[RESOLVED] Simple way to check lots of TextBoxes?

[xboner]

So, this is not urgent, since I have a code that will work, but I just curious. I want to check whether any of the textboxes in a form is empty or not. I can create an if clause with "OR", like this:

if txt1.Text = "", OR txt2.Text = "", etc. then

.........


But i want to know if there is a better and simpler way to do this, since there are like 12 textboxes to check, and i dont want to write all of their name.

What i tried so far :

Dim kontrol As Control

If TypeOf kontrol is TextBox Then
     If kontrol.Text = "" Then
     MsgBox "Data is incomplete"
     End If
End If

But that code above does not work, and give me error in the second line.

Any suggestion?

[Steve Grant]

Dim c As Control

For Each c In Form1.Controls
    If TypeOf c Is TextBox and control.Text = "" Then
        MsgBox "Data is incomplete"
    End If
Next

[DataMiser]

I would suggest using control arrays where possible and then you can easily loop through them.
Given the sample names of txt1 txt2 and such then an array would make sense.

[xboner]

Dim c As Control

For Each c In Form1.Controls
    If TypeOf c Is TextBox and control.Text = "" Then
        MsgBox "Data is incomplete"
    End If
Next

I think there is something wrong in the second line, it should be (cmiiw):
If TypeOf c Is TextBox and c.Text = "" Then

Anyway, i tried similar code with your code, and it gives me the messagebox 12 times cosecutively, which i dont want, and which is actually the reason why i ask my question in here in the first place.

[xboner]

I would suggest using control arrays where possible and then you can easily loop through them.
Given the sample names of txt1 txt2 and such then an array would make sense.

control arrays?

[DataMiser]

I would expect that the line below would throw an error when there are controls on the form that do not have a text property

If TypeOf c Is TextBox and c.Text = "" Then

Using a nested If would get around that problem

    If TypeOf c Is TextBox Then
           If c.Text = "" Then
                 MsgBox "Data is incomplete"
                 Exit For
           End If
     End If

[DataMiser]

control arrays?

Yes Control Arrays, You can create them by placing a control on a form then copy the control and paste it to the form. The IDE will ask if you want to create a control array and if you say yes it sets the index property so you get text1(0) text1(1) txet1(2) and so on

To loop through them

    For x=0 to 10
         If Text1(x).text="" then
                 MsgBox "Data is incomplete"
                 Exit For
          End If
     Next

[xboner]

I would expect that the line below would throw an error when there are controls on the form that do not have a text property

If TypeOf c Is TextBox and c.Text = "" Then

Using a nested If would get around that problem

    If TypeOf c Is TextBox Then
           If c.Text = "" Then
                 MsgBox "Data is incomplete"
                 Exit For
           End If
     End If

Yes Control Arrays, You can create them by placing a control on a form then copy the control and paste it to the form. The IDE will ask if you want to create a control array and if you say yes it sets the index property so you get text1(0) text1(1) txet1(2) and so on

To loop through them

    For x=0 to 10
         If Text1(x).text="" then
                 MsgBox "Data is incomplete"
                 Exit For
          End If
     Next

Thanks, i'll try them

[SamOscarBrown]

Yes, arrays are usually the better way to do what you are attempting. DM's post is spot on.
But, you might want to tell the user WHICH textbox is not completed (although it should be fairly obvious). Your code could be like this:

Private Sub Command1_Click()
Dim x As Integer
For x = 0 To 10
         If Text1(x).Text = "" Then
                 MsgBox "Data is incomplete in textbox # " & CStr(x + 1)
                 Exit For
          End If
     Next
End Sub

But because textboxes which are empty are obvious, you don't really need to tell the user, but, let's say you wanted to make sure all of the textboxes included only numbers, you'd use the same concept like this code:

Private Sub Command1_Click()
Dim x As Integer
For x = 0 To 10
         If Not IsNumeric(Text1(x).Text) Then
                 MsgBox "Please enter a NUMBER in textbox # " & CStr(x + 1)
                 Exit For
          End If
     Next
End Sub

Hope you see the value of arrays...and you can do them with other controls too, of course.

Note the "x + 1" in those snippets...that is because arrays start with an index of 0. So, when you add a control to a form initially, and then copy/paste it to add more (answering 'yes' to the prompt to create an array), that original control will have an index of 0, the next one, 1, etc. Your array will run from 0 to 10 in those examples above, meaning you would have ELEVEN textboxes on your form---indices of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.

Hope this helps you understand arrays a bit more.

[Spooman]

xboner

A variation of DataMiser's method (post #7) to create a control array is to use the Load statement.

In design mode
1. Place a TextBox control on your form (in my case, I've named it Text3)
2. Open the Properties window
3. Set the Index property to 1

Then, this code will "create" 9 more

Private Sub Command1_Click()
    '
    With Text3(1)
        .Top = 1000
        .Left = 500
    End With
    '
    oo = 100            ' vertical "offset"
    For ii = 2 To 10
        Load Text3(ii)
        With Text3(ii)
            .Top = Text3(ii - 1).Top + Text3(ii - 1).Height + oo
            .Visible = True
            .Text = "Text3(" & ii & ")"
        End With
    Next ii
    '
End Sub

Here is an image



The down-side is that you need to specify the position of each newly loaded TextBox
The up-side is that if, for instance, you had 30 TextBoxes, you would not need to manually place them all on the form.

Note that I specified the Text property. This was for display purposes only.
You could also set it to Empty.

Regarding setting Index to 1:
... Normally, a control array's 1st index is 0.
... But this can sometimes be confusing. So I just set it to 1.

EDIT1:

Sammi snuck his post in while I was composing mine ..
His discussion regarding the Index 0 covers the issue more comprehensively that I did.

HTH
Spoo

[LaVolpe]

Just a note. If this is needed to verify/validate required information was provided by the user, simply checking whether a textbox is empty or not is generally not enough. Since a user can add/paste anything they want, it is typically required that validation checks the control for a valid entry (when applicable), not just any entry.

One method of doing this is to use the Validate event of the control.

Another option is to use a custom validation routine. In that routine, string that is concatenated with error messages as the controls are validated. At the end of the validation routine, if the error string is filled, it is displayed to the user. That error string identifies which controls failed validation and why.