VB 2026 trying to access form controls as part of a class?

[dday9]

Regarding your actual issue, for whatever reason the ComboBox type used in MyClass is referencing VisualStyleElement instead of System.Windows.Forms. This can be fixed easily by fully qualifying the name:

Public cmbChoice as System.Windows.Forms.ComboBox

Alternatively, if the Visual Studio autocomplete incorrectly imported VisualStyleElement, you can replace it instead:

'Imports VisualStyleElement ' Remove this line
Imports System.Windows.Forms ' Add this line
Private Class MyClass
    Public Yo as String
    Public lbName as Label
    Public cmbChoice as ComboBox
End Class

Regarding what you're actually wanting to do:

with multiple controls needing to be assigned to one variable so they can all be altered or read with respect to that item

There's probably a better way of doing this, such as the built-in data binding feature, but to be honest I'd need a better example of what it is that you're trying to do in order to give you an accurate example. Not that you didn't give us a lot of information, I just don't fully understand the expected end result is all.