Knowledge Base

INFO: Tab Keyword Cannot Be Used as Object Type in Visual Basic

Article ID: 150185

Article Last Modified on 6/24/2004

Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 Learning Edition
Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 Professional Edition
Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 Enterprise Edition
Microsoft Visual Basic 4.0 Standard Edition
Microsoft Visual Basic 4.0 Professional Edition
Microsoft Visual Basic 4.0 32-Bit Enterprise Edition

This article was previously published under Q150185

SUMMARY

The TabStrip control contains an object, Tab, which supports the various properties of a tab in the control. The word Tab cannot be used in a declaration to dimension an object. This is because Tab is a keyword in Visual Basic.

STATUS

This is by design. Since Tab is a keyword in Visual Basic, it cannot be used in a declaration without employing one of the workarounds documented below.

WORKAROUND

There are several ways to dimension a Tab object, which is part of the TabStrip control:

Preface the object with the library in which it is contained. In the case of Tab:
```
   Dim x As ComctlLib.Tab
						
```
Later in the code, x has to be set to the correct tab object. For example:
```
   Set x = New TabStrip1.Tabs(0)
						
```
-or-

Use late binding, and dimension the Tab as a generic object:

   Dim x As Object

   Set x = New TabStrip1.Tabs(0)

Steps to Reproduce Problem

Create a new project in Visual Basic. Form1 is created by default. Add a TabStrip control to a form.

In the Form_Load event place the following code:

      Private Sub Form_Load()

   Dim x As Tab

   End Sub

Run the project by pressing F5. Visual Basic will correctly highlight the dimension statement and report a Syntax Error.

Additional query words: kbVBp400 kbVBp600 kbVBp kbdsd kbDSupport kbControl

Keywords: kbinfo KB150185