Menu Separators

There are two reasons you would use a separator. You can use a separator just for aesthetic reasons, to make your menu look good. Another, more valuable reason, is to create groups of menu items and show their belonging together by showing a line separating one group from another.

To visually specify a separator, when creating the menu item, set its string to a simple -.

To support menu separators, the .NET Framework provides the ToolStripSeparator class, which is derived from ToolStripItem. To programmatically create a separator, declare a handle to ToolStripSeparator, initialize it using the new operator, add it to the Items property of the ToolStripItem menu category that will hold the separator. Here is an example:

Imports System.Drawing
Imports System.Windows.Forms

Module Exercise

    Public Class Starter
        Inherits Form

        Private mnuMain As MenuStrip
        Private mnuFile As ToolStripMenuItem
        Private mnuFileNew As ToolStripMenuItem
        Private mnuSeparator As ToolStripSeparator
        Friend WithEvents mnuFileExit As ToolStripMenuItem

        Dim components As System.ComponentModel.Container

        Public Sub New()
            InitializeComponent()
        End Sub

        Public Sub InitializeComponent()

            mnuMain = New MenuStrip
            Controls.Add(mnuMain)

            mnuFile = New ToolStripMenuItem("&File")
            mnuFileNew = New ToolStripMenuItem("&New")
            mnuFileNew.ShortcutKeys = Keys.Control Or Keys.N

            mnuSeparator = New ToolStripSeparator

            mnuFileExit = New ToolStripMenuItem("E&xit")

            mnuFile.DropDownItems.Add(mnuFileNew)
            mnuFile.DropDownItems.Add(mnuSeparator)
            mnuFile.DropDownItems.Add(mnuFileExit)
            mnuMain.Items.Add(mnuFile)

        End Sub

        Private Sub FileExiting(ByVal sender As Object, _
                                          ByVal e As EventArgs) _
                                          Handles mnuFileExit.Click
            End
        End Sub
    End Class

    Function Main() As Integer

        Dim frmStart As Starter = New Starter

        Application.Run(frmStart)

        Return 0
    End Function

End Module

This would produce:

1. On the (Central) form, click File and, under New Property, click Type Here
2. Type - and press Enter
3. Under the new separator, click Type Here, type E&xit and press Enter
4. On the form, click File and click Exit
5. In the Properties window, change the (Name) to mnuFileExit
6. On the form, click File and double-click Exit
7. Implement the event as follows:
    

   Private Sub mnuFileExit_Click(ByVal sender As Object, _ ByVal e As System.EventArgs) _ Handles mnuFileExit.Click End End Sub

8. Execute the application to test it
9. Close the form using its main menu and return to your programming environment
10. Under the form, click cmsProperties
11. In the Properties window, click Items and click the ellipsis button
12. In the Select Item And Add To List Below combo box, select Separator and click Add
13. In the Select Item And Add To List Below combo box, select MenuItem and click Add
14. On the side, change the properties as follows:
    Text: Show
    (Name): mnuShow
15. Click OK

If you have menu items that perform similar tasks, you can put them in a group, which you can do using line separators. Another option is to create the menu items in their own group. The group of menu items that are created as children of a parent menu is referred to as a sub-menu. Here is an example of a sub-menu in Microsoft Paint:

To visually create a sub-menu, under the form, click the menu control that will hold the items. In the menu designer

• If the sub-menu will be created for a main menu item, first click the menu category, then click the menu item that will hold the sub-menu
• If the sub-menu will be created for a contextual menu, click the menu item that will hold the sub-menu

After selecting the eventual parent of the intended sub-menu, click the right Type Here box, type the desired caption and optionally give it a name.

To create another item for the sub-menu, you can click the Type Here box under the previous one. In the same way, you can add as many items as you judge necessary. Here is an example:

You can also create a sub-menu for a menu item that itself is a sub-menu. Here is an example:

To create a sub-menu for an item A that itself is a sub-menu, click that menu item A, click the Type Here box on the right side, and type its caption.

As another technique, after selecting the menu item that will act as the parent of the sub-menu, in the Properties window, click the ellipsis button of the DropDownItems field to open the Items Collection Editor dialog box. To create an item for the sub-menu, in the top combo box, select MenuItem and click Add. Then configure the menu item as see fit (Text, (Name), etc).

Like any menu item, each sub-menu item is an object of type ToolStripMenuItem. Therefore, to programmatically create a sub-menu, create each ToolStripMenuItem item and add it to the ToolStripMenuItem menu item that will act as its parent.

1. Under the form, click cmsProperties and, on the form, click Show
2. On the right side of Show, click Type Here, type All and press Enter
3. Under All, click Type Here and type Apartments
4. Press the down arrow key and type Townhouses
5. Press the down arrow key and type Single Families
6. On the form, click All and, in the Properties window, change its Name to mnuShowAll
7. On the form, click Apartments and, in the Properties window, change its Name to mnuShowApartments
8. On the form, click Townhouses and, in the Properties window, change its Name to mnuShowTownhouses
9. On the form, click Single Families and, in the Properties window, change its Name to mnuShowSingleFamilies
10. Right-click the form and click View Code
11. In the Class Name combo box, select mnuShowAll
12. In the Method Name combo box, select Click and implement the event as follows:
     

    Private Sub mnuShowAll_Click(ByVal sender As Object, _ ByVal e As System.EventArgs) _ Handles mnuShowAll.Click lvwRentalProperties.Items.Clear() If lstRentalProperties.Count > 0 Then For Each prop As RentalProperty In lstRentalProperties Dim itmProperty As ListViewItem = _ New ListViewItem(prop.PropertyCode) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(prop.PropertyType) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(CStr(prop.Bedrooms)) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(FormatNumber(prop.Bathrooms)) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(FormatNumber(prop.MonthlyRent)) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(prop.OccupancyStatus) lvwRentalProperties.Items.Add(itmProperty) Next End If End Sub

13. In the Class Name combo box, select mnuShowApartments
14. In the Method Name combo box, select Click and implement the event as follows:
     

    Private Sub mnuShowApartments_Click(ByVal sender As Object, _ ByVal e As System.EventArgs) _ Handles mnuShowApartments.Click lvwRentalProperties.Items.Clear() If lstRentalProperties.Count > 0 Then For Each prop As RentalProperty In lstRentalProperties If prop.PropertyType = "Apartment" Then Dim itmProperty As ListViewItem = _ New ListViewItem(prop.PropertyCode) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(prop.PropertyType) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(CStr(prop.Bedrooms)) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(FormatNumber(prop.Bathrooms)) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(FormatNumber(prop.MonthlyRent)) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(prop.OccupancyStatus) lvwRentalProperties.Items.Add(itmProperty) End If Next End If End Sub

15. In the Class Name combo box, select mnuShowTownhouses
16. In the Method Name combo box, select Click and implement the event as follows:
     

    Private Sub mnuShowTownhouses_Click(ByVal sender As Object, _ ByVal e As System.EventArgs) _ Handles mnuShowTownhouses.Click lvwRentalProperties.Items.Clear() If lstRentalProperties.Count > 0 Then For Each prop As RentalProperty In lstRentalProperties If prop.PropertyType = "Townhouse" Then Dim itmProperty As ListViewItem = _ New ListViewItem(prop.PropertyCode) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(prop.PropertyType) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(CStr(prop.Bedrooms)) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(FormatNumber(prop.Bathrooms)) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(FormatNumber(prop.MonthlyRent)) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(prop.OccupancyStatus) lvwRentalProperties.Items.Add(itmProperty) End If Next End If End Sub

17. In the Class Name combo box, select mnuShowSingleFamilies
18. In the Method Name combo box, select Click and implement the event as follows:
     

    Private Sub mnuShowSingleFamilies_Click(ByVal sender As Object, _ ByVal e As System.EventArgs) _ Handles mnuShowSingleFamilies.Click lvwRentalProperties.Items.Clear() If lstRentalProperties.Count > 0 Then For Each prop As RentalProperty In lstRentalProperties If prop.PropertyType = "Single Family" Then Dim itmProperty As ListViewItem = _ New ListViewItem(prop.PropertyCode) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(prop.PropertyType) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(CStr(prop.Bedrooms)) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(FormatNumber(prop.Bathrooms)) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(FormatNumber(prop.MonthlyRent)) itmProperty.SubItems.Add(prop.OccupancyStatus) lvwRentalProperties.Items.Add(itmProperty) End If Next End If End Sub

19. Execute the application to test it
20. Create a few properties as earlier then change the types of properties to display
21. Close the form and return to your programming environment