docs-desktop/dotnet-desktop-guide/framework/winforms/controls/how-to-set-the-text-displayed-by-a-windows-forms-control.md

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Set the Text Displayed by a Control	Learn how to set the text displayed by a Windows Forms control. Set or return the text by using the Text property, or change the font by using the Font property.	08/20/2019	csharp vb cpp	Windows Forms, captions Button control [Windows Forms], button text StdFont object and CommandButton caption captions [Windows Forms], Windows Forms controls Text property [Windows Forms], Windows Forms control Button control [Windows Forms], text display labels [Windows Forms], adding to CommandButton control buttons [Windows Forms], text captions [Windows Forms], setting text examples [Windows Forms], controls text [Windows Forms], Windows Forms controls controls [Windows Forms], captions forms [Windows Forms], captions	36b95bff-8780-479d-b86a-f1a0673653aa

How to: Set the text displayed by a Windows Forms control

Windows Forms controls usually display some text that's related to the primary function of the control. For example, a xref:System.Windows.Forms.Button control usually displays a caption indicating what action will be performed if the button is clicked. For all controls, you can set or return the text by using the xref:System.Windows.Forms.Control.Text%2A property. You can change the font by using the xref:System.Windows.Forms.Control.Font%2A property.

You can also set the text by using the designer.

Programmatic

1. Set the xref:System.Windows.Forms.Control.Text%2A property to a string.

   To create an underlined access key, includes an ampersand (&) before the letter that will be the access key.

2. Set the xref:System.Windows.Forms.Control.Font%2A property to an object of type xref:System.Drawing.Font.

   Button1.Text = "Click here to save changes"
   Button1.Font = New Font("Arial", 10, FontStyle.Bold, GraphicsUnit.Point)
   

   button1.Text = "Click here to save changes";
   button1.Font = new Font("Arial", 10, FontStyle.Bold, GraphicsUnit.Point);
   

   button1->Text = "Click here to save changes";
   button1->Font = new System::Drawing::Font("Arial", 10, FontStyle::Bold, GraphicsUnit::Point);
   

   Note

   You can use an escape character to display a special character in user-interface elements that would normally interpret them differently, such as menu items. For example, the following line of code sets the menu item's text to read "& Now For Something Completely Different":

   MPMenuItem.Text = "&& Now For Something Completely Different"
   

   mpMenuItem.Text = "&& Now For Something Completely Different";
   

   mpMenuItem->Text = "&& Now For Something Completely Different";
   

Designer

1. In the Properties window in Visual Studio, set the Text property of the control to an appropriate string.

   To create an underlined shortcut key, includes an ampersand (&) before the letter that will be the shortcut key.

2. In the Properties window, select the ellipsis button () next to the Font property.

   In the standard font dialog box, select the font, font style, size, effects (such as strikeout or underline), and script that you want.

See also

• xref:System.Windows.Forms.Control.Text%2A?displayProperty=nameWithType
• How to: Create Access Keys for Windows Forms Controls
• How to: Respond to Windows Forms Button Clicks