This documentation is archived and is not being maintained.

WindowsFormsComponentEditor Class

Provides a base class for editors that use a modal dialog to display a properties page similar to an ActiveX control's property page.

For a list of all members of this type, see WindowsFormsComponentEditor Members.

System.Object
   System.ComponentModel.ComponentEditor
      System.Windows.Forms.Design.WindowsFormsComponentEditor
         System.Web.UI.Design.WebControls.BaseDataListComponentEditor

[Visual Basic]
MustInherit Public Class WindowsFormsComponentEditor
   Inherits ComponentEditor
[C#]
public abstract class WindowsFormsComponentEditor : ComponentEditor
[C++]
public __gc __abstract class WindowsFormsComponentEditor : public
   ComponentEditor
[JScript]
public abstract class WindowsFormsComponentEditor extends
   ComponentEditor

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.

Example

[Visual Basic, C#, C++] The following code example demonstrates an example WindowsFormsComponentEditor implementation.

[Visual Basic] 
Imports System
Imports System.ComponentModel
Imports System.ComponentModel.Design
Imports System.Collections
Imports System.Drawing
Imports System.IO
Imports System.Runtime.Serialization
Imports System.Runtime.Serialization.Formatters.Binary
Imports System.Windows.Forms
Imports System.Windows.Forms.Design

' This example demonstrates how to implement a component editor that hosts 
' component pages and associate it with a component. This example also 
' demonstrates how to implement a component page that provides a panel-based 
' control system and Help keyword support.
' The ExampleComponentEditor displays two ExampleComponentEditorPage pages.
Public Class ExampleComponentEditor
    Inherits System.Windows.Forms.Design.WindowsFormsComponentEditor

    ' This method override returns an type array containing the type of 
    ' each component editor page to display.
    Protected Overrides Function GetComponentEditorPages() As Type()
        Return New Type() {GetType(ExampleComponentEditorPage), GetType(ExampleComponentEditorPage)}
    End Function

    ' This method override returns the index of the page to display when the 
    ' component editor is first displayed.
    Protected Overrides Function GetInitialComponentEditorPageIndex() As Integer
        Return 1
    End Function

    Public Overloads Overrides Function EditComponent(ByVal context As System.ComponentModel.ITypeDescriptorContext, ByVal component As Object) As Boolean

    End Function
End Class

' This example component editor page type provides an example 
' ComponentEditorPage implementation.
Friend Class ExampleComponentEditorPage
    Inherits System.Windows.Forms.Design.ComponentEditorPage
    Private l1 As Label
    Private b1 As Button
    Private pg1 As PropertyGrid

    ' Base64-encoded serialized image data for the required component editor page icon.
    Private icondata As String = "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"

    Public Sub New()
        ' Initialize the page, which inherits from Panel, and its controls.
        Me.Size = New Size(400, 250)
        Me.Icon = DeserializeIconFromBase64Text(icondata)
        Me.Text = "Example Page"

        b1 = New Button
        b1.Size = New Size(200, 20)
        b1.Location = New Point(200, 0)
        b1.Text = "Set a random background color"
        AddHandler b1.Click, AddressOf Me.randomBackColor
        Me.Controls.Add(b1)

        l1 = New Label
        l1.Size = New Size(190, 20)
        l1.Location = New Point(4, 2)
        l1.Text = "Example Component Editor Page"
        Me.Controls.Add(l1)

        pg1 = New PropertyGrid
        pg1.Size = New Size(400, 280)
        pg1.Location = New Point(0, 30)
        Me.Controls.Add(pg1)
    End Sub

    ' This method indicates that the Help button should be enabled for this 
    ' component editor page.
    Public Overrides Function SupportsHelp() As Boolean
        Return True
    End Function

    ' This method is called when the Help button for this component editor page is pressed.
    ' This implementation uses the IHelpService to show the Help topic for a sample keyword.
    Public Overrides Sub ShowHelp()
        ' The GetSelectedComponent method of a ComponentEditorPage retrieves the
        ' IComponent associated with the WindowsFormsComponentEditor.
        Dim selectedComponent As IComponent = Me.GetSelectedComponent()

        ' Retrieve the Site of the component, and return if null.
        Dim componentSite As ISite = selectedComponent.Site
        If componentSite Is Nothing Then
            Return
        End If
        ' Acquire the IHelpService to display a help topic using a indexed keyword lookup.
        Dim helpService As IHelpService = CType(componentSite.GetService(GetType(IHelpService)), IHelpService)
        If Not (helpService Is Nothing) Then
            helpService.ShowHelpFromKeyword("System.Windows.Forms.ComboBox")
        End If
    End Sub

    ' The LoadComponent method is raised when the ComponentEditorPage is displayed.
    Protected Overrides Sub LoadComponent()
        Me.pg1.SelectedObject = Me.Component
    End Sub

    ' The SaveComponent method is raised when the WindowsFormsComponentEditor is closing 
    ' or the current ComponentEditorPage is closing.
    Protected Overrides Sub SaveComponent()
    End Sub

    ' If the associated component is a Control, this method sets the BackColor to a random color.
    ' This method is invoked by the button on this ComponentEditorPage.
    Private Sub randomBackColor(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)
        If GetType(System.Windows.Forms.Control).IsAssignableFrom(CType(Me.Component, Object).GetType()) Then
            ' Sets the background color of the Control associated with the
            ' WindowsFormsComponentEditor to a random color.
            Dim rnd As New Random
            CType(Me.Component, System.Windows.Forms.Control).BackColor = Color.FromArgb(rnd.Next(255), rnd.Next(255), rnd.Next(255))
            pg1.Refresh()
        End If
    End Sub

    ' This method can be used to retrieve an Icon from a block 
    ' of Base64-encoded text.
    Private Function DeserializeIconFromBase64Text(ByVal [text] As String) As icon
        Dim img As Icon = Nothing
        Dim memBytes As Byte() = Convert.FromBase64String([text])
        Dim formatter = New BinaryFormatter
        Dim stream As New MemoryStream(memBytes)
        img = CType(formatter.Deserialize(stream), Icon)
        stream.Close()
        Return img
    End Function
End Class

' This example control is associated with the ExampleComponentEditor 
' through the following EditorAttribute.
<EditorAttribute(GetType(ExampleComponentEditor), GetType(ComponentEditor))> _
Public Class ExampleUserControl
    Inherits System.Windows.Forms.UserControl
End Class

[C#] 
using System;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.ComponentModel.Design;
using System.Collections;
using System.Drawing;
using System.IO;
using System.Runtime.Serialization;
using System.Runtime.Serialization.Formatters.Binary;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using System.Windows.Forms.Design;

// This example demonstrates how to implement a component editor that hosts 
// component pages and associate it with a component. This example also 
// demonstrates how to implement a component page that provides a panel-based 
// control system and Help keyword support.
namespace ComponentEditorExample
{
    // The ExampleComponentEditor displays two ExampleComponentEditorPage pages.
    public class ExampleComponentEditor : System.Windows.Forms.Design.WindowsFormsComponentEditor
    {
        // This method override returns an type array containing the type of 
        // each component editor page to display.
        protected override Type[] GetComponentEditorPages()
        { 
            return new Type[] { typeof(ExampleComponentEditorPage), 
                                typeof(ExampleComponentEditorPage) }; 
        }
    
        // This method override returns the index of the page to display when the 
        // component editor is first displayed.
        protected override int GetInitialComponentEditorPageIndex()
        { 
            return 1; 
        }
    }
    
    // This example component editor page type provides an example 
    // ComponentEditorPage implementation.
    internal class ExampleComponentEditorPage : System.Windows.Forms.Design.ComponentEditorPage
    {
        Label l1; 
        Button b1; 
        PropertyGrid pg1;

        // Base64-encoded serialized image data for the required component editor page icon.
        string icon = "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";

        public ExampleComponentEditorPage()
        {
            // Initialize the page, which inherits from Panel, and its controls.
            this.Size = new Size( 400, 250 );            
            this.Icon = DeserializeIconFromBase64Text(icon);
            this.Text = "Example Page";
            
            b1 = new Button();
            b1.Size = new Size(200, 20);
            b1.Location = new Point(200, 0);
            b1.Text = "Set a random background color";
            b1.Click += new EventHandler(this.randomBackColor);
            this.Controls.Add( b1 );

            l1 = new Label();
            l1.Size = new Size(190, 20);
            l1.Location = new Point(4, 2);
            l1.Text = "Example Component Editor Page";
            this.Controls.Add( l1 );

            pg1 = new PropertyGrid();
            pg1.Size = new Size(400, 280);
            pg1.Location = new Point(0,30);
            this.Controls.Add( pg1 );
        }
        
        // This method indicates that the Help button should be enabled for this 
        // component editor page.
        public override bool SupportsHelp()
        { 
            return true; 
        }

        // This method is called when the Help button for this component editor page is pressed.
        // This implementation uses the IHelpService to show the Help topic for a sample keyword.
        public override void ShowHelp()
        {
            // The GetSelectedComponent method of a ComponentEditorPage retrieves the
            // IComponent associated with the WindowsFormsComponentEditor.
            IComponent selectedComponent = this.GetSelectedComponent();

            // Retrieve the Site of the component, and return if null.
            ISite componentSite = selectedComponent.Site;
            if(componentSite == null)
                return;
 
            // Acquire the IHelpService to display a help topic using a indexed keyword lookup.
            IHelpService helpService = (IHelpService)componentSite.GetService(typeof(IHelpService));
            if (helpService != null)
                helpService.ShowHelpFromKeyword("System.Windows.Forms.ComboBox");
        }

        // The LoadComponent method is raised when the ComponentEditorPage is displayed.
        protected override void LoadComponent()
        { 
            this.pg1.SelectedObject = this.Component; 
        }
    
        // The SaveComponent method is raised when the WindowsFormsComponentEditor is closing 
        // or the current ComponentEditorPage is closing.
        protected override void SaveComponent()
        {
        }

        // If the associated component is a Control, this method sets the BackColor to a random color.
        // This method is invoked by the button on this ComponentEditorPage.
        private void randomBackColor(object sender, EventArgs e)
        {
            if( typeof(System.Windows.Forms.Control).IsAssignableFrom( this.Component.GetType() ) )
            {
                // Sets the background color of the Control associated with the
                // WindowsFormsComponentEditor to a random color.
                Random rnd = new Random();
                ((System.Windows.Forms.Control)this.Component).BackColor = 
                    Color.FromArgb(rnd.Next(255), rnd.Next(255), rnd.Next(255));
                pg1.Refresh();
            }
        }

        // This method can be used to retrieve an Icon from a block 
        // of Base64-encoded text.
        private Icon DeserializeIconFromBase64Text(string text)
        {
            Icon img = null;
            byte[] memBytes = Convert.FromBase64String(text);
            IFormatter formatter = new BinaryFormatter();
            MemoryStream stream = new MemoryStream(memBytes);
            img = (Icon)formatter.Deserialize(stream);
            stream.Close();
            return img;
        }
    }
    
    // This example control is associated with the ExampleComponentEditor 
    // through the following EditorAttribute.
    [EditorAttribute(typeof(ExampleComponentEditor), typeof(ComponentEditor))]
    public class ExampleUserControl : System.Windows.Forms.UserControl
    {
    }
}

[C++] 
#using <mscorlib.dll>
#using <System.Windows.Forms.dll>
#using <System.Drawing.dll>
#using <System.dll>
using namespace System;
using namespace System::ComponentModel;
using namespace System::ComponentModel::Design;
using namespace System::Collections;
using namespace System::Drawing;
using namespace System::IO;
using namespace System::Runtime::Serialization;
using namespace System::Runtime::Serialization::Formatters::Binary;
using namespace System::Windows::Forms;
using namespace System::Windows::Forms::Design;

// This example demonstrates how to implement a component editor that hosts 
// component pages and associate it with a component. This example also 
// demonstrates how to implement a component page that provides a panel-based 
// control system and Help keyword support.
namespace ComponentEditorExample
{
   private __gc class ExampleComponentEditorPage;

   // The ExampleComponentEditor displays two ExampleComponentEditorPage pages.
public __gc class ExampleComponentEditor : public System::Windows::Forms::Design::WindowsFormsComponentEditor
{
   // This method override returns an type array containing the type of 
   // each component editor page to display.
protected:
   Type*GetComponentEditorPages()[]
   { 
      Type* temp0 [] = {__typeof(ExampleComponentEditorPage), 
         __typeof(ExampleComponentEditorPage)};
      return temp0; 
   }

   // This method override returns the index of the page to display when the 
   // component editor is first displayed.
protected:
   int GetInitialComponentEditorPageIndex()
   { 
      return 1; 
   }
};

// This example component editor page type provides an example 
// ComponentEditorPage implementation.
private __gc class ExampleComponentEditorPage : public System::Windows::Forms::Design::ComponentEditorPage
{
   Label* l1; 
   Button* b1; 
   PropertyGrid* pg1;

   // Base64-encoded serialized image data for the required component editor page icon.
   String* icon;

public:
   ExampleComponentEditorPage()
   {
      String* temp = 
         S"AAEAAAD/////AQAAAAAAAAAMAgAAAFRTeXN0ZW0uRHJhd2luZywgVmVyc2lvbj0xLjAuNTAwMC4wLCBDdWx0dXJlPW5ldXRyYWwsIFB1YmxpY0tleVRva2VuPWIwM2Y1ZjdmMTFkNTBhM2EFAQAAABNTeXN0ZW0uRHJhd2luZy5JY29uAgAAAAhJY29uRGF0Y"
         S"QhJY29uU2l6ZQcEAhNTeXN0ZW0uRHJhd2luZy5TaXplAgAAAAIAAAAJAwAAAAX8////E1N5c3RlbS5EcmF3aW5nLlNpemUCAAAABXdpZHRoBmhlaWdodAAACAgCAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAPAwAAAD4BAAACAAABAAEAEBAQAAAAAAAoAQAAFgAAACgAAAAQAAAAIA"
         S"AAAAEABAAAAAAAgAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEAAAABAAAAAAAAAAAACAAACAAAAAgIAAgAAAAIAAgADExAAAgICAAMDAwAA+iPcAY77gACh9kwD/AAAAndPoADpw6wD///8AAAAAAAAAAAAHd3d3d3d3d8IiIiIiIiLHKIiIiIiIiCco///////4Jyj5mfIvIvgnKPn"
         S"p////+Cco+en7u7v4Jyj56f////gnKPmZ8i8i+Cco///////4JyiIiIiIiIgnJmZmZmZmZifCIiIiIiIiwAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACw==";
      icon = temp;
      // Initialize the page, which inherits from Panel, and its controls.
      this->Size = System::Drawing::Size( 400, 250 );            
      this->Icon = DeserializeIconFromBase64Text(icon);
      this->Text = S"Example Page";

      b1 = new Button();
      b1->Size = System::Drawing::Size(200, 20);
      b1->Location = Point(200, 0);
      b1->Text = S"Set a random background color";
      b1->Click += new EventHandler(this, &ExampleComponentEditorPage::randomBackColor);
      this->Controls->Add( b1 );

      l1 = new Label();
      l1->Size = System::Drawing::Size(190, 20);
      l1->Location = Point(4, 2);
      l1->Text = S"Example Component Editor Page";
      this->Controls->Add( l1 );

      pg1 = new PropertyGrid();
      pg1->Size = System::Drawing::Size(400, 280);
      pg1->Location = Point(0,30);
      this->Controls->Add( pg1 );
   }

   // This method indicates that the Help button should be enabled for this 
   // component editor page.
   bool SupportsHelp()
   { 
      return true; 
   }

   // This method is called when the Help button for this component editor page is pressed.
   // This implementation uses the IHelpService to show the Help topic for a sample keyword.
public:
   void ShowHelp()
   {
      // The GetSelectedComponent method of a ComponentEditorPage retrieves the
      // IComponent associated with the WindowsFormsComponentEditor.
      IComponent* selectedComponent = this->GetSelectedComponent();

      // Retrieve the Site of the component, and return if null.
      ISite* componentSite = selectedComponent->Site;
      if(componentSite == 0)
         return;

      // Acquire the IHelpService to display a help topic using a indexed keyword lookup.
      IHelpService* helpService = dynamic_cast<IHelpService*>(componentSite->GetService(__typeof(IHelpService)));
      if (helpService != 0)
         helpService->ShowHelpFromKeyword(S"System.Windows.Forms.ComboBox");
   }

   // The LoadComponent method is raised when the ComponentEditorPage is displayed.
protected:
   void LoadComponent()
   { 
      this->pg1->SelectedObject = this->Component; 
   }

   // The SaveComponent method is raised when the WindowsFormsComponentEditor is closing 
   // or the current ComponentEditorPage is closing.
   void SaveComponent()
   {
   }

   // If the associated component is a Control, this method sets the BackColor to a random color.
   // This method is invoked by the button on this ComponentEditorPage.
private:
   void randomBackColor(Object* /*sender*/, EventArgs* /*e*/)
   {
      if( __typeof(System::Windows::Forms::Control)->IsAssignableFrom( this->Component::GetType() ) )
      {
         // Sets the background color of the Control associated with the
         // WindowsFormsComponentEditor to a random color.
         Random* rnd = new Random();
         (dynamic_cast<System::Windows::Forms::Control*>(this->Component))->BackColor = 
            Color::FromArgb(rnd->Next(255), rnd->Next(255), rnd->Next(255));
         pg1->Refresh();
      }
   }

   // This method can be used to retrieve an Icon from a block 
   // of Base64-encoded text.
   System::Drawing::Icon* DeserializeIconFromBase64Text(String* text)
   {
      System::Drawing::Icon* img = 0;
      Byte memBytes[] = Convert::FromBase64String(text);
      IFormatter* formatter = new BinaryFormatter();
      MemoryStream* stream = new MemoryStream(memBytes);
      img = dynamic_cast<System::Drawing::Icon*>(formatter->Deserialize(stream));
      stream->Close();
      return img;
   }
};

// This example control is associated with the ExampleComponentEditor 
// through the following EditorAttribute.
[EditorAttribute(__typeof(ExampleComponentEditor), __typeof(ComponentEditor))]
public __gc class ExampleUserControl : public System::Windows::Forms::UserControl
{
};
}

[JScript] No example is available for JScript. To view a Visual Basic, C#, or C++ example, click the Language Filter button Language Filter in the upper-left corner of the page.

Requirements

Namespace: System.Windows.Forms.Design

Platforms: Windows 98, Windows NT 4.0, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows 2000, Windows XP Home Edition, Windows XP Professional, Windows Server 2003 family

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

See Also

WindowsFormsComponentEditor Members | System.Windows.Forms.Design Namespace | ComponentEditorForm | ComponentEditorPage

Show: