How to: Add Buttons to a ToolBar Control

Note
The ToolStrip control replaces and adds functionality to the ToolBar control; however, the ToolBar control is retained for both backward compatibility and future use, if you choose.

An integral part of the ToolBar control is the buttons you add to it. These can be used to provide easy access to menu commands or, alternately, they can be placed in another area of the user interface of your application to expose commands to your users that are not available in the menu structure.

The examples below assume that a ToolBar control has been added to a Windows Form (Form1).

To add buttons programmatically

1. In a procedure, create toolbar buttons by adding them to the System.Windows.Forms.ToolBar.Buttons collection.

2. Specify property settings for an individual button by passing the button's index via the Buttons property.

   The example below assumes a form with a ToolBar control already added.

   Note
   The System.Windows.Forms.ToolBar.Buttons collection is a zero-based collection, so code should proceed accordingly.

   Public Sub CreateToolBarButtons()
   ' Create buttons and set text property.
      ToolBar1.Buttons.Add("One")
      ToolBar1.Buttons.Add("Two")
      ToolBar1.Buttons.Add("Three")
      ToolBar1.Buttons.Add("Four")
   ' Set properties of StatusBar panels.
   ' Set Style property.
      ToolBar1.Buttons(0).Style = ToolBarButtonStyle.PushButton
      ToolBar1.Buttons(1).Style = ToolBarButtonStyle.Separator
      ToolBar1.Buttons(2).Style = ToolBarButtonStyle.ToggleButton
      ToolBar1.Buttons(3).Style = ToolBarButtonStyle.DropDownButton
   ' Set the ToggleButton's PartialPush property.
      ToolBar1.Buttons(2).PartialPush = True
   ' Instantiate a ContextMenu component and menu items.
   ' Set the DropDownButton's DropDownMenu property to the context menu.
      Dim cm As New ContextMenu()
      Dim miOne As New MenuItem("One")
      Dim miTwo As New MenuItem("Two")
      Dim miThree As New MenuItem("Three")
      cm.MenuItems.Add(miOne)
      cm.MenuItems.Add(miTwo)
      cm.MenuItems.Add(miThree)
      ToolBar1.Buttons(3).DropDownMenu = cm
   ' Set the PushButton's Pushed property.
      ToolBar1.Buttons(0).Pushed = True
   ' Set the ToolTipText property of one of the buttons.
      ToolBar1.Buttons(1).ToolTipText = "Button 2"
   End Sub
   

   public void CreateToolBarButtons()
   {
      // Create buttons and set text property.
      toolBar1.Buttons.Add("One");
      toolBar1.Buttons.Add("Two");
      toolBar1.Buttons.Add("Three");
      toolBar1.Buttons.Add("Four");
   
      // Set properties of StatusBar panels.
      // Set Style property.
      toolBar1.Buttons[0].Style = ToolBarButtonStyle.PushButton;
      toolBar1.Buttons[1].Style = ToolBarButtonStyle.Separator;
      toolBar1.Buttons[2].Style = ToolBarButtonStyle.ToggleButton;
      toolBar1.Buttons[3].Style = ToolBarButtonStyle.DropDownButton;
   
      // Set the ToggleButton's PartialPush property.
      toolBar1.Buttons[2].PartialPush = true;
   
      // Instantiate a ContextMenu component and menu items.
      // Set the DropDownButton's DropDownMenu property to 
      // the context menu.
      ContextMenu cm = new ContextMenu();
      MenuItem miOne = new MenuItem("One");
      MenuItem miTwo = new MenuItem("Two");
      MenuItem miThree = new MenuItem("Three");
      cm.MenuItems.Add(miOne);
      cm.MenuItems.Add(miTwo);
      cm.MenuItems.Add(miThree);
   
      toolBar1.Buttons[3].DropDownMenu = cm;
      // Set the PushButton's Pushed property.
      toolBar1.Buttons[0].Pushed = true;
      // Set the ToolTipText property of 1 of the buttons.
      toolBar1.Buttons[1].ToolTipText = "Button 2";
   }
   

   public:
      void CreateToolBarButtons()
      {
         // Create buttons and set text property.
         toolBar1->Buttons->Add( "One" );
         toolBar1->Buttons->Add( "Two" );
         toolBar1->Buttons->Add( "Three" );
         toolBar1->Buttons->Add( "Four" );
   
         // Set properties of StatusBar panels.
         // Set Style property.
         toolBar1->Buttons[0]->Style = ToolBarButtonStyle::PushButton;
         toolBar1->Buttons[1]->Style = ToolBarButtonStyle::Separator;
         toolBar1->Buttons[2]->Style = ToolBarButtonStyle::ToggleButton;
         toolBar1->Buttons[3]->Style = ToolBarButtonStyle::DropDownButton;
   
         // Set the ToggleButton's PartialPush property.
         toolBar1->Buttons[2]->PartialPush = true;
   
         // Instantiate a ContextMenu component and menu items.
         // Set the DropDownButton's DropDownMenu property to 
         // the context menu.
         System::Windows::Forms::ContextMenu^ cm = gcnew System::Windows::Forms::ContextMenu;
         MenuItem^ miOne = gcnew MenuItem( "One" );
         MenuItem^ miTwo = gcnew MenuItem( "Two" );
         MenuItem^ miThree = gcnew MenuItem( "Three" );
         cm->MenuItems->Add( miOne );
         cm->MenuItems->Add( miTwo );
         cm->MenuItems->Add( miThree );
         toolBar1->Buttons[3]->DropDownMenu = cm;
   
         // Set the PushButton's Pushed property.
         toolBar1->Buttons[0]->Pushed = true;
   
         // Set the ToolTipText property of 1 of the buttons.
         toolBar1->Buttons[1]->ToolTipText = "Button 2";
      }
   

See Also

Tasks

How to: Define an Icon for a ToolBar Button
How to: Trigger Menu Events for Toolbar Buttons

Reference

ToolBar Control Overview (Windows Forms)
ToolBar

Other Resources

ToolBar Control (Windows Forms)