How to: Add ActiveX Controls to Windows Forms

  • Article

While the Windows Forms Designer is optimized to host Windows Forms controls, you can also put ActiveX controls on Windows Forms.

Warning

There are performance limitations for Windows Forms when ActiveX controls are added to them.

Before you add ActiveX controls to your form, you must add them to the Toolbox. For more information, see COM Components, Customize Toolbox Dialog Box.

Note

The dialog boxes and menu commands you see might differ from those described in Help depending on your active settings or edition. To change your settings, click Import and Export Settings on the Tools menu. For more information, see Visual Studio Settings.

To add an ActiveX control to your Windows Form

  • Double-click the control on the Toolbox.

    Visual Studio adds all references to the control in your project. For more information about things to keep in mind when using ActiveX controls on Windows Forms, see Considerations When Hosting an ActiveX Control on a Windows Form.

    Note

    The Windows Forms ActiveX Control Importer (AxImp.exe) creates event arguments of a different type than expected upon importation of ActiveX dynamic link libraries. The arguments created by AxImp.exe are similar to the following: Invoke(object sender, DWebBrowserEvents2_ProgressChangeEvent e), when Invoke(object sender, DWebBrowserEvents2_ProgressChangeEventArgs e) is expected. Be aware that this irregularity does not prevent code from functioning normally. For details, see Windows Forms ActiveX Control Importer (Aximp.exe).

See Also

Tasks

How to: Add Controls to Windows Forms

Reference

Controls and Programmable Objects Compared in Different Languages and Libraries
Windows Forms Controls by Function

Other Resources

Windows Forms Controls
Arranging Controls on Windows Forms
Labeling Individual Windows Forms Controls and Providing Shortcuts to Them
Controls to Use on Windows Forms