Where is RadComboButton?

[Brian Sayatovic]

Despite the existence of RadDropdownButton, RadSplitButton, RadButton, RadMenu, etc. there's still something missing: RadComboButton.  This should be a button whose main area triggers a default/last-selected ICommand, and a drop-down icon that when clicked exposes a menu of other ICommands to choose from.  Choosing one activates it and sets that ICommand as the last-selected ICommand.

It seems like its possible to come close to this with custom data templates and special behaviors, but not exact.  And even if it is possible to customize the existing controls just right to pull this off, we bought the Telerik controls so we won't have to spend our time doing a less-than-stellar job of UI control design.

So, how about it Telerik?  Can we get a RadComboButton in 2012 Q2?

[Tina Stancheva]

Hi Brian,

Thank you for your feedback. Unfortunately such a control isn't included in our to-do list since as you said you can implement it with the current suite of controls.

However if you have trouble implementing it with our current controls, we can help. If you can give us more information about your requirements (for example with which control you'd like to implement it - a RadDropDownButton, RadSplitButtons or RadComboBox and do you need other features apart from the Commands implementation you described) we can assist you in creating a custom ComboBoxButton.

Kind regards,
Tina Stancheva
the Telerik team

[Brian Sayatovic]

Thank you for your time and interest, Tina. I've attached a mockup (Mockup.png) to go along with this discussion.

What I'm really trying to pull off here is a way for a user to have the option of N commands, but the most recently used command will be the default command. This allows a user to repeat a command several times with only a single click, switch to a new command, and then repeat it multiple times with only a single click.

So like a RadSplitButton that has two "areas", this ComboButton would have a primary area that displays and executes the default action, as well as a smaller, secondary area that displays the popup of the other commands.  In my mockup, 'Action 1' is shown as the default command.

The popup shows all commands, ideally highlighting the current default command.  No matter which command is selected in the popup, it should:

1. Invoke the command
2. Set that command as the new default command

In my mockup, if the user clicks 'Action 3', action 3 will be invoked, and also become the new default command showing up in the primary area now instead of action 1.

[Tina Stancheva]

Hello Brian,

You can implement your scenario using the RadSplitButton and defining a RadTreeView control in its DropDownContent. I attached a sample project demonstrating this approach. I hope it will get you started on your task but please let me know if I've missed something or if I can further assist you.

Kind regards,
Tina Stancheva
the Telerik team