Menus, Reports & MDI

Menus

Use MenuStrip in WinForms to provide top-level navigation.

Typical Items: File (New, Open, Save, Exit), Edit (Copy, Paste), View (Toggle Panels), Help (About).

Wiring Events:

private void exitToolStripMenuItem_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    Close();
}

Reports (Conceptual)

Summaries / aggregated views of data
Can be generated manually (string building, DataGridView export) or via reporting tools (e.g., RDLC, Crystal Reports)

Simple Text Report Pattern

var report = new StringBuilder();
report.AppendLine("STUDENT SUMMARY");
foreach (var s in students)
    report.AppendLine($"{s.Id}\t{s.Name}\t{s.Average:0.0}");
File.WriteAllText("students_report.txt", report.ToString());

MDI (Multiple Document Interface)

Parent window hosts multiple child forms inside a single container.

Steps:

Set parent form IsMdiContainer = true
Create child: child.MdiParent = this; child.Show();

Pros: Centralized menus/toolbars; Cons: Outdated UX vs. tabbed interfaces.

Status & Tool Strips

StatusStrip for state messages
ToolStrip for quick actions (icons)

Keyboard Shortcuts

Assign via ShortcutKeys property (e.g., Ctrl+S for Save menu item).

Printing / Export Basics

DataGridView -> CSV (loop rows/cells)
Report text -> PDF (via library) or print dialog

Next Steps

Introduce a sample WinForms app: Menu (File->Export), Child windows for Editors, Report generation.