THIRD-PARTY CONTROLS

Visual Basic comes with a large number of useful controls all ready to go, but many other controls are available that you can use if you need them. If you right-click the Toolbox and select Choose Items, you can select from a huge list of .NET Framework and COM components available on your system.

You can obtain more controls provided by other companies and available for purchase and sometimes for free on the web. Many of these controls perform specialized tasks such as generating bar codes, making shaped forms, warping images, and providing special graphical effects.

Other controls extend the standard controls to provide more power or flexibility. Several controls are available that draw two- and three-dimensional charts and graphs. Other controls provide more powerful reporting services than those provided by Visual Studio’s own tools.

If you search the web for “windows forms controls,” you will find lots of websites where you can download controls for free or for a fee. A few places you might like to explore include:

• MVPs.org (http://www.mvps.org), a site leading to resources provided by people related to Microsoft’s Most Valuable Professional (MVP) program. The Common Controls Replacement Project (http://ccrp.mvps.org) provides controls that duplicate and enhance standard Visual Basic 6 controls. Development on this project has stopped but some of the old Visual Basic 6 controls may give you some ideas for building controls of your own. MVPs.org is also a good general resource.
• Windows Forms .NET (http://windowsclient.net), Microsoft’s official WPF and Windows Forms .NET community.
• ASP.NET (http://www.asp.net), Microsoft’s official ASP.NET community.
• CNET (http://download.cnet.com/windows).
• Shareware.com (http://www.shareware.com).
• Shareware Connection (http://www.sharewareconnection.com).

You should use these as a starting point for your own search, not as a definitive list. You can download controls from hundreds (if not thousands) of websites.