ToolStripManager.Merge Method

Definition

Namespace:

System.Windows.Forms

Assembly:

System.Windows.Forms.dll

Combines ToolStrip controls.

Overloads

Merge(ToolStrip, String)	Combines two ToolStrip objects of the same type.
Merge(ToolStrip, ToolStrip)	Combines two ToolStrip objects of different types.

Merge(ToolStrip, String)

Combines two ToolStrip objects of the same type.

public:
 static bool Merge(System::Windows::Forms::ToolStrip ^ sourceToolStrip, System::String ^ targetName);

public static bool Merge (System.Windows.Forms.ToolStrip sourceToolStrip, string targetName);

static member Merge : System.Windows.Forms.ToolStrip * string -> bool

Public Shared Function Merge (sourceToolStrip As ToolStrip, targetName As String) As Boolean

Parameters

sourceToolStrip

ToolStrip

The ToolStrip to be combined with the ToolStrip referred to by the targetName parameter.

targetName

String

The name of the ToolStrip that receives the ToolStrip referred to by the sourceToolStrip parameter.

Returns

Boolean

true if the merge is successful; otherwise, false.

Exceptions

ArgumentNullException

sourceToolStrip or targetName is null.

ArgumentException

sourceToolStrip or targetName refer to the same ToolStrip.

Remarks

Use the ToolStripManager.Merge method to combine ToolStrip objects of identical type, such as ToolStrip objects with other ToolStrip objects, MenuStrip objects with other MenuStrip objects, and so on.

Use the ToolStripManager.Merge method to combine ToolStrip objects of different types.

The ToolStrip.AllowMerge property must be set to true for both ToolStrip objects, and the source and target types must be identical, or this method returns false.

Note

If there are two MenuStrip controls on an MDI child form, setting IsMdiContainer to true for the parent form merges the contents of only one of the MenuStrip controls. Use Merge to merge the contents of additional child MenuStrip controls on the MDI parent form.

See also

• RevertMerge(ToolStrip)

Merge(ToolStrip, ToolStrip)

Combines two ToolStrip objects of different types.

public:
 static bool Merge(System::Windows::Forms::ToolStrip ^ sourceToolStrip, System::Windows::Forms::ToolStrip ^ targetToolStrip);

public static bool Merge (System.Windows.Forms.ToolStrip sourceToolStrip, System.Windows.Forms.ToolStrip targetToolStrip);

static member Merge : System.Windows.Forms.ToolStrip * System.Windows.Forms.ToolStrip -> bool

Public Shared Function Merge (sourceToolStrip As ToolStrip, targetToolStrip As ToolStrip) As Boolean

Parameters

sourceToolStrip

ToolStrip

The ToolStrip to be combined with the ToolStrip referred to by the targetToolStrip parameter.

targetToolStrip

ToolStrip

The ToolStrip that receives the ToolStrip referred to by the sourceToolStrip parameter.

Returns

Boolean

true if the merge is successful; otherwise, false.

Examples

The following code example merges menu items based on specified choices. This example is part of a larger example available in the ToolStripManager class overview.

private MergeSample CurrentSample
{
    get { return currentSample; }
    set
    {
        if (currentSample != value)
        {
            bool resetRequired = false;

            if (currentSample == MergeSample.MatchOnly)
            {
                resetRequired = true;
            }
            currentSample = value;
            // Undo previous merge, if any.
            ToolStripManager.RevertMerge(cmsBase, cmsItemsToMerge);
            if (resetRequired)
            {
                RebuildItemsToMerge();
            }

            switch (currentSample)
            {
                case MergeSample.None:
                    return;
                case MergeSample.Append:
                    ScenarioText = "This sample adds items to the end of the list using MergeAction.Append.\r\n\r\nThis is the default setting for MergeAction. A typical scenario is adding menu items to the end of the menu when some part of the program is activated.";
                    ShowAppendSample();
                    break;
                case MergeSample.InsertInSameLocation:
                    ScenarioText = "This sample adds items to the middle of the list using MergeAction.Insert.\r\n\r\nNotice here how the items are added in reverse order: four, three, two, one. This is because they all have the same merge index.\r\n\r\nA typical scenario is adding menu items to the middle or beginning of the menu when some part of the program is activated. ";
                    ShowInsertInSameLocationSample();
                    break;
                case MergeSample.InsertInSameLocationPreservingOrder:
                    ScenarioText = "This sample is the same as InsertInSameLocation, except the items are added in normal order by increasing the MergeIndex of \"two merged items\" to be 3, \"three merged items\" to be 5, and so on.\r\n  You could also add the original items backwards to the source ContextMenuStrip.";
                    ShowInsertInSameLocationPreservingOrderSample();
                    break;
                case MergeSample.ReplacingItems:
                    ScenarioText = "This sample replaces a menu item using MergeAction.Replace. Use this for the MDI scenario where saving does something completely different.\r\n\r\nMatching is based on the Text property. If there is no text match, merging reverts to MergeIndex.";
                    ShowReplaceSample();
                    break;
                case MergeSample.MatchOnly:
                    ScenarioText = "This sample adds only the subitems from the child to the target ContextMenuStrip.";
                    ShowMatchOnlySample();
                    break;
            }
            // Reapply with the new settings.
            ToolStripManager.Merge(cmsItemsToMerge, cmsBase);
        }
    }
}

Private Property CurrentSample() As MergeSample
   Get
      Return currentSample1
   End Get
   Set
      If currentSample1 <> value Then
         Dim resetRequired As Boolean = False
         
         If currentSample1 = MergeSample.MatchOnly Then
            resetRequired = True
         End If
         currentSample1 = value
         ' Undo previous merge, if any.
         ToolStripManager.RevertMerge(cmsBase, cmsItemsToMerge)
         If resetRequired Then
            RebuildItemsToMerge()
         End If
         
         Select Case currentSample1
            Case MergeSample.None
                  Return
            Case MergeSample.Append
               ScenarioText = "This sample adds items to the end of the list using MergeAction.Append." + ControlChars.Cr + ControlChars.Lf + ControlChars.Cr + ControlChars.Lf + "This is the default setting for MergeAction. A typical scenario is adding menu items to the end of the menu when some part of the program is activated."
               ShowAppendSample()
            Case MergeSample.InsertInSameLocation
               ScenarioText = "This sample adds items to the middle of the list using MergeAction.Insert." + ControlChars.Cr + ControlChars.Lf + ControlChars.Cr + ControlChars.Lf + "Notice here how the items are added in reverse order: four, three, two, one. This is because they all have the same merge index." + ControlChars.Cr + ControlChars.Lf + ControlChars.Cr + ControlChars.Lf + "A typical scenario is adding menu items to the middle or beginning of the menu when some part of the program is activated. "
               ShowInsertInSameLocationSample()
            Case MergeSample.InsertInSameLocationPreservingOrder
               ScenarioText = "This sample is the same as InsertInSameLocation, except the items are added in normal order by increasing the MergeIndex of ""two merged items"" to be 3, ""three merged items"" to be 5, and so on." + ControlChars.Cr + ControlChars.Lf + "  You could also add the original items backwards to the source ContextMenuStrip."
               ShowInsertInSameLocationPreservingOrderSample()
            Case MergeSample.ReplacingItems
               ScenarioText = "This sample replaces a menu item using MergeAction.Replace. Use this for the MDI scenario where saving does something completely different." + ControlChars.Cr + ControlChars.Lf + ControlChars.Cr + ControlChars.Lf + "Matching is based on the Text property. If there is no text match, merging reverts to MergeIndex."
               ShowReplaceSample()
            Case MergeSample.MatchOnly
               ScenarioText = "This sample adds only the subitems from the child to the target ContextMenuStrip."
               ShowMatchOnlySample()
         End Select
         
         ' Reapply with the new settings.
         ToolStripManager.Merge(cmsItemsToMerge, cmsBase)
      End If
   End Set
End Property

Remarks

Use the ToolStripManager.Merge method to combine ToolStrip objects of different types.

Use the ToolStripManager.Merge method to combine ToolStrip objects of identical type, such as ToolStrip objects with other ToolStrip objects, MenuStrip objects with other MenuStrip objects, and so on.

The ToolStrip.AllowMerge property must be set to true for both ToolStrip objects, or this method returns false.

Note

If there are two MenuStrip controls on an MDI child form, setting IsMdiContainer to true for the parent form merges the contents of only one of the MenuStrip controls. Use Merge to merge the contents of additional child MenuStrip controls on the MDI parent form.

See also

• RevertMerge(ToolStrip)