OptionButton Control for Visual Basic 6.0 Users

Article
09/03/2015

The OptionButton control in Visual Basic 6.0 is replaced by the Windows Forms RadioButton control in Visual Basic 2008. The names of some properties, methods, events, and constants are different, and in some cases there are differences in behavior.

Conceptual Differences

In Visual Basic 6.0, the Click event of the OptionButton control was raised only when its Value property was changed to True.

In Visual Basic 2008, the CheckedChanged event of the RadioButton control is raised each time the Checked property value changes to either True or False.

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

Code Changes for the OptionButton Control

The following examples illustrate differences in coding techniques between Visual Basic 6.0 and Visual Basic 2008.

Code Changes for Programmatically Selecting an OptionButton

The following code demonstrates how to select an OptionButton or RadioButton control from a group of two at run time.

' Visual Basic 6.0
If Option1.Value = True Then
    Option2.Value = True
Else
    Option1.Value = True
End If

' Visual BasicIf RadioButton1.Checked = TrueThen
    RadioButton2.Checked = TrueElse
    RadioButton1.Checked = TrueEndIf

Code Changes for Determining When an OptionButton is Selected

The following code demonstrates how to handle the Click event for the OptionButton control versus the CheckedChanged event for the RadioButton control.

' Visual Basic 6.0
' The Click event is only fired when the Value is True
Private Sub Option1_Click()
    MsgBox "Option1 was clicked"
End Sub

Private Sub Option2_Click()
    MsgBox "Option2 was clicked"
End Sub

' Visual Basic' The CheckChanged event fires each time the RadioButton's Checked ' value changes to either True or False.PrivateSub RadioButton1_CheckedChanged(ByVal sender AsObject, ByVal _
e As System.EventArgs) Handles RadioButton1.CheckedChanged, _
RadioButton2.CheckedChanged
    ' Only execute if the Checked value is True.If sender.Checked = TrueThen
        MsgBox(sender.Name & " was clicked")
    EndIfEndSub

OptionButton 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.

This table provides links to topics explaining behavior differences. Where there is no direct equivalent in Visual Basic 2008, links are provided to topics that present alternatives.

Properties

Visual Basic 6.0	Visual Basic 2008 Equivalent
Alignment	TextAlign
Appearance	FlatStyle
BackColor	BackColor Note: For a list of constants, see Color Handling for Visual Basic 6.0 Users. Note: Colors are handled differently in Visual Basic 2008. For more information, see Color Handling for Visual Basic 6.0 Users.
Caption	Text
Container	Parent
DisabledPicture DownPicture	New implementation. For more information, see Style Property for Visual Basic 6.0 Users.
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: For a list of constants, see Color Handling for Visual Basic 6.0 Users. Note: Colors are handled differently in Visual Basic 2008. For more information, see Color Handling 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.
MaskColor	New implementation. For more information, see MaskColor 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
Picture	Image
RightToLeft: True False	RightToLeft Yes enumeration value No enumeration value
Style	Appearance Note: There are differences in how the Graphical style is handled in Visual Basic 2008. For more information, see Style Property for Visual Basic 6.0 Users.
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.
UseMaskColor	New implementation. For more information, see MaskColor for Visual Basic 6.0 Users.
Value	Checked
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.

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.
SetFocus	Focus
ShowWhatsThis	New implementation. For more information, see Help Support for Visual Basic 6.0 Users.
ZOrder	BringToFront or SendToBack method

Events

Visual Basic 6.0	Visual Basic 2008 Equivalent
Click	CheckedChanged Note: In Visual Basic 6.0, the Click event was raised only when the state was changed to True; in Visual Basic 2008, it is raised for both True and False.
DblClick	DoubleClick
DragDrop DragOver	New implementation. For more information, see Drag and Drop for Visual Basic 6.0 Users.
GotFocus	Enter
LostFocus	Leave
OLECompleteDrag OLEDragDrop OLEDragOver OLEGiveFeedback OLESetData OLEStartDrag	New implementation. For more information, see Drag and Drop for Visual Basic 6.0 Users.
Validate	Validating

Upgrade Notes

When a Visual Basic 6.0 application is upgraded to Visual Basic 2008, any OptionButton controls are upgraded to Windows Forms RadioButton controls, and properties, methods and events are upgraded to their equivalent. Where there may be differences in behavior, upgrade comments are inserted into the code.