docs-desktop/dotnet-desktop-guide/framework/winforms/controls/how-to-change-the-appearance-of-the-windows-forms-tabcontrol.md

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title	ms.date	dev_langs	helpviewer_keywords	ms.assetid
Change the Appearance of TabControl	03/30/2017	csharp vb cpp	icons [Windows Forms], displaying on tabs TabControl control [Windows Forms], changing page appearance tabs [Windows Forms], controlling appearance buttons [Windows Forms], displaying tabs as	7c6cc443-ed62-4d26-b94d-b8913b44f773

How to: Change the Appearance of the Windows Forms TabControl

You can change the appearance of tabs in Windows Forms by using properties of the xref:System.Windows.Forms.TabControl and the xref:System.Windows.Forms.TabPage objects that make up the individual tabs on the control. By setting these properties, you can display images on tabs, display tabs vertically instead of horizontally, display multiple rows of tabs, and enable or disable tabs programmatically.

To display an icon on the label part of a tab

1. Add an xref:System.Windows.Forms.ImageList control to the form.

2. Add images to the image list.

   For more information about image lists, see ImageList Component and How to: Add or Remove Images with the Windows Forms ImageList Component.

3. Set the xref:System.Windows.Forms.TabControl.ImageList%2A property of the xref:System.Windows.Forms.TabControl to the xref:System.Windows.Forms.ImageList control.

4. Set the xref:System.Windows.Forms.TabPage.ImageIndex%2A property of the xref:System.Windows.Forms.TabPage to the index of an appropriate image in the list.

To create multiple rows of tabs

1. Add the number of tab pages you want.

2. Set the xref:System.Windows.Forms.TabControl.Multiline%2A property of the xref:System.Windows.Forms.TabControl to true.

3. If the tabs do not already appear in multiple rows, set the xref:System.Windows.Forms.Control.Width%2A property of the xref:System.Windows.Forms.TabControl to be narrower than all the tabs.

To arrange tabs on the side of the control

• Set the xref:System.Windows.Forms.TabControl.Alignment%2A property of the xref:System.Windows.Forms.TabControl to xref:System.Windows.Forms.TabAlignment.Left or xref:System.Windows.Forms.TabAlignment.Right.

To programmatically enable or disable all controls on a tab

1. Set the xref:System.Windows.Forms.TabPage.Enabled%2A property of the xref:System.Windows.Forms.TabPage to true or false.

   TabPage1.Enabled = False  
   

   tabPage1.Enabled = false;  
   

   tabPage1->Enabled = false;  
   

To display tabs as buttons

• Set the xref:System.Windows.Forms.TabControl.Appearance%2A property of the xref:System.Windows.Forms.TabControl to xref:System.Windows.Forms.TabAppearance.Buttons or xref:System.Windows.Forms.TabAppearance.FlatButtons.

See also

• TabControl Control
• TabControl Control Overview
• How to: Add a Control to a Tab Page
• How to: Disable Tab Pages
• How to: Add and Remove Tabs with the Windows Forms TabControl