GroupBox and CheckBox on TabPageExt

[Pengfei]

Hi,

I was trying to use the TabPageExt control to get the themed background. When I added a groupbox(or checkbox) to the TabPageExt control, the groupbox was always drawn with its own background. How can I get around the issue?

Pengfei
Imanami Corp.

[Administrator]

Hi Pengfei, You need to set the GroupBar''s ThemesEnabled property to true as well for this purpose. Please refer to the sample attached which illustrates the same and let me know if this helps. Thanks for choosing Syncfusion products. Regards, Guru Patwal Syncfusion, Inc.

[Pengfei]

The GroupBarItem control is very cool and I will try to find some use for it in my code when I develop new features.

But what I was asking about in my previous post was the standard GroupBox control in the System.Windows.Forms namespace. It seems to me all WinForm controls work fine with TabPageExt except the GroupBox and CheckBox. I found some code that can paint the groupbox and checkbox in a themed parent control, but I was hoping that there was a way to achieve the same without using other code.

Pengfei

[Administrator]

Hi Pengfei, My apologies for having wrongly interpreted your question earlier. Please refer to the below given WinForms FAQ for this purpose : 18.11 How can I use XP Themes with Windows Forms using the .NET FrameWork 1.0? I have also modified my earlier sample accordingly and attached it here. Please let me know if this meets your requirements. Regards, Guru Patwal Syncfusion, Inc.

[Pengfei]

I''ve uploaded a zip file dialogs_3803.zip containing two bitmap files. The file dialog1.bmp is the result of running your sample code (plus two controls I added at the bottom). Is the GroupBox looks the same on your screen? I am using Syncfusion.Tools 1.6.1.0. The result I''d like to have is that all controls have transparent backgound color, as shown in dialog2.bmp. The GroupBox does not allow Color.Transparent and the CheckBox always uses the white color even if you set its background color as Color.Transparent, as shown in dialog1.bmp. I am sure this is .NET''s fault as the RadioButton looks fine. Pengfei

[Administrator]

Hi Pengfei, Thanks for the screenshots. This is a shortcoming of the .NET framework, and the following workaround can be used here : For the GroupBox and the CheckBox controls, please set the FlatStyle property to Standard and BackColor to Transparent. This will correctly display all the controls with the same gradient background. I have modified my earlier sample accordingly and have attached_it_here. Please refer to it and let me know if this meets your requirements. We appreciate your cooperation. Regards, Guru Patwal Syncfusion, Inc.

[Pengfei]

Well, in this way we get the background but lose the XP style for GroupBox and CheckBox. They look OK by themselves but may look odd if mixed with other controls in XP style.

[Administrator]

I ran into similar problems.

I had to derive my own Groupbox, checkbox, radio button controls and do custom drawing to get the perfect XP look and feel for all controls.

Good Luck,
- Reddy

[Pengfei]

Hi Reddy,

Did you use TabPageExt or just TabPage with custom drawing?

Pengfei

[Administrator]

I used TabPageExt.

[Pengfei]

Thanks.