This book represents the start of the second wave of .NET books: closely focused works that give you the insight of experienced developers about a single aspect of .NET programming. Here you'll take a close look at all the ingredients you can use to design state-of-the-art application interfaces. You also delve into entirely new topics like custom control design and GDI+, the next-generation painting framework for Windows. You learn about anchoring and docking, plus you work with complete examples that show document-view architectures, custom control layout engines, dockable windows, and hit testing with owner-drawn controls. You also learn how to design irregularly shaped forms, unshackle data binding, and build integrated help systems.With .NET the programming framework is entirely new. A reference that only explains controls and commands is dangerous, and without a proper discussion of best practices and design tips, programmers are likely to wind up in a great deal of trouble-with applications that are difficult to enhance, debug, or scale up. For that reason, the author covers three areas:(1) an overview of how to design elegant user interfaces the average user can understand;(2) a comprehensive examination of the user interface controls and classes in .NET. and(3) a tutorial with best practices and design tips for coding user interfaces and integrating help.