Bars

• Dec 12, 2022
• 4 minutes to read

Bars implement the hierarchical menu model in applications; this model is the traditional way of organizing application command regions. The DevExpress Bar Manager component offers many capabilities used in creating and customizing toolbars.

Each bar is a horizontally or vertically aligned stripe that contains buttons, editors, radio button groups, etc. The DevExpress Bars Library includes three toolbar types: main menu, regular toolbars, and status bars.

You can combine various toolbar types within an application and utilize the Bar Manager component to access and manage these toolbars. Additionally, you can use the Bar Manager component to create context and pop-up menus. Follow the links below to learn more about Bar Manager concepts and features.

Tutorials

A series of documents that gradually introduce main Bars concepts in terms of simple step-by-step tutorials. Add and Remove Toolbars A start-up tutorial that features the core component of the DevExpress Bars Library — the BarManager. You will learn about the initial layout provided by the Bar Manager component layout and toolbar types supported by it. Add Bar Items To Toolbars In this lesson, you will learn how to add simple buttons, sub-menus, editors, and static label items to your toolbars (see also: The List of Bar Items and Links). Bar Item Links This tutorial introduces the bar item/bar item link concept, used in both Bars and Ribbon libraries. You will learn how to display the same bar item in multiple places without duplicating it. Add Functionality to Bar Items Explains how to add the required functionality to bar items and their links by handling specific events or assigning MVVM-related commands. Toolbar Customization This document illustrates how to specify additional dock, size, and display settings for toolbars. Recently Used Items Learn how to shorten your sub-menus by temporarily hiding items that are not frequently used. Create Popup Menus A tutorial that briefly describes how to add context menus to your Bars UI. Popup Menus Radial Menu

MDI Merging

In multi-document interface (MDI) applications, both parent and child MDI forms can have their own menus and bars. The menu of the parent MDI form usually displays general commands (for working with files, windows, etc.), while a child MDI form has bars and menus with commands specific to this exact window. DevExpress Bars can combine these separate toolbars within the parent form.

Bar Manager Designer

The Bar Manager Designer is a multi-page dialog invoked at design time. Using this dialog, you can perform any required task, from adding toolbars and populating them with item links, to saving and restoring different layout variations. Toolbars Page Categories Page Repository Editor Page Saving And Restoring Layout Pages

Runtime Customization and Layout Management

A single layout cannot satisfy the requirements of every customer, which is why it is important to allow users to customize an application UI as needed. DevExpress Bars fully support live customization, and with the save/restore layout feature, your users can store multiple layout variations and dynamically switch between them. Runtime Customization An overview article that illustrates all end-user runtime capabilities. How To: Organize Bar Items into Categories How to: Iterate through items that belong to a specific category How to: Add Items to Bars’ Customization Menu How to: Modify the Customization Window Layout Management This section is dedicated to various layout saving and restoring techniques. Saving and Restoring a Bars Layout Automatically Saving and Restoring a Bars Layout Manually Layout Options and Customization Events Specifics of Bars Layout Calculation

Appearance and Hotkeys

Appearance Settings The articles below explain how to perform specific appearance modifications. For more information on bar appearances, refer to the following section: Look and Feel. Glyph Skinning. Creating a Monochrome UI Side Strip Appearance How to: Custom Paint a Menu Bar of a Popup Menu How to: Custom Paint a Menu Bar of a Sub-Menu How to: Customize Font Settings for Specific Items Default Keyboard Hotkeys Enumerates all default Bar Manager hotkeys (see also: How to: Prevent Specific Shortcuts From Being Processed by BarManager).

See Also

Ribbon The Ribbon Control implements the Ribbon UI, which was first introduced in Microsoft Office 2007. The Ribbon UI, which is an alternative to the standard bars and hierarchical menu model in applications, is designed to improve application usability by grouping menu commands into pages and categories. Visual Studio Inspired UI This tutorial is dedicated to the Microsoft Visual Studio-style UI — a classic layout that contains tabbed or MDI Documents in the main working area, panels at the side of the form, and a main menu at the top.