Hi Al,

The underlying class in this case is System.Windows.Forms.Control, and the
reason that it is hidden is that it has no purpose in the
ToolsStirpSeparator class. Even if you were to expose it (which you could),
it wouldn't do what you expect it to, because it wasn't designed with a Text
property in mind.

Now, if you want to add a Text property, you can certainly do so, but it
isn't simply a matter of exposing the underlying property. You would have to
implement whatever manifestation of that property you desire in the Control,
perhaps by overriding the OnPaint method.

There are several ways to implement this property. First, and perhaps the
best/easiest, is to create a property and call it something other than
"Text." The reason why it's the best way is that your implementation of the
Control will not correspond to either the ToolsStirpSeparator class or the
Control class, but as it is documented in those classes, it could be
confusing. It is easiest because it doesn't involve dealing with the
underlying property. But that is not a major difference.

OTOH, if you want to implement the property as "Text," use the "new"
modifier. The "new" modifer hides the underlying property with the new one.
This, of course, makes the underlying property invisible to the world, but
it already was, so there's no loss involved. Example:

new public string Text { get { return _SomeString; } set { _SomeString =
value; } }