Stephens' C# Programming with Visual Studio® 2010 24-Hour Trainer

Making Tool Strips

and Status Strips

Not every program needs a tool strip or status strip, but they can make the user’s life easier,

particularly for complicated programs. This lesson explains how to add tool strips and status

strips to your applications.

USING TOOL STRIPS

Usually a tool strip sits below a form’s menu bar and typically displays a series of small but-

tons that let the user easily perform frequently executed tasks. Usually the buttons duplicate

functions that are also available in menus, but placing them on the tool strip makes it easier

for the user to find and use them.

Place only the most frequently used commands in the tool strip so it doesn’t become cluttered.

Recall from Lesson 5 that you should also give most if not all of your menu items accelerators,

and you can give the most important commands shortcuts. That means the user can access the

most important and useful commands in at least four ways: mouse menu navigation, accelerators,

shortcuts, and tool strip buttons.

To create a single tool strip, simply double-click the Toolbox’s

ToolStrip tool. By default, the

ToolStrip docks to the top of the form so you don’t need to position it manually.

Recall from Lesson 3 that docked controls are drawn in their stacking order,

which by default is the same as their creation order. To avoid confusion, if a

form should contain a main menu and a tool strip, create the men