Form Class

Namespace: System.Windows.Forms

Represents a window, which is a separate screen that typically contains a title bar, border, and buttons for minimizing, maximizing, and closing. The Form class is the fundamental building block for Windows Forms applications, providing a surface for controls and user interaction.

Syntax

public class Form : Control, IButtonControl, IContainerControl, ISite, IWin32Window, IDisposable, IOleObject, IPersistStream, ISerializable, ISupportInitialize
            

Members

The Form class inherits from Control and implements several interfaces, providing a rich set of properties, methods, and events for creating sophisticated user interfaces.

Properties

• Text: Gets or sets the text displayed in the form's title bar.
• Size: Gets or sets the width and height of the form.
• Location: Gets or sets the coordinates of the upper-left corner of the form.
• StartPosition: Gets or sets the value that specifies how the form is displayed when it is first shown.
• FormBorderStyle: Gets or sets the style of the form's border.
• ControlBox: Gets or sets a value indicating whether the form has a control box.
• MinimizeBox: Gets or sets a value indicating whether the form has a minimize button.
• MaximizeBox: Gets or sets a value indicating whether the form has a maximize button.
• Icon: Gets or sets the icon displayed in the form's title bar and taskbar.
• AcceptButton: Gets or sets the button control that is clicked when the user presses the ENTER key.
• CancelButton: Gets or sets the button control that is clicked when the user presses the ESC key.
• Opacity: Gets or sets the opacity of the form.

Methods

• Show(): Displays the form to the user.
• ShowDialog(): Shows the form as a modal dialog box.
• Close(): Closes the form.
• Activate(): Activates the form.
• BringToFront(): Brings the form to the front of the z-order.
• SendToBack(): Sends the form to the back of the z-order.
• Dispose(): Releases the unmanaged resources used by the Control and its child controls.

Events

• Load: Occurs when the form is first loaded.
• Shown: Occurs when the form is first displayed.
• Activated: Occurs when the form is activated.
• Deactivate: Occurs when the form is deactivated.
• Closing: Occurs when the form is closing.
• FormClosed: Occurs after the form has been closed.
• Paint: Occurs when the control is redrawn.
• Resize: Occurs when the form is resized.
• Click: Occurs when the user clicks the form.

Property: Text

public string Text { get; set; }
            

This property is commonly used to set the title of the window, which often indicates the application's name or the current document being edited.

Property: Size

public Size Size { get; set; }
            

The Size property takes a System.Drawing.Size structure, which contains Width and Height properties.

// Example: Setting the form size
this.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(800, 600);
        

Method: Show()

public void Show();
            

Calling this method makes the form visible. If the form is shown modally, this method will not return until the form is closed. For non-modal forms, it returns immediately.

// Example: Showing a non-modal form
MyForm newForm = new MyForm();
newForm.Show();
        

Event: Load

public event EventHandler Load;
            

The Load event is typically used to perform initialization tasks for the form, such as loading data, setting initial control states, or configuring layout.

// Example: Handling the Load event
public MyForm()
{
    InitializeComponent();
    this.Load += new EventHandler(MyForm_Load);
}

private void MyForm_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    // Perform initialization tasks here
    MessageBox.Show("Form has loaded!");
}