[ToolboxBitmap(typeof(FormDesignerControl), "Images.FormDesignerControl.Icon.bmp")]
public class FormDesignerControl : Control, IDropTarget, ISynchronizeInvoke, IWin32Window, IBindableComponent, IComponent, IDisposable, IFormDesignerControl, ITypeDiscoveryService

Remarks

FormDesignerControl control is based on .NET Framework FormDesigner services, which are implemented in System.ComponentModel.Design namespace and included in .NET framework. It allows AlterNET's FormDesignerControl to look and feel very similar to Visual Studio's WinForms Form Designer.

Form Designer supports all common editing operations, such as dragging, selecting, and deleting components and controls; changing their size and z-order; aligning them horizontally or vertically, and copying and pasting controls. Like Visual Studio Form Designer, it serializes its content into C#/VisualBasic code, TypeScript/JavaScript, and Python.

Here are some of the essential features provided by the FormDesigner:

Placing controls on the design surface and arranging them.
Save/load forms being designed.
Write event handlers code and run the designed form.

The DesignerCommands property provides an interface to Form Designer commands, such as Copy/Paste, Undo/Redo, Aligning and Arranging controls, etc.

The SelectedComponents property contains a list of selected components or controls.

Set ToolboxControl property to specify the toolbox control associated with the designer.

Note that FormDesignerControl is compatible with .NET Framework 4.5.2 + and .NET 6.0+

Examples

Here is how to declare a FormDesignerControl and handle its events from the C# code:

public partial class Form1 : Form
{
    private void Form1_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
    {
        var formDesigner = new Alternet.FormDesigner.WinForms.FormDesignerControl();
        formDesigner.AutoSaveToSource = false;
        formDesigner.Dock = System.Windows.Forms.DockStyle.Fill;
        formDesigner.Parent = this;
        formDesigner.ComponentAdded += Designer_ComponentAdded;
    }

    private void Designer_ComponentAdded(object sender, ComponentEventArgs e)
    {
        System.Windows.Forms.MessageBox.Show(e.Component.ToString());
    }
}

Here is how to declare a FormDesignerControl and handle its events from the Visual Basic code:

Partial Public Class Form1
    Inherits Form

    Private Sub Form1_Load(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)
        Dim formDesigner = New Alternet.FormDesigner.WinForms.FormDesignerControl()
        formDesigner.AutoSaveToSource = False
        formDesigner.Dock = System.Windows.Forms.DockStyle.Fill
        formDesigner.Parent = Me
        AddHandler designer.ComponentAdded, AddressOf Designer_ComponentAdded
    End Sub

    Private Sub Designer_ComponentAdded(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As ComponentEventArgs)
        System.Windows.Forms.MessageBox.Show(e.Component.ToString())
    End Sub
End Class

Constructors

FormDesignerControl()	Initializes a new instance of the `FormDesignerControl` class with default settings.

Properties

AutoAddComponentAssemblyReferences	Gets or sets a boolean value indicating whether designer should automatically try to add assembly references after a control is added.
AutoSaveToSource	Gets or sets a boolean value indicating whether designer should automatically translate changes to the source upon every change.
CommandKeyBindings	Represents a list of `CommandKeyBinding` accepted by this `FormDesignerControl`.
DesignerCommands	Represents a collection of standard designer commands like selecting, copying, pasting, moving and resizing controls.
DesignerHost	Provides an interface for managing designer transactions and components.
ImportedNamespaces	In case of Visual Basic, gets collection of globally available namespaces.
IsBeingLoaded	When implemented by a class, gets a boolean value indicating that designer is currently being loaded.
IsModified	Represents a value indicates whether designer content has been modified since last save.
IsSmartDiffCodeSerializationRequired	Gets or sets method used to identify whether `FormDesignerControl` content should be saved only by taking into account code difference.
Options	Gets designer options like snap settings, grid size etc.
PrimarySelection	Gets first selected component or control.
ReferencedAssemblies	Gets collection of assemblies where the controls and components used on the form being designed are declared.
SelectedComponents	Contains list of selected components or controls.
ServiceContainer	Represents a container for designer-related services.
Source	Gets or sets FormDesigner Source.
ToolboxControl	Gets or sets toolbox control associated with the designer.
UserData	Gets or sets user-specific data associated with this Form Designer

Methods

CreateContext(IFormDesignerDataSource)
CreateDefaultKeyBindings()
CreateDesignerCommands()
Dispose(Boolean)
GetLocalizationLanguage()	Gets current culture information
HandleKeyboardShortcuts(Keys, Keys)
RaiseComponentChanged(Object)
Reload()	Reloads form to be designed from the source.
Save()	Serializes designer to C# or Visual Basic file.
SetLocalizationLanguage(CultureInfo)	Sets current culture information
ShowPropertiesWindow(Object, EventArgs)
TryAddComponentAssemblyReferences(IComponent)
TryFindCommandKeyBinding(Keys, Keys)
ViewCode(Object, EventArgs)

Events

CommandStateChanged	Occurs when state of designer commands changes (for example when undo stack becomes available).
CompilerErrorClick	Occurs when user clicks on compiler error on Form Designer surface.
ComponentAdded	Occurs when some component was added on the designer surface.
ComponentAdding	Occurs when some component is being added on the designer surface.
ComponentChanged	Occurs when some component was changed on the designer surface.
ComponentRemoved	Occurs when some component was removed from the designer surface.
DesignedContentChanged	Occurs when user modifies any aspect of the control being designed.
DesignerHostChanged	Occurs when designer host changes, for example if new form is loaded.
DesignSurfaceKeyDown	Occurs when user presses a key when design surface is focused.
LoadingErrorOccured	Occurs when there is a parse error of the design code during loading.
NavigateToUserMethodRequested	Occurs when form designer is requested to navigate to the event handler. For example, when user double clicks on the control.
ReferencedAssembliesChanged
SelectionChanged	Occurs when user selects different control in the designer.
ShowPropertiesRequested	Occurs when user request to open Property Window.
TypeDiscoveryRequested
ViewCodeRequested	Occurs when user request to view designer source code.