Extending the Toolbox

  • Article

The Visual Studio Toolbox provides a collection of objects that provide functionality to editors and designers through the IDE's drag-and-drop mechanism.

There are two basic ways in which a VSPackage works with the Visual Studio Toolbox:

  • A VSPackage can add new data items and controls to the Toolbox.

  • A VSPackage can be a target or consumer of existing Toolbox functionality, supporting the drag-and-drop operations and configuring the Toolbox's appearance.

In This Section

How to: Create a Toolbox Control That Uses Windows Forms
Describes out to create a Toolbox control by using the Windows Forms Toolbox Control template.

Creating a WPF Toolbox Control
Describes out to create a Toolbox control by using the WPF Toolbox Control template.

Managing the Toolbox
Describes how a VSPackage can manage the content and appearance of the Toolbox.

How to: Manage the Toolbox Window
Describes how to work with the Toolbox in the Visual Studio integrated development environment (IDE).

How to: Control the Toolbox
Describes how to manage the Toolbox using the automation programming model.

Extending Other Parts of Visual Studio
Explains how to use Visual Studio services to create UI elements that match the rest of Visual Studio.