Windows Forms in VB.NET

This section provides comprehensive documentation on developing Windows Forms applications using Visual Basic .NET. Learn how to create rich, interactive desktop applications with ease.

Getting Started with Windows Forms

Windows Forms is a UI framework for building desktop applications. It provides a set of classes that allow you to create rich client applications. This guide will walk you through the fundamental concepts.

Creating Your First Windows Form Application

Let's start by creating a simple "Hello, World!" application.

1. Open Visual Studio.
2. Go to File > New > Project...
3. Select Visual Basic > Windows Forms App (.NET Framework) or Windows Forms App (for .NET Core/.NET 5+).
4. Give your project a name and click OK.

You will be presented with a design surface and a Toolbox. You can drag and drop controls like Label and Button onto the form.

Common Controls

Windows Forms provides a rich set of controls to build user interfaces. Some of the most commonly used controls include:

• Label: Displays text.
• TextBox: Allows users to input text.
• Button: Triggers an action when clicked.
• CheckBox: A toggle button.
• RadioButton: For selecting one option from a group.
• ComboBox: A dropdown list.
• ListBox: Displays a list of items.
• DataGridView: Displays data in a tabular format.

Event Handling

Controls interact with the user through events. For example, a button has a Click event. You can write code to respond to these events.

To add an event handler for a button's click event:

1. Double-click the button in the form designer.
2. This will automatically generate an event handler method in your form's code-behind file (e.g., Form1.vb).

Private Sub Button1_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click
    MessageBox.Show("Button clicked!")
End Sub

Designing User Interfaces

Visual Studio's designer makes it intuitive to arrange controls on your form. You can use the Properties window to customize the appearance and behavior of controls.

Layout and Anchoring

To ensure your forms adapt to different screen sizes, you can use the Anchor and Dock properties of controls.

• Anchor: Aligns a control's edges to the edges of its container.
• Dock: Attaches a control to one side of its container.

Advanced Topics

• Data Binding
• Creating Custom Controls
• Multithreading in Forms Applications
• Deploying Windows Forms Applications