Frame Control for Visual Basic 6.0 Users

The Visual Basic 6.0 Frame control is replaced by two controls in Visual Basic 2008: the GroupBox control and the Panel control.

Conceptual Differences

In Visual Basic 6.0, the Frame control is used as a container for grouping controls. In Visual Basic 2008, the Frame control is replaced by either the GroupBox control or the Panel control.

The GroupBox control is the equivalent of a Frame control with a BorderStyle property of 1 – Fixed Single. It has a visible border and optionally a caption.

The Panel control is the equivalent of a Frame control with a BorderStyle property of 0 – None. It has no border or caption.

In addition, there are numerous conceptual differences that apply to all controls, including differences in data binding, font handling, drag and drop, Help support and more. For more information, see Windows Forms Controls for Visual Basic 6.0 Users.

Frame Control Property, Method, and Event Equivalencies

The following tables list Visual Basic 6.0 properties, methods, and events, along with their Visual Basic 2008 equivalents. Those properties, methods, and events that have the same name and behavior are not listed. Where applicable, constants are indented beneath the property or method. All Visual Basic 2008 enumerations map to the System.Windows.Forms namespace unless otherwise noted.

Links are provided as necessary to topics explaining behavior differences. Where there is no direct equivalent in Visual Basic 2008, links are provided to topics that present alternatives

Frame Properties

Visual Basic 6.0	Visual Basic 2008 Equivalent
Appearance	FlatStyle (GroupBox control only)
BackColor	BackColor Note: Colors are handled differently in Visual Basic 2008. For more information, see Color Behavior for Visual Basic 6.0 Users.
BorderStyle	BorderStyle (GroupBox control only)
Caption	Text (GroupBox control only) Note: The Panel control does not have a Text property.
ClipControls	New implementation. For more information, see Graphics for Visual Basic 6.0 Users.
Container	Parent
DragIcon DragMode	New implementation. For more information, see Drag and Drop for Visual Basic 6.0 Users.
Font FontBold FontItalic FontName FontSize FontStrikethrough FontUnderline	Font Note: Fonts are handled differently in Visual Basic 2008. For more information, see Font Object for Visual Basic 6.0 Users.
ForeColor	ForeColor Note: Colors are handled differently in Visual Basic 2008. For more information, see Color Behavior for Visual Basic 6.0 Users.
Height	Height, Size Note: Coordinates are handled differently in Visual Basic 2008. For more information, see Coordinate System for Visual Basic 6.0 Users.
HelpContextID	New implementation. For more information, see Help Support for Visual Basic 6.0 Users.
HWnd	Handle
Index	New implementation. For more information, see Control Arrays for Visual Basic 6.0 Users.
Left	Left Note: Coordinates are handled differently in Visual Basic 2008. For more information, see Coordinate System for Visual Basic 6.0 Users.
MouseIcon	New implementation. For more information, see Cannot set a custom MousePointer.
MousePointer	Cursor For a list of constants, see MousePointer for Visual Basic 6.0 Users.
OLEDropMode	New implementation. For more information, see Drag and Drop for Visual Basic 6.0 Users.
Parent	FindForm method
RightToLeft	RightToLeft
ToolTipText	ToolTip component For more information, see ToolTip Support for Visual Basic 6.0 Users.
Top	Top Note: Coordinates are handled differently in Visual Basic 2008. For more information, see Coordinate System for Visual Basic 6.0 Users.
WhatsThisHelpID	New implementation. For more information, see Help Support for Visual Basic 6.0 Users.
Width	Width, Size Note: Coordinates are handled differently in Visual Basic 2008. For more information, see Coordinate System for Visual Basic 6.0 Users.

Frame Methods

Visual Basic 6.0	Visual Basic 2008 Equivalent
Drag	New implementation. For more information, see Drag and Drop for Visual Basic 6.0 Users.
Move	SetBounds Note: Coordinates are handled differently in Visual Basic 2008. For more information, see Coordinate System for Visual Basic 6.0 Users.
OLEDrag	New implementation. For more information, see Drag and Drop for Visual Basic 6.0 Users.
ShowWhatsThis	New implementation. For more information, see Help Support for Visual Basic 6.0 Users.
ZOrder	BringToFront or SendToBack function

Frame Events

Visual Basic 6.0	Visual Basic 2008 Equivalent
Click	Click (Panel only; GroupBox has no equivalent)
DblClick	DoubleClick (Panel only; GroupBox has no equivalent)
DragDrop DragOver OLECompleteDrag OLEDragDrop OLEDragOver OLEGiveFeedback OLESetData OLEStartDrag	New implementation. For more information, see Drag and Drop for Visual Basic 6.0 Users.

Upgrade Notes

When a Visual Basic 6.0 application is upgraded to Visual Basic 2008, Frame controls that have their BorderStyle property set to 0 - None are upgraded to Panel controls; all other Frame controls are upgraded to GroupBox controls.

See Also

Concepts

Introduction to the Panel Control

Reference

GroupBox Control Overview (Windows Forms)