Click to Rate and Give Feedback
MSDN
MSDN Library
.NET Development
.NET Framework 2.0
Collapse All/Expand All Collapse All
This page is specific to
Microsoft Visual Studio 2005/.NET Framework 2.0

Other versions are also available for the following:

Want more? Here are some additional resources on this topic:

.NET Framework Class Library
ContainerControl Class

Provides focus-management functionality for controls that can function as a container for other controls.

Namespace: System.Windows.Forms
Assembly: System.Windows.Forms (in system.windows.forms.dll)

Visual Basic (Declaration)
<ComVisibleAttribute(True)> _
<ClassInterfaceAttribute(ClassInterfaceType.AutoDispatch)> _
Public Class ContainerControl
    Inherits ScrollableControl
    Implements IContainerControl
Visual Basic (Usage)
Dim instance As ContainerControl
C#
[ComVisibleAttribute(true)] 
[ClassInterfaceAttribute(ClassInterfaceType.AutoDispatch)] 
public class ContainerControl : ScrollableControl, IContainerControl
C++
[ComVisibleAttribute(true)] 
[ClassInterfaceAttribute(ClassInterfaceType::AutoDispatch)] 
public ref class ContainerControl : public ScrollableControl, IContainerControl
J#
/** @attribute ComVisibleAttribute(true) */ 
/** @attribute ClassInterfaceAttribute(ClassInterfaceType.AutoDispatch) */ 
public class ContainerControl extends ScrollableControl implements IContainerControl
JScript
ComVisibleAttribute(true) 
ClassInterfaceAttribute(ClassInterfaceType.AutoDispatch) 
public class ContainerControl extends ScrollableControl implements IContainerControl

A ContainerControl represents a control that can function as a container for other controls and provides focus management. Controls that inherit from this class can track the active control they contain, even when the focus moves somewhere within a different container.

ContainerControl objects provide a logical boundary for contained controls. The container control can capture the TAB key press and move focus to the next control in the collection.

NoteNote

The container control does not receive focus; the focus is always set to the first child control in the collection of contained controls.

You do not typically inherit directly from the ContainerControl class. Form, UserControl, and UpDownBase classes inherit from ContainerControl.

The following code example inherits from the ScrollableControl class and implements the IContainerControl interface. Implementation is added to the ActiveControl property and the ActivateControl method.

Visual Basic
Imports System
Imports System.Windows.Forms
Imports System.Drawing

   Public Class MyContainerControl
      Inherits ScrollableControl
      Implements IContainerControl 

      Private myActiveControl As Control
      
      Public Sub New()
         ' Make the container control Blue so it can be distinguished on the form.
         Me.BackColor = Color.Blue
         
         ' Make the container scrollable.
         Me.AutoScroll = True
      End Sub 
      
      ' Add implementation to the IContainerControl.ActiveControl property.
      Public Property ActiveControl() As Control Implements IContainerControl.ActiveControl
         Get
            Return Me.myActiveControl
         End Get
         
         Set
            ' Make sure the control is a member of the ControlCollection.
            If Me.Controls.Contains(value) Then
               Me.myActiveControl = value
            End If
         End Set
      End Property
      
      ' Add implementation to the IContainerControl.ActivateControl(Control) method.
      public Function ActivateControl(active As Control) As Boolean Implements IContainerControl.ActivateControl
         If Me.Controls.Contains(active) Then
            ' Select the control and scroll the control into view if needed.
            active.Select()
            Me.ScrollControlIntoView(active)
            Me.myActiveControl = active
            Return True
         End If
         Return False
      End Function 

   End Class  
C#
using System;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using System.Drawing;

    public class MyContainer : ScrollableControl, IContainerControl
    {
        private Control activeControl;
        public MyContainer() 
        {
            // Make the container control Blue so it can be distinguished on the form.
            this.BackColor = Color.Blue;
            
            // Make the container scrollable.
            this.AutoScroll = true;
        }

        // Add implementation to the IContainerControl.ActiveControl property.
        public Control ActiveControl
        {
            get
            {
                return activeControl;
            }

            set
            {
                // Make sure the control is a member of the ControlCollection.
                if(this.Controls.Contains(value))
                {
                    activeControl = value;
                }
            }
        }

        // Add implementations to the IContainerControl.ActivateControl(Control) method.
        public bool ActivateControl(Control active)
        {
            if(this.Controls.Contains(active))
            {
                // Select the control and scroll the control into view if needed.
                active.Select();
                this.ScrollControlIntoView(active);
                this.activeControl = active;
                return true;
            }
            return false;
        }
    }
C++
using namespace System;
using namespace System::Windows::Forms;
using namespace System::Drawing;

public ref class MyContainer: public ScrollableControl, public IContainerControl
{
private:
   Control^ activeControl;

public:
   MyContainer()
   {
      // Make the container control Blue so it can be distinguished on the form.
      this->BackColor = Color::Blue;

      // Make the container scrollable.
      this->AutoScroll = true;
   }

   property Control^ ActiveControl 
   {
      // Add implementation to the IContainerControl.ActiveControl property.
      virtual Control^ get()
      {
         return activeControl;
      }

      virtual void set( Control^ value )
      {
         
         // Make sure the control is a member of the ControlCollection.
         if ( this->Controls->Contains( value ) )
         {
            activeControl = value;
         }
      }
   }

   // Add implementations to the IContainerControl.ActivateControl(Control) method.
   virtual bool ActivateControl( Control^ active )
   {
      if ( this->Controls->Contains( active ) )
      {
         // Select the control and scroll the control into view if needed.
         active->Select(  );
         this->ScrollControlIntoView( active );
         this->activeControl = active;
         return true;
      }

      return false;
   }
};
J#
import System.*;
import System.Windows.Forms.*;
import System.Drawing.*;

public class MyContainer extends ScrollableControl implements IContainerControl
{
    private Control activeControl;

    public MyContainer()
    {
        // Make the container control Blue so it can be 
        // distinguished on the form.
        this.set_BackColor(Color.get_Blue());

        // Make the container scrollable.
        this.set_AutoScroll(true);
    } //MyContainer

    // Add implementation to the IContainerControl.ActiveControl property.
    /** @property 
     */
    public Control get_ActiveControl()
    {
        return activeControl;
    } //get_ActiveControl

    /** @property 
     */
    public void set_ActiveControl(Control value)
    {
        // Make sure the control is a member of the ControlCollection.
        if (this.get_Controls().Contains(value)) {
            activeControl = value;
        }
    } //set_ActiveControl

    // Add implementations to the IContainerControl.
    // ActivateControl(Control) method.
    public boolean ActivateControl(Control active)
    {
        if (this.get_Controls().Contains(active)) {
            // Select the control and scroll the control into view if needed.
            active.Select();
            this.ScrollControlIntoView(active);
            this.activeControl = active;
            return true;
        }

        return false;
    } //ActivateControl
} //MyContainer
System.Object
   System.MarshalByRefObject
     System.ComponentModel.Component
       System.Windows.Forms.Control
         System.Windows.Forms.ScrollableControl
          System.Windows.Forms.ContainerControl
             Derived Classes
Any public static (Shared in Visual Basic) members of this type are thread safe. Any instance members are not guaranteed to be thread safe.

Windows 98, Windows 2000 SP4, Windows CE, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows Mobile for Pocket PC, Windows Mobile for Smartphone, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows XP SP2, Windows XP Starter Edition

The .NET Framework does not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see System Requirements.

.NET Framework

Supported in: 2.0, 1.1, 1.0

.NET Compact Framework

Supported in: 2.0, 1.0
Tags What's this?: Add a tag
Community Content   What is Community Content?
Add new content RSS  Annotations
Processing
© 2010 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Terms of Use | Trademarks | Privacy Statement
Page view tracker