Visual Basic Concepts

Using Scroll Bars as Input Devices

Although scroll bars are often tied to text boxes or windows, you'll sometimes see them used as input devices. Because these controls can indicate the current position on a scale, scroll bar controls can be used individually to control program input — for example, to control the sound volume or to adjust the colors in a picture. The HScrollBar (horizontal) and VScrollBar (vertical) controls operate independently from other controls and have their own set of events, properties, and methods. Scroll bar controls are not the same as the built-in scroll bars that are attached to text boxes, list boxes, combo boxes, or MDI forms (text boxes and MDI forms have a ScrollBars property to add or remove scroll bars that are attached to the control).

Windows interface guidelines now suggest using slider controls as input devices instead of scroll bars. Examples of slider controls can be seen in the Windows 95/98 control panel. A slider control of this type is included in the Professional and Enterprise editions of Visual Basic.

For More Information   For additional information on scroll bar controls, see "Using Visual Basic's Standard Controls."