DOCUMENT:Q161240  14-JUL-1997  [vbwin]
TITLE   :HOWTO: Select All Text in a Field When It Gets the Focus
PRODUCT :Microsoft Visual Basic for Windows
PROD/VER:5.00
OPER/SYS:WINDOWS
KEYWORDS:kbusage PrgCtrlsStd vb5all vb5howto kbhowto

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The information in this article applies to:

 - Microsoft Visual Basic Standard, Professional and Enterprise Editions,
   for Windows, version 5.0
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SUMMARY
=======

Automatic highlighting is useful in data entry boxes where you want to give
the user the option to overwrite the existing contents quickly by pressing
any character key.

This article demonstrates how to select (highlight) all text in a text box
automatically whenever the text box gets the focus. This example also
applies to the ComboBox and Grid control and any other controls that
implement the Text, SelStart, and SelLength properties.

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

Step-by-Step Example
--------------------

1. Start Visual Basic, or, if it is already running, click New Project from
   the File menu.

2. Place two Text Boxes on the Form1 form with the default settings.

3. Copy and paste the following code to the Form1 Code Window:

      Private Sub Text1_GotFocus()
        Call SelectMe(Me.ActiveControl)
      End Sub

      Private Sub Text2_GotFocus()
        Call SelectMe(Me.ActiveControl)
      End Sub

      Private Sub SelectMe(This As TextBox)
        This.SelStart = 0
        This.SelLength = Len(This.Text)
      End Sub

4. Press the F5 key to run the project, or click Run Project from the Tools
   menu.

As you move to each text box, the text is highlighted. If you begin typing,
the text will be replaced with your new entry. To deselect the text after
giving focus to the text box, you can single-click the text or press any of
the TextBox navigation keys (Home, End, Arrow-Keys).

REFERENCES
==========

Visual Basic On-Line Help: Text, SelLength, SelStart Properties

(c) Microsoft Corporation 1996, All Rights Reserved.
Contributions by Ted Keith, Microsoft Corporation

Additional query words: highlight
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Keywords            : kbusage PrgCtrlsStd vb5all vb5howto kbhowto
Version             : 5.00
Platform            : WINDOWS
Issue type          : kbhowto

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