes. | The group control typically gets its name from the text that labels the control. |
Required Control Patterns
The following table lists the UI Automation control patterns required to be supported for the Group control type. For more information on control patterns, see UI Automation Control Patterns Overview.
| Control Pattern | Support | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| IExpandCollapseProvider | Depends | Group controls that can be used to show or hide information must support the ExpandCollapse control pattern. |
Required Events
The following table lists the UI Automation events that group controls are required to support. For more information on events, see UI Automation Events Overview.
| UI Automation Event | Notes |
|---|---|
| UIA_AutomationFocusChangedEventId | |
| UIA_BoundingRectanglePropertyId property-changed event. | |
| UIA_ExpandCollapseExpandCollapseStatePropertyId property-changed event. | If the control supports the ExpandCollapse control pattern control pattern, it must support this event. |
| UIA_IsEnabledPropertyId property-changed event. | If the control supports the IsEnabled property, it must support this event. |
| UIA_IsOffscreenPropertyId property-changed event. | If the control supports the IsOffscreen property, it must support this event. |
| UIA_ToggleToggleStatePropertyId property-changed event. | If the control supports the Toggle control pattern, it must support this event. |
| UIA_StructureChangedEventId |
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