Menus, toolbars and status bars

Build the standard desktop chrome: a MenuStrip with shortcuts, context menus, a ToolStrip with dropdowns, and a StatusStrip that reports state without stealing focus.

MenuStrip and ContextMenuStrip

MenuStrip is a container of ToolStripMenuItem objects. You can build it in the designer, but the code below is what the designer produces - knowing it makes dynamic menus possible.

var fileMenu = new ToolStripMenuItem("&File");
var recent   = new ToolStripMenuItem("Open &recent");

recent.DropDownItems.Add(new ToolStripMenuItem("report.csv") { Tag = @"C:\data\report.csv" });
recent.DropDownOpening += (s, e) =>
{
    // rebuild state only when the menu opens, not on every file-system change
    var parent = (ToolStripMenuItem)s;
    foreach (ToolStripMenuItem item in parent.DropDownItems)
        item.ForeColor = File.Exists((string)item.Tag) ? SystemColors.ControlText : SystemColors.GrayText;
};

var openItem = new ToolStripMenuItem("&Open...", null, OnOpenClicked);
openItem.ShortcutKeys = Keys.Control | Keys.O;

fileMenu.DropDownItems.AddRange(new ToolStripItem[] { openItem, recent, new ToolStripSeparator() });
fileMenu.DropDownItems.Add(new ToolStripMenuItem("E&xit", null, (s, e) => Close()));

MainMenuStrip = new MenuStrip();
MainMenuStrip.Items.Add(fileMenu);
Controls.Add(MainMenuStrip);

• Put a literal ampersand in a caption by doubling it: "Save && Close".
• A ToolStripSeparator is a normal item, so inserting one dynamically means inserting at the right index.
• ContextMenuStrip has the same item model; assign it to a control with control.ContextMenuStrip = menu so right-click positions it for you.
• Use the Opening event to enable or disable commands rather than doing it after every selection change.

ToolStrip with buttons and dropdowns

var toolbar = new ToolStrip
{
    GripStyle = ToolStripGripStyle.Hidden,
    ImageScalingSize = new Size(16, 16),
    RenderMode = ToolStripRenderMode.System
};

toolbar.Items.Add(new ToolStripButton("Save", saveIcon, OnSaveClicked) { DisplayStyle = ToolStripItemDisplayStyle.ImageAndText });

var exportDrop = new ToolStripDropDownButton("Export");
exportDrop.DropDownItems.Add("As CSV", null, (s, e) => Export("csv"));
exportDrop.DropDownItems.Add("As JSON", null, (s, e) => Export("json"));
toolbar.Items.Add(exportDrop);

// a split button does the last action on click and shows alternatives on the arrow
var refresh = new ToolStripSplitButton("Refresh", null, OnRefreshClicked);
refresh.DropDownItems.Add("Refresh all", null, (s, e) => RefreshAll());
toolbar.Items.Add(refresh);

Controls.Add(toolbar);

Items that do not fit collapse into an overflow chevron automatically. If you want a toolbar pinned below the menu and another above the status bar, drop them into a ToolStripContainer and set the panels you actually want to show.

StatusStrip

var status = new StatusStrip();
var message = new ToolStripStatusLabel("Ready") { Spring = true, TextAlign = ContentAlignment.MiddleLeft };
var count   = new ToolStripStatusLabel("0 rows");
var bar     = new ToolStripProgressBar { Visible = false, Style = ProgressBarStyle.Marquee };

status.Items.AddRange(new ToolStripItem[] { message, count, bar });
Controls.Add(status);

void SetBusy(bool busy)
{
    bar.Visible = busy;
    count.Text  = busy ? "Loading..." : "0 rows";
}

• Spring = true makes that label absorb all leftover width, which is how you keep the count pinned to the right edge.
• Never put a status update in a tight loop without throttling - updating a label 10,000 times repaints the window 10,000 times.
• A status bar is a progress display, not a log. Anything the user may need later belongs in a list or a file.

FAQ

Related

Dialogs, multiple forms and MDI Events and layout

Last refreshed 2026-09-18.