Although we can not configure these control on the inherited form in the
designer, we could still access them by code, e.g. add a control in the
TableLayoutPanel.
Hope this helps.
It might help Mikus but it doesn't help me.
I'm writing an app where I have a form which is inherited by 10 or so
other forms. On it I have a panel. I have recently added functionality
on an inherited form to put more controls "alongside" the panel. As
they were all related and sometimes needed to be hidden, I put them in
a second panel. Hopeless! Every time I build the project the 2nd panel
resizes itself (trebles in size, at least) and the form resizes. It's
nothing to do with code in the form onload event (been there, if
designtime'd that), it just won't stay the original size. So, I've had
to ditch the panel and replace it with a group box.
I now want to put similar 2nd "panels" in all the forms, so back to the
base form, and knowing a 2nd panel wouldn't work (and required quite a
bit of controling) I went for a splitcontainer - it's perfect for the
task. Until I discovered it's useless. "Doesn't support inheritance in
the designer 'cos the developers of an object oriented development
environment didn't take visual inheritance into account when designing
a visual control". Have the team concerned been put up against a wall
and shot? No? Well, they should have been! A great product made better
by the addition of some excellent new controls, but let down by shoddy
management - who the hell was responsible for controling that part of
the development?
As to adding the controls into the inherited forms in the code, what a
laugh! I've around 60 controls on some of the forms. What's the point
of a visual designer if I have to do it all by hand.
No, stuff it. I'll have to put the "2nd panel" in a group box on the
main form, and the appropriate control to hide it when applicable. Oh,
I should mention the major control in the "2nd panel" is a
DataGridView. What's that you say - oh, yes, that doesn't support
visual inheritance at design time either.
As this is a very public arena, I'll just say I'm extremely displeased.
It's a good job we haven't got to the point where my verbal background
comments are automatically picked up and included in postings.