Patent ID: 7673286

Claim:
A program storage medium readable by a computer having a memory and a processor, the medium tangibly embodying one or more programs of instructions executable by the computer to implement a system that facilitates conversion of a user interface control in an application development environment, comprising: a generation component that facilitates the use of the user interface (UI) control in the application; and a conversion component that performs the following: displays a set of control types or control group views that are supported for at least one of control conversion or data binding; converts the UI control from a first control having a first control type to a new, second control having a new second control type based on a user's selection, the conversion of the UI control from the first control to the new control including: determining that a property name and a property type of a first property of the first control matches a property name and a property type of a first property of the new control; in response to determining that the property name and the property type of the first property of the first control matches the property name and the property type of the first property of the new control, setting a value of the first property of the new control to a value of the first property of the first control; determining that an event name and type of a first event field of the first control matches an event name and type of a first event field of the new control; in response to determining that the event name and type of the first event field of the first control matches the event name and type of the first event field of the new control; creating a new event hookup that binds the first event field in the new control to a first event handler method that was bound to the first event field in the first control by a old event hookup; and removing the old event hookup; determining that an event name and type of a second event field of the first control does not match any event name and type of any event field of the new control; and in response to determining that the event name and type of the second event field of the first control does not match any event name and type of any event field of the new control: removing an event hookup that bound a second event handler method to the second event field of the first control; and preserve the second event handler method; changes the display of a form displaying the control types between a grid form and a details form; and displays a smart tag local to the control type if the control type is capable of at least one of data binding or conversion.