Removing the default MDI menu of a MDI Container form when a MDI Child is maximized

Question

I am working on a .NET C# application that has a main Form which is MDI container. When the user maximizes a MDI child, Windows draws a control strip right under the title bar of the container Form which has the Icon of the child and the system buttons on the right. Basically, what I need is hide this strip and use a custom control to provide the same functionality.

Is there any way to prevent Windows from drawing this MDI strip?

Answer 1

Actually, I found an easy and interesting way to remove this thing from my form by assigning the MainMenuStrip property of the Form with a dummy MenuStrip control (without putting it in the Controls collection of the Form):

private void OnForm_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    this.MainMenuStrip = new MenuStrip();
}

This prevents the default MDI caption from being painted since the Form delegates its functionality to its default menu strip if any. Since the MenuStrip control is not in the Controls collection of the Form, it is also not visible and thus it just serves as a dummy menu used for hiding the nasty MDI menu when a child is maximized.