Hiding and Showing TabPages in tabControl

Question

I am trying to show or hide tabpages as per user choice  If user selects gender male then form for male in a tabpage  male  should be displayed and if user selects female then similar next form should be displayed in next tab  female   I tried using  tabControl1 TabPages Remove        and   tabControl1 TabPages Add        It adds and removes the tabpages but doing so will loose my controls on tabpages too    i can t see them back  what s the problem here

User · Answer

Improving on the good solution by Hans Passant I decided to write an extension method based on his solution and adding other stuff as well. I am surprised that even in .NET 4 this basic functionality hasn't been fixed.

Implemented it as an Extension Method that can be reused in a more transparent manner
The clean up method only cleans up the pages of the control being disposed/cleaned up.
Whenever possible the tab page is restored to its same position. This isn't always possible if you hide/show several tab pages.
It does some error and parameter checking
To make it invisible it finds out its parent. When making visible it has to be given because the Parent property is null when the tab page has been removed.

public static class TabPageExtensions
{
        private struct TabPageData
        {
            internal int Index;
            internal TabControl Parent;
            internal TabPage Page;

            internal TabPageData(int index, TabControl parent, TabPage page)
            {
                Index = index;
                Parent = parent;
                Page = page;
            }

            internal static string GetKey(TabControl tabCtrl, TabPage tabPage)
            {
                string key = "";
                if (tabCtrl != null && tabPage != null)
                {
                    key = String.Format("{0}:{1}", tabCtrl.Name, tabPage.Name);
                }
                return key;
            }
        }

        private static Dictionary<string, TabPageData> hiddenPages = new Dictionary<string, TabPageData>();

        public static void SetVisible(this TabPage page, TabControl parent)
        {
            if (parent != null && !parent.IsDisposed)
            {
                TabPageData tpinfo;

                string key = TabPageData.GetKey(parent, page);
                if (hiddenPages.ContainsKey(key))
                {
                    tpinfo = hiddenPages[key];
                    if (tpinfo.Index < parent.TabPages.Count)
                        parent.TabPages.Insert(tpinfo.Index, tpinfo.Page); // add the page in the same position it had
                    else
                        parent.TabPages.Add(tpinfo.Page);
                    hiddenPages.Remove(key);
                }
            }
        }

        public static void SetInvisible(this TabPage page)
        {
            if (IsVisible(page))
            {
                TabControl tabCtrl = (TabControl)page.Parent;
                TabPageData tpinfo;
                tpinfo = new TabPageData(tabCtrl.TabPages.IndexOf(page), tabCtrl, page);
                tabCtrl.TabPages.Remove(page);
                hiddenPages.Add(TabPageData.GetKey(tabCtrl, page), tpinfo);
            }
        }

        public static bool IsVisible(this TabPage page)
        {
            return page != null && page.Parent != null; // when Parent is null the tab page does not belong to any container
        }

        public static void CleanUpHiddenPages(this TabPage page)
        {
            foreach (TabPageData info in hiddenPages.Values)
            {
                if (info.Parent != null && info.Parent.Equals((TabControl)page.Parent))
                    info.Page.Dispose();
            }
        }

    }

User · Answer

You could remove the tab page from the TabControl TabPages collection and store it in a list   For example       private List lt TabPage gt  hiddenPages   new List lt TabPage gt          private void EnablePage TabPage page  bool enable            if  enable                tabControl1 TabPages Add page               hiddenPages Remove page                     else               tabControl1 TabPages Remove page               hiddenPages Add page                        protected override void OnFormClosed FormClosedEventArgs e            foreach  var page in hiddenPages  page Dispose            base OnFormClosed e

User · Answer

It looks easier for me to clear all TabPages add add those wished   PropertyTabControl TabPages Clear            PropertyTabControl TabPages Add AspectTabPage           PropertyTabControl TabPages Add WerkstattTabPage     or   PropertyTabControl TabPages Clear            PropertyTabControl TabPages Add TerminTabPage

User · Answer

TabPanel1 Visible   true     Show Tabpage 1 TabPanel1 Visible   false    Hide Tabpage 1

User · Answer

I think the answer is much easier   To hide the tab you just can use the way you already tried or adressing the TabPage itself   TabControl1 TabPages Remove TabPage1   Could be male TabControl1 TabPages Remove TabPage2   Could be female   a s o   Removing the TabPage does not destroy it and the controls on it  To show the corresponding tab again just use the following code  TabControl1 TabPages Insert 0  TabPage1   Show male TabControl1 TabPages Insert 1  TabPage2   Show female

User · Answer

And building upon the answer by Emile  and Slugster   I found it a bit easier to extend the TabControl  instead of the TabPages   In this way I can set pages invisible or visible with a single call  and also not have to worry about the null parent references for the invisible pages   Example call    MyTabControl SetTabVisibilityExt   tabTests   isDeveloper    public static class WinFormExtensions       public static TabPage FindTabByNameExt  this TabControl tc  string tabName                foreach  TabPage tab in tc TabPages              if  tab Name    tabName                  return tab           return null             private struct TabPageData               internal int Index          internal TabControl Parent          internal TabPage Page           internal TabPageData int index  TabControl parent  TabPage page                        Index   index              Parent   parent              Page   page                     internal static string GetKey TabControl tc  TabPage tabPage                        string key                   if  tc    null    tabPage    null                  return key               key      tc Name   tabPage Name                return key                    internal static string GetKey TabControl tc  string tabName                        string key                   if  tc    null                  return key               key      tc Name   tabName                return key                       private static Dictionary lt string  TabPageData gt  hiddenPages   new Dictionary lt string  TabPageData gt          public static void SetTabVisibleExt this TabControl tc  string tabName                if  tc    null    tc IsDisposed              return           if  tc IsTabVisibleExt tabName               return           string key   TabPageData GetKey tc  tabName           if  hiddenPages ContainsKey key                         TabPageData tpinfo   hiddenPages key               if  tpinfo Index  lt  tc TabPages Count                  tc TabPages Insert tpinfo Index  tpinfo Page      add the page in the same position it had             else                 tc TabPages Add tpinfo Page                hiddenPages Remove key               return                    else             throw new ApplicationException   TabControl  tc Name  does not have Invisible TabPage  tabName                public static void SetTabInvisibleExt this TabControl tc  string tabName                if  tc    null    tc IsDisposed              return           if  IsTabInvisibleExt tc  tabName               return           TabPage page   tc FindTabByNameExt tabName           if  page    null                        string key   TabPageData GetKey tc  page               TabPageData tpInfo   new TabPageData tc TabPages IndexOf page   tc  page               tc TabPages Remove page               hiddenPages Add key  tpInfo               return                    else    Could not find the tab  and it isn t already invisible              throw new ApplicationException   TabControl  tc Name  could not locate TabPage  tabName                   A convenience method to combine the SetTabInvisible and SetTabInvisible      public static void SetTabVisibilityExt this TabControl tc  string tabName  bool  isVisible                if  isVisible    null              return           if  isVisible Value              tc SetTabVisibleExt tabName           else             tc SetTabInvisibleExt tabName              public static bool IsTabVisibleExt this TabControl tc  string tabName                TabPage page   tc FindTabByNameExt tabName           return page    null             public static bool IsTabInvisibleExt this TabControl tc  string tabName                string key   TabPageData GetKey tc  tabName           return hiddenPages ContainsKey key              public static void CleanUpHiddenPagesExt this TabControl tc                foreach  TabPageData info in hiddenPages Values                        if  info Parent    null  amp  amp  info Parent Equals  TabControl tc                   info Page Dispose

User · Answer

A different approach would be to have two tab controls  one visible  and one not   You can move the tabs from one to the other like this  vb net    If Me chkShowTab1 Checked   True Then     Me tabsShown TabPages Add Me tabsHidden TabPages  Tab1        Me tabsHidden TabPages RemoveByKey  Tab1   Else     Me tabsHidden TabPages Add Me tabsShown TabPages  Tab1        Me tabsShown TabPages RemoveByKey  Tab1   End If   If the tab order is important  change the  Add method on tabsShown to  Insert and specify the ordinal position   One way to do that is to call a routine that returns the desired ordinal position

User · Answer

You Can Use the Following  tabcontainer tabs 1  visible true   1 is tabindex

User · Answer

I have my sample code working but want to make it somewhat more better refrencing the tab from list   Public Class Form1     Dim State1 As Integer   1     Dim AllTabs As List Of TabPage    New List Of TabPage       Private Sub Button2 Click ByVal sender As System Object  ByVal e As System EventArgs  Handles Button2 Click         Check1 State1          State1   CInt IIf State1   1  0  1       End Sub      Private Sub Form1 Load ByVal sender As Object  ByVal e As System EventArgs  Handles Me Load         AllTabs Add TabControl1 TabPages  TabPage1            AllTabs Add TabControl1 TabPages  TabPage2        End Sub      Sub Check1 ByVal No As Integer          If TabControl1 TabPages ContainsKey  TabPage1   Then             TabControl1 TabPages Remove TabControl1 TabPages  TabPage1            End If         If TabControl1 TabPages ContainsKey  TabPage2   Then             TabControl1 TabPages Remove TabControl1 TabPages  TabPage2            End If         TabControl1 TabPages Add AllTabs No       End Sub End Class

User · Answer

Someone merged the C  answer into this one so I have to post my answer here  I didn t love the other solutions so I made a helper class that will make it easier to hide   show your tabs while retaining the order of tabs        lt summary gt      Memorizes the order of tabs upon creation to make hiding   showing tabs more     straightforward  Instead of interacting with the TabCollection  use this class     instead       lt  summary gt  public class TabPageHelper       private List lt TabPage gt   allTabs      private TabControl TabPageCollection  tabCollection      public Dictionary lt string  int gt  TabOrder   get  private set         public TabPageHelper  TabControl TabPageCollection tabCollection                  allTabs   new List lt TabPage gt             TabOrder   new Dictionary lt string  int gt             foreach   TabPage tab in tabCollection                          allTabs Add  tab                       tabCollection   tabCollection          foreach   int index in Enumerable Range  0  tabCollection Count                           var tab   tabCollection index               TabOrder tab Name    index                       public void ShowTabPage  string tabText                 TabPage page    allTabs              Where  t   gt  string Equals  t Text  tabText  StringComparison CurrentCultureIgnoreCase                  First            int tabPageOrder   TabOrder page Name           if     tabCollection Contains  page                            tabCollection Insert  tabPageOrder  page                         public void HideTabPage  string tabText                 TabPage page    allTabs              Where  t   gt  string Equals  t Text  tabText  StringComparison CurrentCultureIgnoreCase                  First            int tabPageOrder   TabOrder page Name           if    tabCollection Contains  page                            tabCollection Remove  page                        To use the class  instantiate it in your form load method after initializing your components by passing in the tab control s TabPages property   public Form1         InitializeComponent         tabHelper   new TabPageHelper  tabControl1 TabPages        All of your tab pages should exist on application load  ie  in the Design view  because the class will remember the order of the tab pages when hiding   showing  You can hide or show them selectively throughout your application like this    tabHelper HideTabPage  Settings     tabHelper ShowTabPage  Schedule

User · Answer

If you can afford to use the Tag element of the TabPage  you can use this extension methods      public static void HideByRemoval this TabPage tp                TabControl tc   tp Parent as TabControl           if  tc    null  amp  amp  tc TabPages Contains tp                            Store TabControl and Index             tp Tag   new Tuple lt TabControl  Int32 gt  tc  tc TabPages IndexOf tp                tc TabPages Remove tp                        public static void ShowByInsertion this TabPage tp                Tuple lt TabControl  Int32 gt  tagObj   tp Tag as Tuple lt TabControl  Int32 gt            if  tagObj  Item1    null                           Restore TabControl and Index             tagObj Item1 TabPages Insert tagObj Item2  tp

User · Answer

Public Shared HiddenTabs As New List Of TabPage    Public Shared Visibletabs As New List Of TabPage    Public Shared Function ShowTab tab  As TabPage  show tab As Boolean      Select Case show tab         Case True             If Visibletabs Contains tab     False Then Visibletabs Add tab               If HiddenTabs Contains tab     True Then HiddenTabs Remove tab           Case False             If HiddenTabs Contains tab     False Then HiddenTabs Add tab               If Visibletabs Contains tab     True Then Visibletabs Remove tab       End Select     For Each r In HiddenTabs         Try             Dim TC As TabControl   r Parent             If TC Contains r    True Then TC TabPages Remove r          Catch ex As Exception          End Try     Next     For Each a In Visibletabs         Try             Dim TC As TabControl   a Parent             If TC Contains a    False Then TC TabPages Add a          Catch ex As Exception          End Try     Next End Function

User · Answer

you can always hide or show the tabpage    in VB myTabControl TabPages 9  Hide    to hide the tabpage that has index 9 myTabControl TabPages 9  Show    to show the tabpage that has index 9

User · Answer

There are at least two ways to code a solution in software    Thanks for posting answers  Just wanted to update this with another version  A TabPage array is used to shadow the Tab Control  During the Load event  the TabPages in the TabControl are copied to the shadow array  Later  this shadow array is used as the source to copy the TabPages into the TabControl   and in the desired presentation order      Private tabControl1tabPageShadow   As TabPage   Nothing      Private Sub Form2 DailyReportPackageViewer Load sender As Object  e As EventArgs  Handles Me Load         LoadTabPageShadow       End Sub       Private Sub LoadTabPageShadow           ReDim tabControl1tabPageShadow TabControl1 TabPages Count - 1          For Each tabPage In TabControl1 TabPages             tabControl1tabPageShadow tabPage TabIndex    tabPage         Next     End Sub      Private Sub ViewAllReports sender As Object  e As EventArgs  Handles Button8 Click         TabControl1 TabPages Clear           For Each tabPage In tabControl1tabPageShadow             TabControl1 TabPages Add tabPage          Next     End Sub       Private Sub ViewOperationsReports sender As Object  e As EventArgs  Handles Button10 Click         TabControl1 TabPages Clear            For tabCount As Integer   0 To 9             For Each tabPage In tabControl1tabPageShadow                 Select Case tabPage Text                     Case  quot Overview quot                          If tabCount   0 Then TabControl1 TabPages Add tabPage                      Case  quot Production Days Under 110  quot                          If tabCount   1 Then TabControl1 TabPages Add tabPage                      Case  quot Screening Status quot                          If tabCount   2 Then TabControl1 TabPages Add tabPage                      Case  quot Rework Status quot                          If tabCount   3 Then TabControl1 TabPages Add tabPage                      Case  quot Secondary by Machine quot                          If tabCount   4 Then TabControl1 TabPages Add tabPage                      Case  quot Secondary Set Ups quot                          If tabCount   5 Then TabControl1 TabPages Add tabPage                      Case  quot Secondary Run Times quot                          If tabCount   6 Then TabControl1 TabPages Add tabPage                      Case  quot Primary Set Ups quot                          If tabCount   7 Then TabControl1 TabPages Add tabPage                      Case  quot Variance quot                          If tabCount   8 Then TabControl1 TabPages Add tabPage                      Case  quot Schedule Changes quot                          If tabCount   9 Then TabControl1 TabPages Add tabPage                  End Select             Next         Next

User · Answer

public static Action lt Func lt TabPage  bool gt  gt  GetTabHider this TabControl container            if  container    null  throw new ArgumentNullException  container             var orderedCache   new List lt TabPage gt             var orderedEnumerator   container TabPages GetEnumerator            while  orderedEnumerator MoveNext                  var current   orderedEnumerator Current as TabPage              if  current    null                    orderedCache Add current                                    return  Func lt TabPage  bool gt  where    gt                if  where    null  throw new ArgumentNullException  where                 container TabPages Clear                foreach  TabPage page in orderedCache                    if  where page                         container TabPages Add page                                                      Used like this       var showOnly   this TabContainer1 GetTabHider        showOnly  tab    gt  tab Text     tabPage1      Original ordering is retained by retaining a reference to the anonymous function instance

User · Answer

I prefer to make the flat style appearance  https   stackoverflow com a 25192153 5660876      tabControl1 Appearance   TabAppearance FlatButtons      tabControl1 ItemSize   new Size 0  1       tabControl1 SizeMode   TabSizeMode Fixed    But there is a pixel that is shown at every tabPage  so if you delete all the text of every tabpage  then the tabs become invisible perfectly at run-time        foreach  TabPage tab in tabControl1 TabPages                tab Text               After that i use a treeview  to change through the tabpages    clicking on the nodes

User · Answer

Always codes should be simple and easy to perform tasks for fast performance and for good reliability   To add a page to a TabControl  the following code is enough   If Tabcontrol1 Controls Contains TabPage1  Then else Tabcontrol1 Controls Add TabPage1  End If  To remove a page from a TabControl  the following code is enough   If Tabcontrol1 Controls Contains TabPage1  Then Tabcontrol1 Controls Remove TabPage1  End If  I wish to thank Stackoverflow com for providing sincere help to programmers

User · Answer

I ve been using the same approach of saving the hidden TabPages in a private list  but the problem is that when I want to show the TabPage again  they doesn t appears in the original position  order   So  finally  I wrote a class in VB to add the TabControl with two methods  HideTabPageByName and ShowTabPageByName  You can just call the methods passing the name  not the TabPage instance    Public Class CS Control TabControl     Inherits System Windows Forms TabControl      Private mTabPagesHidden As New Dictionary Of String  System Windows Forms TabPage      Private mTabPagesOrder As List Of String       Public Sub HideTabPageByName ByVal TabPageName As String          If mTabPagesOrder Is Nothing Then               The first time the Hide method is called  save the original order of the TabPages             mTabPagesOrder   New List Of String              For Each TabPageCurrent As TabPage In Me TabPages                 mTabPagesOrder Add TabPageCurrent Name              Next         End If          If Me TabPages ContainsKey TabPageName  Then             Dim TabPageToHide As TabPage                Get the TabPage object             TabPageToHide   TabPages TabPageName                Add the TabPage to the internal List             mTabPagesHidden Add TabPageName  TabPageToHide                Remove the TabPage from the TabPages collection of the TabControl             Me TabPages Remove TabPageToHide          End If     End Sub      Public Sub ShowTabPageByName ByVal TabPageName As String          If mTabPagesHidden ContainsKey TabPageName  Then             Dim TabPageToShow As TabPage                Get the TabPage object             TabPageToShow   mTabPagesHidden TabPageName                Add the TabPage to the TabPages collection of the TabControl             Me TabPages Insert GetTabPageInsertionPoint TabPageName   TabPageToShow                Remove the TabPage from the internal List             mTabPagesHidden Remove TabPageName          End If     End Sub      Private Function GetTabPageInsertionPoint ByVal TabPageName As String  As Integer         Dim TabPageIndex As Integer         Dim TabPageCurrent As TabPage         Dim TabNameIndex As Integer         Dim TabNameCurrent As String          For TabPageIndex   0 To Me TabPages Count - 1             TabPageCurrent   Me TabPages TabPageIndex              For TabNameIndex   TabPageIndex To mTabPagesOrder Count - 1                 TabNameCurrent   mTabPagesOrder TabNameIndex                  If TabNameCurrent   TabPageCurrent Name Then                     Exit For                 End If                 If TabNameCurrent   TabPageName Then                     Return TabPageIndex                 End If             Next         Next         Return TabPageIndex     End Function      Protected Overrides Sub Finalize           mTabPagesHidden   Nothing         mTabPagesOrder   Nothing         MyBase Finalize       End Sub End Class

User · Answer

Adding and removing tab may be a bit less effective May be this will help  To hide show tab page    let tabPage1 of tabControl1  tapPage1 Parent   null               to hide tabPage1 from tabControl1 tabPage1 Parent   tabControl1        to show the tabPage1 in tabControl1

[vb.net] Hiding and Showing TabPages in tabControl

Examples related to vb.net

Examples related to tabcontrol

Examples related to tabpage