Dynamic Controls in VB.NET

Dynamic controls are the controls that are created dynamically, such as buttons, labels, textboxes, Radio buttons, etc. at run time in the Windows forms. Each control of the VB.NET Toolbox is a member of the Control class in the System.Windows.Forms namespace. And each control in the Toolbox is a class that is similar to a Windows Forms class.

Methods of Dynamic Control

Add(): In Dynamic Control, we use the Add() method to add a new element to the current Form of the control collection.

Syntax:

Remove(): The Remove method is used to remove an element from the control collection. It takes control' object as an argument to be removed from the index of the control.

Syntax:

Clear() Method: The Clear method is used to remove all elements of the controls from the Controls array or clear the form.

Count Property: The Count property is used to count the number of dynamic controls as an element in a control collection.

All() Method: All method is used to get all dynamic controls from the Windows Form as an array of SystemWinForms.Control.

Let's create a simple program to generate Dynamic control in the VB.NET Windows Forms.

DynamicControl.vb

Public Class DynamicControl
    Private Sub DynamicControl_Load(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load
        Me.Text = "javatpooint.com" 'Set the title for a Windows FOrm
        Me.BackColor = Color.SkyBlue 'Set the background color of the Window form
        Button1.Text = "Dynamic Button"
        Button2.Text = "Dynamic TextBox"
        Button3.Text = "Dynamic Label"
        Button1.Font = New Font("Times New Roman", 12)
        Button1.BackColor = Color.Red
        Button2.BackColor = Color.Green
        Button2.Font = New Font("Times New Roman", 12)
        Button3.BackColor = Color.Violet
        Button3.Font = New Font("Times New Roman", 12)
    End Sub
    Dim p As Integer = 1
    Dim q As Integer = 1
    Dim r As Integer = 1
    Private Sub Button3_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles Button3.Click
        Dim label As New System.Windows.Forms.Label()  ' It is used to create label at run time
        Me.Controls.Add(label) ' Add() method is used to Add Label
        label.Top = r * 40
        label.Left = 600
        label.Text = "Label " & Me.r.ToString
        label.Font = New Font("Times New Roman", 12) 'Set the font style of the label 
        r = r + 1  ' Add the Label one by one 
        MsgBox("You have successfully created a Label.")
    End Sub
    Private Sub Button2_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles Button2.Click
        Dim Txtbox As New System.Windows.Forms.TextBox()  ' It is used to create TextBox at run time
        Me.Controls.Add(Txtbox)  ' Add() method is used to Add TextBox.
        Txtbox.Top = q * 40
        Txtbox.Left = 340
        Txtbox.Text = "TextBox " & Me.q.ToString
        Txtbox.Font = New Font("Times New Roman", 12)
        q = q + 1
        MsgBox("You have successfully created a TextBox.")
    End Sub
    Private Sub Button1_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click
        Dim button As New System.Windows.Forms.Button()  ' It is used to create button at run time
        Me.Controls.Add(button)  ' Add() method is used to Add button. 
        button.Top = p * 40
        button.Left = 100
        button.Text = "Button " & Me.p.ToString
        button.Font = New Font("Times New Roman", 12)
        p = p + 1
        MsgBox("You have successfully created a button.")
    End Sub
End Class

Output:

At each click on the Dynamic Button, it shows the following message on the screen and creates a button in the Windows Form at runtime, as shown below.

At each click on the Dynamic TextBox button, it shows the following message on the screen and creates a TextBox in the Windows Form at runtime, as shown below.

At each click on the Dynamic Label button, it shows the following message on the screen and creates a Label in the Windows Form at runtime, as shown below.