The Properties Window

The many tools, controls, and rich designers that free us from repetitive code also require our attention in the form of maintenance. This work is typically done through the manipulation of the hundreds of properties that work in concert to define our application. This is where the Properties window comes into play. It enables us to control the size, appearance, and behavior of our controls. Furthermore, the Properties window groups common properties into sets for easier access. Finally, the Properties window gives us access to connecting the events for a given control to the code inside our application.

Figure 2.29 shows the Properties window (undocked from the IDE) for a web form button control. Note that the window can group similar properties into sections via banded categories, such as Appearance. You can also list properties in alphabetic order by clicking the AZ icon on the Properties window toolbar. Another item worth noting is the lightning bolt icon on the toolbar. This gives you access to the events for the given control. From the list of events, you can select an event and wire it to code in your project (or double-click it to generate an event handler).

FIGURE 2.29 A save button inside the Properties window.