Control.Parent Property

Definition

Gets or sets the parent container of the control.

[System.ComponentModel.Browsable(false)]
public System.Windows.Forms.Control Parent { get; set; }
[System.ComponentModel.Browsable(false)]
public System.Windows.Forms.Control? Parent { get; set; }

Property Value

A Control that represents the parent or container control of the control.

Attributes

Examples

The following code example uses the Parent property and the FindForm method to set properties on the parent control of a button and its form.

// This example uses the Parent property and the Find method of Control to set
// properties on the parent control of a Button and its Form. The example assumes
// that a Button control named button1 is located within a GroupBox control. The 
// example also assumes that the Click event of the Button control is connected to
// the event handler method defined in the example.
private void button1_Click(object sender, System.EventArgs e)
{
   // Get the control the Button control is located in. In this case a GroupBox.
   Control control = button1.Parent;
   // Set the text and backcolor of the parent control.
   control.Text = "My Groupbox";
   control.BackColor = Color.Blue;
   // Get the form that the Button control is contained within.
   Form myForm = button1.FindForm();
   // Set the text and color of the form containing the Button.
   myForm.Text = "The Form of My Control";
   myForm.BackColor = Color.Red;
}

Remarks

Setting the Parent property value to null removes the control from the Control.ControlCollection of its current parent control.

Applies to

Product Versions
.NET Framework 1.1, 2.0, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, 4.5.1, 4.5.2, 4.6, 4.6.1, 4.6.2, 4.7, 4.7.1, 4.7.2, 4.8, 4.8.1
Windows Desktop 3.0, 3.1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

See also