Chip Selection Customization

This feature enables developers to control how chips are selected within the panel, providing flexible selection modes and group-based selection rules.

Overview

The Chip Selection Customization feature allows you to define the behavior of chip selection in the SiticoneGroupChipPanel. This is achieved using three primary properties: ChipSelectionMode, AllowGroupSelection, and EnableChipSelection. These properties help you configure whether a single chip or multiple chips can be selected at once, enforce group-based single selection, or disable selection entirely.

---

Detailed Documentation

Feature API

Aspect	Details
ChipSelectionMode	An enumeration property that defines how chips can be selected. Options include: • Single – only one chip is allowed to be selected across the entire panel. • Multiple – multiple chips can be selected simultaneously.
AllowGroupSelection	A Boolean property that, when enabled, enforces single selection within each group even in multiple selection mode. This means that within a given group, only one chip can be selected at any time, which is useful for creating mutually exclusive options among grouped chips.
EnableChipSelection	A Boolean property that enables or disables chip selection entirely. When set to false, chips become read-only regarding selection; any existing selection is cleared, and chips do not respond to selection actions.

---

Code Examples and Integration Demos

Basic Integration Example

Below is a code sample demonstrating how to set up chip selection in a WinForms application:

using System;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using SiticoneNetFrameworkUI; // Ensure the appropriate namespace is referenced

namespace ChipSelectionDemo
{
    public partial class MainForm : Form
    {
        public MainForm()
        {
            InitializeComponent();
            InitializeChipPanel();
        }

        private void InitializeChipPanel()
        {
            // Create a new chip panel
            var chipPanel = new SiticoneGroupChipPanel
            {
                Size = new Size(400, 300),
                Location = new Point(10, 10),
                ChipSelectionMode = ChipSelectionMode.Multiple,  // Enable multiple selection across chips
                AllowGroupSelection = true,                      // Enforce single selection within groups
                EnableChipSelection = true                       // Enable chip selection functionality
            };

            // Create and add chips with group assignments
            for (int i = 1; i <= 6; i++)
            {
                var chip = new SiticoneGroupChip
                {
                    Text = $"Chip {i}",
                    Group = i % 2 == 0 ? "EvenGroup" : "OddGroup",  // Assign groups alternately
                    Size = new Size(100, 30)
                };
                chipPanel.AddChip(chip);
            }

            // Optionally, subscribe to the SelectedChipsChanged event to monitor selection changes
            chipPanel.SelectedChipsChanged += ChipPanel_SelectedChipsChanged;

            // Add the chip panel to the form
            this.Controls.Add(chipPanel);
        }

        // Event handler to display current selection
        private void ChipPanel_SelectedChipsChanged(object sender, SelectedChipsChangedEventArgs e)
        {
            string message = "Selected Chips: " + string.Join(", ", e.SelectedChips.ConvertAll(chip => chip.Text));
            Console.WriteLine(message);
        }
    }
}

Advanced Customization Example

Developers can dynamically control chip selection behavior based on application logic:

// Toggle chip selection enablement dynamically based on user preference
void ToggleChipSelection(SiticoneGroupChipPanel chipPanel, bool enableSelection)
{
    chipPanel.EnableChipSelection = enableSelection;
    if (!enableSelection)
    {
        // Optionally provide feedback or update UI elements to indicate that selection is disabled
        MessageBox.Show("Chip selection has been disabled.");
    }
}

---

Key Points

Key Point	Explanation
Flexible selection modes	The ChipSelectionMode property allows you to choose between a single global selection or multiple selections, providing versatility for different use cases.
Group-based selection enforcement	When AllowGroupSelection is enabled, even if multiple selection is allowed, chips within the same group remain mutually exclusive.
Complete control over selection behavior	The EnableChipSelection property allows you to disable chip selection entirely, making the chips read-only in terms of selection, which is useful for non-interactive displays or locked modes.

---

Best Practices

Best Practice	Details
Choose selection mode based on context	Use ChipSelectionMode.Single for exclusive selections (e.g., radio-button like behavior) and ChipSelectionMode.Multiple for scenarios where several chips can be chosen simultaneously (e.g., tag selection).
Enforce group exclusivity when needed	Enable AllowGroupSelection if chips within a group should be mutually exclusive, helping to prevent conflicting selections within grouped items.
Disable selection when not needed	Set EnableChipSelection to false in read-only modes to avoid unexpected changes in the UI and to signal to the user that interaction is not available.

---

Common Pitfalls

Pitfall	How to Avoid
Inconsistent selection state across chips	Always verify that changes to ChipSelectionMode or AllowGroupSelection are properly propagated, as the control automatically updates selection states when these properties change.
Overlooking the event subscription	Ensure that you subscribe to the SelectedChipsChanged event if your application logic depends on real-time updates of the selection state.
Unintentionally disabling selection	Confirm that EnableChipSelection remains enabled during interactive sessions; disabling it clears existing selections and prevents any further interaction until re-enabled.

---

Usage Scenarios

Scenario	Description
Single Selection Applications	Use the single selection mode in scenarios such as settings panels or option selectors where only one option should be active at a time.
Multi-Selection with Group Constraints	In applications where users can select multiple items, but items within a particular category should remain mutually exclusive (e.g., selecting color options within different groups), enable ChipSelectionMode.Multiple along with AllowGroupSelection.
Read-Only Displays	Disable chip selection using EnableChipSelection in situations where chips are for display purposes only, preventing any accidental changes to the selection state while still displaying chip-related information to the user.

---

Real Life Usage Scenarios

Scenario	Example
E-Commerce Filter Selection	In an online shopping application, chips can represent product filters. Using multiple selection mode allows users to select several filters at once, but group-based selection ensures that filters within the same category (e.g., price ranges) remain exclusive.
Dashboard Configuration	In a customizable dashboard, each chip could represent a widget or configuration option. Enabling multiple selection lets users pick several widgets to display, while group constraints ensure that only one widget from a particular category is active at a time.
Form Input Choices	For survey or quiz applications, chips can serve as selectable options. Using single selection mode guarantees that only one response is selected per question, while the optional group enforcement can be used when multiple related questions need mutually exclusive selections.

---

Troubleshooting Tips

Tip	Suggestion
Selection not updating as expected	Verify that the properties ChipSelectionMode, AllowGroupSelection, and EnableChipSelection are configured correctly, and confirm that any changes are being applied before user interaction occurs.
Event not firing	Ensure that the SelectedChipsChanged event is correctly subscribed to, and that the chip control is not inadvertently overriding the selection logic.
Unresponsive UI in selection mode	Confirm that no other logic or UI updates are interfering with the chip selection state, particularly when dynamically toggling EnableChipSelection during runtime.

---

Review

Aspect	Review
Customizability	The selection customization feature provides versatile options to tailor the behavior of chip selections based on application requirements, from single selection to multiple selections with group enforcement.
Ease of integration	By offering dedicated properties for selection modes and group management, the control simplifies the process of integrating complex selection behavior into WinForms applications.
Event-driven design	The built-in event (SelectedChipsChanged) ensures that your application can respond in real-time to changes in the selection state, facilitating dynamic UI updates and robust user interaction.

---

Summary

The Chip Selection Customization feature empowers developers with flexible control over chip selection within the SiticoneGroupChipPanel. By leveraging the ChipSelectionMode, AllowGroupSelection, and EnableChipSelection properties, you can design intuitive selection behaviors that match your application's requirements. Whether you need single, multiple, or group-enforced selection, this feature offers a straightforward and customizable approach, ensuring a seamless integration experience for developers.

---

Additional Sections

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Question	Answer
How do I switch between single and multiple selection modes?	Adjust the ChipSelectionMode property to either ChipSelectionMode.Single or ChipSelectionMode.Multiple based on your needs.
Can I enforce single selection within groups even in multiple selection mode?	Yes, enable the AllowGroupSelection property to ensure that only one chip per group is selected even when multiple selection is enabled globally.
What happens when I disable chip selection?	Setting EnableChipSelection to false clears any current selections and prevents chips from responding to selection actions until the property is re-enabled.

Integration Checklist

Step	Verification
Configure selection properties	Confirm that ChipSelectionMode, AllowGroupSelection, and EnableChipSelection are set to the desired values during the initialization of the chip panel.
Subscribe to selection events	Ensure that you subscribe to the SelectedChipsChanged event to monitor and react to changes in the chip selection state.
Validate selection behavior	Test the chip selection functionality in various scenarios (e.g., single, multiple, and group-based selection) to ensure the control behaves as expected.
Dynamic toggling of selection mode	If applicable, verify that changing these properties at runtime properly updates the chip selection without causing unexpected behavior.

---

This comprehensive documentation provides you with everything you need to integrate and customize chip selection in your .NET WinForms application using the SiticoneGroupChipPanel. By following the guidelines, code examples, and best practices outlined above, you can ensure a robust and user-friendly implementation of chip selection functionality.