Question

In a standard WinForms application, is it possible to have a scenario like the following and how would I do it:

A form with four textbox controls, arranged on the form from top to bottom:

• TextBox1
• TextBox2
• TextBox3
• TextBox4

The desired behavior is that when the form loads, the focus is on TextBox3, but when tabbing out, the focus goes to the top and goes through all controls as normal, in the following way:

1. TextBox3
2. TextBox1
3. TextBox2
4. TextBox3
5. TextBox4

Answer 1

This would be something that you’ll need to code up and it will require proper usage of events. Set your tab order as you would want it and then code up the following:

private bool OnLoad = True;

Form_OnLoad(...) {
    TextBox3.SetFocus();
}

TextBox3_LostFocus(...) {
    if (OnLoad) {
        TextBox1.SetFocus();
        OnLoad = false;
    } // The else falls through to the default tab order
 }