How to: Use the Spring Property Interactively in a StatusStrip

You can use the Spring property to position a ToolStripStatusLabel control in a StatusStrip control. The Spring property determines whether the ToolStripStatusLabel control automatically fills the available space on the StatusStrip control.

Example

The following code example demonstrates how to use the Spring property to position a ToolStripStatusLabel control in a StatusStrip control. The Click event handler performs an exclusive-or (XOR) operation to switch the value of the Spring property.

To use this code example, compile and run the application, and then click Middle (Spring) on the StatusStrip control to switch the value of the Spring property.

Imports System
Imports System.Collections.Generic
Imports System.Windows.Forms
Imports System.Drawing

...
' This code example demonstrates using the Spring property 
' to interactively center a ToolStripStatusLabel in a StatusStrip.
Class Form4
    Inherits Form

   ' Declare the ToolStripStatusLabel.
   Private middleLabel As ToolStripStatusLabel
   
   
   Public Sub New()
      ' Create a new StatusStrip control.
      Dim ss As New StatusStrip()
      
      ' Add the leftmost label.
      ss.Items.Add("Left")
      
      ' Handle middle label separately -- action will occur
      ' when the label is clicked.
      middleLabel = New ToolStripStatusLabel("Middle (Spring)")
      AddHandler middleLabel.Click, AddressOf middleLabel_Click
      ss.Items.Add(middleLabel)
      
      ' Add the rightmost label
      ss.Items.Add("Right")
      
      ' Add the StatusStrip control to the controls collection.
      Me.Controls.Add(ss)
    End Sub
   
   ' This event hadler is invoked when the 
   ' middleLabel control is clicked. It toggles
   ' the value of the Spring property.
    Sub middleLabel_Click(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)

        ' Toggle the value of the Spring property.
        middleLabel.Spring = middleLabel.Spring Xor True

        ' Set the Text property according to the
        ' value of the Spring property. 
        middleLabel.Text = IIf(middleLabel.Spring, _
        "Middle (Spring - True)", "Middle (Spring - False)")
    End Sub
End Class

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using System.Drawing;

...
    // This code example demonstrates using the Spring property 
    // to interactively center a ToolStripStatusLabel in a StatusStrip.
    class Form4 : Form
    {
        // Declare the ToolStripStatusLabel.
        ToolStripStatusLabel middleLabel;

        public Form4()
        {
            // Create a new StatusStrip control.
            StatusStrip ss = new StatusStrip();

            // Add the leftmost label.
            ss.Items.Add("Left");

            // Handle middle label separately -- action will occur
            // when the label is clicked.
            middleLabel = new ToolStripStatusLabel("Middle (Spring)");
            middleLabel.Click += new EventHandler(middleLabel_Click);
            ss.Items.Add(middleLabel);

            // Add the rightmost label
            ss.Items.Add("Right");

            // Add the StatusStrip control to the controls collection.
            this.Controls.Add(ss);
        }

        // This event hadler is invoked when the 
        // middleLabel control is clicked. It toggles
        // the value of the Spring property.
        void middleLabel_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
        {
            // Toggle the value of the Spring property.
            middleLabel.Spring ^= true;

            // Set the Text property according to the
            // value of the Spring property. 
            middleLabel.Text = 
                middleLabel.Spring ? "Middle (Spring - True)" : "Middle (Spring - False)";
        }
    }

Compiling the Code

This example requires:

• References to the System.Design, System.Drawing, and System.Windows.Forms assemblies.

For information about building this example from the command line for Visual Basic or Visual C#, see Building from the Command Line (Visual Basic) or Command-Line Building. You can also build this example in Visual Studio by pasting the code into a new project. How to: Compile and Run a Complete Windows Forms Code Example Using Visual Studio
How to: Compile and Run a Complete Windows Forms Code Example Using Visual Studio
How to: Compile and Run a Complete Windows Forms Code Example Using Visual Studio
How to: Compile and Run a Complete Windows Forms Code Example Using Visual Studio

See Also

Reference

ToolStripStatusLabel
StatusStrip
ToolStrip
ToolStripItem
ToolStripMenuItem

Other Resources

ToolStrip Control (Windows Forms)