Controls at Runtime

[intraman]

Ladies, gents and everything in between. I've been searching far and wide across the lands to find a way to create an array of controls at runtime. I basically have a user enter text in a text box, click on the form and the text then appears in the form of a label at the cursor location.

However,

I can't work out how to create an array of controls so that I can manage them, iterate through them etc when required. Is there a simple way to create a control array without using complicated API's or workarounds?

(I also require this so that I can have click events for each individual label)

Cheers,
Jord

[.paul.]

here's how. this creates an array of labels + an array of textboxes from existing controls:

Public Class Form1
 
    Dim labels() As Label
    Dim textboxes() As TextBox
 
    Private Sub Form1_Load(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load
        labels = New Label() {Label1, Label2, Label3}
        textboxes = New TextBox() {TextBox1, TextBox2, TextBox3}
    End Sub
 
End Class

[dbasnett]

This code will get all of the controls. Based on your requirements I don't see how this helps.

    Dim allControls As New Dictionary(Of String, Control)
    Private Sub GetAllControls()
        Dim ctrl As Control = Me.GetNextControl(Me, True)
        Do Until ctrl Is Nothing
            allControls.Add(ctrl.Name, ctrl)
            ctrl = Me.GetNextControl(ctrl, True)
        Loop
    End Sub

You can have click events for labels without it.

[intraman]

here's how. this creates an array of labels + an array of textboxes from existing controls:

Public Class Form1
 
    Dim labels() As Label
    Dim textboxes() As TextBox
 
    Private Sub Form1_Load(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load
        labels = New Label() {Label1, Label2, Label3}
        textboxes = New TextBox() {TextBox1, TextBox2, TextBox3}
    End Sub
 
End Class

Thanks for this pointer. The difficulty is that the controls are created at runtime, they don't already exist.

Dim newlab As New Label
            newlab.Text = textBxad.Text
            newlab.Left = Cursor.Position.X - 15
            newlab.Top = Cursor.Position.Y - 118
            newlab.AutoSize = True
            textBxad.Text = ""
            groupbox.Controls.Add(newlab)

I'd like to have an index through which I can iterate. i.e newlab(1), newlabl(2) etc. The code I have quoted works fine but I assume it just creates a new "newlab" label and forgets about the old one each time it runs resulting in the old label being inaccessible.

[dbasnett]

So create them in a loop

        'assumes GroupBox is created
        For x As Integer = 1 To 10
            Dim newlab As New Label
            newlab.Name = "myLbl" & x.ToString
            newlab.Text = textBxad.Text
            newlab.Left = Cursor.Position.X - 15
            newlab.Top = Cursor.Position.Y - 118
            newlab.AutoSize = True
            textBxad.Text = ""
            AddHandler newlab.Click, AddressOf fooLabel_Click 'some handler if needed
            GroupBox.Controls.Add(newlab)
        Next x

[Shaggy Hiker]

I agree. If you are creating the controls, then you get to say where they are located. While you have to put them into the proper controls collection, you can also put them anywhere else that you want. In your case, you also want them in some kind of a collection, perhaps a list, or possibly a Dictionary such that you can access them by name.