DropDownDirection is controlled via two different mechanisms. One is DefaultDropDownDirection offered on ToolStrip, the other is an argument to the Show() method on ToolStripDropDownMenu.

This controls the default direction that sub dropdowns will be shown, not the dropdown itself.

This enum has members only designed for use in certain situations

These four should be used with Show(). These are positioned absolutely and may overlap existing dropdowns.

• AboveLeft – AboveRight, BelowLeft, BelowRight

These three are for use with Menus and will automatically positioned to not layer over previous menuse.

• Default – use with either, default, respects RightToLeft
• Left – use with ToolStripDropDownMenu/ContextMenuStrip, forces left rather than respecting RightToLeft
• Right – use with ToolStripDropDownMenu/ContextMenuStrip, forces right rather than respecting RightToLeft