Architecture and patterns for developing a custom GUI designer via C# & WinForms.

Question

I only have a vague hint of spec so far, but I'm just testing the waters. I need to create a designer that will be used for creating CBT tasks and workflows. It must cater for custom objects (controls) as well as standard .NET WinForms controls.

I very lightly scanned some papers long ago on using the Visual Studio SDK and deployable design framework, but I can't remember anything meaningful.

1. I need some resources on building designers in general, with drag and drop, resizing, connectors, and events.
2. I need some resources on the capabilities of the Visual Studio SDK in regards to my first point.
3. I would appreciate any recommendations regarding alternative (hopefully open source) technologies and patterns.

I would lurve to write this from scratch, but I can't do that at my client's expense, so I would much prefer to leverage existing artifacts as much as possible.

EDIT: When I first posted, I could not recall that one tool I had in mind was the Visual Studio Shell, which allows me to create a "VS clone", with VS features, but my own branding and DSL type projects.

Answer 1

I have implemented the VS designer in one of my applications, and I'll tell you now - there is not much documentation. Although I achieved a result I am happy with, documentation is slim. Here are some links:

Create And Host Custom Designers With The .NET Framework 2.0

System.ComponentModel.Design Namespace

DesignSurfaceManager Class