--- title: "ToolStrip Control Overview" ms.date: "03/30/2017" f1_keywords: - "Toolstrip" helpviewer_keywords: - "ToolStrip control [Windows Forms], about ToolStrip control" - "toolbars [Windows Forms], what's new in Windows Forms" - "toolbars [Windows Forms]" - "what's new [Windows Forms], toolbars" ms.assetid: 81d067ed-297c-4dad-90de-1bcac15336ec --- # ToolStrip Control Overview (Windows Forms) The Windows Forms control and its associated classes provide a common framework for combining user interface elements into toolbars, status bars, and menus. controls offer a rich design-time experience that includes in-place activation and editing, custom layout, and rafting, which is the ability of toolbars to share horizontal or vertical space. Although replaces and adds functionality to the control in previous versions, is retained for both backward compatibility and future use if desired. ## Features of the ToolStrip Controls Use the control to: - Present a common user interface across containers. - Create easily customized, commonly employed toolbars that support advanced user interface and layout features, such as docking, rafting, buttons with text and images, drop-down buttons and controls, overflow buttons, and run-time reordering of items. - Support overflow and run-time item reordering. The overflow feature moves items to a drop-down menu when there is not enough room to display them in a . - Support the typical appearance and behavior of the operating system through a common rendering model. - Handle events consistently for all containers and contained items, in the same way you handle events for other controls. - Drag items from one to another or within a . - Create drop-down controls and user interface type editors with advanced layouts in a . Use the class to use other controls on a and gain functionality for them. You can extend the functionality and modify the appearance and behavior by using the , , and along with the and enumerations. The control is highly configurable and extensible, and it provides many properties, methods, and events to customize appearance and behavior. Below are some noteworthy members: ### Important ToolStrip Members |Name|Description| |----------|-----------------| ||Gets or sets which edge of the parent container a is docked to.| ||Gets or sets a value indicating whether drag-and-drop and item reordering are handled privately by the class.| ||Gets or sets a value indicating how the lays out its items.| ||Gets or sets whether a is attached to the or or can float between the two.| ||Gets a value indicating whether a displays other items in a drop-down list when the is clicked.| ||Gets the that is the overflow button for a with overflow enabled.| ||Gets or sets a used to customize the appearance and behavior (look and feel) of a .| ||Gets or sets the painting styles to be applied to the .| ||Raised when the property changes.| The control's flexibility is achieved through the use of a number of companion classes. Below are some of the most noteworthy: ### Important ToolStrip Companion Classes |Name|Description| |----------|-----------------| ||Replaces and adds functionality to the class.| ||Replaces and adds functionality to the class.| ||Replaces and adds functionality to the class.| ||Abstract base class that manages events and layout for all the elements that a , , or can contain.| ||Provides a container with a panel on each side of the form in which controls can be arranged in various ways.| ||Handles the painting functionality for objects.| ||Provides Microsoft Office-style appearance.| ||Controls rendering and rafting, and the merging of , , and objects.| ||Specifies the painting style (custom, Windows XP, or Microsoft Office Professional) applied to multiple objects contained in a form.| ||Specifies the painting style (custom, Windows XP, or Microsoft Office Professional) applied to one object contained in a form.| ||Hosts other controls that are not specifically controls but for which you want functionality.| ||Specifies whether a is to be laid out on the main , on the overflow , or neither.| For more information, see [ToolStrip Technology Summary](toolstrip-technology-summary.md) and [ToolStrip Control Architecture](toolstrip-control-architecture.md). ## See also - - - - - -