I want to specify a custom color for disabled text that is used by a class
that inherits from ToolStripProfessionalRenderer.  The code would look
something like this:

Public Class MyRenderer
  Inherits Windows.Forms.ToolStripProfessionalRenderer
  Protected Overrides Sub OnRenderItemText(ByVal e As
System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripItemTextRenderEventArgs)
    If (Not e.Item.Enabled) Then
      e.TextColor = Color.Red
    End If
    MyBase.OnRenderItemText(e)
  End Sub
End Class

The problem is that e.TextColor seems to be ignored if e.Item.Enabled is
false.  The only other option that I can think of is to use a method like
Windows.Forms.TextRenderer.DrawText.  The problem with that approach is that
then I would need to account for e.TextDirection which can get complex,
especially if the value is ToolStripTextDirection.Inherit.

Any workarounds or ways to simplify drawing the text myself?

Thanks for any help!
Lance

Hi Lance,

Based on my understanding, you wanted to create a customized
ToolStripRender inherits from ToolStripProfessionalRenderer to customize
the text display color of each item. However, you find that when the item
is disabled, your setting in ToolStripProfessionalRenderer.OnRenderItemText
method will be ignored.

Yes, I have written a little sample application regarding your scenario and
I can reproduce this behavior.

Further research shows that after invoking your override version of
OnRenderItemText, "MyBase.OnRenderItemText(e)" in your code will call the
ToolStripRenderer.OnRenderItemText method which is implemented by .Net
Framework. Below is the full code of "ToolStripRenderer.OnRenderItemText"
method:

Protected Overridable Sub OnRenderItemText(ByVal e As
ToolStripItemTextRenderEventArgs)
      If (Not Me.RendererOverride Is Nothing) Then
            Me.RendererOverride.OnRenderItemText(e)
      Else
            Dim item1 As ToolStripItem = e.Item
            Dim graphics1 As Graphics = e.Graphics
            Dim color1 As Color = e.TextColor
            Dim font1 As Font = e.TextFont
            Dim text1 As String = e.Text
            Dim rectangle1 As Rectangle = e.TextRectangle
            Dim flags1 As TextFormatFlags = e.TextFormat
            color1 = IIf(item1.Enabled, color1, SystemColors.GrayText)
'<<<this statement will ignore our setting
            If (((e.TextDirection <> ToolStripTextDirection.Horizontal)
AndAlso (rectangle1.Width > 0)) AndAlso (rectangle1.Height > 0)) Then
                  Dim size1 As Size = LayoutUtils.FlipSize(rectangle1.Size)
                  Using bitmap1 As Bitmap = New Bitmap(size1.Width,
size1.Height, PixelFormat.Format32bppPArgb)
                        Using graphics2 As Graphics =
Graphics.FromImage(bitmap1)
                              graphics2.TextRenderingHint =
TextRenderingHint.AntiAlias
                              TextRenderer.DrawText(graphics2, text1,
font1, New Rectangle(Point.Empty, size1), color1, flags1)
                              bitmap1.RotateFlip(IIf((e.TextDirection =
ToolStripTextDirection.Vertical90), RotateFlipType.Rotate90FlipNone,
RotateFlipType.Rotate270FlipNone))
                              graphics1.DrawImage(bitmap1, rectangle1)
                              Return
                        End Using
                  End Using
            End If
            TextRenderer.DrawText(graphics1, text1, font1, rectangle1,
color1, flags1)
      End If
End Sub

Please see the line I marked with "<<<", this code will ignore our color
setting when item is disabled. This means .Net Winform will not use our
provided text color setting if the item is disabled, so that it can keep a
consistent appearance. This behavior is by design.

If you really want to workaround this design behavior, you should not call
the "MyBase.OnRenderItemText(e)", but simulate
"ToolStripRenderer.OnRenderItemText" code logic in your method, like this:

Public Class MyRenderer
  Inherits Windows.Forms.ToolStripProfessionalRenderer
  Protected Overrides Sub OnRenderItemText(ByVal e As
System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripItemTextRenderEventArgs)
    If (Not e.Item.Enabled) Then
      e.TextColor = Color.Red
    End If

    Dim item1 As ToolStripItem = e.Item
            Dim graphics1 As Graphics = e.Graphics
            Dim color1 As Color = e.TextColor
            Dim font1 As Font = e.TextFont
            Dim text1 As String = e.Text
            Dim rectangle1 As Rectangle = e.TextRectangle
            Dim flags1 As TextFormatFlags = e.TextFormat
            'color1 = IIf(item1.Enabled, color1, SystemColors.GrayText)

            TextRenderer.DrawText(graphics1, text1, font1, rectangle1,
color1, flags1)
  End Sub
End Class

Note: I did not include the logic of
ToolStripProfessionalRenderer.OnRenderItemText method logic in this code
snippet, you may consider add its code in either.

Hope this helps.

Best regards,
Jeffrey Tan
Microsoft Online Community Support
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Just do this...

protected override void OnRenderItemText(ToolStripItemTextRenderEventArgs e)
        {
            if ( !e.Item.Enabled )
            {
                e.Item.Enabled = true;
                e.TextColor = Color.WhiteSmoke
                e.TextFormat = TextFormatFlags.
                base.OnRenderItemText( e );
                e.Item.Enabled = false;
            }
            else
                base.OnRenderItemText( e );
        }

EggHeadCafe.com - .NET Developer Portal of Choice
http://www.eggheadcafe.com

Just do this...

        protected override void OnRenderItemText(ToolStripItemTextRenderEventArgs e)
        {
            if ( !e.Item.Enabled )
            {
                e.Item.Enabled = true;
                e.TextColor = Color.WhiteSmoke;
                base.OnRenderItemText( e );
                e.Item.Enabled = false;
            }
            else
                base.OnRenderItemText( e );
        }
---
Posted via DotNetSlackers.com

Just do this...

        protected override void OnRenderItemText(ToolStripItemTextRenderEventArgs e)
        {
            if ( !e.Item.Enabled )
            {
                e.Item.Enabled = true;
                e.TextColor = Color.WhiteSmoke;
                base.OnRenderItemText( e );
                e.Item.Enabled = false;
            }
            else
                base.OnRenderItemText( e );
        }
---
Posted via DotNetSlackers.com

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