Visual Basic Reference
Controls Collection
See Also Example Properties Methods Events
A collection whose elements represent the controls on a component. The Controls collection has a Count property which specifies the number of controls in the collection, and an Item method which returns a member of the collection.
Syntax
object.Controls.Count
object.Controls(index)
The Controls collection syntax has these parts:
Part | Description |
object | An object expression that evaluates to an object in the Applies To list. |
Index | An integer with a range from 0 to Controls.Count - 1. |
Note If the component is a Visual Basic module, such as a Form or UserControl, you don't have to supply the object expression when writing code within the module. If the container is a compiled ActiveX control, such as a ToolBar control, however, you must always supply the object expression.
Remarks
The Controls collection enumerates loaded controls on a component and can be useful for iterating through them. For example, you might use it to change the BackColor property of all the Label controls on a Form.
The Controls collection identifies an intrinsic form-level variable named Controls. If you omit the optional object placeholder, you must include the Controls keyword. However, if you include object, you can omit the Controls keyword. For example, the following two lines of code have the same effect:
MyForm.Controls(6).Top = MyForm.Controls(5).Top + increment
MyForm(6).Top = MyForm(5).Top + increment
You can pass Controls(index) to a function whose argument is specified as a Controls class. You can also access members using their name. For example:
Controls("Command1").Top
You can use the TypeOf keyword with the If statement, or the TypeName function, to determine the type of a control in the Controls collection.
Note The Controls collection is not a member of the Visual Basic Collection class. It has a smaller set of properties and methods than a Collection object, and you cannot create instances of it.