Create an MMC ListView SnapIn Using C#

• Download source code - 19.9 KB

Introduction

The MMC list view shows a list of result nodes in the results pane. This is the most commonly used view that is particularly suited to snap-ins that are designed to manage a dynamic list of items. The MMC list view supports small icons, large icons, lists, and report views. It also supports multi-select and single select operations on items, and a multiple column view with the ability to sort by column.

Using the code

Please make sure that you have gone through my previous articles, if you are a beginner. This article demonstrates how to create a snap-in that uses an MMC list view. I have started by creating a C# class library. Add a reference to Microsoft.ManagementConsole.

Inherit the main class from the SnapIn class:

[SnapInSettings("{F98E33A4-1DA5-414c-8576-B3582433F8AB}",
  DisplayName = "My Custom MmcListView",
  Description = "My Custom MmcListView")]
public class MMCListViewSnapInClass : SnapIn

Add another class which inherits from SnapInInstaller:

[RunInstaller(true)]
public class MMCListViewSnapInstallerSupport : SnapInInstaller
{
}

Initialize a new instance of the MMCListViewSnapInClass class. Create a root node and set the properties.

// Create a message view for the root node.
  
MmcListViewDescription lvd = new MmcListViewDescription();
lvd.DisplayName = "My Special MMCListView";
lvd.ViewType = typeof(RootListView);
lvd.Options = MmcListViewOptions.ExcludeScopeNodes;

// Attach the view to the root node.
this.RootNode.ViewDescriptions.Add(lvd);
this.RootNode.ViewDescriptions.DefaultIndex = 0;

In the above code, I have created a message view for the root node and attached the view to the root node. The message view is created as a RootListView class. This is a new class inherited from MmcListView. The new class looks like this:

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using Microsoft.ManagementConsole;
using System.Windows.Forms;

namespace MMCListViewSnapIn
{
class RootListView : MmcListView
{
    /// 
    /// Initializes a new instance of the RootListView class.
    /// 
    public RootListView()
    {
    }

Since this RootListView class is attached to the root node MyMMCListView as a MmcListView, this will get loaded on the content pane when the root node is selected in the MMC tree region.

We can override the OnInitialize to customise the initial view of the content pane.

protected override void OnInitialize(AsyncStatus status)
{
    base.OnInitialize(status);
    // Your Initialization code can be added here
}

I have added another five more MmcListView derived classes which are basically attached to each child node of the tree. Shown below is the screenshot of the IDE. This may help you sometimes if you miss something on the go.

Let me explain one of the MmcListView derived classes. I am choosing the MyCustomSelistView class.

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using Microsoft.ManagementConsole;
using System.Windows.Forms;

namespace MMCListViewSnapIn
{
class MyCusomtSelistView:MmcListView
{
    /// 
    /// Initializes a new instance of the MyCusomtSelistView class.
    /// 
    public MyCusomtSelistView()
    {
    }

Override the OnInitialize function to set the default setting for the content pane.

protected override void OnInitialize(AsyncStatus status)
{
    // this does the default handling 
    base.OnInitialize(status);

    // Create a set of columns for use in the list view
    // Define the default column title
    this.Columns[0].Title = "Name";
    this.Columns[0].SetWidth(300);

    // Add detail column
    // another way to add the column 
    this.Columns.Add(new MmcListViewColumn("Value", 500));

    // Set to show all columns on the UI 
    this.Mode = MmcListViewMode.Report;  // default (set for clarity)

    // Set to show refresh as an option
    this.SelectionData.EnabledStandardVerbs = StandardVerbs.Refresh;

    // Load the list with values
    Refresh();
}

/// 
/// Loads the list view with data.
/// 
public void Refresh()
{
    // Clear existing information.
    this.ResultNodes.Clear();

    // Use fictitious data to populate the lists.
    string[][] details = { new string[] {"Full Name ", "Gigy Joseph"},
                            new string[] {"Place", "West Columbia, SC"},
                            new string[] {"Company", "NCR"},
                            new string[] {"Curr.Technology", "C#"},
                            new string[] {"Prev. Technology", "VC++"},
                            new string[] {"Native", "India"},
                            new string[] {"Age", "No way :) "},
                        };

    // Populate the list.
    foreach (string[] detail in details)
    {
        ResultNode node = new ResultNode();
        node.DisplayName = detail[0];
        node.SubItemDisplayNames.Add(detail[1]);

        this.ResultNodes.Add(node);
    }
}

I have added two columns, Name and Value. Show all the columns on the UI by setting the Mode to MmcListViewMode.Report. The Refresh function loads data to the list view.

// If there are no selected nodes, then this method simply clears 
// the selection data; otherwise, it populates the selection data. It also 
// adds a new action that shows the  selected items to the actions pane. 

protected override void OnSelectionChanged(SyncStatus status)
{
    if (this.SelectedNodes.Count == 0)
    {
        this.SelectionData.Clear();
    }
    else
    {
        this.SelectionData.Update(GetDetails(), this.SelectedNodes.Count > 1,  
                           null, null);
        this.SelectionData.ActionsPaneItems.Clear();
        this.SelectionData.ActionsPaneItems.Add(
             new Microsoft.ManagementConsole.Action("Show Selected", 
                      "Shows list of selected Users.", -
                      1, "ShowSelected"));
        this.SelectionData.ActionsPaneItems.Add(
             new Microsoft.ManagementConsole.Action("Say Hello",
                        "Say Hello.", -1, "Say Hello"));
    }
}

We have overridden OnSelectionChanged; this helps to customize the context menu on the action pane. Here, we have added two menu items and actions for those items.

// this defines what happens when an action is selected. 
// Here, we have only one action and we invoke 
// the ShowSelected method when it is selected.

protected override void OnSelectionAction
             (Microsoft.ManagementConsole.Action action, 
                                    AsyncStatus status)
{
    switch ((string)action.Tag)
    {
        case "ShowSelected":
        {
            ShowSelected();
            break;
        }
        case "Say Hello":
        {
            MessageBox.Show("Hello, How are you?");
            break;
        }
    }
}

/// 
/// Shows selected items.
/// 
private void ShowSelected()
{
    MessageBox.Show("Selected Item: \n" + GetDetails());
}

private string GetDetails()
{
    StringBuilder nodedetails = new StringBuilder();

    foreach (ResultNode resultNode in this.SelectedNodes)
    {
        nodedetails.Append(resultNode.DisplayName + ":   " + 
          resultNode.SubItemDisplayNames[0].ToString() + "\n");
    }
    return nodedetails.ToString();
}

When the user selects the ShowSelected menu item, the ShowSelected() function gets called. This will show up a message box with the selected element's details.

This also allows multi selection:

Selection the menu item Say Hello just pops up a message box. We can override the OnRefresh function as shown below:

protected override void OnRefresh(AsyncStatus status)
{
    MessageBox.Show("Need to implement....");
}

Adding new child elements to the root node happens like this:

/// Initializes a new instance of the MMCListViewSnapInClass class.
/// 
public MMCListViewSnapInClass()
{
    // Create the root node.
    this.RootNode = new ScopeNode();
    this.RootNode.DisplayName = "My MMCListView";
   
    // Create a message view for the root node.
    MmcListViewDescription lvd = new MmcListViewDescription();
    lvd.DisplayName = "My Special MMCListView";
    lvd.ViewType = typeof(RootListView);
    lvd.Options = MmcListViewOptions.ExcludeScopeNodes;

    // Attach the view to the root node.
    this.RootNode.ViewDescriptions.Add(lvd);
    this.RootNode.ViewDescriptions.DefaultIndex = 0;

    // Creating the child Nodes to the root Node 
    // Also specified names for each node

    ScopeNode scopeOne = new ScopeNode();
    scopeOne.DisplayName = "Gigy";

    // Create a message view for the scopeOne.

    MmcListViewDescription lvdOne = new MmcListViewDescription();
    lvdOne.DisplayName = "Gigy's MMCListView";
    lvdOne.ViewType = typeof(MyCusomtSelistView);
    lvdOne.Options = MmcListViewOptions.ExcludeScopeNodes;

    scopeOne.ViewDescriptions.Add(lvdOne);
    scopeOne.ViewDescriptions.DefaultIndex = 0;

    this.RootNode.Children.Add(scopeOne);

    //........

    //so on ......

Points of interest

This technique can be used, for example, to manage different components for online banking solutions.

History

• Initial draft - March 16, 2009.