KryptonForm

Overview

KryptonForm derives from VisualForm (which derives from System.Windows.Forms.Form) and is the intended base class for every application window in a Krypton-themed application. By inheriting from KryptonForm instead of the stock Form, all border and caption chrome is drawn using the active Krypton palette, ensuring a visually consistent look and feel across the entire application — including the window chrome itself.

KryptonForm also implements IContentValues, allowing the title bar to be treated as a styled Krypton content element, with support for icon, short-text (title) and long-text (TextExtra) rendering.

Inheritance Hierarchy

System.Object
  └─ System.MarshalByRefObject
       └─ System.ComponentModel.Component
            └─ System.Windows.Forms.Control
                 └─ System.Windows.Forms.ScrollableControl
                      └─ System.Windows.Forms.ContainerControl
                           └─ System.Windows.Forms.Form
                                └─ Krypton.Toolkit.VisualForm
                                     └─ Krypton.Toolkit.KryptonForm

Getting Started

Minimum Setup

Change the base class of any Form in your project to KryptonForm:

public partial class MainForm : KryptonForm
{
    public MainForm()
    {
        InitializeComponent();
    }
}

The form will now participate in Krypton palette theming automatically. No further configuration is required for the default appearance.

Designer Support

KryptonForm is fully supported in the Visual Studio WinForms designer. All palette state properties (StateCommon, StateActive, StateInactive) are serialisable sub-objects and appear in the Properties window. ButtonSpecs and TitleBar are also designer-serialisable.

Architecture

Internal Panel

Controls added to the form at design time are physically parented to an internal KryptonPanel (InternalKryptonPanel), not to the form itself. This panel fills the client area, takes part in Krypton palette theming and ensures that child controls inherit the correct background. The Controls property is overridden to transparently redirect to InternalKryptonPanel.Controls unless IsMdiContainer is true or SetInheritedControlOverride has been called.

Tip: Use InternalPanel (the public accessor) to interact with the underlying KryptonPanel directly if needed.

View Tree

The non-client chrome is painted through a lightweight retained view-tree:

Element Role
ViewDrawForm (_drawDocker) Root docker; draws the form border/background
ViewDecoratorFixedSize (_headingFixedSize) Enforces caption height
ViewDrawDocker (_drawHeading) Draws the caption header (back + border)
ViewDrawContent (_drawContent) Draws icon, title text and TextExtra
ViewLayoutNull (_layoutNull) Fill placeholder for the client area

Button Management

Three separate managers handle caption buttons:

  • _buttonManager — manages the user-defined ButtonSpecs collection and the fixed Min/Max/Close buttons on _drawHeading.
  • _titleBarButtonManager — manages buttons from an attached KryptonFormTitleBar component, rendered in _titleBarDocker.
  • System menu is surfaced through KryptonSystemMenu / SystemMenuValues.

Palette Redirect

FormPaletteRedirect (an internal PaletteRedirect subclass) intercepts horizontal alignment queries for header content. It transparently handles:

  • FormTitleAlign customisation.
  • RTL + RightToLeftLayout title/icon mirroring: title is placed on the Far side, TextExtra on the Near side, and the icon is flipped to Far.

Appearance Properties

GroupBackStyle

public PaletteBackStyle GroupBackStyle { get; set; }
// Default: PaletteBackStyle.FormMain

Controls the background style of the custom chrome region (the form border area). Maps to StateCommon.BackStyle.

GroupBorderStyle

public PaletteBorderStyle GroupBorderStyle { get; set; }
// Default: PaletteBorderStyle.FormMain

Controls the border style of the custom chrome region. Maps to StateCommon.BorderStyle.

HeaderStyle

public HeaderStyle HeaderStyle { get; set; }
// Default: HeaderStyle.Form

Defines the palette style used to draw the caption/title bar header. Can be set to any HeaderStyle value (e.g. Primary, Secondary, DockActive, Calendar, Custom1–Custom3) to completely restyle the caption using a different palette entry.

FormTitleAlign

public PaletteRelativeAlign FormTitleAlign { get; set; }
// Default: PaletteRelativeAlign.Near

Controls the horizontal alignment of the title text within the caption area. Accepts Near (left), Center, or Far (right). Ignored in RTL mode — see the RTL section below.

Note: When a Material renderer is active, this is automatically set to Center for a modern look. The user can override this after Load.

TitleStyle

public KryptonFormTitleStyle TitleStyle { get; set; }
// Default: KryptonFormTitleStyle.Inherit

A convenience wrapper over FormTitleAlign:

Value Maps to FormTitleAlign
Inherit PaletteRelativeAlign.Inherit
Classic PaletteRelativeAlign.Near
Modern PaletteRelativeAlign.Center

TextExtra

public string? TextExtra { get; set; }
// Default: ""

An additional string displayed in the caption area alongside the title text. Rendered as the long text of the caption content element. Useful for showing sub-titles, document names, or other secondary information.

Example output: MyApp – [Document1] where Text = "MyApp" and TextExtra = "– [Document1]".

Two-State Palette

KryptonForm uses two visual states:

State Description
Active Applied when the window has input focus
Inactive Applied when the window is in the background

State Properties

Property Type Description
StateCommon PaletteFormRedirect Shared base values; overridden by state-specific entries
StateActive PaletteForm Active (focused) window appearance
StateInactive PaletteForm Inactive (background) window appearance

Each PaletteForm exposes .Back (background), .Border (border) and .Header (caption header with .Back, .Border, .Content) for granular customisation.

Example — Red border when active, blue when inactive:

myForm.StateActive.Border.Color1 = Color.Red;
myForm.StateInactive.Border.Color1 = Color.Blue;

Custom Chrome

UseThemeFormChromeBorderWidth

public new bool UseThemeFormChromeBorderWidth { get; set; }
// Default: true

Master switch for custom Krypton chrome on this form instance. Three conditions must all be true for chrome to be active:

  1. KryptonForm.UseThemeFormChromeBorderWidth — this property.
  2. KryptonManager.UseThemeFormChromeBorderWidth — global switch.
  3. The resolved palette's UseThemeFormChromeBorderWidth returns InheritBool.True.

When custom chrome is not active, the form displays the standard OS-provided window chrome.

Formerly named AllowFormChrome in older Krypton versions; the underlying backing field is still _allowFormChrome.

FormBorderStyle

public new FormBorderStyle FormBorderStyle { get; set; }
// Default: FormBorderStyle.Sizable

Overrides the base Form.FormBorderStyle to synchronise the Krypton control buttons (Min/Max/Close) automatically when the style changes:

Style ControlBox Min Max Close
None ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗
FixedSingle, Fixed3D, FixedDialog, Sizable ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
FixedToolWindow, SizableToolWindow ✗ ✗ ✗ ✓

InertForm

public bool InertForm { get; set; }
// Default: false

When true, all hit-testing in the custom chrome returns HTCLIENT, preventing the user from moving the window by dragging the caption or resizing via the borders. Useful for splash screens and locked layouts.

CustomCaptionArea

public Rectangle CustomCaptionArea { get; set; }
// Default: Rectangle.Empty

Specifies a rectangle in form client coordinates that should be treated as caption area for hit-testing purposes. Primarily used internally by KryptonRibbon to mark the tab/QAT row as a draggable caption region. Can be used by custom integrations that inject content into the caption area.

Window Control Buttons

Built-in Buttons

The Minimize, Maximize/Restore, and Close buttons are implemented as ButtonSpec instances and are fully palette-aware. They are accessed via:

public ButtonSpecFormWindowMin  ButtonSpecMin   { get; }
public ButtonSpecFormWindowMax  ButtonSpecMax   { get; }
public ButtonSpecFormWindowClose ButtonSpecClose { get; }

These are not shown in the designer but can be programmatically referenced for hit-test queries:

bool overClose = myForm.HitTestCloseButton(windowPoint);
bool overMax   = myForm.HitTestMaxButton(windowPoint);
bool overMin   = myForm.HitTestMinButton(windowPoint);

MinimizeBox / MaximizeBox / CloseBox / ControlBox

public new bool MinimizeBox { get; set; } // Default: true
public new bool MaximizeBox { get; set; } // Default: true
public new bool CloseBox    { get; set; } // Default: true
public new bool ControlBox  { get; set; } // Default: true

All override the base Form properties to additionally trigger a button-manager repaint (_buttonManager.PerformNeedPaint(true)) so the chrome updates immediately.

ButtonSpecs — Custom Caption Buttons

public FormButtonSpecCollection ButtonSpecs { get; }

A collection of ButtonSpecAny instances that appear in the caption area alongside the system buttons. Each ButtonSpec controls:

  • Image / Text — visual content.
  • Edge — Near (left) or Far (right) placement relative to existing buttons.
  • Visible / Enabled — runtime visibility/interactivity.
  • ToolTipTitle / ToolTipBody / ToolTipStyle — tooltip content and style.
  • KryptonCommand — bind to a KryptonCommand for automatic enable/disable and state management.
  • Click event — raised when the button is clicked.

Example — Adding a settings button to the right of the caption:

var settingsBtn = new ButtonSpecAny
{
    Type    = PaletteButtonSpecStyle.Generic,
    Image   = Properties.Resources.SettingsIcon,
    Edge    = PaletteRelativeEdgeAlign.Far,
    ToolTipTitle = "Settings"
};
settingsBtn.Click += (s, e) => ShowSettingsDialog();
myForm.ButtonSpecs.Add(settingsBtn);

AllowButtonSpecToolTips

public bool AllowButtonSpecToolTips { get; set; }
// Default: false

When true, hovering over a ButtonSpec in the caption area shows a Krypton-themed tooltip. Use ButtonSpec.ToolTipTitle / ButtonSpec.ToolTipBody to define content.

KryptonFormTitleBar — Embedded Title Bar Toolbar

KryptonFormTitleBar is a non-visual component that hosts a secondary set of ButtonSpecAny buttons inside the caption area, to the left of the title text (after the form icon). It mirrors the approach used by KryptonRibbon to embed the Quick Access Toolbar in the caption.

Attaching

  1. Drop a KryptonFormTitleBar component onto the form.
  2. Set KryptonForm.TitleBar = myTitleBar (or use the designer property drop-down).
  3. Add ButtonSpecAny items to myTitleBar.ButtonSpecs.
public KryptonFormTitleBar? TitleBar { get; set; }
// Default: null

Setting TitleBar to null cleanly detaches and disposes the embedded docker and button manager.

KryptonFormTitleBar Members

Member Type Description
ButtonSpecs FormTitleBarButtonSpecCollection Collection of buttons shown in the title bar
ShowDropArrow bool When true, all buttons with a KryptonContextMenu show a drop arrow
Values FormTitleBarValues Stores ButtonVisibility and ButtonAlignment sub-objects
OwnerForm KryptonForm? Back-reference to the owning form; null when detached
InsertStandardItems() method Populates ButtonSpecs with a standard File/Edit/Tools/Help menu set plus common toolbar actions

InsertStandardItems

Calling InsertStandardItems() (or using the designer verb) adds a standard set of buttons to the title bar:

Menu buttons: File, Edit, Tools, Help (each with a dropdown KryptonContextMenu).

Toolbar buttons: New, Open, Save, Save As, Save All, Cut, Copy, Paste, Undo, Redo, Page Setup, Print Preview, Print, Quick Print.

All labels are taken from KryptonManager.Strings and are therefore localisation-aware. Wire ButtonSpecAny.Click or context menu item Click events to implement the actions.

FormTitleBarValues

KryptonFormTitleBar.Values exposes two nested objects:

ButtonVisibility

Controls whether each standard toolbar button is visible:

titleBar.Values.ButtonVisibility.ShowNewButton        = true;
titleBar.Values.ButtonVisibility.ShowSaveButton       = true;
titleBar.Values.ButtonVisibility.ShowPrintButton      = false;
// ... ShowOpenButton, ShowSaveAsButton, ShowSaveAllButton,
//     ShowCutButton, ShowCopyButton, ShowPasteButton,
//     ShowUndoButton, ShowRedoButton, ShowPageSetupButton,
//     ShowPrintPreviewButton, ShowQuickPrintButton

ButtonAlignment (FormTitleBarButtonAlignment)

Controls the caption edge (Near or Far) for each standard toolbar button:

titleBar.Values.ButtonAlignment.NewButtonAlignment  = PaletteRelativeEdgeAlign.Near;
titleBar.Values.ButtonAlignment.SaveButtonAlignment = PaletteRelativeEdgeAlign.Far;
// ... OpenButtonAlignment, SaveAsButtonAlignment, SaveAllButtonAlignment,
//     CutButtonAlignment, CopyButtonAlignment, PasteButtonAlignment,
//     UndoButtonAlignment, RedoButtonAlignment, PageSetupButtonAlignment,
//     PrintPreviewButtonAlignment, PrintButtonAlignment, QuickPrintButtonAlignment

Status Strip Merging

AllowStatusStripMerge

public bool AllowStatusStripMerge { get; set; }
// Default: true

When true, the form attempts to merge a StatusStrip control into the lower border area, producing an integrated, Office-style look.

Merge conditions — all must be met:

  1. AllowStatusStripMerge is true.
  2. A StatusStrip is present and Visible.
  3. StatusStrip.Dock == DockStyle.Bottom.
  4. StatusStrip.Bottom == ClientRectangle.Bottom (strip fills the full width at the bottom).
  5. StatusStrip.RenderMode == ToolStripRenderMode.ManagerRenderMode.
  6. ToolStripManager.Renderer is one of the Office/Krypton-compatible renderers (KryptonOffice2007Renderer, KryptonVisualStudio2010With2007Renderer, or KryptonSparkleRenderer).

Figure 1 — StatusStripMerging = True & False

The StatusStripMerging property (internal, read-only) reflects the computed merge state.

Blur Effect

KryptonForm integrates with the BlurValues sub-system (owned by VisualForm) to apply a Gaussian blur to the form when it loses focus.

BlurValues Members

Property Type Default Description
BlurWhenFocusLost bool false Enable blur when the form loses focus
Opacity byte 80 Blur opacity percentage (0–100)

Note: The blur effect is implemented at the VisualForm level and requires platform support. Both BlurWhenFocusLost and EnableBlur (on VisualForm) must be true to activate the effect.

Blur Animation

Figure 2 — Blur effect in action

System Menu

KryptonForm provides a styled Krypton system menu that replaces the default OS context menu shown when right-clicking the title bar or clicking the form icon.

SystemMenuValues

public SystemMenuValues SystemMenuValues { get; }
Property Type Default Description
Enabled bool true Enables or disables the themed system menu
MenuItems KryptonContextMenuCollection — Direct access to the menu item collection for customisation

When Enabled is false, clicking the form icon posts a WM_CONTEXTMENU to the standard system handler instead.

Example — Adding a custom item to the system menu:

var customItem = new KryptonContextMenuItem("About…");
customItem.Click += (s, e) => ShowAboutDialog();
myForm.SystemMenuValues.MenuItems.Add(customItem);

Drop Shadow

[Obsolete("Deprecated - Only use if you are using Windows 7, 8 or 8.1.")]
public bool UseDropShadow { get; set; }
// Default: false

Adds a CS_DROPSHADOW class style to the window. This is deprecated and only relevant on Windows 7/8/8.1. Windows 10 and later provide a native drop shadow for all top-level windows automatically.

Administrator Mode

KryptonForm can detect whether the current process is running with elevated (administrator) privileges.

public bool IsInAdministratorMode { get; }                           // instance
public static bool GetIsInAdministratorMode()                        // static, cached
public static bool GetHasCurrentInstanceGotAdministrativeRights()    // static, live check
public static void SetIsInAdministratorMode(bool value)              // static, manual override

When KryptonManager.UseAdministratorSuffix is true and the process is elevated, the title bar automatically appends (Administrator) (from KryptonManager.Strings.GeneralStrings.Administrator) to the form title returned by GetShortText().

Caption Content (IContentValues)

KryptonForm implements IContentValues to supply content to the caption's ViewDrawContent:

Method Returns Description
GetShortText() string Text + optional administrator suffix
GetLongText() string TextExtra value
GetImage(PaletteState) Image? DPI-scaled form icon bitmap (cached)
GetImageTransparentColor(PaletteState) Color Always EMPTY_COLOR (no transparency)

The icon is rendered at 16×16 logical pixels, scaled by the current DPI factor. When AllowIconDisplay is false, or FormBorderStyle is a style that does not show icons, GetImage returns null.

Right-to-Left Support

KryptonForm fully supports RTL layouts:

public override RightToLeft RightToLeft { get; set; }
// Default: RightToLeft.No

When RightToLeft = RightToLeft.Yes and RightToLeftLayout = true:

  • The title text is placed on the Far (right) edge.
  • TextExtra is placed on the Near (left) edge.
  • The form icon is placed on the Far (right) edge.
  • The Min/Max/Close buttons migrate to the left.
  • The sizing grip is placed in the bottom-left corner.
  • The system menu corner hit-test (top-left corner) triggers a close instead of the system menu.
  • FormPaletteRedirect intercepts the palette alignment queries to implement all of the above transparently.

Button managers are recreated whenever RightToLeft or RightToLeftLayout changes.

Sizing Grip

The sizing grip is rendered as a client-area overlay (painted in WM_PAINT), independent of the OS-provided non-client grip.

Visibility logic (ShouldShowSizingGrip):

  • SizeGripStyle != SizeGripStyle.Hide.
  • FormBorderStyle is Sizable or SizableToolWindow.
  • WindowState is Normal.
  • No merged StatusStrip with its own SizingGrip.
  • SizeGripStyle is Auto or Show.

Rendering priority:

  1. Themed bitmap image from palette.GetSizeGripImage(rtl) (DPI-scaled, magenta colour-key transparency).
  2. Fallback: diagonal dot pattern using palette-derived, contrast-checked colour.

The grip colour is resolved from the palette's border colour, falling back to the text colour, and finally to black or white based on background luminance.

MDI Support

KryptonForm overrides IsMdiContainer to route child controls correctly when MDI mode is activated:

public new bool IsMdiContainer { get; set; }

When IsMdiContainer = true is set, controls are moved from _internalKryptonPanel to the base Controls collection. SetInheritedControlOverride() can be called explicitly to trigger the same transfer when inheriting from KryptonForm in a MDI scenario.

Background Image

public override Image? BackgroundImage { get; set; }

Redirected to _internalKryptonPanel.StateCommon.Image, so the background image is rendered by the internal panel's palette system rather than the base Form background paint.

public PaletteImageStyle ImageStyle { get; set; }
// Default: PaletteImageStyle.Inherit

Controls how BackgroundImage is tiled/stretched/positioned within the client area.

Hidden/Suppressed Base Members

The following Form properties are hidden in the designer (Browsable(false) / EditorBrowsable(Never)) because they conflict with Krypton's palette-driven approach:

Member Reason suppressed
Font Krypton controls inherit font from the palette
ForeColor Managed by palette
BackColor Managed by palette; the internal panel handles client background
BackgroundImageLayout Use ImageStyle instead

Overridable Protected Members

The following protected members are intended for subclass customisation:

Method Description
WindowChromeStart() Called when custom chrome painting begins (creates buttons)
WindowChromeEnd() Called when custom chrome painting ends (removes border region)
WindowChromeHitTest(Point) Override to customise hit-testing in the non-client area
WindowChromePaint(Graphics, Rectangle) Override to customise chrome painting
WindowChromeLeftMouseDown(Point) Override to handle left mouse down in chrome area
OnWM_NCLBUTTONDOWN(ref Message) Override to intercept non-client left button down (icon single-click)
OnWM_NCLBUTTONDBLCLK(ref Message) Override to intercept non-client double-click (double-clicking icon closes the form)
OnWM_NCCALCSIZE(ref Message) Override to adjust the non-client size calculation
OnWindowActiveChanged() Called when the window gains or loses focus; switches between StateActive/StateInactive
OnNonClientPaint(IntPtr) Called to paint the non-client area
CreateRedirector() Returns the FormPaletteRedirect; override to inject a custom redirector

WndProc Customisations

KryptonForm.WndProc handles the following Windows messages in addition to the base class:

Message Behaviour
WM_HELP (0x0053) Walks up the control tree to find a HelpProvider and calls Help.ShowHelp
WM_CONTEXTMENU (0x007B) Shows ContextMenuStrip at the click position if one is assigned
WM_PAINT (0x000F) After base paint, draws the sizing grip overlay if ShouldShowSizingGrip() is true

Global Event Subscriptions

KryptonForm subscribes to three KryptonManager global events for the lifetime of the instance:

Event Handler Effect
GlobalPaletteChanged OnGlobalPaletteChanged Re-evaluates chrome decision; applies Material defaults; recalculates non-client
GlobalUseThemeFormChromeBorderWidthChanged OnGlobalUseThemeFormChromeBorderWidthChanged Re-evaluates chrome decision
GlobalTouchscreenSupportChanged OnGlobalTouchscreenSupportChanged Recreates all caption buttons to resize for touch targets

These event handlers are unsubscribed in Dispose(bool).

.NET 10 Compatibility

On .NET 10 and later, KryptonForm sets:

FormCornerPreference = FormCornerPreference.DoNotRound;

This prevents the platform's FormCornerPreference feature from rounding form corners, which would cause flicker during resize when combined with Krypton's custom chrome rendering.

Borderless Form Fade-in

When FormBorderStyle == FormBorderStyle.None and the form is shown for the first time, KryptonForm temporarily sets Opacity = 0, lets the form become visible, then restores the target opacity via BeginInvoke. This produces a smooth fade-in on Windows 11, which otherwise applies a built-in fade animation starting from full transparency.

View Injection API

These methods allow Krypton components (such as KryptonRibbon) to embed custom view elements into the caption area:

[EditorBrowsable(EditorBrowsableState.Never)]
public void InjectViewElement(ViewBase element, ViewDockStyle style)

[EditorBrowsable(EditorBrowsableState.Never)]
public void RevokeViewElement(ViewBase element, ViewDockStyle style)

When style == ViewDockStyle.Fill, the incoming element must be a ViewLayoutDocker; the existing _drawContent is re-parented inside it, so the title text and icon remain visible. For any other style, the element is simply docked to the specified edge.

Static Utility Methods

Method Description
GetIsInAdministratorMode() Returns cached administrator-mode flag; performs a live check on first call
GetHasCurrentInstanceGotAdministrativeRights() Performs a live WindowsPrincipal check and caches the result
SetIsInAdministratorMode(bool) Manually overrides the cached administrator flag (for testing / impersonation)

Full Public API Reference

Properties

Property Type Default Category Description
AllowButtonSpecToolTips bool false Visuals Show tooltips on caption ButtonSpec items
AllowIconDisplay bool true — Internal; controls whether the form icon is rendered
AllowStatusStripMerge bool true Visuals Merge bottom StatusStrip into the chrome border
ActiveControl Control? null — Sets focus to the specified control on assignment
BackgroundImage Image? null Visuals Background image (stored in internal panel)
BackgroundImageLayout ImageLayout — — Inherited; use ImageStyle for palette-aware control
ButtonSpecClose ButtonSpecFormWindowClose — — Access to the Close button spec
ButtonSpecMax ButtonSpecFormWindowMax — — Access to the Maximize/Restore button spec
ButtonSpecMin ButtonSpecFormWindowMin — — Access to the Minimize button spec
ButtonSpecs FormButtonSpecCollection — Visuals User-defined caption buttons
CloseBox bool true Window Style Show/hide the Close button
ControlBox bool true Window Style Show/hide the entire control box
Controls Control.ControlCollection — — Redirected to internal panel (or base in MDI mode)
CustomCaptionArea Rectangle Rectangle.Empty — Rectangle (client coords) treated as caption for dragging
FormBorderStyle FormBorderStyle Sizable Appearance Border style; auto-syncs Min/Max/Close buttons
FormTitleAlign PaletteRelativeAlign Near Visuals Horizontal alignment of title text
GroupBackStyle PaletteBackStyle FormMain Visuals Background style for chrome region
GroupBorderStyle PaletteBorderStyle FormMain Visuals Border style for chrome region
HeaderStyle HeaderStyle Form Visuals Palette header style for the caption bar
ImageStyle PaletteImageStyle Inherit Visuals Layout style for BackgroundImage
InertForm bool false — Disable window move and resize via chrome hit-test
InternalPanel KryptonPanel — — Direct access to the internal KryptonPanel
IsInAdministratorMode bool — Appearance Whether the current process is elevated
IsMdiContainer bool false Window Style MDI container mode
MaximizeBox bool true Window Style Show/hide the Maximize button
MinimizeBox bool true Window Style Show/hide the Minimize button
RightToLeft RightToLeft No — RTL mode; triggers button recreation
StateActive PaletteForm — Visuals Active window appearance overrides
StateCommon PaletteFormRedirect — Visuals Shared appearance base; other states override this
StateInactive PaletteForm — Visuals Inactive window appearance overrides
SystemMenuValues SystemMenuValues — — Themed system menu configuration
TextExtra string? "" Appearance Secondary caption text (long text)
TitleBar KryptonFormTitleBar? null Visuals Embedded title bar toolbar component
TitleStyle KryptonFormTitleStyle Inherit Appearance Convenience wrapper for FormTitleAlign
ToolTipManager ToolTipManager — — Tooltip infrastructure for caption buttons
UseDropShadow bool false Visuals Legacy drop shadow (Windows 7/8 only; deprecated)
UseThemeFormChromeBorderWidth bool true Visuals Enable/disable custom Krypton chrome for this form

Methods

Method Description
GetWindowState() Returns the current FormWindowState directly from the Win32 window style (more accurate than WindowState)
HitTestMinButton(Point) Returns true if the window-coordinate point is inside the Minimize button
HitTestMaxButton(Point) Returns true if the window-coordinate point is inside the Maximize button
HitTestCloseButton(Point) Returns true if the window-coordinate point is inside the Close button
RecreateMinMaxCloseButtons() Schedules recreation of the Min/Max/Close button views on next layout
SetInheritedControlOverride() Bypasses the internal panel; use when inheriting KryptonForm in MDI-aware scenarios
UpdateDropShadowDraw(bool) Forces a drop shadow repaint (deprecated, for legacy use)
InjectViewElement(ViewBase, ViewDockStyle) Injects a view element into the caption view tree
RevokeViewElement(ViewBase, ViewDockStyle) Removes a previously injected view element from the caption view tree
GetIsInAdministratorMode() Static; returns cached elevation state
GetHasCurrentInstanceGotAdministrativeRights() Static; performs a live elevation check
SetIsInAdministratorMode(bool) Static; manually sets the cached elevation state
SuspendLayout() / ResumeLayout(bool) Overridden to coordinate the internal panel's ISupportInitialize lifecycle

Common Usage Patterns

Palette-Themed Dialog

public partial class SettingsDialog : KryptonForm
{
    public SettingsDialog()
    {
        InitializeComponent();
        TextExtra = "– Settings";
        FormTitleAlign = PaletteRelativeAlign.Center;
        StateActive.Border.Color1 = Color.SteelBlue;
    }
}

Borderless / Splash Screen

public partial class SplashForm : KryptonForm
{
    public SplashForm()
    {
        InitializeComponent();
        FormBorderStyle = FormBorderStyle.None; // Auto-disables all control buttons
        InertForm = true;                        // Prevent accidental dragging
        Opacity = 0.95;
    }
}

Title Bar Toolbar

// In the designer: set myForm.TitleBar = kryptonFormTitleBar1
// Then at runtime or in designer:
kryptonFormTitleBar1.InsertStandardItems();
kryptonFormTitleBar1.Values.ButtonVisibility.ShowPrintButton = false;
kryptonFormTitleBar1.Values.ButtonVisibility.ShowPageSetupButton = false;

Administrator Suffix

KryptonManager.UseAdministratorSuffix = true;
// Title bar will now show:  "My App (Administrator)"  when elevated

Centered Title (Material Theme)

// Material themes auto-center the title; to opt out after load:
protected override void OnLoad(EventArgs e)
{
    base.OnLoad(e);
    FormTitleAlign = PaletteRelativeAlign.Near; // override Material default
}

Known Limitations and Notes

  • Font and ForeColor are no-ops: Setting Font or ForeColor on a KryptonForm has no effect; fonts and colours are governed by the palette. Use the palette's StateCommon.Header.Content to set caption font.
  • BackColor is no-op: The client area background is painted by the internal KryptonPanel. To change the form background colour, modify StateCommon of the panel via InternalPanel.StateCommon.
  • UseDropShadow is deprecated: On Windows 10 and later, native drop shadows are always active. Only use this flag for Windows 7/8 targets.
  • MDI + Ribbon: When a KryptonRibbon is present in an MDI container form, the ribbon manages its own injection into the caption area and calls InjectViewElement / RevokeViewElement internally. Do not manually manipulate these in that scenario.
  • WindowState vs GetWindowState(): The standard WindowState property can be slightly stale because it is updated on the next message pump cycle. GetWindowState() reads the Win32 window style directly and is always current. Use it in custom hit-test and paint overrides.
  • NET10_0_OR_GREATER corner rounding: The FormCornerPreference.DoNotRound override only applies when targeting .NET 10+. On earlier runtimes this code is not compiled in.