I am really big on consistent user interfaces. I like it when things integrate well with a host and I like when the lines are blurred as to where the host ends and the application begins. That’s the approach I took with Tablet Enhancements for Outlook when I went with an Office look and feel for the TEO forms. In version 2.0 it was… eh. But in 3.0 I think I did a pretty good job of mimicking the Outlook forms. Of course, I still have to make it look and feel like Outlook 2007 now, but that’s another story.
So anyway, while working on a new product, I decided I was going to go for the Vista look-and-feel. Since the application’s main interface is supposed to function basically the same as the Control Panel, I used the Windows Vista Control Panel as my inspiration. But in doing so, I wound up with a few useful byproducts.
- A custom renderer for ToolStrip that nearly perfectly reproduces the Windows Vista toolbar and menus.
- A base form that lets Aero glass creep into the client area with Vista-looking back/forward buttons, breadcrumb box, and search box.
- Another base form (subclass of the previous base form) that provides the Control Panel’s background bitmap and the enhanced status bar.
In upcoming posts, I will detail these three reusable components and even share the source code to my Vista-style ToolStrip renderer which can be added to your applications as easily as:
myToolStrip.Renderer = new VistaToolStripRenderer();
But for now, here’s a screen shot of what it all looks like (bugs in the glass part so that’s why there’s no text).
