How do I make a Control Array in C# 2010.NET?

Question

I recently moved from Visual Basic 6 to C# 2010 .NET.

In Visual Basic 6 there was an option to put how many control arrays you would like to use by changing the "index" on it.

I am wondering if this is possible in C#, if so how would I go about doing it with a class like:

func fc = new func();

But with more than just one array in fc, is this possible?

And to be more clarified,

Visual Basic 6 when you load a control like a text box or user control it has in the properties window a option for "Index" and if you change that to 0, 1, etc... it'll allow you to use all of those indexes, without loading multiple controls 50 times.

I think it might have something to do with an arraylist but I'm not entirely sure.

Thanks for any help.

.NET does not have control arrays in the way VB6 had. There is no simple way to emulate them either. — Oded, Mar 25 '11 at 16:34

score 9 · Accepted Answer · edited Mar 25 '11 at 16:44

9

That code snippet isn't going to get you very far. Creating a control array is no problem, just initialize it in the form constructor. You can then expose it as a property, although that's generally a bad idea since you don't want to expose implementation details. Something like this:

public partial class Form1 : Form {
    private TextBox[] textBoxes;

    public Form1() {
        InitializeComponent();
        textBoxes = new TextBox[] { textBox1, textBox2, textBox3 };
    }

    public ICollection<TextBox> TextBoxes {
        get { return textBoxes; }
    }
}

Which then lets you write:

var form = new Form1();
form.TextBoxes[0].Text = "hello";
form.Show();

But don't, let the form manage its own text boxes.

edited Mar 25 '11 at 16:44

Felice Pollano

32,832
9
75
115

answered Mar 25 '11 at 16:37

Hans Passant

922,412
146
1,693
2,536

There is no conversion from `string` to `TextBox`, this wouldn't compile. – Daniel Hilgarth Mar 25 '11 at 16:42
I had to change `ICollection` to `IList` for the indexing to work – Dan Jul 27 '18 at 18:58

score 3 · Answer 2 · answered Mar 25 '11 at 16:46

In .NET you would create an array of controls, then you would instance a TextBox control for each element of the array, setting the properties of the control and positioning it on the form:

    TextBox[] txtArray = new TextBox[500];
    for (int i = 0; i < txtArray.length; i++)
    {
      // instance the control
      txtArray[i] = new TextBox();
      // set some initial properties
      txtArray[i].Name = "txt" + i.ToString();
      txtArray[i].Text = "";
      // add to form
      Form1.Controls.Add(txtArray[i]);
      txtArray[i].Parent = Form1;
      // set position and size
      txtArray[i].Location = new Point(50, 50);
      txtArray[i].Size = new Size(200, 25);
    }
.
.
.
Form1.txt1.text = "Hello World!";

Unless your layout is more simplistic (i.e. rows and columns of textboxes) you may find using the designer to be easier, less time consuming and more maintainable.

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Mar 25 '11 at 16:43

Not exactly like VB6, but it is quite easy to write the code your self in c#.

If you create a control, like a Button in the designer you can copy the code from the *.Designer.cs file

It typically looks like this

private System.Windows.Forms.Button button1;
...
this.button1.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(40, 294);
this.button1.Name = "button1";
this.button1.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(75, 23);
this.button1.TabIndex = 14;
this.button1.Text = "Button1";
this.button1.UseVisualStyleBackColor = true;
this.button1.Click += new System.EventHandler(this.button1_Click);
...
this.Controls.Add(this.button1);

Cut that code out and paste in a method instead, returning the Button

private Button CreateButton()
{
    private System.Windows.Forms.Button button1;

    this.button1.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(40, 294); // <-- change location for each
    this.button1.Name = "button1";
    this.button1.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(75, 23);
    this.button1.TabIndex = 14; // <-- increase tab index or remove this line
    this.button1.Text = "Button1";
    this.button1.UseVisualStyleBackColor = true;
    this.button1.Click += new System.EventHandler(this.button1_Click);

    this.Controls.Add(this.button1);
    return button;
}

then call this method like this

List<Button> buttons = new List<Button>();
for(int i = 0; i < 10; i++)
{
    buttons.Add(CreateButton());
}

grenix · Answer 4 · 2015-09-04T13:28:07.310

Based on Trigo's template:

Here an example handling 2 dimensional textBox array
panel1 has to be created with the designer
(I had Autoscroll=true, Size=858;525)

public partial class Form1 : Form
{
    TextBox[,] txtBoxArray = new TextBox[2,100];
    public Form1()
    {
        InitializeComponent();

        for (int i = 0; i < txtBoxArray.GetLength(0); i++)
        {
            for (int j = 0; j < txtBoxArray.GetLength(1); j++)
            {
                // instance the control
                txtBoxArray[i, j] = new TextBox();
                // set some initial properties
                txtBoxArray[i, j].Name = "txtBox_" + i.ToString() + "_" + j.ToString();
                txtBoxArray[i, j].Text = txtBoxArray[i, j].Name; //"";
                // add to form
                this.Controls.Add(txtBoxArray[i,j]);
                txtBoxArray[i, j].Parent = panel1;
                // set position and size
                txtBoxArray[i, j].Location = new Point(50+i*333, 50 + j * 25);
                txtBoxArray[i, j].Size = new Size(200, 25);
            }
        }
    }

    private void Form1_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
    {

    }
    //...


}

score 0 · Answer 5 · answered Mar 25 '11 at 16:39

0

Read this transition guide from MS: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/kxt4418a%28v=vs.80%29.aspx

answered Mar 25 '11 at 16:39

Daniel Hilgarth

171,043
40
335
443

How do I make a Control Array in C# 2010.NET?

5 Answers5

Linked

Related