ToolStripMenuItem Class (System.Windows.Forms)

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Microsoft Visual Studio 2008/.NET Framework 3.5

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.NET Framework Class Library

ToolStripMenuItem Class

Represents a selectable option displayed on a MenuStrip or ContextMenuStrip. Although ToolStripMenuItem replaces and adds functionality to the MenuItem control of previous versions, MenuItem is retained for both backward compatibility and future use if you choose.

Namespace: System.Windows.Forms
Assembly: System.Windows.Forms (in System.Windows.Forms.dll)

Syntax

Visual Basic (Declaration)

<ToolStripItemDesignerAvailabilityAttribute(ToolStripItemDesignerAvailability.None Or ToolStripItemDesignerAvailability.MenuStrip Or ToolStripItemDesignerAvailability.ContextMenuStrip)> _
Public Class ToolStripMenuItem _
    Inherits ToolStripDropDownItem

Visual Basic (Usage)

Dim instance As ToolStripMenuItem

[ToolStripItemDesignerAvailabilityAttribute(ToolStripItemDesignerAvailability.None|ToolStripItemDesignerAvailability.MenuStrip|ToolStripItemDesignerAvailability.ContextMenuStrip)]
public class ToolStripMenuItem : ToolStripDropDownItem

Visual C++

[ToolStripItemDesignerAvailabilityAttribute(ToolStripItemDesignerAvailability::None|ToolStripItemDesignerAvailability::MenuStrip|ToolStripItemDesignerAvailability::ContextMenuStrip)]
public ref class ToolStripMenuItem : public ToolStripDropDownItem

JScript

public class ToolStripMenuItem extends ToolStripDropDownItem

Remarks

ToolStripMenuItem is a ToolStripDropDownItem that works with ToolStripDropDownMenu and ContextMenuStrip to handle the special highlighting, layout, and column arrangement for menus.

In order for a ToolStripMenuItem to be displayed, you must add it to a MenuStrip or ContextMenuStrip.

The ToolStripMenuItem class provides properties that enable you to configure the appearance and functionality of a menu item. To display a check mark next to a menu item, use the Checked property. Use this feature to identify a menu item that is selected in a list of mutually exclusive menu items. For example, if you have a set of menu items for setting the color of text in a TextBox control, use the Checked property to identify which color is currently selected. Use the ShortcutKeys property to define a keyboard combination that can be pressed to select the menu item.

Examples

The following code example adds a ShortcutKeyDisplayString to the specified menu items of a ContextMenuStrip. This code example is part of a larger example available in the ToolStripManager class overview.

Visual Basic

' Distinguish the merged items by setting the shortcut display string.
Dim tsmi As ToolStripMenuItem
For Each tsmi In  cmsItemsToMerge.Items
   tsmi.ShortcutKeyDisplayString = "Merged Item"
Next tsmi

// Distinguish the merged items by setting the shortcut display string.
foreach (ToolStripMenuItem tsmi in cmsItemsToMerge.Items)
{
    tsmi.ShortcutKeyDisplayString = "Merged Item";
}

Inheritance Hierarchy

System..::.Object
  System..::.MarshalByRefObject
    System.ComponentModel..::.Component
      System.Windows.Forms..::.ToolStripItem
        System.Windows.Forms..::.ToolStripDropDownItem
          System.Windows.Forms..::.ToolStripMenuItem

Thread Safety

Any public static (Shared in Visual Basic) members of this type are thread safe. Any instance members are not guaranteed to be thread safe.

Platforms

Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP SP2, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows XP Starter Edition, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2000 SP4, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows 98

The .NET Framework and .NET Compact Framework do not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see .NET Framework System Requirements.

Version Information

.NET Framework

Supported in: 3.5, 3.0, 2.0

Reference

ToolStripMenuItem Members

System.Windows.Forms Namespace

Other Resources

MenuStrip Control (Windows Forms)

ToolStrip Control (Windows Forms)

ToolStrip Sample