docs-desktop/dotnet-desktop-guide/framework/winforms/controls/how-to-position-controls-on-windows-forms.md

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title	description	ms.date	dev_langs	f1_keywords	helpviewer_keywords	ms.assetid
Position Controls	Learn how to use the Windows Forms Designer in Visual Studio or the Location property to position your controls.	03/30/2017	csharp vb cpp	Location Location.Y Location.X	controls [Windows Forms] controls [Windows Forms], moving snaplines controls [Windows Forms], positioning	4693977e-34a4-4f19-8221-68c3120c2b2b

How to: Position controls on Windows Forms

To position controls, use the Windows Forms Designer in Visual Studio or specify the xref:System.Windows.Forms.Control.Location%2A property.

Position a control on the design surface of the Windows Forms Designer

In Visual Studio, drag the control to the appropriate location with the mouse.

Note

Select the control and move it with the ARROW keys to position it more precisely. Also, snaplines assist you in placing controls precisely on your form. For more information, see Walkthrough: Arranging Controls on Windows Forms Using Snaplines.

Position a control using the Properties window

1. In Visual Studio, select the control you want to position.

2. In the Properties window, enter values for the xref:System.Windows.Forms.Control.Location%2A property, separated by a comma, to position the control within its container.

   The first number (X) is the distance from the left border of the container; the second number (Y) is the distance from the upper border of the container area, measured in pixels.

   Note

   You can expand the xref:System.Windows.Forms.Control.Location%2A property to type the X and Y values individually.

Position a control programmatically

1. Set the xref:System.Windows.Forms.Control.Location%2A property of the control to a xref:System.Drawing.Point.

   Button1.Location = New Point(100, 100)
   

   button1.Location = new Point(100, 100);
   

   button1->Location = Point(100, 100);
   

2. Change the X coordinate of the control's location using the xref:System.Windows.Forms.Control.Left%2A subproperty.

   Button1.Left = 300
   

   button1.Left = 300;
   

   button1->Left = 300;
   

Increment a control's location programmatically

Set the xref:System.Windows.Forms.Control.Left%2A subproperty to increment the X coordinate of the control.

Button1.Left += 200

button1.Left += 200;

button1->Left += 200;

Note

Use the xref:System.Windows.Forms.Control.Location%2A property to set a control's X and Y positions simultaneously. To set a position individually, use the control's xref:System.Windows.Forms.Control.Left%2A (X) or xref:System.Windows.Forms.Control.Top%2A (Y) subproperty. Do not try to implicitly set the X and Y coordinates of the xref:System.Drawing.Point structure that represents the button's location, because this structure contains a copy of the button's coordinates.

See also

• Windows Forms Controls
• Walkthrough: Arranging Controls on Windows Forms Using Snaplines
• Walkthrough: Arranging Controls on Windows Forms Using a TableLayoutPanel
• Walkthrough: Arranging Controls on Windows Forms Using a FlowLayoutPanel
• Labeling Individual Windows Forms Controls and Providing Shortcuts to Them
• Controls to Use on Windows Forms
• Windows Forms Controls by Function
• How to: Set the Screen Location of Windows Forms