ControlDesigner.AutoFormats Property
Definition
Important
Some information relates to prerelease product that may be substantially modified before it’s released. Microsoft makes no warranties, express or implied, with respect to the information provided here.
Gets the collection of predefined automatic formatting schemes to display in the Auto Format dialog box for the associated control at design time.
public:
virtual property System::Web::UI::Design::DesignerAutoFormatCollection ^ AutoFormats { System::Web::UI::Design::DesignerAutoFormatCollection ^ get(); };
public virtual System.Web.UI.Design.DesignerAutoFormatCollection AutoFormats { get; }
member this.AutoFormats : System.Web.UI.Design.DesignerAutoFormatCollection
Public Overridable ReadOnly Property AutoFormats As DesignerAutoFormatCollection
Property Value
A DesignerAutoFormatCollection object that contains the predefined schemes for the control.
Examples
The following code example demonstrates how to implement the AutoFormats property in a custom control designer. The derived control designer implements the AutoFormats property by adding three instances of a custom automatic format that are derived from the DesignerAutoFormat class.
using System;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Collections;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Web.UI;
using System.Web.UI.Design;
using System.Web.UI.Design.WebControls;
using System.Web.UI.WebControls;
namespace CustomControls.Design.CS
{
// A custom Label control whose contents can be indented
[Designer(typeof(IndentLabelDesigner)),
ToolboxData("<{0}:IndentLabel Runat=\"server\"></{0}:IndentLabel>")]
public class IndentLabel : Label
{
private int _indent = 0;
// Property to indent all text within the label
[Category("Appearance"), DefaultValue(0),
PersistenceMode(PersistenceMode.Attribute)]
public int Indent
{
get { return _indent; }
set
{
_indent = value;
// Get the number of pixels to indent
int ind = value * 8;
// Add the indent style to the control
if (ind > 0)
this.Style.Add(HtmlTextWriterStyle.MarginLeft, ind.ToString() + "px");
else
this.Style.Remove(HtmlTextWriterStyle.MarginLeft);
}
}
}
// A design-time ControlDesigner for the IndentLabel control
[SupportsPreviewControl(true)]
public class IndentLabelDesigner : LabelDesigner
{
private DesignerAutoFormatCollection _autoFormats = null;
// The collection of AutoFormat objects for the IndentLabel object
public override DesignerAutoFormatCollection AutoFormats
{
get
{
if (_autoFormats == null)
{
// Create the collection
_autoFormats = new DesignerAutoFormatCollection();
// Create and add each AutoFormat object
_autoFormats.Add(new IndentLabelAutoFormat("MyClassic"));
_autoFormats.Add(new IndentLabelAutoFormat("MyBright"));
_autoFormats.Add(new IndentLabelAutoFormat("Default"));
}
return _autoFormats;
}
}
// An AutoFormat object for the IndentLabel control
private class IndentLabelAutoFormat : DesignerAutoFormat
{
public IndentLabelAutoFormat(string name) : base(name)
{ }
// Applies styles based on the Name of the AutoFormat
public override void Apply(Control inLabel)
{
if (inLabel is IndentLabel)
{
IndentLabel ctl = (IndentLabel)inLabel;
// Apply formatting according to the Name
if (this.Name == "MyClassic")
{
// For MyClassic, apply style elements directly to the control
ctl.ForeColor = Color.Gray;
ctl.BackColor = Color.LightGray;
ctl.Font.Size = FontUnit.XSmall;
ctl.Font.Name = "Verdana,Geneva,Sans-Serif";
}
else if (this.Name == "MyBright")
{
// For MyBright, apply style elements to the Style property
this.Style.ForeColor = Color.Maroon;
this.Style.BackColor = Color.Yellow;
this.Style.Font.Size = FontUnit.Medium;
// Merge the AutoFormat style with the control's style
ctl.MergeStyle(this.Style);
}
else
{
// For the Default format, apply style elements to the control
ctl.ForeColor = Color.Black;
ctl.BackColor = Color.Empty;
ctl.Font.Size = FontUnit.XSmall;
}
}
}
}
}
}
Imports System.Drawing
Imports System.Collections
Imports System.ComponentModel
Imports System.Web.UI
Imports System.Web.UI.Design
Imports System.Web.UI.Design.WebControls
Imports System.Web.UI.WebControls
Namespace CustomControls.Design
' A custom Label control whose contents can be indented
<Designer(GetType(IndentLabelDesigner)), _
ToolboxData("<{0}:IndentLabel Runat=""server""></{0}:IndentLabel>")> _
Public Class IndentLabel
Inherits System.Web.UI.WebControls.Label
Dim _indent As Integer = 0
<Category("Appearance"), DefaultValue(0), _
PersistenceMode(PersistenceMode.Attribute)> _
Property Indent() As Integer
Get
Return _indent
End Get
Set(ByVal Value As Integer)
_indent = Value
' Get the number of pixels to indent
Dim ind As Integer = _indent * 8
' Add the indent style to the control
If ind > 0 Then
Me.Style.Add(HtmlTextWriterStyle.MarginLeft, ind.ToString() & "px")
Else
Me.Style.Remove(HtmlTextWriterStyle.MarginLeft)
End If
End Set
End Property
End Class
' A design-time ControlDesigner for the IndentLabel control
Public Class IndentLabelDesigner
Inherits LabelDesigner
Private _autoFormats As DesignerAutoFormatCollection = Nothing
' The collection of AutoFormat objects for the IndentLabel object
Public Overrides ReadOnly Property AutoFormats() As DesignerAutoFormatCollection
Get
If _autoFormats Is Nothing Then
' Create the collection
_autoFormats = New DesignerAutoFormatCollection()
' Create and add each AutoFormat object
_autoFormats.Add(New IndentLabelAutoFormat("MyClassic"))
_autoFormats.Add(New IndentLabelAutoFormat("MyBright"))
_autoFormats.Add(New IndentLabelAutoFormat("Default"))
End If
Return _autoFormats
End Get
End Property
' An AutoFormat object for the IndentLabel control
Public Class IndentLabelAutoFormat
Inherits DesignerAutoFormat
Public Sub New(ByVal name As String)
MyBase.New(name)
End Sub
' Applies styles based on the Name of the AutoFormat
Public Overrides Sub Apply(ByVal inLabel As Control)
If TypeOf inLabel Is IndentLabel Then
Dim ctl As IndentLabel = CType(inLabel, IndentLabel)
' Apply formatting according to the Name
If Me.Name.Equals("MyClassic") Then
' For MyClassic, apply style elements directly to the control
ctl.ForeColor = Color.Gray
ctl.BackColor = Color.LightGray
ctl.Font.Size = FontUnit.XSmall
ctl.Font.Name = "Verdana,Geneva,Sans-Serif"
ElseIf Me.Name.Equals("MyBright") Then
' For MyBright, apply style elements to the Style object
Me.Style.ForeColor = Color.Maroon
Me.Style.BackColor = Color.Yellow
Me.Style.Font.Size = FontUnit.Medium
' Merge the AutoFormat style with the control's style
ctl.MergeStyle(Me.Style)
Else
' For the Default format, apply style elements to the control
ctl.ForeColor = Color.Black
ctl.BackColor = Color.Empty
ctl.Font.Size = FontUnit.XSmall
End If
End If
End Sub
End Class
End Class
End Namespace
Remarks
A complete Web server control includes not only the control, but also, possibly, a corresponding control designer class that is derived from the ControlDesigner class and a formatting class that is derived from the DesignerAutoFormat class. The AutoFormats property is a collection of instances of the DesignerAutoFormat class. For a working example of automatic formatting in Visual Studio 2005, see Calendar.
Notes to Inheritors
Controls that automatically expose AutoFormats get a task list and context commands for their formats. When you are using automatic formats, use the ViewControl property to set the properties in your callback function.