Enumerate All Form Controls - Even Nested Ones

[wey97]

A simple Sub to enumerate all the controls on a form even if they are nested as children of other controls. For example, say you add a GroupBox to your form and then add a Checkbox, this won't work:

For Each ctl as Control in Me.Controls
    If TypeOf ctl Is CheckBox Then
        ' Won't find the CheckBox
    End If
Next

You need a recursive Sub:

Private Sub EnumControls(ByVal ctl As Control)
 
        MessageBox.Show(ctl.Name)
 
        If ctl.HasChildren Then
            For Each c As Control In ctl.Controls
                EnumControls(c)
            Next
        End If
 
    End Sub

So you can call the Sub on Form_Load as EnumControls(Me). You can also test for a type of control:

Private Sub EnumControls(ByVal ctl As Control)
 
        If TypeOf ctl Is CheckBox Then
            MessageBox.Show(ctl.Name)
        End If
 
        If ctl.HasChildren Then
            For Each c As Control In ctl.Controls
                EnumControls(c)
            Next
        End If
 
    End Sub