ControlDesigner.AutoFormats Property

Reference

Definition

Namespace:: System.Web.UI.Design

Assembly:: System.Design.dll

Important

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Gets the collection of predefined automatic formatting schemes to display in the Auto Format dialog box for the associated control at design time.

public:
 virtual property System::Web::UI::Design::DesignerAutoFormatCollection ^ AutoFormats { System::Web::UI::Design::DesignerAutoFormatCollection ^ get(); };

public virtual System.Web.UI.Design.DesignerAutoFormatCollection AutoFormats { get; }

member this.AutoFormats : System.Web.UI.Design.DesignerAutoFormatCollection

Public Overridable ReadOnly Property AutoFormats As DesignerAutoFormatCollection

Property Value

DesignerAutoFormatCollection

A DesignerAutoFormatCollection object that contains the predefined schemes for the control.

Examples

The following code example demonstrates how to implement the AutoFormats property in a custom control designer. The derived control designer implements the AutoFormats property by adding three instances of a custom automatic format that are derived from the DesignerAutoFormat class.

using System;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Collections;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Web.UI;
using System.Web.UI.Design;
using System.Web.UI.Design.WebControls;
using System.Web.UI.WebControls;

namespace CustomControls.Design.CS
{
    // A custom Label control whose contents can be indented
    [Designer(typeof(IndentLabelDesigner)), 
        ToolboxData("<{0}:IndentLabel Runat=\"server\"></{0}:IndentLabel>")]
    public class IndentLabel : Label
    {
        private int _indent = 0;

        // Property to indent all text within the label
        [Category("Appearance"), DefaultValue(0), 
            PersistenceMode(PersistenceMode.Attribute)]
        public int Indent
        {
            get { return _indent; }
            set
            {
                _indent = value;
                // Get the number of pixels to indent
                int ind = value * 8;

                //  Add the indent style to the control
                if (ind > 0)
                    this.Style.Add(HtmlTextWriterStyle.MarginLeft, ind.ToString() + "px");
                else
                    this.Style.Remove(HtmlTextWriterStyle.MarginLeft);
            }
        }
    }

    // A design-time ControlDesigner for the IndentLabel control
    [SupportsPreviewControl(true)]
    public class IndentLabelDesigner : LabelDesigner
    {
        private DesignerAutoFormatCollection _autoFormats = null;

        // The collection of AutoFormat objects for the IndentLabel object
        public override DesignerAutoFormatCollection AutoFormats
        {
            get
            {
                if (_autoFormats == null)
                {
                    // Create the collection
                    _autoFormats = new DesignerAutoFormatCollection();

                    // Create and add each AutoFormat object
                    _autoFormats.Add(new IndentLabelAutoFormat("MyClassic"));
                    _autoFormats.Add(new IndentLabelAutoFormat("MyBright"));
                    _autoFormats.Add(new IndentLabelAutoFormat("Default"));
                }
                return _autoFormats;
            }
        }

        // An AutoFormat object for the IndentLabel control
        private class IndentLabelAutoFormat : DesignerAutoFormat
        {
            public IndentLabelAutoFormat(string name) : base(name)
            { }

            // Applies styles based on the Name of the AutoFormat
            public override void Apply(Control inLabel)
            {
                if (inLabel is IndentLabel)
                {
                    IndentLabel ctl = (IndentLabel)inLabel;

                    // Apply formatting according to the Name
                    if (this.Name == "MyClassic")
                    {
                        // For MyClassic, apply style elements directly to the control
                        ctl.ForeColor = Color.Gray;
                        ctl.BackColor = Color.LightGray;
                        ctl.Font.Size = FontUnit.XSmall;
                        ctl.Font.Name = "Verdana,Geneva,Sans-Serif";
                    }
                    else if (this.Name == "MyBright")
                    {
                        // For MyBright, apply style elements to the Style property
                        this.Style.ForeColor = Color.Maroon;
                        this.Style.BackColor = Color.Yellow;
                        this.Style.Font.Size = FontUnit.Medium;

                        // Merge the AutoFormat style with the control's style
                        ctl.MergeStyle(this.Style);
                    }
                    else
                    {
                        // For the Default format, apply style elements to the control
                        ctl.ForeColor = Color.Black;
                        ctl.BackColor = Color.Empty;
                        ctl.Font.Size = FontUnit.XSmall;
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

Imports System.Drawing
Imports System.Collections
Imports System.ComponentModel
Imports System.Web.UI
Imports System.Web.UI.Design
Imports System.Web.UI.Design.WebControls
Imports System.Web.UI.WebControls

Namespace CustomControls.Design

    ' A custom Label control whose contents can be indented
    <Designer(GetType(IndentLabelDesigner)), _
        ToolboxData("<{0}:IndentLabel Runat=""server""></{0}:IndentLabel>")> _
    Public Class IndentLabel
        Inherits System.Web.UI.WebControls.Label

        Dim _indent As Integer = 0

        <Category("Appearance"), DefaultValue(0), _
            PersistenceMode(PersistenceMode.Attribute)> _
        Property Indent() As Integer
            Get
                Return _indent
            End Get
            Set(ByVal Value As Integer)
                _indent = Value

                ' Get the number of pixels to indent
                Dim ind As Integer = _indent * 8

                ' Add the indent style to the control
                If ind > 0 Then
                    Me.Style.Add(HtmlTextWriterStyle.MarginLeft, ind.ToString() & "px")
                Else
                    Me.Style.Remove(HtmlTextWriterStyle.MarginLeft)
                End If
            End Set
        End Property

    End Class

    ' A design-time ControlDesigner for the IndentLabel control
    Public Class IndentLabelDesigner
        Inherits LabelDesigner

        Private _autoFormats As DesignerAutoFormatCollection = Nothing
        ' The collection of AutoFormat objects for the IndentLabel object
        Public Overrides ReadOnly Property AutoFormats() As DesignerAutoFormatCollection
            Get
                If _autoFormats Is Nothing Then
                    ' Create the collection
                    _autoFormats = New DesignerAutoFormatCollection()

                    ' Create and add each AutoFormat object
                    _autoFormats.Add(New IndentLabelAutoFormat("MyClassic"))
                    _autoFormats.Add(New IndentLabelAutoFormat("MyBright"))
                    _autoFormats.Add(New IndentLabelAutoFormat("Default"))
                End If

                Return _autoFormats
            End Get
        End Property

        ' An AutoFormat object for the IndentLabel control
        Public Class IndentLabelAutoFormat
            Inherits DesignerAutoFormat

            Public Sub New(ByVal name As String)
                MyBase.New(name)
            End Sub

            ' Applies styles based on the Name of the AutoFormat
            Public Overrides Sub Apply(ByVal inLabel As Control)
                If TypeOf inLabel Is IndentLabel Then
                    Dim ctl As IndentLabel = CType(inLabel, IndentLabel)

                    ' Apply formatting according to the Name
                    If Me.Name.Equals("MyClassic") Then
                        ' For MyClassic, apply style elements directly to the control
                        ctl.ForeColor = Color.Gray
                        ctl.BackColor = Color.LightGray
                        ctl.Font.Size = FontUnit.XSmall
                        ctl.Font.Name = "Verdana,Geneva,Sans-Serif"
                    ElseIf Me.Name.Equals("MyBright") Then
                        ' For MyBright, apply style elements to the Style object
                        Me.Style.ForeColor = Color.Maroon
                        Me.Style.BackColor = Color.Yellow
                        Me.Style.Font.Size = FontUnit.Medium

                        ' Merge the AutoFormat style with the control's style
                        ctl.MergeStyle(Me.Style)
                    Else
                        ' For the Default format, apply style elements to the control
                        ctl.ForeColor = Color.Black
                        ctl.BackColor = Color.Empty
                        ctl.Font.Size = FontUnit.XSmall
                    End If
                End If
            End Sub
        End Class
    End Class

End Namespace

Remarks

A complete Web server control includes not only the control, but also, possibly, a corresponding control designer class that is derived from the ControlDesigner class and a formatting class that is derived from the DesignerAutoFormat class. The AutoFormats property is a collection of instances of the DesignerAutoFormat class. For a working example of automatic formatting in Visual Studio 2005, see Calendar.

Notes to Inheritors

Controls that automatically expose AutoFormats get a task list and context commands for their formats. When you are using automatic formats, use the ViewControl property to set the properties in your callback function.

Applies to

Jaa