The ICustomTypeDescriptor interface allows an object to provide type information about itself. Typically, this interface is used when an object needs dynamic type information. In contrast, the TypeDescriptor class provides static type information that is obtained from metadata.

For example, ICustomTypeDescriptor is used in the .NET Framework to provide type information for COM objects. COM objects do not support properties or attributes. Therefore, the .NET Framework uses ICustomTypeDescriptor to implement properties and attributes for COM objects.

To provide dynamic custom type information, a class can implement ICustomTypeDescriptor or derive from the CustomTypeDescriptor class, which provides a simple implementation of this interface.

Note:
There is no design-time support for data binding to objects that implement the ICustomTypeDescriptor interface. In addition, when binding to a runtime instance of ICustomTypeDescriptor, the public properties of the underlying type are ignored.

Windows 98, Windows Server 2000 SP4, Windows CE, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows Mobile for Pocket PC, Windows Mobile for Smartphone, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows XP SP2, Windows XP Starter Edition

The Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0 is supported on Windows Vista, Microsoft Windows XP SP2, and Windows Server 2003 SP1.

.NET Framework

.NET Compact Framework

XNA Framework