In addition to support for the OpenEdge .NET form, Progress.Windows.Form (see Create and use forms and controls), the Visual Designer provides design support for the following OpenEdge .NET controls for access from the Toolbox as visual design components:

  • Progress.Data.BindingSource — Allows you to bind ABL data to .NET controls, and is accessible in the Visual Designer Toolbox as the ProBindingSource control in the OpenEdge control group. For more information on using the ProBindingSource to bind ABL data to .NET controls, see Bind ABL data to .NET controls.
  • Progress.Windows.WindowContainer — A container control that allows you to embed the frames of an ABL window in the client area of a .NET form. You can then interact with the ABL widgets embedded in this window container using existing ABL triggers and data movement statements. For more information on using this WindowContainer control, see Use .NET forms with ABL windows.

Progress Developer Studio for OpenEdge also allows you to create a new user control by inheriting from the OpenEdge .NET class, Progress.Windows.UserControl. This ABL-derived user control can contain a customized set of .NET or ABL-derived controls, and you can add the new user control to the Visual Designer Toolbox as a custom design component, like any other third-party .NET control. For more information on coding definitions for ABL-derived .NET objects, see Derive .NET classes in ABL. For more information on using this UserControl class in ABL, see Sample ABL-derived .NET user control.

Note: Unlike other OpenEdge-installed .NET controls, the OpenEdge UserControl class does not appear as a design component in the Visual Designer Toolbox. Instead, Progress Developer Studio for OpenEdge allows you to create a new ABL-derived user control in the Visual Designer using a wizard to generate the new class definition code, similar to creating a new ABL-derived form, by opening the New > File menu item and clicking the ABL User Control option.