This property allows the application user to create or modify the TopicMap at run time, and save it to an XML file. All map items created in authoring mode have their ItemType property set to MapItemType.Dynamic.

The map items with dynamic ItemType have precedence over the items with static MapItem.ItemType. If a UI element appears with both dynamic and static MapItem.ItemType, the entry with the dynamic MapItem.ItemType will be used instead of the static one.

Authoring mode is typically enabled only in special builds used by control authors to create the dynamic topic map that is shipped with the release version of the application. In most cases, authoring mode needs to be be disabled in the release application to prevent users from accidentally activating the authoring mode. A typical implementation can look like this:

// toggle authoring mode when the user hits ctrl+shift+a
override protected void OnKeyDown(KeyEventArgs e)
{
#if AUTHOR_MODE
    if (e.KeyCode == Keys.A && e.Control && e.Shift)
    {
        c1DynamicHelp1.AuthoringMode = !c1DynamicHelp1.AuthoringMode;
    }
#endif
    base.OnKeyDown(e);
}