Introduction

The name of a property is represented on the left column. This is the official name of the property. The names of properties are in one word. You can use this same name to access the property in code.

The box on the right side of each property name represents the value of the property that you can set for an object. There are various kinds of fields you will use to set the properties. To know what particular kind a field is, you can click its name. To set or change a property, you use the box on the right side of the property’s name: the property's value, also referred to as the field's value.

• To display the Properties windows, on the main menu, click View -> Properties Window

By default, these fields have nothing in their value section. Most of these properties are dependent on other settings of your program. For example, you can set a menu property for a form only after you have created a menu. To set the property on such a field, you can type in it or select from a list.

• Click the body of the form.
  In the Properties windows, notice that the AccessibleName and the Tag fields are empty

There are fields that expect you to type a value. Most of these fields have a default value. Here is an example:

To change the value of the property, click the name of the property, type the desired value, and press Enter.

While some properties, such as the Text, would allow anything, some other fields expect a specific type of text, such as a numeric value.

1. In the Properties windows, click Text and notice that it contains a string in bold characters
2. Click (Name) and notice that it contains some bold characters

Some fields expect a numeric value. In this case, you can click the name of the field and type the desired value. Here is an example:

. If you type an invalid value, you would receive a message box notifying you of the error:

When this happens, click OK and type a valid value. If the value is supposed to be an integer, make sure you don't type it as a decimal number.

1. In the Common Controls section of the Toolbox, click NumericUpDown and click the form
2. While the control is still selected on the form, in the Properties windows, click Value and notice that it contains a number string in bold characters
3. Click the DecimalPlaces, the Increment, the Maximum, and the Minimum fields to see that they contain numeric values:
    
   

Some fields expect you to enter a date. You must type a valid date recognized by the operating system and the Regional and Language Settings in Control Panel. If you enter an invalid date, you would receive an error.

1. In the Common Controls section of the Toolbox, click DateTimePicker and click the form
2. While the control is still selected on the form, in the Properties windows, click Value and notice that it contains a date and time value
3. Click the MinDate and the MaxDate fields to see their values:
    
   

	Some fields have a + button. This indicates that the property has a set of sub-properties that actually belong to the same property and are defined together. To expand such a field, click its + button and a – button will appear:

To collapse the field, click the – button.

Some of the properties are numeric based, such as the Location or the Size. With such a property, you can click its name and type two numeric values separated by a comma. Some other properties are created from an enumeration or a class. If you expand such a field, it would display various options. Here is an example from the Font property:

With such a property, you should select from a list.

1. Click an empty area of the form to select the form
2. In the Properties window, click the + button of the Font field to expand it and notice that it display some previously hidden items

Some fields can have only a True or False value. To change their setting, you can either select from the combo box or double-click the property to toggle to the other value.

1. In the Properties window click Enabled and notice that it displays True
2. Under Font, click Bold and notice that it displays False 

Some fields would require a value or item that needs to be set through an intermediary action. Such fields display an ellipsis button . When you click the button, a dialog box would come up and you can set the value for the field.

1. In the Common Controls section of the Toolbox, click PictureBox and click the form
2. While the control is still selected on the form, in the Properties windows, click Image and notice that the field displays an ellipsis button
3. Click the ellipsis button and notice that a dialog box comes up
4. Click Cancel

To change the value of some of the fields, you would use their combo box to display the available values. After clicking the arrow, a list would display:

There are various types of list-based fields. Some of them display just two items. To change their value, you can just double-click the field. Some other fields have more than two values in the field. To change them, you can click their arrow and select from the list. You can also double-click a few times until the desired value is selected.

1. Click an empty area of the form to select the form
2. In the Properties window, click FormBorderStyle and notice that it displays an arrow button of a combo box
3. Press Alt and the down arrow key to display the list
4. Press Esc

Some properties provide a window from where you can select the desired option. The field primarily displays the arrow of a combo box. To use the field, you click the arrow of the combo box and the window appears. Here are examples:

After expanding the window, you can select the desired option. We will eventually review them.

1. On the form, click one of the controls
2. In the Properties window, click Dock and click the arrow of its combo box
3. Notice the window that comes up and press Esc