The ToolStrip Container control (System.Windows.Forms.ToolStrip Container)  serves as a container for toolbars. With this control, you can arrange and  change the positions of the toolbars inside this container. The  ToolStrip Container is composed of ToolStrip Panels  which is the actual area where you place the ToolStrips.  By default, there are four panels visible to each side of the ToolStrip Container.

Figure 1

The following are some of the properties of the ToolStrip Container control.

 Property  Description
 BottomToolStripPanel  Gets the bottom ToolStrip Panel of  this control.
 BottomToolStripPanelVisible  Specifies whether the bottom ToolStrip Panel is visible.
 ContentPanel  Gets the center panel of this control.
 LeftToolStripPanel  Gets the left ToolStripPanel of  this control.
 LeftToolStripPanelVisible  Specifies whether the bottom ToolStripPanel is visible.
 RightToolStripPanel  Gets the right ToolStripPanel of  this control.
 RightToolStripPanelVisible  Specifies whether the right ToolStripPanel is visible.
 TopToolStripPanel  Gets the top ToolStripPanel of  this control.
 TopToolStripPanelVisible  Specifies whether the top ToolStripPanel  is visible.

Figure 2 – ToolStripContainer Properties

Let’s look at the ToolStrip Container in action.  Create a new Windows Forms Application and name it ToolStripContainerDemo.  Add a ToolStripContainer from the Menus & Toolbars  section of the Toolbox to the form. Change the Dock  property of the ToolStripContainer to  Fill.

By default, only the top ToolStripPanel is  shown. You can now add multiple ToolStrips to this  panel by dragging them from the toolbox to this area. The arrows on the sides  allow you to create new panels. For example, by clicking the arrow in the left  side of the container, a new ToolStripPanel will  be created and will be available as a container for ToolStrips.

Let’s add two ToolStrips to the top panel. Also  add three ToolStripButtons to each of them.

Notice that as you add new ToolStrips, the new  one is placed below or next to the previous one. The size of the panel also  changes automatically to accommodate the ToolStrips.  Run the program to see the toolbars. By clicking and dragging the move handles of  each ToolStrip, you can arrange or change their  position and orientation. For example, you can drag the second ToolStrip up and place it next to the first one.

Remember that we added a ToolStripPanel to the left side of the ToolStripContainer. This is invisible at runtime  if it is empty. But you can drag a ToolStrip to it  as seen below.

Back to the Designer. If you want the ToolStrip  to occupy the whole row or column, then you can set its Stretch property to True.

If you don’t want the ToolStrip to be moved,  then you can set its GripStyle property to Hidden.

You can also disable the ToolStripPanels if you  won’t be needing them. To do this, select the ToolStripContainer. It may be hard to do this manually so you may go to  the Properties Window and use the combo box located to the top of it. Find the toolStripContainer1 and select it.

Click the square icon to the upper right side to open up a window. Uncheck  the panels that you want to disable.