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MenuStrip Class

Provides a menu system for a form.

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

'Declaration
<ClassInterfaceAttribute(ClassInterfaceType.AutoDispatch)> _
<ComVisibleAttribute(True)> _
Public Class MenuStrip _
	Inherits ToolStrip
'Usage
Dim instance As MenuStrip

MenuStrip is the top-level container that supersedes MainMenu. It also provides key handling and multiple document interface (MDI) features. Functionally, ToolStripDropDownItem and ToolStripMenuItem work along with MenuStrip, although they are derived from ToolStripItem.

The following items are specifically designed to work seamlessly with both ToolStripSystemRenderer and ToolStripProfessionalRenderer in all orientations. They are available by default at design time for the MenuStrip control:

The MenuStrip control represents the container for the menu structure of a form. You can add ToolStripMenuItem objects to the MenuStrip that represent the individual menu commands in the menu structure. Each ToolStripMenuItem can be a command for your application or a parent menu for other submenu items.

Although MenuStrip replaces and adds functionality to the MainMenu control of previous versions, MainMenu is retained for both backward compatibility and future use if you choose.

The following code example demonstrates a MenuStrip in a multiple-document interface (MDI) scenario.

' This code example demonstrates how to use ToolStripPanel 
' controls with a multiple document interface (MDI). 
Public Class Form1
   Inherits Form

   Public Sub New()
      ' Make the Form an MDI parent. 
      Me.IsMdiContainer = True 

      ' Create ToolStripPanel controls. 
      Dim tspTop As New ToolStripPanel()
      Dim tspBottom As New ToolStripPanel()
      Dim tspLeft As New ToolStripPanel()
      Dim tspRight As New ToolStripPanel()

      ' Dock the ToolStripPanel controls to the edges of the form.
      tspTop.Dock = DockStyle.Top
      tspBottom.Dock = DockStyle.Bottom
      tspLeft.Dock = DockStyle.Left
      tspRight.Dock = DockStyle.Right

      ' Create ToolStrip controls to move among the  
      ' ToolStripPanel controls. 
      ' Create the "Top" ToolStrip control and add 
      ' to the corresponding ToolStripPanel. 
      Dim tsTop As New ToolStrip()
      tsTop.Items.Add("Top")
      tspTop.Join(tsTop)

      ' Create the "Bottom" ToolStrip control and add 
      ' to the corresponding ToolStripPanel. 
      Dim tsBottom As New ToolStrip()
      tsBottom.Items.Add("Bottom")
      tspBottom.Join(tsBottom)

      ' Create the "Right" ToolStrip control and add 
      ' to the corresponding ToolStripPanel. 
      Dim tsRight As New ToolStrip()
      tsRight.Items.Add("Right")
      tspRight.Join(tsRight)

      ' Create the "Left" ToolStrip control and add 
      ' to the corresponding ToolStripPanel. 
      Dim tsLeft As New ToolStrip()
      tsLeft.Items.Add("Left")
      tspLeft.Join(tsLeft)

      ' Create a MenuStrip control with a new window. 
      Dim ms As New MenuStrip()
      Dim windowMenu As New ToolStripMenuItem("Window")
      Dim windowNewMenu As New ToolStripMenuItem("New", Nothing, New EventHandler(AddressOf windowNewMenu_Click))
      windowMenu.DropDownItems.Add(windowNewMenu)
      CType(windowMenu.DropDown, ToolStripDropDownMenu).ShowImageMargin = False
      CType(windowMenu.DropDown, ToolStripDropDownMenu).ShowCheckMargin = True 

      ' Assign the ToolStripMenuItem that displays  
      ' the list of child forms.
      ms.MdiWindowListItem = windowMenu

      ' Add the window ToolStripMenuItem to the MenuStrip.
      ms.Items.Add(windowMenu)

      ' Dock the MenuStrip to the top of the form.
      ms.Dock = DockStyle.Top

      ' The Form.MainMenuStrip property determines the merge target. 
      Me.MainMenuStrip = ms

      ' Add the ToolStripPanels to the form in reverse order. 
      Me.Controls.Add(tspRight)
      Me.Controls.Add(tspLeft)
      Me.Controls.Add(tspBottom)
      Me.Controls.Add(tspTop)

      ' Add the MenuStrip last. 
      ' This is important for correct placement in the z-order. 
      Me.Controls.Add(ms)
    End Sub 

   ' This event handler is invoked when  
   ' the "New" ToolStripMenuItem is clicked. 
   ' It creates a new Form and sets its MdiParent  
   ' property to the main form. 
    Private Sub windowNewMenu_Click(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)
        Dim f As New Form()
        f.MdiParent = Me
        f.Text = "Form - " + Me.MdiChildren.Length.ToString()
        f.Show()
    End Sub 
End Class

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

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.

.NET Framework

Supported in: 3.5, 3.0, 2.0
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