Visual Basic Reference

Image Control

See Also    Example    Properties    Methods    Events

Use the Image control to display a graphic. An Image control can display a graphic from a bitmap, icon, or metafile, as well as enhanced metafile, JPEG, or GIF files.

Syntax

Image

Remarks

The Image control uses fewer system resources and repaints faster than a PictureBox control, but it supports only a subset of the PictureBox properties, events, and methods. Use the Stretch property to determine whether the graphic is scaled to fit the control or vice versa. Although you can place an Image control within a container, an Image control can't act as a container.

Note   The Unisys Corporation has a patent that it alleges covers certain aspects of GIF-LZW compression technology, which the PictureBox and Image controls use. Microsoft Corporation obtained a license to the Unisys LZW patents in September, 1996. Microsoft's license does not, however, extend to software developers or third parties who use any Microsoft toolkit, language development, or operating system products to provide GIF read/write and/or any other LZW capabilities in their own products (for example, by way of DLLs and APIs).

If your commercial application uses one of these controls (and thus, the LZW technology), you may wish to obtain an independent legal opinion on the effect of the patent, or contact Unisys USA at http://www.unisys.com/ for more information.