Winform Graphical Nodes

Hello, Michael,

Thank you for the update. I am really glad to hear that you managed to found a solution that works as you expected in reaching your custom requirements. RadShapedForm offers more flexibility when implementing drag-drop functionality since it is actually a form, not a shape. Feel free to use the approach that best fits your needs.

In case you have further difficulties or have additional questions do not hesitate to contact me. 

Regards,
Nadya
Progress Telerik

Hello, Michael,

Thank you for the provided picture.

Considering it, I can suggest using RadDiagram control. RadDiagram offers flexible and interactive diagramming layouts for your rich data visualization applications. The framework toolset enables you to design shapes and connections between them which represent data logic and might be suitable for your scenario. I could suggest referring to the following articles:
https://docs.telerik.com/devtools/winforms/controls/diagram/diagram-items/shapes 
https://docs.telerik.com/devtools/winforms/controls/diagram/diagram-items/connections/connections 
https://docs.telerik.com/devtools/winforms/controls/diagram/populating-with-data 

You can also check our Demo>>Diagram examples.

I hope this information is useful. Let me know if I can assist you further.

Regards,
Nadya
Progress Telerik

Hello, Michael,

It is possible to add other controls to RadDiagramShape. You can utilize the RadHostItem class and add controls to the diagram shape elements. Below you can find a sample demonstration that hosts a RadListView control inside RadDiagramShape:

 public RadForm1()
 {
     InitializeComponent();

     RadDiagramShape shape = new RadDiagramShape()
     {
         Text = "",
         Shape = new RoundRectShape(),
         Size = new Size(200, 200),
         Position = new Telerik.Windows.Diagrams.Core.Point(100, 100)
     };

     RadListView listview = new RadListView();
     listview.Items.Add(new ListViewDataItem("Item1"));
     listview.Items.Add(new ListViewDataItem("Item2"));
     RadHostItem host = new RadHostItem(listview);
     shape.DiagramShapeElement.Children.Add(host);

     this.radDiagram1.AddShape(shape);
 }

Additional information is available here: https://docs.telerik.com/devtools/winforms/telerik-presentation-framework/elements/use-control-inside-an-element 

I hope this information is useful. Do not hesitate to contact me if you have other questions.

Regards,
Nadya
Progress Telerik

Hello, Michael,

Creating a user control with desired control and adding it into RadHostItem is a possible solution to achieve your scenario. In order to work correctly, the user control should be wrapped inside the shape without overlapping it. However, I am not familiar with details about the exact requirements that you have and may provide general guidance and knowledge. I would like to note that using hosted controls inside RadDiagramShape is a custom solution. Feel free to adapt it according to your specific needs.

Let me know if I can assist you further.

Regards,
Nadya
Progress Telerik

Hello, Michael,

I am glad to hear that the provided information was helpful.

Using a UserControl in Winforms application and performing drag-drop operations is more like a general programming question and is not actually related to RadControls. I made research in StackOverFlow and MSDN forums and have found the following threads that might be useful in this case:
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-US/troubleshoot/dotnet/csharp/usercontrol-act-control-container-design-time 
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/29993763/how-to-drag-custom-usercontrol-on-windows-form 
https://www.codeproject.com/Articles/8177/Drag-and-Drop-in-UserControls 

Feel free to make your own research for any other ideas that would be suitable for your custom scenario.

Please let me know if you have other questions related to RadControls from Telerik UI for Winforms suite.

Regards,
Nadya
Progress Telerik