Wise Component Library

The Wise Component Library (WCL) is a powerful and extensive toolkit for .NET WinForms developers. Inspired by the visual and functional paradigms of Microsoft Office, Visual Studio, and Windows XP, WCL delivers a comprehensive suite of high-performance controls, extensible components, and system-level libraries—all in a unified, design-time-friendly framework.

Whether you’re building a new desktop app or modernizing legacy software, WCL enables rapid development with polished, professional results.

Modern toolbars and menus with rich styling:

• Command Bars & Context Menus – Seamlessly integrate menus and toolbars with Office-style rendering
• List Bar – Outlook-style vertical navigation bar with drag-and-drop support
• Status Bar – Extensible status bar with progress panels and custom rendering
• View Bar – Multi-view navigation panel similar to Outlook 2003
• Renderer Support – Office 2003, Office XP, Windows XP themes plus custom renderer support

Utility components that enhance productivity and functionality:

• Flags Editor – Design-time editor for [Flags] enumerations
• Image Store – Embed images with transparency directly in RESX
• Extended Notify Icon – Enhanced system tray icon with balloon support
• MSN-Style Taskbar Notifier – Skinned popup notifications
• High Resolution Timer – Use performance counters for precise timing
• Status Message Extender – Display contextual messages in the status bar at runtime

Sophisticated WinForms controls with intuitive behaviors:

• Control List – Custom list control allowing full UI flexibility
• Auto-Complete Text Box – Text input with MRU auto-complete
• Balloon Tips – Anchored tooltips for any control
• Color Picker Button – Inline button that launches a color selection dialog
• Extended Combo Box – Combo box with history, recent documents, and images
• Desktop Alert – Outlook-style toast notifications
• Drop-Down Tree View – Tree view embedded in a combo box
• Graph Control – Bar, line, and pie charting in one unified control
• Masked Text Box – Validated input for dates, IPs, SSNs, etc.
• Skinned Panel – Themed container for skinned tabs or panels

Advanced layout and window management tools, based off the Weifen Luo DockPanel Suite.

• Dock Container – Full-featured Visual Studio–style docking system with layout persistence
• MDI Tabbed Groups – Tabbed multi-document interface with horizontal/vertical group support

Recreate the Windows XP–style Explorer bar experience:

• Task Pane Interface – Common task-oriented layout seen in Windows Explorer back in XP
• Theme Support – Automatically uses Windows colors or lets you define your own color schemes

Reusable base forms to standardize application UX:

• Dialog Box – Pre-styled modal dialog with OK/Cancel buttons and taskbar exclusion
• Popup Form – Lightweight transient window for tooltips or popup editors
• Wizard Form – Guided multi-step form ideal for installers or wizards

The industry’s most extensive and accurate Win32 API wrapper for .NET:

• 1600+ Pre-declared APIs – One of the largest Win32 interop collections for .NET
• Fully Verified – Each declaration is tested and error-free
• Developer-Friendly – No need for manual P/Invoke declarations or signature guesswork
• Consistent & Safe – Reduces bugs and ensures reliable interop with native Windows APIs

• Modern & Legacy Themes – Seamlessly match the look of Office, XP, or your own UI
• Modular Architecture – Use only what you need, without bloat
• Extendable Design – Easily extend or skin any part of WCL
• Field-Tested – Proven in production-grade Windows desktop apps