---
title: Develop a Composite Control
ms.date: "03/30/2017"
helpviewer_keywords:
  - "custom controls [Windows Forms], composite controls"
  - "composite controls [Windows Forms]"
  - "composite controls [Windows Forms], Windows Forms"
  - "controls [Windows Forms], composite"
ms.assetid: d086f2a3-baa3-4e09-b40c-a5bb3cfc51a6
---
# Develop a composite Windows Forms control

You can develop a composite Windows Forms control by combining other Windows Forms controls. Composite controls that derive from <xref:System.Web.UI.UserControl> are called user controls. The base class, <xref:System.Windows.Forms.UserControl>, provides keyboard routing for the child controls, thus ensuring that child controls can receive focus. For an example of a user control, see the <xref:System.Windows.Forms.UserControl> sample in [How to: Apply Attributes in Windows Forms Controls](how-to-apply-attributes-in-windows-forms-controls.md).

The Windows Forms designer in Visual Studio provides rich design-time support for authoring user controls.

- [How to: Display a Control in the Choose Toolbox Items Dialog Box](how-to-display-a-control-in-the-choose-toolbox-items-dialog-box.md)

- [Walkthrough: Serializing Collections of Standard Types with the DesignerSerializationVisibilityAttribute](serializing-collections-designerserializationvisibilityattribute.md)

- [Walkthrough: Inheriting from a Windows Forms Control with Visual C#](walkthrough-inheriting-from-a-windows-forms-control-with-visual-csharp.md)

- [How to: Provide a Toolbox Bitmap for a Control](how-to-provide-a-toolbox-bitmap-for-a-control.md)

- [How to: Inherit from Existing Windows Forms Controls](how-to-inherit-from-existing-windows-forms-controls.md)

- [Walkthrough: Debugging Custom Windows Forms Controls at Design Time](walkthrough-debugging-custom-windows-forms-controls-at-design-time.md)

- [How to: Inherit from the Control Class](how-to-inherit-from-the-control-class.md)

- [How to: Test the Run-Time Behavior of a UserControl](how-to-test-the-run-time-behavior-of-a-usercontrol.md)

- [How to: Align a Control to the Edges of Forms at Design Time](how-to-align-a-control-to-the-edges-of-forms-at-design-time.md)

- [How to: Inherit from the UserControl Class](how-to-inherit-from-the-usercontrol-class.md)

- [How to: Author Controls for Windows Forms](how-to-author-controls-for-windows-forms.md)

- [How to: Author Composite Controls](how-to-author-composite-controls.md)

- [Walkthrough: Authoring a Composite Control with Visual C#](walkthrough-authoring-a-composite-control-with-visual-csharp.md)

- [Walkthrough: Creating a Windows Forms Control That Takes Advantage of Visual Studio Design-Time Features](creating-a-wf-control-design-time-features.md)

- [How to: Create a Windows Forms Control That Takes Advantage of Design-Time Features](https://docs.microsoft.com/previous-versions/visualstudio/visual-studio-2013/307hck25(v=vs.120))

## See also

- [How to: Apply Attributes in Windows Forms Controls](how-to-apply-attributes-in-windows-forms-controls.md)
- [Developing Custom Windows Forms Controls with the .NET Framework](developing-custom-windows-forms-controls.md)
- [Varieties of Custom Controls](varieties-of-custom-controls.md)