DesignerSerializationVisibilityAttribute Class

Definition

Namespace:

System.ComponentModel

Assembly:

System.ComponentModel.Primitives.dll

Source:

DesignerSerializationVisibilityAttribute.cs

Specifies the type of persistence to use when serializing a property on a component at design time.

public ref class DesignerSerializationVisibilityAttribute sealed : Attribute

[System.AttributeUsage(System.AttributeTargets.Event | System.AttributeTargets.Field | System.AttributeTargets.Method | System.AttributeTargets.Property)]
public sealed class DesignerSerializationVisibilityAttribute : Attribute

[<System.AttributeUsage(System.AttributeTargets.Event | System.AttributeTargets.Field | System.AttributeTargets.Method | System.AttributeTargets.Property)>]
type DesignerSerializationVisibilityAttribute = class
    inherit Attribute

Public NotInheritable Class DesignerSerializationVisibilityAttribute
Inherits Attribute

Inheritance

Object

Attribute

DesignerSerializationVisibilityAttribute

Attributes

AttributeUsageAttribute

Examples

The following code example demonstrates the use of a DesignerSerializationVisibilityAttribute set to Content. It persists the values of a public property of a user control, which can be configured at design time. To use the example, first compile the following code into a user control library. Next, add a reference to the compiled .dll file in a new Windows Application project. If you are using Visual Studio, the ContentSerializationExampleControl is automatically added to the Toolbox.

Drag the control from the Toolbox to a form, and set the properties of the DimensionData object listed in the Properties window. When you view the code for the form, code will have been added to the InitializeComponent method of the parent form. This code sets the values of the control's properties to those which you have set in design mode.

#using <System.Windows.Forms.dll>
#using <System.Drawing.dll>
#using <System.dll>

using namespace System;
using namespace System::Collections;
using namespace System::ComponentModel;
using namespace System::ComponentModel::Design;
using namespace System::Drawing;
using namespace System::Windows::Forms;

// This attribute indicates that the public properties of this object should be listed in the property grid.

[TypeConverterAttribute(System::ComponentModel::ExpandableObjectConverter::typeid)]
public ref class DimensionData
{
private:
   Control^ owner;

internal:

   // This class reads and writes the Location and Size properties from the Control which it is initialized to.
   DimensionData( Control^ owner )
   {
      this->owner = owner;
   }

public:

   property Point Location 
   {
      Point get()
      {
         return owner->Location;
      }

      void set( Point value )
      {
         owner->Location = value;
      }

   }

   property Size FormSize 
   {
      Size get()
      {
         return owner->Size;
      }

      void set( Size value )
      {
         owner->Size = value;
      }
   }
};

// The code for this user control declares a public property of type DimensionData with a DesignerSerializationVisibility 
// attribute set to DesignerSerializationVisibility.Content, indicating that the properties of the object should be serialized.
// The public, not hidden properties of the object that are set at design time will be persisted in the initialization code
// for the class object. Content persistence will not work for structs without a custom TypeConverter.  
public ref class ContentSerializationExampleControl: public System::Windows::Forms::UserControl
{
private:
   System::ComponentModel::Container^ components;

public:

   property DimensionData^ Dimensions 
   {
      [DesignerSerializationVisibility(DesignerSerializationVisibility::Content)]
      DimensionData^ get()
      {
         return gcnew DimensionData( this );
      }
   }
   ContentSerializationExampleControl()
   {
      InitializeComponent();
   }

public:
   ~ContentSerializationExampleControl()
   {
      if ( components != nullptr )
      {
         delete components;
      }
   }

private:
   void InitializeComponent()
   {
      components = gcnew System::ComponentModel::Container;
   }
};

using System;
using System.Collections;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.ComponentModel.Design;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Windows.Forms;

namespace DesignerSerializationVisibilityTest
{
    // The code for this user control declares a public property of type DimensionData with a DesignerSerializationVisibility 
    // attribute set to DesignerSerializationVisibility.Content, indicating that the properties of the object should be serialized.

    // The public, not hidden properties of the object that are set at design time will be persisted in the initialization code
    // for the class object. Content persistence will not work for structs without a custom TypeConverter.		

    public class ContentSerializationExampleControl : System.Windows.Forms.UserControl
    {
    private System.ComponentModel.Container components = null;				
    
    [DesignerSerializationVisibility(DesignerSerializationVisibility.Content)]
    public DimensionData Dimensions
    {
        get 
        {
        return new DimensionData(this);
        }		
    }

    public ContentSerializationExampleControl()
    {
            InitializeComponent();		
    }
        
    protected override void Dispose( bool disposing )
    {
        if( disposing )
        {
        if( components != null )
            components.Dispose();
        }
        base.Dispose( disposing );
    }

    private void InitializeComponent()
    {
        components = new System.ComponentModel.Container();
    }
    }

    [TypeConverterAttribute(typeof(System.ComponentModel.ExpandableObjectConverter))]
    // This attribute indicates that the public properties of this object should be listed in the property grid.
    public class DimensionData
    {		
    private Control owner;

    // This class reads and writes the Location and Size properties from the Control which it is initialized to.
    internal DimensionData(Control owner)
    {
            this.owner = owner;			
    }

    public Point Location
    {
        get
        {
        return owner.Location;
        }
        set
        {
        owner.Location = value;
        }
    }

    public Size FormSize
    {
        get
            {
        return owner.Size;
        }
        set
        {
        owner.Size = value;
        }
    }
    }
}

Imports System.Collections
Imports System.ComponentModel
Imports System.ComponentModel.Design
Imports System.Drawing
Imports System.Windows.Forms

Namespace DesignerSerializationVisibilityTest
    _
    ' The code for this user control declares a public property of type DimensionData with a DesignerSerializationVisibility 
    ' attribute set to DesignerSerializationVisibility.Content, indicating that the properties of the object should be serialized.

    ' The public, not hidden properties of the object that are set at design time will be persisted in the initialization code
    ' for the class object. Content persistence will not work for structs without a custom TypeConverter.		
    Public Class ContentSerializationExampleControl
        Inherits System.Windows.Forms.UserControl
        Private components As System.ComponentModel.Container = Nothing


        <DesignerSerializationVisibility(DesignerSerializationVisibility.Content)> _
        Public ReadOnly Property Dimensions() As DimensionData
            Get
                Return New DimensionData(Me)
            End Get
        End Property


        Public Sub New()
            InitializeComponent()
        End Sub


        Protected Overloads Sub Dispose(ByVal disposing As Boolean)
            If disposing Then
                If (components IsNot Nothing) Then
                    components.Dispose()
                End If
            End If
            MyBase.Dispose(disposing)
        End Sub


        Private Sub InitializeComponent()
        End Sub
    End Class

    ' This attribute indicates that the public properties of this object should be listed in the property grid.
   <TypeConverterAttribute(GetType(System.ComponentModel.ExpandableObjectConverter))> _   
    Public Class DimensionData
        Private owner As Control

        ' This class reads and writes the Location and Size properties from the Control which it is initialized to.
        Friend Sub New(ByVal owner As Control)
            Me.owner = owner
        End Sub


        Public Property Location() As Point
            Get
                Return owner.Location
            End Get
            Set(ByVal Value As Point)
                owner.Location = Value
            End Set
        End Property


        Public Property FormSize() As Size
            Get
                Return owner.Size
            End Get
            Set(ByVal Value As Size)
                owner.Size = Value
            End Set
        End Property
    End Class
End Namespace 'DesignerSerializationVisibilityTest

Remarks

When a serializer persists the persistable state of a design mode document, it often adds code to the initialization method of components to persist values of properties that have been set at design time. This happens by default for most basic types, if no attribute has been set to direct other behavior.

With the DesignerSerializationVisibilityAttribute, you can indicate whether the value for a property is Visible, and should be persisted in initialization code, Hidden, and should not be persisted in initialization code, or consists of Content, which should have initialization code generated for each public, not hidden property of the object assigned to the property.

Members that do not have a DesignerSerializationVisibilityAttribute will be treated as though they have a DesignerSerializationVisibilityAttribute with a value of Visible. The values of a property marked as Visible will be serialized, if possible, by a serializer for the type. To specify custom serialization for a particular type or property, use the DesignerSerializerAttribute.

For more information, see Attributes.

Constructors

DesignerSerializationVisibilityAttribute(DesignerSerializationVisibility)

Initializes a new instance of the DesignerSerializationVisibilityAttribute class using the specified DesignerSerializationVisibility value.

Fields

Content	Specifies that a serializer should serialize the contents of the property, rather than the property itself. This field is read-only.
Default	Specifies the default value, which is Visible, that is, a visual designer uses default rules to generate the value of a property. This static field is read-only.
Hidden	Specifies that a serializer should not serialize the value of the property. This static field is read-only.
Visible	Specifies that a serializer should be allowed to serialize the value of the property. This static field is read-only.

Properties

TypeId	When implemented in a derived class, gets a unique identifier for this Attribute. (Inherited from Attribute)
Visibility	Gets a value indicating the basic serialization mode a serializer should use when determining whether and how to persist the value of a property.

Methods

Equals(Object)	Indicates whether this instance and a specified object are equal.
GetHashCode()	Returns the hash code for this object.
GetType()	Gets the Type of the current instance. (Inherited from Object)
IsDefaultAttribute()	Gets a value indicating whether the current value of the attribute is the default value for the attribute.
Match(Object)	When overridden in a derived class, returns a value that indicates whether this instance equals a specified object. (Inherited from Attribute)
MemberwiseClone()	Creates a shallow copy of the current Object. (Inherited from Object)
ToString()	Returns a string that represents the current object. (Inherited from Object)

See also

• Attribute
• PropertyDescriptor
• AttributeCollection
• PropertyDescriptorCollection
• How to: Serialize Collections of Standard Types with the DesignerSerializationVisibilityAttribute