How to: Specify which properties to display in the Property Grid when selecting layout items

• Nov 13, 2018
• 3 minutes to read

The following example shows how to display only specific properties in the Customization Form’s Property Grid, when selecting regular layout items (items of the LayoutControlItem type), and sort these properties in alphabetical order.

To control which properties to display in the Property Grid when selecting layout items, a BasePropertyGridObjectWrapper class descendant is created. In the example, the MyLayoutControlItemPropertyWrapper class is created, introducesingthree public properties: Text, TextLocation and TextVisible. This class is associated with layout items of the LayoutControlItem type via the LayoutControl.RegisterCustomPropertyGridWrapper method. As a result, when selecting any LayoutControlItem object at runtime in customization mode, the Property Grid will display only the public properties specified by the MyLayoutControlItemPropertyWrapper class.

Note

When creating a Wrapper object, the Clone method must be overridden. It must return a copy of the current object.

To display properties in the Property Grid in alphabetical order, the LayoutControl.ShowCustomization event is handled. In this event handler, the Property Grid control is accessed and its PropertySort property is set to PropertySort.Alphabetical.

C#

using DevExpress.XtraLayout;
using DevExpress.XtraLayout.Customization;

public class MyLayoutControlItemPropertyWrapper : BasePropertyGridObjectWrapper {
    protected LayoutControlItem Item { 
        get { return WrappedObject as LayoutControlItem; } 
    }
    [DescriptionAttribute("Gets or sets the item's text")]
    public string Text { 
        get { return Item.Text; } 
        set { Item.Text = value; } 
    }
    [DescriptionAttribute("Gets or sets the position of the text region")]
    public DevExpress.Utils.Locations TextLocation { 
        get { return Item.TextLocation; } 
        set { Item.TextLocation = value; } 
    }
    [DescriptionAttribute("Gets or sets whether the text region is visible")]
    public bool TextVisible { 
        get { return Item.TextVisible; } 
        set { Item.TextVisible = value; } 
    }

    public override BasePropertyGridObjectWrapper Clone() {
        return new MyLayoutControlItemPropertyWrapper();
    }
}

private void Form1_Load(object sender, EventArgs e) {
    // Associate the wrapper object with LayoutControlItem objects.
    layoutControl1.RegisterCustomPropertyGridWrapper(typeof(LayoutControlItem), 
        typeof(MyLayoutControlItemPropertyWrapper));
}

// Show properties in the Property Grid in alphabetical order.
private void layoutControl1_ShowCustomization(object sender, EventArgs e) {
    LayoutControl lc = sender as LayoutControl;    
    CustomizationForm form = lc.CustomizationForm as CustomizationForm;
    // Customize the Property Grid's sort settings.
    (form.propertyGridItem.Control as PropertyGrid).PropertySort = PropertySort.Alphabetical;
}

VB.NET

Imports DevExpress.XtraLayout
Imports DevExpress.XtraLayout.Customization

Public Class MyLayoutControlItemPropertyWrapper
    Inherits BasePropertyGridObjectWrapper
    Protected ReadOnly Property Item() As LayoutControlItem
        Get
            Return TryCast(WrappedObject, LayoutControlItem)
        End Get
    End Property
    <DescriptionAttribute("Gets or sets the item's text")> _
    Public Property Text() As String
        Get
            Return Item.Text
        End Get
        Set(ByVal value As String)
            Item.Text = value
        End Set
    End Property
    <DescriptionAttribute("Gets or sets the position of the text region")> _
    Public Property TextLocation() As DevExpress.Utils.Locations
        Get
            Return Item.TextLocation
        End Get
        Set(ByVal value As DevExpress.Utils.Locations)
            Item.TextLocation = value
        End Set
    End Property
    <DescriptionAttribute("Gets or sets whether the text region is visible")> _
    Public Property TextVisible() As Boolean
        Get
            Return Item.TextVisible
        End Get
        Set(ByVal value As Boolean)
            Item.TextVisible = value
        End Set
    End Property
    Public Overrides Function Clone() As BasePropertyGridObjectWrapper
        Return New MyLayoutControlItemPropertyWrapper()
    End Function
End Class

Public Class Form1
    Private Sub Form1_Load(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) _
    Handles MyBase.Load
        ' Associate the wrapper object with LayoutControlItem objects.
        LayoutControl1.RegisterCustomPropertyGridWrapper(GetType(LayoutControlItem), _
        GetType(MyLayoutControlItemPropertyWrapper))
    End Sub

    ' Show properties in the Property Grid in alphabetical order.
    Private Sub LayoutControl1_ShowCustomization(ByVal sender As System.Object, _
    ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles LayoutControl1.ShowCustomization
        Dim lc As LayoutControl = TryCast(sender, LayoutControl)
        Dim form As CustomizationForm = TryCast(lc.CustomizationForm, CustomizationForm)
        ' Customize the Property Grid's sort settings.
        TryCast(form.propertyGridItem.Control, PropertyGrid).PropertySort = PropertySort.Alphabetical
    End Sub
End Class