You cannot set the focus to the child controls of a user control by using the TAB key (820628)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Visual Basic 2005
  • Microsoft Visual Basic .NET (2003)
  • Microsoft Visual Basic .NET (2002)
  • Microsoft Visual C# .NET (2003)
  • Microsoft Visual C# .NET (2002)
  • Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0
  • Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1
  • Microsoft .NET Framework 1.0

SYMPTOMS

In Microsoft Visual Basic .NET or Microsoft Visual Basic 2005, you create a Windows form that has a user control, and then you set the TabStop property of the user control to False (false in Microsoft Visual C# .NET). When you run the application, you cannot set the focus on the child controls of the user control by pressing the TAB key. This behavior occurs even when the TabStop property is set to True (true in Visual C# .NET) for the child controls.

CAUSE

The UserControl class inherits from the ContainerControl class. The GroupBox class, Panel class, and TabControl class inherit from the Control class. Microsoft .NET Framework interprets the TabStop property for user controls in a different way then it interprets the TabStop property for GroupBox, Panel, and TabControl. Because of the way .NET Framework interprets the TabStop property, this behavior may seem inconsistent.

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, set the TabStop property of the user control to True. To do this, follow these steps:
  1. In Visual Basic .NET or Visual Basic 2005, open Form1.vb (in Visual C# .NET, open Form1.cs).
  2. Locate and replace the following code.

    Visual Basic .NET or Visual Basic 2005 code

    Replace
    MyControl.TabStop = False
    with 
    MyControl.TabStop = True
    Visual C# .NET code

    Replace
    MyControl.TabStop = false;
    with 
    MyControl.TabStop = true;
  3. On the Debug menu, click Start to run the application.

    Form1 is displayed.
  4. Press the TAB key several times to set the focus to the buttons on Form1.

    You can set the focus to the two buttons that are the MyControl child controls.
Note These steps are based on the sample from the "More Information" section of this article. Therefore, the code and the file names in these steps may differ from your code and your file names.

STATUS

This behavior is by design.

MORE INFORMATION

Steps to reproduce the behavior

Use Visual Basic .NET, Visual Basic 2005, or Visual C# .NET to reproduce the behavior, as follows:
  1. Start Microsoft Visual Studio .NET or Microsoft Visual Studio 2005.
  2. On the File menu, point to New, and then click Project.
  3. On the New Project dialog box, click Visual Basic Projects under Project Types.

    Note In Visual Studio 2005, click Visual Basic.
  4. Click Windows Application under Templates.
  5. Name the project TabStopDemo, and then click OK.
  6. By default, Form1 is created.
  7. On the View menu, click Code.
  8. Replace the existing code with the following code.

    Visual Basic .NET or Visual Basic 2005 code
    Public Class Form1
    Inherits System.Windows.Forms.Form

    Private GroupBox1 As System.Windows.Forms.GroupBox
    Private Button1 As System.Windows.Forms.Button
    Private Button2 As System.Windows.Forms.Button
    Private Panel1 As System.Windows.Forms.Panel
    Private Button3 As System.Windows.Forms.Button
    Private Button4 As System.Windows.Forms.Button
    Private TabControl1 As System.Windows.Forms.TabControl
    Private TabPage1 As System.Windows.Forms.TabPage
    Private Button5 As System.Windows.Forms.Button
    Private Button6 As System.Windows.Forms.Button

    Private components As System.ComponentModel.IContainer

    Public Sub New()
        MyBase.New()

        InitializeComponent()

        Dim MyControl As New UserControl1

        MyControl.Location = New Point(225, 150)
        '
        ' Set TabStop equal to False
        '
        MyControl.TabStop = False

        Me.Controls.Add(MyControl)
    End Sub

    Protected Overloads Overrides Sub Dispose(ByVal disposing As Boolean)
        If disposing Then
            If Not (components Is Nothing) Then
                components.Dispose()
            End If
        End If
        MyBase.Dispose(disposing)
    End Sub

    <System.Diagnostics.DebuggerStepThrough()> Private Sub InitializeComponent()
        components = New System.ComponentModel.Container

        Me.GroupBox1 = New System.Windows.Forms.GroupBox
        Me.Button2 = New System.Windows.Forms.Button
        Me.Button1 = New System.Windows.Forms.Button
        Me.Panel1 = New System.Windows.Forms.Panel
        Me.Button4 = New System.Windows.Forms.Button
        Me.Button3 = New System.Windows.Forms.Button
        Me.TabControl1 = New System.Windows.Forms.TabControl
        Me.TabPage1 = New System.Windows.Forms.TabPage
        Me.Button6 = New System.Windows.Forms.Button
        Me.Button5 = New System.Windows.Forms.Button

        Me.GroupBox1.SuspendLayout()
        Me.Panel1.SuspendLayout()
        Me.TabControl1.SuspendLayout()
        Me.TabPage1.SuspendLayout()
        Me.SuspendLayout()

        '
        ' GroupBox1
        '
        Me.GroupBox1.Controls.Add(Me.Button2)
        Me.GroupBox1.Controls.Add(Me.Button1)
        Me.GroupBox1.Location = New System.Drawing.Point(32, 32)
        Me.GroupBox1.Name = "GroupBox1"
        Me.GroupBox1.Size = New System.Drawing.Size(176, 72)
        Me.GroupBox1.TabIndex = 0
        '
        ' Set TabStop equal to False
        '
        Me.GroupBox1.TabStop = False
        Me.GroupBox1.Text = "GroupBox1"
        '
        ' Button2
        '
        Me.Button2.Location = New System.Drawing.Point(96, 24)
        Me.Button2.Name = "Button2"
        Me.Button2.Size = New System.Drawing.Size(64, 24)
        Me.Button2.TabIndex = 1
        '
        ' Set TabStop equal to True
        '
        Me.Button2.TabStop = True
        Me.Button2.Text = "Button2"
        '
        ' Button1
        '
        Me.Button1.Location = New System.Drawing.Point(16, 24)
        Me.Button1.Name = "Button1"
        Me.Button1.Size = New System.Drawing.Size(64, 24)
        Me.Button1.TabIndex = 0
        '
        ' Set TabStop equal to True
        '
        Me.Button1.TabStop = True
        Me.Button1.Text = "Button1"

        ' 
        ' Panel1
        ' 
        Me.Panel1.BorderStyle = System.Windows.Forms.BorderStyle.FixedSingle
        Me.Panel1.Controls.Add(Me.Button4)
        Me.Panel1.Controls.Add(Me.Button3)
        Me.Panel1.Location = New System.Drawing.Point(232, 40)
        Me.Panel1.Name = "Panel1"
        Me.Panel1.Size = New System.Drawing.Size(152, 64)
        Me.Panel1.TabIndex = 1
        '
        ' Set TabStop equal to False
        '
        Me.Panel1.TabStop = False
        ' 
        ' Button4
        ' 
        Me.Button4.Location = New System.Drawing.Point(80, 16)
        Me.Button4.Name = "Button4"
        Me.Button4.Size = New System.Drawing.Size(56, 24)
        Me.Button4.TabIndex = 1
        '
        ' Set TabStop equal to True
        '
        Me.Button4.TabStop = True
        Me.Button4.Text = "Button4"
        ' 
        ' Button3
        ' 
        Me.Button3.Location = New System.Drawing.Point(8, 16)
        Me.Button3.Name = "Button3"
        Me.Button3.Size = New System.Drawing.Size(56, 24)
        Me.Button3.TabIndex = 0
        '
        ' Set TabStop equal to True
        '
        Me.Button3.TabStop = True
        Me.Button3.Text = "Button3"

        ' 
        ' TabControl1
        ' 
        Me.TabControl1.Controls.Add(Me.TabPage1)
        Me.TabControl1.Location = New System.Drawing.Point(24, 128)
        Me.TabControl1.Name = "TabControl1"
        Me.TabControl1.SelectedIndex = 0
        Me.TabControl1.Size = New System.Drawing.Size(184, 96)
        Me.TabControl1.TabIndex = 2
        '
        ' Set TabStop equal to False
        '
        Me.TabControl1.TabStop = False
        ' 
        ' TabPage1
        ' 
        Me.TabPage1.Controls.Add(Me.Button6)
        Me.TabPage1.Controls.Add(Me.Button5)
        Me.TabPage1.Location = New System.Drawing.Point(4, 22)
        Me.TabPage1.Name = "TabPage1"
        Me.TabPage1.Size = New System.Drawing.Size(176, 70)
        Me.TabPage1.TabIndex = 0
        Me.TabPage1.Text = "TabPage1"
        ' 
        ' Button6
        ' 
        Me.Button6.Location = New System.Drawing.Point(96, 16)
        Me.Button6.Name = "Button6"
        Me.Button6.Size = New System.Drawing.Size(56, 24)
        Me.Button6.TabIndex = 1
        '
        ' Set TabStop equal to True
        '
        Me.Button6.TabStop = True
        Me.Button6.Text = "Button6"
        ' 
        ' Button5
        ' 
        Me.Button5.Location = New System.Drawing.Point(8, 16)
        Me.Button5.Name = "Button5"
        Me.Button5.Size = New System.Drawing.Size(56, 24)
        Me.Button5.TabIndex = 0
        '
        ' Set TabStop equal to True
        '
        Me.Button5.TabStop = True
        Me.Button5.Text = "Button5"

        ' 
        ' Form1
        ' 
        Me.AutoScaleBaseSize = New System.Drawing.Size(5, 13)
        Me.ClientSize = New System.Drawing.Size(440, 330)
        Me.Controls.Add(Me.TabControl1)
        Me.Controls.Add(Me.Panel1)
        Me.Controls.Add(Me.GroupBox1)
        Me.Name = "Form1"
        Me.Text = "Form1"

        Me.GroupBox1.ResumeLayout(False)
        Me.Panel1.ResumeLayout(False)
        Me.TabControl1.ResumeLayout(False)
        Me.TabPage1.ResumeLayout(False)
        Me.ResumeLayout(False)
    End Sub

    Public Class UserControl1
        Inherits System.Windows.Forms.UserControl

        Private Button1 As System.Windows.Forms.Button
        Private Button2 As System.Windows.Forms.Button

        Private components As System.ComponentModel.IContainer

        Public Sub New()
            InitializeComponent()
        End Sub

        Protected Overloads Overrides Sub Dispose(ByVal disposing As Boolean)
            If disposing Then
                If Not (components Is Nothing) Then
                    components.Dispose()
                End If
            End If
            MyBase.Dispose(disposing)
        End Sub

        Private Sub InitializeComponent()
            Me.Button1 = New System.Windows.Forms.Button
            Me.Button2 = New System.Windows.Forms.Button

            Me.SuspendLayout()

            ' 
            ' Button1
            ' 
            Me.Button1.Location = New System.Drawing.Point(16, 16)
            Me.Button1.Name = "Button1"
            Me.Button1.Size = New System.Drawing.Size(56, 24)
            Me.Button1.TabIndex = 0
            '
            ' Set TabStop equal to True
            '
            Me.Button1.TabStop = True
            Me.Button1.Text = "Button1"
            ' 
            ' Button2
            ' 
            Me.Button2.Location = New System.Drawing.Point(96, 16)
            Me.Button2.Name = "Button2"
            Me.Button2.Size = New System.Drawing.Size(56, 24)
            Me.Button2.TabIndex = 1
            '
            ' Set TabStop equal to True
            '
            Me.Button2.TabStop = True
            Me.Button2.Text = "Button2"
            ' 
            ' UserControl1
            ' 
            Me.BackColor = System.Drawing.Color.FromArgb(255, 255, 255)
            Me.Controls.AddRange(New Control() {Me.Button1, Me.Button2})
            Me.Name = "UserControl1"
            Me.Size = New System.Drawing.Size(176, 56)

            Me.ResumeLayout(False)
        End Sub

    End Class

End Class
    Note You must change the code in Visual Basic 2005. By default, Visual Basic creates two files for the project when you create a Windows Forms project. If the form is named Form1, the two files that represent the form are named Form1.vb and Form1.Designer.vb. You write the code in the Form1.vb file. The Windows Forms Designer writes the code in the Form1.Designer.vb file. The Windows Forms Designer uses the partial keyword to divide the implementation of Form1 into two separate files. This behavior prevents the designer-generated code from being interspersed with your code.

    For more information about the new Visual Basic 2005 language enhancements, visit the following Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) Web site:

    http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/dnhcvs04/html/vs04k1.asp

    For more information about partial classes and the Windows Forms Designer, visit the following MSDN Web site:

    http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms171843.aspx

    Visual C# .NET code
    using System;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Collections;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using System.Data;

namespace TabStopDemo
{
	public class Form1 : System.Windows.Forms.Form
	{
		private System.Windows.Forms.GroupBox groupBox1;
		private System.Windows.Forms.Button button1;
		private System.Windows.Forms.Button button2;
		private System.Windows.Forms.Panel panel1;
		private System.Windows.Forms.Button button3;
		private System.Windows.Forms.Button button4;
		private System.Windows.Forms.TabControl tabControl1;
		private System.Windows.Forms.TabPage tabPage1;
		private System.Windows.Forms.Button button5;
		private System.Windows.Forms.Button button6;


		private System.ComponentModel.Container components = null;

		public Form1()
		{
			InitializeComponent();

			UserControl1 MyControl = new UserControl1();
			
			MyControl.Location = new Point(225, 150);
			//
			// Set TabStop equal to false
			//
			MyControl.TabStop = false;

			this.Controls.Add(MyControl);
		}

		protected override void Dispose( bool disposing )
		{
			if( disposing )
			{
				if (components != null) 
				{
					components.Dispose();
				}
			}
			base.Dispose( disposing );
		}

		private void InitializeComponent()
		{
			this.groupBox1 = new System.Windows.Forms.GroupBox();
			this.button2 = new System.Windows.Forms.Button();
			this.button1 = new System.Windows.Forms.Button();
			this.panel1 = new System.Windows.Forms.Panel();
			this.button4 = new System.Windows.Forms.Button();
			this.button3 = new System.Windows.Forms.Button();
			this.tabControl1 = new System.Windows.Forms.TabControl();
			this.tabPage1 = new System.Windows.Forms.TabPage();
			this.button6 = new System.Windows.Forms.Button();
			this.button5 = new System.Windows.Forms.Button();

			this.groupBox1.SuspendLayout();
			this.panel1.SuspendLayout();
			this.tabControl1.SuspendLayout();
			this.tabPage1.SuspendLayout();
			this.SuspendLayout();

			// 
			// groupBox1
			// 
			this.groupBox1.Controls.Add(this.button2);
			this.groupBox1.Controls.Add(this.button1);
			this.groupBox1.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(32, 32);
			this.groupBox1.Name = "groupBox1";
			this.groupBox1.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(176, 72);
			this.groupBox1.TabIndex = 0;
			//
			// Set TabStop equal to false
			//
			this.groupBox1.TabStop = false;
			this.groupBox1.Text = "groupBox1";
			// 
			// button2
			// 
			this.button2.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(96, 24);
			this.button2.Name = "button2";
			this.button2.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(64, 24);
			this.button2.TabIndex = 1;
			//
			// Set TabStop equal to true
			//
			this.button2.TabStop = true;
			this.button2.Text = "button2";
			// 
			// button1
			// 
			this.button1.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(16, 24);
			this.button1.Name = "button1";
			this.button1.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(64, 24);
			this.button1.TabIndex = 0;
			//
			// Set TabStop equal to true
			//
			this.button1.TabStop = true;
			this.button1.Text = "button1";

			// 
			// panel1
			// 
			this.panel1.BorderStyle = System.Windows.Forms.BorderStyle.FixedSingle;
			this.panel1.Controls.Add(this.button4);
			this.panel1.Controls.Add(this.button3);
			this.panel1.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(232, 40);
			this.panel1.Name = "panel1";
			this.panel1.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(152, 64);
			this.panel1.TabIndex = 1;
			//
			// Set TabStop equal to false
			//
			this.panel1.TabStop = false;
			// 
			// button4
			// 
			this.button4.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(80, 16);
			this.button4.Name = "button4";
			this.button4.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(56, 24);
			this.button4.TabIndex = 1;
			//
			// Set TabStop equal to true
			//
			this.button4.TabStop = true;
			this.button4.Text = "button4";
			// 
			// button3
			// 
			this.button3.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(8, 16);
			this.button3.Name = "button3";
			this.button3.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(56, 24);
			this.button3.TabIndex = 0;
			//
			// Set TabStop equal to true
			//
			this.button3.TabStop = true;
			this.button3.Text = "button3";

			// 
			// tabControl1
			// 
			this.tabControl1.Controls.Add(this.tabPage1);
			this.tabControl1.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(24, 128);
			this.tabControl1.Name = "tabControl1";
			this.tabControl1.SelectedIndex = 0;
			this.tabControl1.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(184, 96);
			this.tabControl1.TabIndex = 2;
			//
			// Set TabStop equal to false
			//
			this.tabControl1.TabStop = false;
			// 
			// tabPage1
			// 
			this.tabPage1.Controls.Add(this.button6);
			this.tabPage1.Controls.Add(this.button5);
			this.tabPage1.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(4, 22);
			this.tabPage1.Name = "tabPage1";
			this.tabPage1.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(176, 70);
			this.tabPage1.TabIndex = 0;
			this.tabPage1.Text = "tabPage1";
			// 
			// button6
			// 
			this.button6.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(96, 16);
			this.button6.Name = "button6";
			this.button6.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(56, 24);
			this.button6.TabIndex = 1;
			//
			// Set TabStop equal to true
			//
			this.button6.TabStop = true;
			this.button6.Text = "button6";
			// 
			// button5
			// 
			this.button5.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(8, 16);
			this.button5.Name = "button5";
			this.button5.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(56, 24);
			this.button5.TabIndex = 0;
			//
			// Set TabStop equal to true
			//
			this.button5.TabStop = true;
			this.button5.Text = "button5";

			// 
			// Form1
			// 
			this.AutoScaleBaseSize = new System.Drawing.Size(5, 13);
			this.ClientSize = new System.Drawing.Size(440, 330);
			this.Controls.Add(this.tabControl1);
			this.Controls.Add(this.panel1);
			this.Controls.Add(this.groupBox1);
			this.Name = "Form1";
			this.Text = "Form1";

			this.groupBox1.ResumeLayout(false);
			this.panel1.ResumeLayout(false);
			this.tabControl1.ResumeLayout(false);
			this.tabPage1.ResumeLayout(false);
			this.ResumeLayout(false);
		}

		[STAThread]
		static void Main() 
		{
			Application.Run(new Form1());
		}
	}

	public class UserControl1 : System.Windows.Forms.UserControl
	{
		private System.Windows.Forms.Button button1;
		private System.Windows.Forms.Button button2;

		private System.ComponentModel.Container components = null;

		public UserControl1()
		{
			InitializeComponent();
		}

		protected override void Dispose( bool disposing )
		{
			if( disposing )
			{
				if(components != null)
				{
					components.Dispose();
				}
			}
			base.Dispose( disposing );
		}

		private void InitializeComponent()
		{
			this.button1 = new System.Windows.Forms.Button();
			this.button2 = new System.Windows.Forms.Button();
			
			this.SuspendLayout();
			
			// 
			// button1
			// 
			this.button1.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(16, 16);
			this.button1.Name = "button1";
			this.button1.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(56, 24);
			this.button1.TabIndex = 0;
			//
			// Set TabStop equal to true
			//
			this.button1.TabStop = true;
			this.button1.Text = "button1";
			// 
			// button2
			// 
			this.button2.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(96, 16);
			this.button2.Name = "button2";
			this.button2.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(56, 24);
			this.button2.TabIndex = 1;
			//
			// Set TabStop equal to true
			//
			this.button2.TabStop = true;
			this.button2.Text = "button2";
			
			// 
			// UserControl1
			// 
			this.BackColor = System.Drawing.Color.FromArgb(255, 255, 255);
			this.Controls.AddRange(new System.Windows.Forms.Control[] {this.button2, this.button1});
			this.Name = "UserControl1";
			this.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(176, 56);

			this.ResumeLayout(false);
		}
	}
}
  9. On the Debug menu, click Start to run the application.

    Form1 is displayed.
  10. Press the TAB key several times to set the focus to the buttons on Form1.

    You cannot set the focus to the two buttons that are the MyControl child controls.
This behavior may seem inconsistent. The TabStop property of your GroupBox control, Panel control, or TabControl control is set to False. Your control has a child control with the TabStop property set to True. When you press the TAB key, you can set the focus to the child control, even though the parent control has the TabStop set to False. However, if your parent control is a user control, you cannot set the focus to the child control when you press the TAB key.

REFERENCES

For more information, visit the following Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) Web sites:

UserControl class
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/cpref/html/frlrfsystemwebuiusercontrolclasstopic.asp

ContainerControl class
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/cpref/html/frlrfsystemwindowsformscontainercontrolclasstopic.asp

Control class
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/cpref/html/frlrfsystemwebuicontrolclasstopic.asp

Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:10/3/2006
Keywords:kbvs2005swept kbvs2005applies kbTabCtrl kbButton kbCtrlCreate kbWindowsForms kbForms kbCtrl kbControl kbSample kbProgramming kbprb KB820628 kbAudDeveloper
©2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.