Label Control for Visual Basic 6.0 Users

This topic compares the Visual Basic 6.0 Label control with its equivalent in Visual Basic 2008.

The Label control in Visual Basic 6.0 is replaced by the Windows Forms Label control in Visual Basic 2008. The names of some properties, methods, events, and constants are different, and in some cases there are behavior differences.

Conceptual Differences

BackStyle Property

In Visual Basic 6.0, the BackStyle property of the Label control determines whether the label had a transparent background. Setting the BackStyle property to 0 – Transparent allows any background image to show through the label. If the label is placed over other controls, the controls also show through.

In Visual Basic 2008, the BackStyle property no longer exists and the transparency behavior is slightly different. To emulate the transparent behavior in Visual Basic 2008, set the BackColor property to Transparent. This will allow the background image to show through. If the label is placed over other controls, the controls will show through only if they are higher in the z-order.

WordWrap Property

In Visual Basic 6.0, the WordWrap property determines if text wraps to multiple lines when it is too long to fit in a label.

In Visual Basic 2008, the text in a Label control automatically wraps. The only way to prevent wrapping is to make the height of the Label control equivalent to a single line of text.

Other Differences

In addition, there are numerous conceptual differences that apply to all controls, including differences in data binding, font handling, drag-and-drop functionality, Help support and more. For more information, see Windows Forms Concepts for Visual Basic 6.0 Users.

Code Changes for the Label Control

The following code example illustrates the differences in coding techniques between Visual Basic 6.0 and Visual Basic 2008.

Code Changes for Making a Label Transparent

The following example demonstrates making the background of a label control transparent. In Visual Basic 6.0, if there are other controls behind the Label, those controls show through. In the Visual Basic 2008 example, any controls behind the Label can optionally show through using the BringToFront and SendToBack functions.

' Visual Basic 6.0 
Private Sub MakeTransparent()
    Label1.BackStyle = vbTransparent
End Sub

' Visual BasicPrivateSub MakeTransparent()
  Label1.BackColor = System.Drawing.Color.Transparent
  ' Let controls behind the label show through.
  Label1.SendToBack()
  ' Make the portion of controls behind the label transparent
  Label1.BringToFront()
EndSub

Label Control Property, Method, and Event Equivalencies

The following tables list Visual Basic 6.0 properties, methods, and events, along with their Visual Basic 2008 equivalents. Those properties, methods, and events that have the same name and behavior are not listed. Where applicable, constants are indented beneath the property or method. All Visual Basic 2008 enumerations map to the System.Windows.Forms namespace unless otherwise noted.

This table provides necessary links to topics explaining behavior differences. Where there is no direct equivalent in Visual Basic 2008, links are provided to alternatives.

Label Properties

Visual Basic 6.0	Visual Basic 2008 Equivalent
Alignment: 0 - Left Justify 1 - Right Justify	TextAlign MiddleLeft enumeration value MiddleRight enumeration value
Appearance	New implementation. For more information, see Appearance and BorderStyle Properties for Visual Basic 6.0 Users.
AutoSize	AutoSize
BackColor	BackColor Note   For a list of constants, see Color Handling for Visual Basic 6.0 Users. Note: Colors are handled differently in Visual Basic 2008. For more information, see Color Behavior for Visual Basic 6.0 Users.
BackStyle	New implementation. For more information, see Conceptual Differences above.
Caption	Text
Container	Parent
DataChanged DataField DataFormat DataMember DataSource	New implementation. For more information, see Data Access for Visual Basic 6.0 Users.
DragIcon DragMode	New implementation. For more information, see Drag and Drop for Visual Basic 6.0 Users.
Font FontBold FontItalic FontName FontSize FontStrikethrough FontUnderline	Font Note   Fonts are handled differently in Visual Basic 2008. For more information, see Font Handling for Visual Basic 6.0 Users.
ForeColor	ForeColor Note: For a list of constants, see Color Handling for Visual Basic 6.0 Users. Note: Colors are handled differently in Visual Basic 2008. For more information, see Color Behavior for Visual Basic 6.0 Users.
Height	Height, Size Note: Coordinates are handled differently in Visual Basic 2008. For more information, see Coordinate System for Visual Basic 6.0 Users.
Index	New implementation. For more information, see Control Arrays for Visual Basic 6.0 Users.
Left	Left Note: Coordinates are handled differently in Visual Basic 2008. For more information, see Coordinate System for Visual Basic 6.0 Users.
LinkItem LinkMode LinkTimeOut LinkTopic	No equivalent. For more information, see Dynamic Data Exchange for Visual Basic 6.0 Users.
MouseIcon	New implementation. For more information, see Cannot set a custom MousePointer.
MousePointer	Cursor For a list of constants, see MousePointer for Visual Basic 6.0 Users.
OLEDropMode	New implementation. For more information, see Drag and Drop for Visual Basic 6.0 Users.
Parent	FindForm method
RightToLeft:  True  False	RightToLeft  Yes enumeration value  No enumeration value
ToolTipText	ToolTip component For more information, see ToolTip Support for Visual Basic 6.0 Users.
Top	Top Note: Coordinates are handled differently in Visual Basic 2008. For more information, see Coordinate System for Visual Basic 6.0 Users.
WhatsThisHelpID	New implementation. For more information, see Help Support for Visual Basic 6.0 Users.
Width	Width, Size Note: Coordinates are handled differently in Visual Basic 2008. For more information, see Coordinate System for Visual Basic 6.0 Users.
WordWrap	New implementation. Note: Text in the Visual Basic 2008 Label control wraps by default and cannot be changed.

Label Methods

Visual Basic 6.0	Visual Basic 2008 Equivalent
Drag	New implementation. For more information, see Drag and Drop for Visual Basic 6.0 Users.
LinkExecute LinkPoke LinkRequest LinkSend	No equivalent. For more information, see Dynamic Data Exchange for Visual Basic 6.0 Users.
Move	SetBounds Note: Coordinates are handled differently in Visual Basic 2008. For more information, see Coordinate System for Visual Basic 6.0 Users.
OLEDrag	New implementation. For more information, see Drag and Drop for Visual Basic 6.0 Users.
ShowWhatsThis	New implementation. For more information, see Help Support for Visual Basic 6.0 Users.
ZOrder:  0 – vbBringToFront  1 - vbSendToBack	BringToFront or SendToBack method  BringToFront  SendToBack

Label Events

Upgrade Notes

When a Visual Basic 6.0 application is upgraded to Visual Basic 2008, any Label controls are upgraded to Windows Forms Label controls, and properties, methods and events are upgraded to their equivalent. Where there may be differences in behavior, upgrade comments are inserted into the code.

See Also

Concepts

Introduction to the Label Control