Loop through textboxes in vb.net

Question

I remember in vb6 you were able to create the array of textboxes.

Textbox1(0), Textbox1(1) ..... ,

But in vb.net you can't create array ? So if you have code like this . Is it possible set it into for loop ?

        TextBox1.Text = ""
        TextBox2.Text = ""
        TextBox3.Text = ""
        TextBox4.Text = ""
        TextBox5.Text = ""
        TextBox6.Text = ""
        TextBox7.Text = ""
        TextBox8.Text = ""
        TextBox9.Text = ""
        TextBox10.Text = ""
        TextBox11.Text = ""
        TextBox12.Text = ""
        TextBox13.Text = ""
        TextBox14.Text = ""
        TextBox15.Text = ""

You _could_ try searching next time. http://stackoverflow.com/questions/13504280/for-each-textbox-loop — Justin Ryan, Jun 02 '15 at 19:24
Also [here](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/5299435/how-to-create-control-arrays-in-vb-net), [here](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/199521/vb-net-iterating-through-controls-in-a-container-object), etc... — Justin Ryan, Jun 02 '15 at 19:26

score 9 · Accepted Answer · answered Jun 02 '15 at 19:16

9

If the TextBox controls are just on the main form, then you can loop through them:

For Each tb As TextBox In Me.Controls.OfType(Of TextBox)()
  tb.Text = String.Empty
Next

If they are in a panel, then replace the Me keyword with the name of the panel.

answered Jun 02 '15 at 19:16

LarsTech

80,625
14
153
225

Is `OfType` recursive? Or does it just get direct children? – jwatts1980 Jun 02 '15 at 19:18
1

@jwatts1980 Not recursive — it's just a filter. – LarsTech Jun 02 '15 at 19:18
@jwatts1980:- Its not recursive! – Rahul Tripathi Jun 02 '15 at 19:19

score 2 · Answer 2 · edited Apr 13 '23 at 12:35

You can create a List and loop through it:

Dim boxes As New List(Of TextBox)() From { _
    TextBox1, _
    TextBox2 _
}
boxes.Add(TextBox3)

For Each tb As TextBox In boxes
    tb.Text = ""
Next

If you have a Form with TextBox controls down inside other controls such as a Panel, or GroupBox, you can try to use a recursive function like this to get them all. (This is basically a C# to VB conversion of the answer here)

Private Function GetTextBoxes(root As Control) As IEnumerable(Of TextBox)
    Dim container = TryCast(root, ContainerControl)
    If container IsNot Nothing Then
        For Each c As Control In container.Controls
            For Each i As Control In GetTextBoxes(c)
                Yield i
            Next
        Next
    End If
End Function

To create a list from your main form:

Dim allBoxes As List(Of TextBox) = GetTextBoxes(Me).ToList()

score 2 · Answer 3 · answered Jun 02 '15 at 19:38

For reference, you CAN create an Array of TextBox objects, in the following manner:

Dim tbArray() As TextBox = New TextBox() {TextBox1, TextBox2, TextBox3}

Or, declare the array and loop through the TextBox controls to add them to it. However, the List(Of TextBox) approach will work just fine if you need to keep a collection of them, or simply looping through the TextBox controls on the form if you just need to set the properties in one sub or function.

Loop through textboxes in vb.net

3 Answers3

Linked

Related