.NET Tips and Tricks -Serialize properties correctly with DesignerSerializationVisibilityAttribute

Serialize properties correctly with DesignerSerializationVisibilityAttribute

System.ComponentModel.DesignerSerializationVisibilityAttribute specifies what part of a property should be serialized by the designer. This attribute is usually necessary when creating custom Web and Windows controls.

This attribute takes one parameter, which is a System.ComponentModel.DesignerSerializationVisibility enumeration member:

Visible - specifies that the object should be serialized. Use this value for simple (or primitive) properties.
Content - specifies that contents of the object should be serialized. Use this value for complex (or non-primitive) properties and collections.
Hidden- specifies that the object should not be serialized. Use this value when properties are changed for design-time purposes only, but should not be serialized in code.

Note that DesignerSerializationVisibilityAttribute and DesignerSerializationVisibility are two different types.

Let's look at an example for clarity.

Example

		
public class SearchControl
{
    private TextBox _searchTextBox = new TextBox();
    
    [DesignerSerializationVisibility(DesignerSerializationVisibility.Content)]
    public TextBox SearchTextBox
    {
        get
        {
            return _searchTextBox;
        }
    }
}

The above sample control gets serialized the following way on a Windows Form:

this.MySearchControl = new SearchControl();
this.MySearchControl.SearchTextBox.Length = 1;
this.MySearchControl.SearchTextBox.BackColor = System.Drawing.Color.White;

Because the value Content is used, the properties of SearchTextBox are serialized.

If the control were a Web Forms control, it would be serialized the following way:

<asp:SearchControl SearchTextBox-Length="1" SearchTextBox-BackColor="White"></asp:SearchControl>

An even better way to see the use of DesignerSerializationVisibility is to add the attribute to a string property, try different values, and examine the result. The following snippet shows a control with two string properties, one serialized using Content and the other using Visible:

<asp:MyControl ContentSerializedString-Length="15" VisibleSerializedString="AnEasierSnippet"/>

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