---
title: "How to: Align a Control to the Edges of Forms"
ms.date: "03/30/2017"
dev_langs:
  - "csharp"
  - "vb"
helpviewer_keywords:
  - "Dock property [Windows Forms], aligning controls (using code)"
  - "forms [Windows Forms], aligning controls"
  - "controls [Windows Forms], aligning on forms"
  - "custom controls [Windows Forms], docking using code"
ms.assetid: 5994cb59-242b-4e75-bd0e-62879c34d702
---
# How to: Align a Control to the Edges of Forms

You can make your control align to the edge of your forms by setting the <xref:System.Windows.Forms.Control.Dock%2A> property. This property designates where your control resides in the form. The <xref:System.Windows.Forms.Control.Dock%2A> property can be set to the following values:

|Setting|Effect on your control|
|-------------|----------------------------|
|<xref:System.Windows.Forms.DockStyle.Bottom>|Docks to the bottom of the form.|
|<xref:System.Windows.Forms.DockStyle.Fill>|Fills all remaining space in the form.|
|<xref:System.Windows.Forms.DockStyle.Left>|Docks to the left side of the form.|
|<xref:System.Windows.Forms.DockStyle.None>|Does not dock anywhere, and it appears at the location specified by its <xref:System.Windows.Forms.Control.Location%2A> property.|
|<xref:System.Windows.Forms.DockStyle.Right>|Docks to the right side of the form.|
|<xref:System.Windows.Forms.DockStyle.Top>|Docks to the top of the form.|

There is design-time support for this feature in Visual Studio.

## Set the Dock property for your control at run time

Set the <xref:System.Windows.Forms.Control.Dock%2A> property to the appropriate value in code.

```vb
' To set the Dock property internally.
Me.Dock = DockStyle.Top
' To set the Dock property from another object.
UserControl1.Dock = DockStyle.Top
```

```csharp
// To set the Dock property internally.
this.Dock = DockStyle.Top;
// To set the Dock property from another object.
UserControl1.Dock = DockStyle.Top;
```

## See also

- <xref:System.Windows.Forms.Control.Dock%2A?displayProperty=nameWithType>
- <xref:System.Windows.Forms.Control.Anchor%2A?displayProperty=nameWithType>
- [Developing Custom Windows Forms Controls with the .NET Framework](developing-custom-windows-forms-controls.md)
- [How to: Anchor and Dock Child Controls in a FlowLayoutPanel Control](how-to-anchor-and-dock-child-controls-in-a-flowlayoutpanel-control.md)
- [How to: Anchor and Dock Child Controls in a TableLayoutPanel Control](how-to-anchor-and-dock-child-controls-in-a-tablelayoutpanel-control.md)
- [AutoSize Property Overview](autosize-property-overview.md)