Library code snippets

Distinguish control arrays from regular controls

Ever try to programmatically separate regular controls from those in a
control array?  If so, you may have thought to use code along the lines of:

Dim ctl As Control
For Each ctl In Controls
   If TypeName(ctl) = "TextBox" Then
     MsgBox ctl.Name & " is a standard textbox."
   End If
Next ctl


You were probably disappointed when this method claimed that all the
textbox controls on the form were standard, whether or not they belonged
to a control array. Instead, try the following statement:

TypeName(Controls(ctl.Name))


While at first glance, it might appear as if these two code statements
return the exact same value, in fact they return different values when
evaluating control arrays. This second statement returns Object when it
evaluates a control array, and the control's actual type when evaluating
standard controls.

As a result, the code below would display the names of only standard
textbox controls:

Dim ctl As Control
For Each ctl In Controls
   If TypeName(Controls(ctl.Name)) = "TextBox" Then
     MsgBox ctl.Name & " is a standard textbox."
   End If
Next ctl

Comments

  1. 01 Jan 1999 at 00:00

    This thread is for discussions of Distinguish control arrays from regular controls.

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