Getting Started with WinForms Context Menu Strip

18 Nov 20189 minutes to read

Important
Starting with v16.2.0.x, if you refer to Syncfusion assemblies from trial setup or from the NuGet feed, include a license key in your projects. Refer to this link to learn about registering Syncfusion license key in your Windows Forms application to use our components.

This section provides a quick overview for working with the WinForms Context Menu Strip control in a WinForms application.

Dependent Assemblies

The following assemblies need to be added as references to use the control in any application.

  • Syncfusion.Tools.Windows
  • Syncfusion.Grid.Base
  • Syncfusion.Grid.Windows
  • Syncfusion.Shared.Base
  • Syncfusion.Shared.Windows
  • Syncfusion.Tools.Base
  • Syncfusion.Licensing (required for license validation starting with v16.2.0.x)

Adding a WinForms Context Menu Strip through designer

The WinForms Context Menu Strip (ContextMenuStripEx) control can be added through the designer by following the steps below.

  1. Drag and drop the WinForms Context Menu Strip control from the toolbox (under the section Syncfusion® Windows Forms {Visual Studio Version} Toolbox {Essential Studio Version}) into the designer page. Replace {Visual Studio Version} and {Essential Studio Version} with the versions installed on your machine (for example, Visual Studio 2022 Toolbox 22.1.36).

    Adding a Context Menu

  2. Now the WinForms Context Menu Strip control will be successfully added into the application along with the required dependent assemblies.

    Context Menu Strip added to the designer surface

  3. Click Type Here to add items. On clicking, it will display different types of ToolStripItems, using which the user can add items as per their need.

    Type Here area showing the list of available ToolStripItem types

  4. Items can also be added by choosing Edit Items under the Properties smart tag and then selecting the ToolStripItems from the Items Collection Editor.

    Edit Items option in the Properties smart tag

    Items Collection Editor for the Context Menu Strip

  5. Once the item is added, we can set the image by right-clicking on the particular item in the designer and selecting Properties. Now, in the Properties panel, under Appearance > Image we can browse to the respective image.

    Image property of a menu item in the Properties panel

    Image file picker for the menu item

  6. Similarly, we can set the text for a menu item in the Properties panel, under the Appearance > Text section.

    Text property of a menu item in the Properties panel

  7. To associate the WinForms Context Menu Strip to a control we need to drag and drop a control of your choice onto the form. In this illustration, we have used a RichTextBox.

    NOTE:
    To associate the WinForms Context Menu Strip control, you can choose any type of control like RichTextBox, Button, Label, TextBox, MaskedTextBox, etc.

    RichTextBox dropped onto the form

  8. Right-click on the RichTextBox control in the designer and select Properties. Now, in the Properties panel, under Behavior > ContextMenuStrip we need to assign the respective context menu.

    Behavior section of the Properties panel showing the ContextMenuStrip property

    Assigning the ContextMenuStrip to the RichTextBox

  9. Finally, we have populated the WinForms Context Menu Strip control successfully.

    Context Menu Strip associated with the RichTextBox at runtime

Adding a context menu through code

The WinForms Context Menu Strip control can be added through code by following the steps below.

  1. Add the following dependency assembly references to the project.

    • Syncfusion.Tools.Windows.dll
    • Syncfusion.Grid.Base.dll
    • Syncfusion.Grid.Windows.dll
    • Syncfusion.Shared.Base.dll
    • Syncfusion.Shared.Windows.dll
    • Syncfusion.Tools.Base.dll
    • Syncfusion.Licensing.dll

    You can get these assemblies by browsing to the default assembly location:
    {System Drive}:\Program Files (x86)\Syncfusion\Essential Studio\{Platform}\{Build Version Number}\precompiledassemblies\{Framework Version Number}

    For example: C:\Program Files (x86)\Syncfusion\Essential Studio\Windows\22.1.36\precompiledassemblies\net472

  2. Add the following using (C#) / Imports (VB) directive at the top of the code file:

using Syncfusion.Windows.Forms.Tools;
Imports Syncfusion.Windows.Forms.Tools

  1. The below code snippets add a WinForms Context Menu Strip control to the application and wire up a Click handler to one of the menu items.

    //Declaration
private Syncfusion.Windows.Forms.Tools.ContextMenuStripEx contextMenuStripEx;
private System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripMenuItem toolStripMenuItem1;
private System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripMenuItem toolStripMenuItem2;
private System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripMenuItem toolStripMenuItem3;
private System.Windows.Forms.RichTextBox richTextBox1;
   
//Initializing
this.contextMenuStripEx = new Syncfusion.Windows.Forms.Tools.ContextMenuStripEx();
this.toolStripMenuItem1 = new System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripMenuItem();
this.toolStripMenuItem2 = new System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripMenuItem();
this.toolStripMenuItem3 = new System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripMenuItem();
this.richTextBox1 = new System.Windows.Forms.RichTextBox();
   
//Configure the menu items
this.toolStripMenuItem1.Image = System.Drawing.Image.FromFile(@"..\..\..\new.png");
this.toolStripMenuItem2.Image = System.Drawing.Image.FromFile(@"..\..\..\copy.png");
this.toolStripMenuItem3.Image = System.Drawing.Image.FromFile(@"..\..\..\cut.png");
this.toolStripMenuItem1.Text = "New";
this.toolStripMenuItem2.Text = "Copy";
this.toolStripMenuItem3.Text = "Cut";
this.toolStripMenuItem1.Click += new System.EventHandler(this.toolStripMenuItem1_Click);
   
//Populate the context menu and associate it with the RichTextBox
this.contextMenuStripEx.Items.AddRange(new System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripItem[] {
    this.toolStripMenuItem1,
    this.toolStripMenuItem2,
    this.toolStripMenuItem3
});
this.richTextBox1.ContextMenuStrip = this.contextMenuStripEx;
this.Controls.Add(this.richTextBox1);
   
//Sample click handler
private void toolStripMenuItem1_Click(object sender, System.EventArgs e)
{
    MessageBox.Show("New was clicked.");
}
    'Declaration
Private contextMenuStripEx As Syncfusion.Windows.Forms.Tools.ContextMenuStripEx
Private toolStripMenuItem1 As System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripMenuItem
Private toolStripMenuItem2 As System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripMenuItem
Private toolStripMenuItem3 As System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripMenuItem
Private richTextBox1 As System.Windows.Forms.RichTextBox
   
'Initializing
Me.contextMenuStripEx = New Syncfusion.Windows.Forms.Tools.ContextMenuStripEx()
Me.toolStripMenuItem1 = New System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripMenuItem()
Me.toolStripMenuItem2 = New System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripMenuItem()
Me.toolStripMenuItem3 = New System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripMenuItem()
Me.richTextBox1 = New System.Windows.Forms.RichTextBox()
   
'Configure the menu items
Me.toolStripMenuItem1.Image = System.Drawing.Image.FromFile("..\..\..\new.png")
Me.toolStripMenuItem2.Image = System.Drawing.Image.FromFile("..\..\..\copy.png")
Me.toolStripMenuItem3.Image = System.Drawing.Image.FromFile("..\..\..\cut.png")
Me.toolStripMenuItem1.Text = "New"
Me.toolStripMenuItem2.Text = "Copy"
Me.toolStripMenuItem3.Text = "Cut"
AddHandler toolStripMenuItem1.Click, AddressOf toolStripMenuItem1_Click
   
'Populate the context menu and associate it with the RichTextBox
Me.contextMenuStripEx.Items.AddRange(New System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripItem() { _
    Me.toolStripMenuItem1, _
    Me.toolStripMenuItem2, _
    Me.toolStripMenuItem3 _
})
Me.richTextBox1.ContextMenuStrip = Me.contextMenuStripEx
Me.Controls.Add(Me.richTextBox1)
   
'Sample click handler
Private Sub toolStripMenuItem1_Click(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs)
    MessageBox.Show("New was clicked.")
End Sub

Context Menu Strip displayed when right-clicking the RichTextBox

Adding a WinForms Context Menu Strip through NuGet package

  1. Right-click your project in Solution Explorer and choose Manage NuGet Packages….
  2. Search for the Syncfusion WinForms NuGet packages listed in the Control Dependencies section and install them. The required packages are:
    • Syncfusion.Tools.Windows
    • Syncfusion.Grid.Base
    • Syncfusion.Grid.Windows
    • Syncfusion.Shared.Base
    • Syncfusion.Shared.Windows
    • Syncfusion.Tools.Base
    • Syncfusion.Licensing (for license validation starting with v16.2.0.x)
  3. Add the using Syncfusion.Windows.Forms.Tools; / Imports Syncfusion.Windows.Forms.Tools directive and follow the code in the Adding a context menu through code section to instantiate and configure the control.

For more information on installing NuGet packages in a WinForms application, see Steps to install NuGet packages.