Add Controls to a Form - Windows Forms .NET (2024)

Most forms are designed by adding controls to the surface of the form to define a user interface (UI). A control is a component on a form used to display information or accept user input.

The primary way a control is added to a form is through the Visual Studio Designer, but you can also manage the controls on a form at run time through code.

Add with Designer

Visual Studio uses the Forms Designer to design forms. There is a Controls pane which lists all the controls available to your app. You can add controls from the pane in two ways:

Add the control by double-clicking

When a control is double-clicked, it is automatically added to the current open form with default settings.

Add the control by drawing

Select the control by clicking on it. In your form, drag-select a region. The control will be placed to fit the size of the region you selected.

Add with code

Controls can be created and then added to a form at run time with the form's Controls collection. This collection can also be used to remove controls from a form.

The following code adds and positions two controls, a Label and a TextBox:

Label label1 = new Label(){ Text = "&First Name", Location = new Point(10, 10), TabIndex = 10};TextBox field1 = new TextBox(){ Location = new Point(label1.Location.X, label1.Bounds.Bottom + Padding.Top), TabIndex = 11};Controls.Add(label1);Controls.Add(field1);

Dim label1 As New Label With {.Text = "&First Name", .Location = New Point(10, 10), .TabIndex = 10}Dim field1 As New TextBox With {.Location = New Point(label1.Location.X, label1.Bounds.Bottom + Padding.Top), .TabIndex = 11}Controls.Add(label1)Controls.Add(field1)

See also

• Set the Text Displayed by a Windows Forms Control
• Add an access key shortcut to a control
• System.Windows.Forms.Label
• System.Windows.Forms.TextBox
• System.Windows.Forms.Button