How Can I Hide TabControl Buttons While Still Managing Panel Visibility?

Hiding TabControl Buttons for Panel Management

In the quest for streamlining user interfaces, the need often arises to manage multiple panels with controlled visibility. While manual handling offers some flexibility, it becomes cumbersome when dealing with multiple panels, especially during design time. An ideal solution would involve utilizing a TabControl with hidden buttons, allowing for panel visibility control via an alternative UI element.

Alternatives to TabControl

The following alternatives were considered:

• Hypothetical StackPanelControl: A custom control that arranges panels in a stack-like manner, but such a control could not be readily found.

Optimal Solution: Custom TabControl

The optimal solution is to create a custom TabControl that hides its buttons. This is achieved through Windows API magic, specifically by intercepting the TCM_ADJUSTRECT message and returning 1. This prevents the tab control from adjusting the rect that contains the tabs, effectively making them invisible.

Usage:

Add a new class to your project, paste the provided code (see below), and compile. Drop the new control onto your form to maintain tab visibility during design time while hiding them at runtime. Use the SelectedIndex or SelectedTab property to switch between panels.

using System;
using System.Windows.Forms;

class StackPanel : TabControl {
  protected override void WndProc(ref Message m) {
    // Hide tabs by trapping the TCM_ADJUSTRECT message
    if (m.Msg == 0x1328 && !DesignMode) m.Result = (IntPtr)1;
    else base.WndProc(ref m);
  }
}

This solution provides a convenient and efficient way to manage panel visibility without the limitations of manual handling or the need for custom controls.

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