Control.LostFocus Event

Definition

Occurs when the control loses focus.

C#
[System.ComponentModel.Browsable(false)]
public event EventHandler LostFocus;
C#
[System.ComponentModel.Browsable(false)]
public event EventHandler? LostFocus;

Event Type

Attributes

Examples

The following code example demonstrates validating the text for TextBox1. It also demonstrates handling the LostFocus event by setting the FileDialog.InitialDirectory property to the text in TextBox1. The code example used the ErrorProvider.GetError method to check for an error before opening the file dialog box. To run this example, paste the following code into a form containing a TextBox named TextBox1, an OpenFileDialog named OpenFileDialog1, a Button named Button1, and an ErrorProvider named ErrorProvider1. Ensure all events are associated with their event handlers.

C#
private void textBox1_Validating(object sender, 
    System.ComponentModel.CancelEventArgs e)
{
    // If nothing is entered,
    // an ArgumentException is caught; if an invalid directory is entered, 
    // a DirectoryNotFoundException is caught. An appropriate error message 
    // is displayed in either case.
    try
    {
        System.IO.DirectoryInfo directory = 
            new System.IO.DirectoryInfo(textBox1.Text);
        directory.GetFiles();
        errorProvider1.SetError(textBox1, "");
    }
    catch(System.ArgumentException ex1)
    {
        errorProvider1.SetError(textBox1, "Please enter a directory");
    }
    catch(System.IO.DirectoryNotFoundException ex2)
    {
        errorProvider1.SetError(textBox1, "The directory does not exist." +
            "Try again with a different directory.");
    }
}

// This method handles the LostFocus event for textBox1 by setting the 
// dialog's InitialDirectory property to the text in textBox1.
private void textBox1_LostFocus(object sender, System.EventArgs e)
{
    openFileDialog1.InitialDirectory = textBox1.Text;
}

// This method demonstrates using the ErrorProvider.GetError method 
// to check for an error before opening the dialog box.
private void button1_Click(System.Object sender, System.EventArgs e)
{
    //If there is no error, then open the dialog box.
    if (errorProvider1.GetError(textBox1)=="")
    {
        DialogResult dialogResult = openFileDialog1.ShowDialog();
    }
}

Remarks

When you change the focus by using the keyboard (TAB, SHIFT+TAB, and so on), by calling the Select or SelectNextControl methods, or by setting the ContainerControl.ActiveControl property to the current form, focus events occur in the following order:

  1. Enter

  2. GotFocus

  3. Leave

  4. Validating

  5. Validated

  6. LostFocus

When you change the focus by using the mouse or by calling the Focus method, focus events occur in the following order:

  1. Enter

  2. GotFocus

  3. LostFocus

  4. Leave

  5. Validating

  6. Validated

If the CausesValidation property is set to false, the Validating and Validated events are suppressed.

If the Cancel property of the CancelEventArgs is set to true in the Validating event delegate, all events that would usually occur after the Validating event are suppressed.

Note

The GotFocus and LostFocus events are low-level focus events that are tied to the WM_KILLFOCUS and WM_SETFOCUS Windows messages. Typically, the GotFocus and LostFocus events are only used when updating UICues or when writing custom controls. Instead the Enter and Leave events should be used for all controls except the Form class, which uses the Activated and Deactivate events. For more information about the GotFocus and LostFocus events, see the WM_KILLFOCUS and WM_KILLFOCUS topics.

Caution

Do not attempt to set focus from within the Enter, GotFocus, Leave, LostFocus, Validating, or Validated event handlers. Doing so can cause your application or the operating system to stop responding. For more information, see the WM_KILLFOCUS topic.

For more information about handling events, see Handling and Raising Events.

Applies to

Product Versions
.NET Framework 1.1, 2.0, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, 4.5.1, 4.5.2, 4.6, 4.6.1, 4.6.2, 4.7, 4.7.1, 4.7.2, 4.8, 4.8.1
Windows Desktop 3.0, 3.1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

See also