Reference an object via string

Question

So say I have 10 buttons on my form named btn1, btn2, btn3, etc. And I want to set each of their text properties to something. So I do something like:

For i = 1 To 10
    //something like:
    ["btn" & i].text = 'blah' //hope you understand what I meant here
Next

Can this also be done with variables? Like I have var1, var2, var3, etc. And if I wanted to control each of them, can I do it in a loop and not one by one?

Me.Controls("btn" & i.ToString()).Text is close to what you want. alternatively store the name in a List or the control references themselves. Tun on Option Strict though "btn" & i is nonsense — Ňɏssa Pøngjǣrdenlarp
– Ňɏssa Pøngjǣrdenlarp, Commented May 3, 2015 at 23:45
possible duplicate of Referencing an object using a variable string in Visual Basic 2010 — Enigmativity
– Enigmativity, Commented May 4, 2015 at 0:31
When I try the Me.Controls("btn" & i.ToString()).Text I get an exception: "Object reference not set to an instance of an object." — Aleksa Kojadinovic
– Aleksa Kojadinovic, Commented May 4, 2015 at 11:36
EDIT: I've just realized that it's not working even if I hardcore the string: me.controls("btn1").text = "asd" gives the same exception — Aleksa Kojadinovic
– Aleksa Kojadinovic, Commented May 4, 2015 at 11:38
While this is absolutely possible to achieve, it’s probably the worst possible solution. In your particular example, you should be putting the controls into an array/list instead. — Konrad Rudolph
– Konrad Rudolph, Commented May 4, 2015 at 16:07

Community · Accepted Answer · 2017-05-23 10:24:06Z

0

To get the controls from a form look at this https://stackoverflow.com/a/3426721 it's c# but easy to understand.

edited May 23, 2017 at 10:24

CommunityBot

11 silver badge

answered May 3, 2015 at 23:47

Chalumeau

10110 bronze badges

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

1 Comment

rheitzman Over a year ago

FYI GetNextControl() method of WinForms iterates over all controls including controls nested in containers. It only returns controls that can be tab stops. Not perfect - doesn't look into SplitContainer(), returns scrollbars, maybe other flaws.

rheitzman · Accepted Answer · 2015-05-04 15:57:15Z

0

Note that the Controls() collection is a property of a Container. A Form is a container. If you have controls in a container on a form e.g. a TabControl the buttons on the TabControl are not in the parent form's Controls but in the TabControl.Controls.

    Dim container As Control = Me
    For i = 1 To 2
        container.Controls("Button" & i).Text = "blah2"
    Next

answered May 4, 2015 at 15:57

rheitzman

2,3073 gold badges20 silver badges36 bronze badges

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

Reference an object via string

2 Answers 2

1 Comment

Comments

Your Answer

Linked

Hot Network Questions

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

2 Answers 2

1 Comment

Comments

Your Answer

Sign up or log in

Post as a guest

Linked

Related