Editor Containers
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The DevExpress Editors Library provides two classes that serve as the base for controls and components that use editors. These are the EditorContainer and ComponentEditorContainer classes. The first class is the Control descendant and serves as the base for controls that use in-place editors. The second class is the Component descendant and implements the basic functionality of components that allow the use of editors. The image below shows the inheritance diagram for the classes mentioned. Note that descendant names are replaced with the suite names.
The Grid Control, Tree List Control and DevExpress Vertical Grid suites provide controls that are used to display and edit data from a bound data source. All these controls allow you to use editors supplied by the XtraEditors Library and thus, they are all derived from the EditorContainer class that implements editor management functionality. The DevExpress Ribbon, Menu and Docking Library allows you to build toolbars and menus with editors incorporated into them. This suite’s main element is the BarManager component that is derived from the ComponentEditorContainer class.
The list below summarizes the main features implemented in editor containers and thus, supported by their descendants:
Editor Repositories Management
Containers manage editor repositories that will supply in-place editors for derived controls and components. Each container holds an internal repository that can be accessed via their RepositoryItems property. At the same time, containers can be bound to external repositories using their ExternalRepository property. Please refer to the Repositories and Repository Items topic for details.
Look And Feel Settings Management
Containers support the look and feel technology that is used by all DevExpress components to provide centralized control over the visual elements’ appearance. Refer to the Look And Feel and Skin Support topic for details.
Tooltip Settings Management
Containers provide the common tooltip appearance and behavior management for their visual elements. For this purpose, they declare the ToolTipController property. Please refer to the Tooltip Management topic for details on controlling tooltip settings using the technology introduced by DevExpress.