ToolBoxItems.Add Method

  • Article

Creates a new item and adds it to the ToolBox.

Namespace:  EnvDTE
Assembly:  EnvDTE (in EnvDTE.dll)

Syntax

'Declaration
Function Add ( _
    Name As String, _
    Data As Object, _
    Format As vsToolBoxItemFormat _
) As ToolBoxItem

ToolBoxItem Add(
    string Name,
    Object Data,
    vsToolBoxItemFormat Format
)

ToolBoxItem^ Add(
    [InAttribute] String^ Name, 
    [InAttribute] Object^ Data, 
    [InAttribute] vsToolBoxItemFormat Format
)

abstract Add : 
        Name:string * 
        Data:Object * 
        Format:vsToolBoxItemFormat -> ToolBoxItem

function Add(
    Name : String, 
    Data : Object, 
    Format : vsToolBoxItemFormat
) : ToolBoxItem

Parameters

  • Name
    Type: System.String

    Required. A string representing the caption of the new item.

  • Data
    Type: System.Object

    Required. A variant representing the string, control, or other item to be added to the ToolBox.

Return Value

Type: EnvDTE.ToolBoxItem
A ToolBoxItem object.

Remarks

This method fails if the ToolBoxItems collection belongs to a ToolBoxTab object that has been deleted, or if you attempt to add a tab with a name that already exists.

For the Data argument, Visual C++ users can pass the IUnknown of the IDataObject.

When adding an assembly of Format type vsToolBoxItemFormatDotNETComponent, the value passed to the Data parameter can be in either of the following formats:

  • <AssemblyPath>—Where "<AssemblyPath>" is a path and file name pointing to a managed assembly, such as C:\Libraries\MyAssembly.dll. When you use this format, all classes within the .DLL are added to the ToolBox.

  • <AssemblyNameInTheGAC>—A single class listed as an assembly-qualified reference. Single classes can be added as controls, provided they are references to an assembly that is in the global assembly cache (GAC), such as: WindowControlLibrary1.UserControl1, WindowControlLibrary, Version=1.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=<Your Token>. (You would replace <Your Token> with your public key token, which is required to add your assembly to the GAC.)

Examples

The following example demonstrates how to add a text document to the ToolBox:

Sub ToolBoxAddExample1()
    ' This adds a Text item to the first tab of the ToolBox.
    ' Define the variables and create an object reference to the IDE's  
    ' ToolBox object.
    Dim win As Window = DTE.Windows.Item(Constants.vsWindowKindToolbox)
    Dim tlbox As ToolBox = win.Object
    Dim tbxTabs As ToolBoxTabs

    ' Create an object reference to the ToolBoxTabs object.
    tbxTabs = tlbox.ToolBoxTabs

    ' Add a new Text item to the first tab in the ToolBox.
    tbxTabs.Item(1).ToolBoxItems.Add("New Text Item", "Some text to _
    add to the document.", vsToolBoxItemFormat.vsToolBoxItemFormatText)
End Sub

The following example demonstrates how to add a .NET component to the ToolBox by using a path to the file. The component to be added must be a .NET control, such as a Visual Basic Windows Control Library component.

Sub ToolBoxItemAddExample2()
    Try
        Dim tlBox As ToolBox
        tlBox = CType(DTE.Windows.Item(Constants. _
        vsWindowKindToolbox).Object, EnvDTE.ToolBox)
        ' Create a new tab called "My Controls."
        Dim tlBoxTab As ToolBoxTab = tlBox.ToolBoxTabs. _
        Add("My Controls")
        ' Set focus to the new Toolbox tab.
        tlBoxTab.Activate()
        ' Add a .NET control as a new control in the new ToolBox tab. 
        ' The constant "vsToolBoxItemFormatDotNETComponent" alerts the 
        ' ToolBox to the type of control you are adding.
        tlBoxTab.ToolBoxItems.Add("MyDotNetControl", _
        "C:\Libraries\ADotNetControl.dll(", _
        vsToolBoxItemFormat.vsToolBoxItemFormatDotNETComponent)
    Catch ex As System.Exception
        ' Display any errors that occur.
        MsgBox("ERROR: " & ex.Message)
    End Try
End Sub

.NET Framework Security

See Also

Reference

ToolBoxItems Interface

EnvDTE Namespace

Other Resources

How to: Control the Toolbox