Templates Overview

RadTabStrip tabs are extremely configurable. In addition to the preset skins, you can customize the appearance of tabs by adding custom images, using CSS classes, or creating custom skins. However, if you want to embed other HTML controls in a tab, you must use templates. You can embed any content inside a RadTabStrip template, including:

• HTML markup

• ASP.NET server controls

• Other third-party controls (including other Telerik controls)

At design time, add item templates to your RadTabStrip control using the Template Design Surface. RadTabStrip supports two types of item templates:

1. The global RadTab template affects the appearance of all tabs in the tab strip.

2. Individual Item templates affect the appearance of a single tab, overriding the global RadTab template if it is set.

The following example uses both a global RadTab Template and individual Item templates to override the global template for the root level tabs:

<telerik:RadTabStrip RenderMode="Lightweight" ID="RadTabStrip1" runat="server" SelectedIndex="0">
 <Tabs>
   <telerik:RadTab runat="server" Text="Products" Selected="True" SelectedIndex="0">
     <Tabs>
       <telerik:RadTab runat="server" Text="Food" Selected="True" />
       <telerik:RadTab runat="server" Text="Electronics" />
     </Tabs>
     <TabTemplate>
        Products
     </TabTemplate>
   </telerik:RadTab>
   <telerik:RadTab runat="server" Text="Tours">
     <Tabs>
       <telerik:RadTab runat="server" Text="Europe" />
       <telerik:RadTab runat="server" Text="South Pacific" />
     </Tabs>
     <TabTemplate>
        Tours
     </TabTemplate>
   </telerik:RadTab>
 </Tabs>
 <TabTemplate>
    <asp:CheckBox
       ID="CheckBox1"
       Text='<%# DataBinder.Eval(Container, "Text") %>'
       Checked='<%# DataBinder.Eval(Container, "Selected") %>'
       runat="server" />
 </TabTemplate>
</telerik:RadTabStrip>  

When binding template controls, as in this example, you must also explicitly call the DataBind method for the tabs. See Data Binding Templates for details.

If you add templates at runtime, assigning an object that implements the ITemplate interface to the ItemTemplate property, the template only works with items added at runtime in the codebehind.