DOCUMENT:Q161052  18-MAR-1997  [vbwin]
TITLE   :HOWTO: Create a Default Value for Custom Controls and Classes
PRODUCT :Microsoft Visual Basic for Windows
PROD/VER:5.00
OPER/SYS:WINDOWS
KEYWORDS:kbusage vb5all vb5howto VBKBCtrl kbhowto

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The information in this article applies to:

 - Enterprise Edition of Microsoft Visual Basic for Windows, version 5.0
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SUMMARY
=======

Microsoft Visual Basic 5.0 allows you to create custom controls and Classes
that have a default property. This behavior is similar to the intrinsic
TextBox control. The TextBox control has a default value that corresponds
to the string value of its Text property. This allows the following code to
behave identically:

   MsgBox Text1.Text

   -and-

   MsgBox Text1

Both will display a dialog box containing the Text shown within the
TextBox.

MORE INFORMATION
================

To set an existing property as the default value for a custom control
or Class, do the following:

1. Load your custom control project into Microsoft Visual Basic 5.0.

2. In the Project window, right-click your custom control or Class. Click
   View Code.

3. On the Tools menu, click Procedure Attributes.

4. In the Name field, select the property you wish to set as the default.

5. Click Advanced.

6. In the Procedure ID field, select Default. Click OK.

The selected property is now automatically returned when you reference an
instance of your control:

   Msgbox UserControl1.MyProperty

   -and-

   Msgbox UserControl1

are equivalent statements.

REFERENCES
==========

Microsoft Visual Basic version 5.0 Books Online
Component Tools Guide. "General Principles of Component Design"
======================================================================
Keywords            : kbusage vb5all vb5howto VBKBCtrl kbhowto
Version             : 5.00
Platform            : WINDOWS
Issue type          : kbhowto

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