KryptonToolStripContainer Developer Documentation

Overview

KryptonToolStripContainer is a Krypton-themed wrapper for the standard WinForms ToolStripContainer control. It provides full Krypton palette integration, allowing the ContentPanel to be themed consistently with the rest of your Krypton application.

Key Features

Full Krypton Theming: The ContentPanel is automatically themed using Krypton palette colors
Palette Support: Supports PaletteMode and custom Palette properties
State Management: Provides StateCommon, StateDisabled, and StateNormal properties for fine-grained appearance control
Global Palette Integration: Automatically responds to global palette changes
Standard ToolStripContainer Features: Inherits all functionality from the standard ToolStripContainer

Namespace

using Krypton.Toolkit;

Class Declaration

public class KryptonToolStripContainer : ToolStripContainer

Properties

Palette Properties

`PaletteMode`

[Category("Visuals")]
[Description("Sets the palette mode.")]
[DefaultValue(PaletteMode.Global)]
public PaletteMode PaletteMode { get; set; }

Gets or sets the palette mode. Valid values:

PaletteMode.Global (default) - Uses the global palette from KryptonManager
PaletteMode.ProfessionalSystem - Uses the Professional System palette
PaletteMode.ProfessionalOffice2003 - Uses the Office 2003 palette
PaletteMode.Office2007Blue, Office2007Silver, Office2007Black - Office 2007 palettes
PaletteMode.Office2010Blue, Office2010Silver, Office2010Black, Office2010White - Office 2010 palettes
PaletteMode.Office2013 - Office 2013 palette
PaletteMode.Microsoft365Dark, Microsoft365Light - Microsoft 365 palettes
PaletteMode.SparkleBlue, SparkleOrange, SparklePurple - Sparkle palettes
PaletteMode.Custom - Uses a custom palette (requires Palette property to be set)

`Palette`

[Category("Visuals")]
[Description("Sets the custom palette to be used.")]
[DefaultValue(null)]
public PaletteBase? Palette { get; set; }

Gets or sets a custom palette implementation. When set, PaletteMode automatically changes to PaletteMode.Custom. Setting to null reverts to PaletteMode.Global.

State Properties

`StateCommon`

[Category("Visuals")]
[Description("Overrides for defining common appearance that other states can override.")]
[DesignerSerializationVisibility(DesignerSerializationVisibility.Content)]
public PaletteBack StateCommon { get; }

Gets access to the common appearance settings that other states can override. This is the base state from which StateDisabled and StateNormal inherit.

Sub-properties:

StateCommon.Back - Background appearance settings
- Back.Color1, Back.Color2 - Background colors
- Back.ColorStyle - Color style (Solid, Linear, etc.)
- Back.ColorAlign - Color alignment
- Back.ColorAngle - Gradient angle
- Back.Image - Background image
- Back.ImageStyle - Image style
- Back.ImageAlign - Image alignment

`StateDisabled`

[Category("Visuals")]
[Description("Overrides for defining disabled appearance.")]
[DesignerSerializationVisibility(DesignerSerializationVisibility.Content)]
public PaletteBack StateDisabled { get; }

Gets access to the disabled state appearance settings. Used when the control is disabled.

`StateNormal`

[Category("Visuals")]
[Description("Overrides for defining normal appearance.")]
[DesignerSerializationVisibility(DesignerSerializationVisibility.Content)]
public PaletteBack StateNormal { get; }

Gets access to the normal state appearance settings. Used when the control is enabled and in normal state.

Inherited Properties

KryptonToolStripContainer inherits all properties from ToolStripContainer, including:

ContentPanel - The main content panel that can be themed
TopToolStripPanel, BottomToolStripPanel, LeftToolStripPanel, RightToolStripPanel - Tool strip panels
Dock - Docking behavior
Enabled - Control enabled state
All standard Control properties

Methods

`SetFixedState`

public virtual void SetFixedState(PaletteState state)

Fixes the control to a particular palette state. This method is provided for API consistency with other Krypton controls but is not typically used for ToolStripContainer.

Parameters:

state - The palette state to fix (Normal, Disabled, etc.)

Events

KryptonToolStripContainer inherits all events from ToolStripContainer and Control, including:

Paint - Raised when the control is painted
EnabledChanged - Raised when the Enabled property changes
Standard control events

Usage Examples

Basic Usage

// Create a KryptonToolStripContainer
var container = new KryptonToolStripContainer
{
    Dock = DockStyle.Fill
};

// Add tool strips to the panels
var menuStrip = new KryptonMenuStrip();
container.TopToolStripPanel.Controls.Add(menuStrip);

var toolStrip = new KryptonToolStrip();
container.TopToolStripPanel.Controls.Add(toolStrip);

var statusStrip = new KryptonStatusStrip();
container.BottomToolStripPanel.Controls.Add(statusStrip);

// Add content to the content panel
var panel = new KryptonPanel { Dock = DockStyle.Fill };
container.ContentPanel.Controls.Add(panel);

Custom Palette Mode

// Use a specific built-in palette
var container = new KryptonToolStripContainer
{
    PaletteMode = PaletteMode.Office2013,
    Dock = DockStyle.Fill
};

Custom Palette

// Create and use a custom palette
var customPalette = new KryptonCustomPalette();
// ... configure custom palette ...

var container = new KryptonToolStripContainer
{
    Palette = customPalette,
    Dock = DockStyle.Fill
};

Customizing Appearance

var container = new KryptonToolStripContainer();

// Customize the common state background
container.StateCommon.Back.Color1 = Color.LightBlue;
container.StateCommon.Back.Color2 = Color.White;
container.StateCommon.Back.ColorStyle = PaletteColorStyle.Linear;

// Customize the normal state (overrides common)
container.StateNormal.Back.Color1 = Color.LightGray;

// Customize the disabled state
container.StateDisabled.Back.Color1 = Color.Gray;

Responding to Global Palette Changes

// The control automatically responds to global palette changes
// when PaletteMode is set to Global (default)

// Change the global palette
KryptonManager.GlobalPalette = new PaletteOffice2013();

// All KryptonToolStripContainer instances with PaletteMode.Global
// will automatically update their appearance

Best Practices

Use Global Palette for Consistency: Unless you need per-control theming, use PaletteMode.Global (the default) to ensure consistency across your application.
ContentPanel Theming: The ContentPanel is automatically themed. If you need additional theming, add a KryptonPanel to the ContentPanel.
State Customization: Use StateCommon for shared settings, and override with StateNormal or StateDisabled only when necessary.
Disposal: The control properly disposes of palette resources. Ensure proper disposal when removing from forms.
Performance: The control uses efficient palette redirection. Avoid creating unnecessary custom palettes for simple color changes; use state properties instead.

Integration with Other Controls

KryptonToolStripContainer works seamlessly with:

KryptonMenuStrip - Add to TopToolStripPanel
KryptonToolStrip - Add to any tool strip panel
KryptonStatusStrip - Add to BottomToolStripPanel
KryptonPanel - Add to ContentPanel for additional theming
All standard WinForms controls

Technical Details

Palette Architecture

The control uses the Krypton palette system:

PaletteRedirect: Redirects palette requests to the current palette
PaletteDoubleRedirect: Manages background and border styles
PaletteDouble: Provides state-specific overrides

ContentPanel Painting

The ContentPanel is a standard Panel control. The theming is applied by:

Hooking into the ContentPanel.Paint event
Querying the palette for background colors based on the current state
Drawing the background using Graphics.FillRectangle with palette colors

State Management

Common State: Base settings shared by all states
Normal State: Used when the control is enabled
Disabled State: Used when the control is disabled

States inherit from each other in this order: StateDisabled/StateNormal → StateCommon → Palette.