How to access values of a ToolStrip item that was added dynamically

Question

Since only some standard items (textBox etc.) can be added to a ToolStrip control at design time in a Winform app, I've added a DateTimePicker control dynamically as follows but I'm not sure how to access the datetime value of the selected date in the control

var datePicker = new ToolStripControlHost(new DateTimePicker());
toolStrip1.Items.Add(datePicker);

I've tried the following that still works as above but can't get access to the selected date value of the dateTimePicker added:

DateTimePicker myDateTimePicker = new DateTimePicker();
var datePicker = new ToolStripControlHost(myDateTimePicker);
toolStrip1.Items.Add(datePicker);

This MSDN tutorial describes how to add items dynamically to ToolStrip but nothing else.

Make `myDateTimePicker` a property or field of the Form so you always have access to it. There is probably a way to name the tool strip item and find it, but it would not be as easy. — Crowcoder, May 06 '17 at 18:09
@Crowcoder I declared `public DateTimePicker myDateTimePicker { get; set; }` in the Form class but not sure how to use it in the above example. — nam, May 06 '17 at 19:41

Reza Aghaei · Accepted Answer · 2017-05-06T19:52:25.347

You can handle ValueChanged event of the DateTimePicker this way:

private void Form1_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    var item = new ToolStripControlHost(new DateTimePicker());
    ((DateTimePicker)item.Control).ValueChanged += ToolStripDatePicker1_ValueChanged;
    item.Name = "ToolStripDatePicker1";
    toolStrip1.Items.Add(item);
}
private void ToolStripDatePicker1_ValueChanged(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    var datePicker = (DateTimePicker)sender;
    MessageBox.Show(datePicker.Value.ToString());
}

Also as another option, you can find the DateTimePicker control in another button click event handler this way:

private void toolStripButton1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    var item = ((ToolStripControlHost)this.toolStrip1.Items["ToolStripDatePicker1"]);
    var datePicker = (DateTimePicker)item.Control;
    MessageBox.Show(datePicker.Value.ToString());
}

Note: A better solution would be deriving from ToolStripControlHost. This way you can expose properties and events which you need. For example, you can expose Value property and ValueChanged event of embedded DateTimePicker control.

The MSDN example How to: Wrap a Windows Forms Control with ToolStripControlHost shows you how to create a custom control to host in ToolStrip. You can simply use the example to create your custom ToolStripDateTimePicker control.

Thank you for helping me - it worked like a charm. Thank you for explaining it as well. — nam, May 06 '17 at 20:20

How to access values of a ToolStrip item that was added dynamically

1 Answers1