Question

I want to create in C# Visual Studio 2010 my user control from standard controls, which remains independent during design time.
Problem is, when I create standard user control like this:

public partial class MyUserControl: UserControl 
{
    public MyUserControl()
    {
        InitializeComponent();
    }
}

and I add 2 buttons and 1 textbox on it, they become a part of UserControl.
Then, when control is designed and I add it on a form, I can move it, resize etc., but I cannot click or select Button1 or Button2 or TextBox1.
Also double clicking button1 do not create button1_click event but UserControl_Load event.
I would like to achieve effect similar to DataBindingNavigator control – where you can click each button independently.

I know I can make a public property setting/returning user control Buttons or Textbox, but they’ll appear in designer, there will be no possibility to select them.

Do you think it is possible to do with standard controls? If so, how to do that?
Best regards,
mj82

Answer 1

You cannot do this because it does not make sense to do it.

Suppose you could do what you ask – then on the form you would be able to move the user control buttons around etc – essentially designing the user control on the from surface itself. OK, but what about all the other forms that also have that user control? That is why once you drop the user control it is fixed. You do not design a user control per form instance, you design the control and then it is the same for every form.

Same with clicking on the button. You want to create a click event handler but based on what you are asking for, that would happen in the form. But the button is not on your form, it is on your user control, it’s click event has to be handled in the user control, not the parent form.

The idea behind user controls is to NOT have to do what you describe. They are pre-assembled building blocks.

The DataBindinghNavigator is nothing more than a toolstrip. If you want that behavior, just use a tool strip.