Form.ActiveMdiChild Property

Definition

Namespace:

System.Windows.Forms

Assembly:

System.Windows.Forms.dll

Source:

Form.cs

Gets the currently active multiple-document interface (MDI) child window.

public:
 property System::Windows::Forms::Form ^ ActiveMdiChild { System::Windows::Forms::Form ^ get(); };

[System.ComponentModel.Browsable(false)]
public System.Windows.Forms.Form? ActiveMdiChild { get; }

[<System.ComponentModel.Browsable(false)>]
member this.ActiveMdiChild : System.Windows.Forms.Form

Public ReadOnly Property ActiveMdiChild As Form

Property Value

Form

Returns a Form that represents the currently active MDI child window, or null if there are currently no child windows present.

Attributes

BrowsableAttribute

Examples

The following example obtains a reference to the active MDI child form and loops through all TextBox controls on the form, resetting their Text properties. This example requires that an MDI parent form has been created and that this method call is being made from the MDI parent form.

public:
   void ClearAllChildFormText()
   {
      
      // Obtain a reference to the currently active MDI child form.
      Form^ tempChild = this->ActiveMdiChild;
      
      // Loop through all controls on the child form.
      for ( int i = 0; i < tempChild->Controls->Count; i++ )
      {
         
         // Determine if the current control on the child form is a TextBox.
         if ( dynamic_cast<TextBox^>(tempChild->Controls[ i ]) )
         {
            
            // Clear the contents of the control since it is a TextBox.
            tempChild->Controls[ i ]->Text = "";
         }

      }
   }

public void ClearAllChildFormText()
 {
    // Obtain a reference to the currently active MDI child form.
    Form tempChild = this.ActiveMdiChild;
    
    // Loop through all controls on the child form.
    for (int i = 0; i < tempChild.Controls.Count; i++)
    {
       // Determine if the current control on the child form is a TextBox.
       if (tempChild.Controls[i] is TextBox)
       {
          // Clear the contents of the control since it is a TextBox.
          tempChild.Controls[i].Text = "";
       }
    }
 }

Public Sub ClearAllChildFormText()
    ' Obtain a reference to the currently active MDI child form.
    Dim tempChild As Form = Me.ActiveMdiChild
    
    ' Loop through all controls on the child form.
    Dim i As Integer
    For i = 0 To tempChild.Controls.Count - 1
        ' Determine if the current control on the child form is a TextBox.
        If TypeOf tempChild.Controls(i) Is TextBox Then
            ' Clear the contents of the control since it is a TextBox.
            tempChild.Controls(i).Text = ""
        End If
    Next i
End Sub

Remarks

You can use this method to determine whether there are any MDI child forms open in your MDI application. You can also use this method to perform operations on an MDI child window from its MDI parent form or from another form that is displayed in your application.

If the currently active form is not an MDI child form, you can use the ActiveForm property to obtain a reference to it.

See also

• ActiveForm