UI Automation Support for the Group Control Type
Note
This documentation is intended for .NET Framework developers who want to use the managed UI Automation classes defined in the System.Windows.Automation namespace. For the latest information about UI Automation, see Windows Automation API: UI Automation.
This topic provides information about UI Automation support for the Group control type. In UI Automation, a control type is a set of conditions that a control must meet in order to use the ControlTypeProperty property. The conditions include specific guidelines for UI Automation tree structure, UI Automation property values, and UI Automation control patterns.
The group control represents a node within a hierarchy. The Group control type creates a separation in the UI Automation tree so items that are grouped together have a logical division within the UI Automation tree.
The following sections define the required UI Automation tree structure, properties, control patterns, and events for the Group control type. The UI Automation requirements apply to all group controls, whether Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), Win32, or Windows Forms.
Required UI Automation Tree Structure
The following table depicts the control view and the content view of the UI Automation tree that pertains to group controls and describes what can be contained in each view. For more information on the UI Automation tree, see UI Automation Tree Overview.
| Control View | Content View |
|---|---|
| Group - 0 or many controls |
Group - 0 or many controls |
Typically group controls will have the UI Automation Support for the ListItem Control Type, UI Automation Support for the TreeItem Control Type, or UI Automation Support for the DataItem Control Type control types found underneath them in the subtree. Because 'Group' is a generic container, it is possible for any type of control to be under the Group control in the tree.
Required UI Automation Properties
The following table lists the UI Automation properties whose value or definition is especially relevant to group controls. For more information about UI Automation properties, see UI Automation Properties for Clients.
| UI Automation Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| AutomationIdProperty | See notes. | The value of this property needs to be unique across all controls in an application. |
| BoundingRectangleProperty | See notes. | The outermost rectangle that contains the whole control. |
| ClickablePointProperty | See notes. | Supported if there is a bounding rectangle. If not every point within the bounding rectangle is clickable, and you perform specialized hit testing, then override and provide a clickable point. |
| IsKeyboardFocusableProperty | See notes. | If the control can receive keyboard focus, it must support this property. |
| NameProperty | See notes. | The group control typically gets its name from the text that labels the control. |
| LabeledByProperty | See notes. | Group controls are typically self-labeling. In these cases return null here. If there is a static text label for the group then that must be returned as the value of the LabeledBy property. |
| ControlTypeProperty | Group | This value is the same for all UI frameworks. |
| LocalizedControlTypeProperty | "group" | Localized string corresponding to the Group control type. |
| IsContentElementProperty | True | The group control is always included in the content view of the UI Automation tree. |
| IsControlElementProperty | True | The calendar group is always included in the control view of the UI Automation tree. |
Required UI Automation Control Patterns
The following table lists the UI Automation control patterns required to be supported for the Group control type. For more information about control patterns, see UI Automation Control Patterns Overview.
| Control Pattern | Support | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| IExpandCollapseProvider | Depends | Group controls that can be used to show or hide information must support the Expand Collapse pattern. |
Required UI Automation Events
The following table lists the UI Automation events required to be supported by all group controls. For more information about events, see UI Automation Events Overview.
| UI Automation Event | Support | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| BoundingRectangleProperty property-changed event. | Required | None |
| IsOffscreenProperty property-changed event. | Required | None |
| IsEnabledProperty property-changed event. | Required | None |
| ExpandCollapseStateProperty property-changed event. | Depends | None |
| ToggleStateProperty property-changed event. | Depends | None |
| AutomationFocusChangedEvent | Required | None |
| StructureChangedEvent | Required | None |