https://github.com/softcircuits/softcircuits.menustatus
A simple component for WinForms that provides an event for whenever the current menu selection changes.
https://github.com/softcircuits/softcircuits.menustatus
Last synced: over 1 year ago
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A simple component for WinForms that provides an event for whenever the current menu selection changes.
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/softcircuits/softcircuits.menustatus
- Owner: SoftCircuits
- License: mit
- Created: 2022-01-16T21:50:56.000Z (over 4 years ago)
- Default Branch: master
- Last Pushed: 2022-01-17T16:34:24.000Z (over 4 years ago)
- Last Synced: 2025-01-09T12:42:53.084Z (over 1 year ago)
- Language: C#
- Size: 25.4 KB
- Stars: 1
- Watchers: 3
- Forks: 0
- Open Issues: 0
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
- License: License.txt
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README
# SoftCircuits MenuStatus Component
[](https://www.nuget.org/packages/SoftCircuits.MenuStatus/)
```
Install-Package SoftCircuits.MenuStatus
```
## Overview
For some reason, WinForms never had an event for when a menu item is selected. There is an event for when menu items are clicked. But not as the user highlights them. At first, you might think you could work around this using `WndProc` to intercept the `WM_MENUSELECT` message. But this message is never sent. Apparently, WinForms don't use standard Windows menus. And they don't send standard Windows menu messages.
MenuStatus addresses this shortcoming. It is a simple component for WinForms that provides an event for whenever the current menu selection changes. It works whether menu items are selected using the mouse or keyboard.
## Usage
The component is simple to use. Just add it to a form by dragging it onto that form.
You will need to manually attach your menu by calling the `AttachMenuStrip()` method, passing your main `MenuStrip` control. You can do this in your form's `Load` event handler, or in your form's constructor after calling `InitializeComponent()`.
```cs
menuStatus1.AttachMenuStrip(menuStrip1);
```
To have your code detect when the selected menu item changes, add a handler for the `SelectedMenuItemChanged` event.
```cs
private void menuStatus1_SelectedMenuItemChanged(object sender, MenuStatusControl.SelectedMenuItemChangedArgs e)
{
// null means no menu item is selected
ToolStripItem? selectedMenuItem = e.SelectedMenuItem
}
```
## Displaying a Description for Highlighted Menu Items
If you want to display a description (for example, in the status bar) for each menu item as they are highlighted, the first question is: where will you store that description?
You could store it in the menu items' `Tag` property. For our example, we will store it in the menu items' `ToolTipText` property. This is slightly more straight forward because `ToolTipText` is already of type `string`, while `Tag` is of type `object`. So now our handler looks like this.
```cs
private void menuStatus1_SelectedMenuItemChanged(object sender, MenuStatusControl.SelectedMenuItemChangedArgs e)
{
lblStatus.Text = e.SelectedMenuItem?.ToolTipText;
}
```
## Disabling Menu Tool Tips
The code above works. However, because we used the `ToolTipText` property, menu tool tips now pop up as we hover over menu items. Chances are, you don't want to display both a description in the status bar and also a description in a tool tip.
This is easily remedied by setting the `DisableMenuToolTips` property to `true`. This must be done *before* you call `AttachMenuStrip()` so it is recommended that you set this property in the designer. (You could also go through and manually set the `ShowItemToolTips` property of all `ToolStrip` controls and the `AutoToolTip` property of all `ToolStripItem` controls but that is not recommended.)
Now the tool tips no longer appear.
## Calling `AttachMenuStrip()` More than Once
MenuStatus tracks which MenuStrips are attached so you can safely call `AttachMenuStrip()` or `DetachMenuStrip()` multiple times.
Calling `AttachMenuStrip()` more than once (without calling `DetachMenuStrip()`) causes the `MenuStrip` to be detached and then reattached. This is useful if you have added new menu items to the menu. You will need to call `AttachMenuStrip()` again to have it recognize those new menu items.
Calling `DetachMenuStrip()` more than once (without calling `AttachMenuStrip()`) has no effect. Attempts to detach a `MenuStrip` that is not attached are simply ignored.