Detecting design mode from a Control's constructor

Question

Following-on from this question, is it possible to detect whether one is in design or runtime mode from within an object's constructor?

I realise that this may not be possible, and that I'll have to change what I want, but for now I'm interested in this specific question.

Answer 1

Are you looking for something like this:

public static bool IsInDesignMode()
{
    if (Application.ExecutablePath.IndexOf("devenv.exe", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase) > -1)
    {
        return true;
    }
    return false;
}

You can also do it by checking process name:

if (System.Diagnostics.Process.GetCurrentProcess().ProcessName == "devenv")
   return true;

Answer 2

You should use Component.DesignMode property. As far as I know, this shouldn't be used from a constructor.

Answer 3

You can use the LicenceUsageMode enumeration in the System.ComponentModel namespace:

bool designMode = (LicenseManager.UsageMode == LicenseUsageMode.Designtime);