The easy way to install the WinForms controls is through the ComponentOneControlPanel application. There are two methods for installing WinForms controls using the ComponentOne ControlPanel : one is by using the "Install Selected Controls" option, and the other is by using the "Show Full Installer" option. To directly install the latest version of the controls, use the "Install Selected Controls" option, and to install the specific version of the controls, you can use the "Show Full Installer" option. In both the options, a trial version of the controls is installed, which is valid for 30 days. You can easily extend the usage of ComponentOne controls beyond 30 days by activating the license using a serial key. The serial key can be purchased from the Sales team or Website.

You can follow the below steps to install the WinForms controls.

1. Download the ComponentOneControlPanel from https://developer.mescius.com/componentone to install the latest edition of WinForms controls.
2. Run the ComponentOneControlPanel.exe to open the control panel. The User Account Control dialog box appears, requesting your permission to initiate the installation process on your device.

   

3. Click the Yes button in the User Account Control dialog box to initiate the installation of ComponentOne controls.

   Note: Any running instances of Visual Studio must be closed.

   The ComponentOne 30-Day Free Trial screen opens up with the list of ComponentOne products to install.

   

4. Select the checkbox in the WinForms Controls tile to install the WinForms controls. You can also install multiple controls by selecting the checkboxes against them.
5. Click one of the following available buttons to install the ComponentOne controls as per your requirements:
   • Install Selected Controls – Allows you to install the latest version of ComponentOne controls
   • Show Full Installer – Allows you to install the specific version of ComponentOne controls

   Follow the next steps based on your selection. The detailed steps for each selection are given below:

   • Install Selected Controls Option
   • Show Full Installer Option

   1. Click the Install Selected Controls button to start the installation of the WinForms controls. 

      

      After installing the controls successfully, the installer displays the "Installation/Uninstallation completed !!!" message.

      

      Tip: You can click the VIEW LOG link to view more details about the installation.
   2. Click the Close button to close the installation screen once the installation is complete. The Free Trial screen shows the Installed label in green color in the WinForms Controls tile:

      

   Now, you can use the ComponentOne controls in your WinForms application.

   1. Click the Show Full Installer button in the ComponentOne 30-Day Free Trial screen as shown above in step 4 to open the Installation screen.
   2. Select the checkbox and a specific version from the Available versions drop-down in the WinForms Controls tile.

      

   3. Click the Update Selected Controls button.
      The End User License Agreement (EULA) screen appears. After accepting the EULA, the change directory settings screen appears. The Installation Directory contains all the DLLs, Samples Directory contains the samples from ComponentOne, and the Download Directory contains the log files.

      

   4. Modify the Installation, Samples and Download directories path, if required.
   5. Click the Accept Settings button.
      The installation of the WinForms controls gets started, and the installer displays the "Installation/ UnInstallation Completed" message when the controls are installed successfully.
   6. Click the Close button to complete the installation.
      Observe that, the installed version details and Repair checkbox appear in the WinForms Controls tile.

      

      Tip: Using the Repair option, you can repair the installed version of controls in case of malfunctioning of the version.

   Additional Options in Full Installer

   The Full Installer screen displays different product categories, such as Desktop, Web, Mobile, Service Components, Legacy, and Utilities, to install/update the controls. You can choose to install/update the required controls. Moreover, it also provides different options for various other purposes, which are as follows:

   Options	Option Snapshot	Description
   Build Repository	Build Repository	Allows you to install or update the build repositories of different controls. You can also view and install prerelease and hotfix versions of builds of different platforms.
   Apps & Tools	Tools	Allows you to install various applications and tools such as FlexReport Designer, Theme Designer, Samples Explorer, LicenseActivation (Legacy) and LicenseActivation.
   Activities	Activity Log	Enables you to track your activity related to the installation of controls.
   License	License	Allows you to quickly Activate and Deactivate the ComponentOne License.
   Support	Support	Enables ticket submission, phone assistance, and access to forums for any issues that may arise after installing ComponentOne controls.
   Settings	Settings	Allows you to change the installation directory of controls.

To uninstall WinForms controls, follow these steps:

1. Open the Control Panel using the ComponentOneControlPanel shortcut on the screen.
   The registration screen appears. In case you are an existing user, you can log in using the registered email address and password. Alternatively, if you are a new user, then register with ComponentOne and create an account by filling in the required fields.
   • A verification mail will be sent to your email address.
   • Visit the activation link to verify your email address.
   • In case you do not wish to log in or register, you can proceed as an anonymous user.
2. Unselect the checkbox in the WinForms Controls tile and click the Update Selected Controls button.

   

   Note:  The checkbox remains selected if you have already downloaded any version of the WinForms controls.
   After successful uninstallation, the "Installation/Uninstallation completed !!!" message appears.
   

   

3. Click the Close button to complete the uninstallation of WinForms controls.

ComponentOne controls are automatically added to Visual Studio Toolbox while installing WinForms Edition.

To use a ComponentOne control, add it to the form or add a reference to the appropriate assembly to your project. In the following example, we will use C1BarCode.

If ComponentOne controls are not available in the Visual Studio Toolbox after installation, then users need to manually add these controls to the Toolbox.

Adding a Control to the Toolbox 

To manually add C1BarCode control to the Visual Studio Toolbox, follow these steps:

1. Open the Visual Studio IDE (Integrated Development Environment), and the desired Windows Forms project. Make sure the Toolbox is visible (select Toolbox in the View menu if necessary). Right-click within the Toolbox to open its context menu.
2. To make C1BarCode control appear on its own tab in the Toolbox, select Add Tab from the context menu and provide a tab name (For example, C1BarCode).
3. Right-click the tab where the component is to appear and select Choose Items from the context menu. Choose Toolbox Items dialog box opens.
4. In the dialog box, select the .NET Framework Components tab. Sort the list by Namespace (click the Namespace column header) and check the check boxes for all the components belonging to namespace C1.Win.BarCode. Note that there may be more than one components for each namespace.
   
   
   

Adding a Control to the Form

To add C1BarCode control to the form in Design view, follow these steps:

1. Make sure that the control exists in the Toolbox.
2. Double-click the control name in Visual Studio Toolbox, or drag and drop it onto the form.

Adding Reference to an Assembly

To add a reference to the C1BarCode assembly, follow these steps:

1. Select Add Reference option from Project menu in Visual Studio menu bar.
2. Select the C1BarCode assembly from the list on the .NET tab or browse to find the C1.Win.BarCode assembly and click OK.