---
title: Determine Which Panel in StatusBar Control Was Clicked
ms.date: "03/30/2017"
dev_langs: 
  - "csharp"
  - "vb"
  - "cpp"
helpviewer_keywords: 
  - "status bars [Windows Forms], determining panel clicked"
  - "panels [Windows Forms], determining clicked"
  - "StatusBar control [Windows Forms], coding panel click events"
  - "StatusBar control [Windows Forms], determining panel clicked"
  - "PanelClick event [Windows Forms], determining panel clicked"
  - "Panel control [Windows Forms], determining click"
ms.assetid: d14c6092-04b2-4a07-8ddf-0dd11277ff5f
---
# How to: Determine Which Panel in the Windows Forms StatusBar Control Was Clicked
> [!IMPORTANT]
> The <xref:System.Windows.Forms.StatusStrip> and <xref:System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripStatusLabel> controls replace and add functionality to the <xref:System.Windows.Forms.StatusBar> and <xref:System.Windows.Forms.StatusBarPanel> controls; however, the <xref:System.Windows.Forms.StatusBar> and <xref:System.Windows.Forms.StatusBarPanel> controls are retained for both backward compatibility and future use, if you choose.  
  
 To program the [StatusBar Control](statusbar-control-windows-forms.md) control to respond to user clicks, use a case statement within the <xref:System.Windows.Forms.StatusBar.PanelClick> event. The event contains an argument (the panel argument), which contains a reference to the clicked <xref:System.Windows.Forms.StatusBarPanel>. Using this reference, you can determine the index of the clicked panel, and program accordingly.  
  
> [!NOTE]
> Ensure that the <xref:System.Windows.Forms.StatusBar> control's <xref:System.Windows.Forms.StatusBar.ShowPanels%2A> property is set to `true`.  
  
### To determine which panel was clicked  
  
1. In the <xref:System.Windows.Forms.StatusBar.PanelClick> event handler, use a `Select Case` (in Visual Basic) or `switch case` (Visual C# or Visual C++) statement to determine which panel was clicked by examining the index of the clicked panel in the event arguments.  
  
     The following code example requires the presence, on the form, of a <xref:System.Windows.Forms.StatusBar> control, `StatusBar1`, and two <xref:System.Windows.Forms.StatusBarPanel> objects, `StatusBarPanel1` and `StatusBarPanel2`.  
  
    ```vb  
    Private Sub StatusBar1_PanelClick(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.Windows.Forms.StatusBarPanelClickEventArgs) Handles StatusBar1.PanelClick  
       Select Case StatusBar1.Panels.IndexOf(e.StatusBarPanel)  
         Case 0  
           MessageBox.Show("You have clicked Panel One.")  
         Case 1  
           MessageBox.Show("You have clicked Panel Two.")  
       End Select  
    End Sub  
    ```  
  
    ```csharp  
    private void statusBar1_PanelClick(object sender,
    System.Windows.Forms.StatusBarPanelClickEventArgs e)  
    {  
       switch (statusBar1.Panels.IndexOf(e.StatusBarPanel))  
       {  
          case 0 :  
             MessageBox.Show("You have clicked Panel One.");  
             break;  
          case 1 :  
             MessageBox.Show("You have clicked Panel Two.");  
             break;  
       }  
    }  
    ```  
  
    ```cpp  
    private:  
       void statusBar1_PanelClick(System::Object ^  sender,  
          System::Windows::Forms::StatusBarPanelClickEventArgs ^  e)  
       {  
          switch (statusBar1->Panels->IndexOf(e->StatusBarPanel))  
          {  
             case 0 :  
                MessageBox::Show("You have clicked Panel One.");  
                break;  
             case 1 :  
                MessageBox::Show("You have clicked Panel Two.");  
                break;  
          }  
       }  
    ```  
  
     (Visual C#, Visual C++) Place the following code in the form's constructor to register the event handler.  
  
    ```csharp  
    this.statusBar1.PanelClick += new
       System.Windows.Forms.StatusBarPanelClickEventHandler
       (this.statusBar1_PanelClick);  
    ```  
  
    ```cpp  
    this->statusBar1->PanelClick += gcnew  
       System::Windows::Forms::StatusBarPanelClickEventHandler  
       (this, &Form1::statusBar1_PanelClick);  
    ```  
  
## See also

- <xref:System.Windows.Forms.StatusBar>
- <xref:System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripStatusLabel>
- [How to: Set the Size of Status-Bar Panels](how-to-set-the-size-of-status-bar-panels.md)
- [Walkthrough: Updating Status Bar Information at Run Time](walkthrough-updating-status-bar-information-at-run-time.md)
- [StatusBar Control Overview](statusbar-control-overview-windows-forms.md)