CONTROL ARRAY
The control array is a group of similar objects with similar name. Adding controls with control arrays uses less resource than simply adding the multiple controls of similar type to a form at the design time. The Control arrays are also helpful if you want some controls to share the code. For illustration, if 3option buttons are formed as a control array, the similar code is executed in spite of which the button was clicked.
If you desire to create a new instance of a control at the run time, that control should be a member of the control array. Through a control array, each new element inherits the common event process of the array.
By using the control array mechanism, each and every new control inherits the common event procedures previously written for the array. For illustration, if your form has some text boxes that each receives a date value, the control array can be put up so that all of the text boxes share similar validation code.
For illustration you can have some Text Boxes with similar name and differentiate them with the help of a subscript. We will observe how to create a control array. We are going to create an array of the textboxes. Follow the steps below to create a control array of textbox.
1. Build a VB project.
2. Click the command button and attach it on the form.
3. Drag the Text Box control and set it on the form.
4. Copy the Text Box control.
5. Paste the copied Text Box control on the form.
6. The following message would be exhibited.
7. You previously have a control named Text1'. Do you desire to create a control array?
8. Choose yes and the Text Box control would be pasted on the form.
9. Now Paste as many times as you wish for. For illustration to create a control array with 3 elements paste the control 2 times.
10. Handle the click event, for the command button.
11. Comprise the code below in the event handler.
Private Sub Command1_Click()
Dim an As Integer
For an = 0 To 2
Text1(an).Text = Val(Text1(an).Text) + 5
Next an
End Sub
The Val function changes the content of Text1 to numeric. The subscript, an, is used to access the different text boxes; an (0) would refer to the first text box, an (1) would refer to the second text box and an(2) would refer to the third text box.