Microsoft® .NET Kick Start

Creating MDI Applications

So far, the applications that you have developed using Windows Forms are what are known as Single Document Interface (SDI) applications, which means that you are working with one underlying Windows instance. Multiple Document Interface (MDI) applications provide a model in which an application can contain multiple instances of child windows, all contained in the parent window. For an easier understanding of MDI applications, compare Notepad with Word. Whereas Notepad allows only one document to be edited at one time, Word (or any other Office application) allows multiple windows to be opened at one time.

Windows Forms applications can be MDI enabled by setting the IsMdiContainer property to true. After the base form ...