VB.Net - DateTimePicker Control

The DateTimePicker control allows selecting a date and time by editing the displayed values in the control. If you click the arrow in the DateTimePicker control, it displays a month calendar, like a combo box control. The user can make selection by clicking the required date. The new selected value appears in the text box part of the control.

The MinDate and the MaxDate properties allow you to put limits on the date range.

Properties of the DateTimePicker Control

The following are some of the commonly used properties of the DateTimePicker control −

Sr.No.	Property & Description
1	BackColor Gets or sets a value indicating the background color of the DateTimePicker control.
2	BackgroundImage Gets or sets the background image for the control.
3	BackgroundImageLayout Gets or sets the layout of the background image of the DateTimePicker control.
4	CalendarFont Gets or sets the font style applied to the calendar.
5	CalendarForeColor Gets or sets the foreground color of the calendar.
6	CalendarMonthBackground Gets or sets the background color of the calendar month.
7	CalendarTitleBackColor Gets or sets the background color of the calendar title.
8	CalendarTitleForeColor Gets or sets the foreground color of the calendar title.
9	CalendarTrailingForeColor Gets or sets the foreground color of the calendar trailing dates.
10	Checked Gets or sets a value indicating whether the Value property has been set with a valid date/time value and the displayed value is able to be updated.
11	CustomFormat Gets or sets the custom date/time format string.
12	DropDownAlign Gets or sets the alignment of the drop-down calendar on the DateTimePicker control.
13	ForeColor Gets or sets the foreground color of the DateTimePicker control.
14	Format Gets or sets the format of the date and time displayed in the control.
15	MaxDate Gets or sets the maximum date and time that can be selected in the control.
16	MaximumDateTime Gets the maximum date value allowed for the DateTimePicker control.
17	MinDate Gets or sets the minimum date and time that can be selected in the control.
18	MinimumDateTime Gets the minimum date value allowed for the DateTimePicker control.
19	PreferredHeight Gets the preferred height of the DateTimePicker control.
20	RightToLeftLayout Gets or sets whether the contents of the DateTimePicker are laid out from right to left.
21	ShowCheckBox Gets or sets a value indicating whether a check box is displayed to the left of the selected date.
22	ShowUpDown Gets or sets a value indicating whether a spin button control (also known as an up-down control) is used to adjust the date/time value.
23	Text Gets or sets the text associated with this control.
24	Value Gets or sets the date/time value assigned to the control.

Methods of the DateTimePicker Control

The following are some of the commonly used methods of the DateTimePicker control −

Sr.No.	Method Name & Description
1	ToString Returns the string representing the control.

Events of the DateTimePicker Control

The following are some of the commonly used events of the DateTimePicker control −

Sr.No.	Event & Description
1	BackColorChanged Occurs when the value of the BackColor property changes.
2	BackgroundImageChanged Occurs when the value of the BackgroundImage property changes.
3	BackgroundImageLayoutChanged Occurs when the value of the BackgroundImageLayout property changes.
4	Click Occurs when the control is clicked.
5	CloseUp Occurs when the drop-down calendar is dismissed and disappears.
6	DoubleClick Occurs when the control is double-clicked.
7	DragDrop Occurs when a drag-and-drop operation is completed.
8	ForeColorChanged Occurs when the value of the ForeColor property changes.
9	FormatChanged Occurs when the Format property value has changed.
10	MouseClick Occurs when the control is clicked with the mouse.
11	MouseDoubleClick Occurs when the control is double-clicked with the mouse.
12	PaddingChanged Occurs when the value of the Padding property changes.
13	Paint Occurs when the control is redrawn.
14	RightToLeftLayoutChanged Occurs when the RightToLeftLayout property changes.
15	TextChanged Occurs when the value of the Text property changes.
16	ValueChanged Occurs when the Value property changes.

Example

In this example, let us create a small application for calculating days of leave. Let us add two DateTimePicker controls on the form, where the user will enter the date of going on leave and the date of joining. Let us keep a button control for performing the calculation and appropriate label controls for displaying information.

The form in design view −

Add the following code in the code editor window −

Public Class Form1
   Private Sub Form1_Load(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load
     ' Set the caption bar text of the form.  
      Me.Text = "tutorialspoint.com"
   End Sub
   
   Private Sub Button1_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click
      Dim d1 As DateTime = DateTimePicker1.Value
      Dim d2 As DateTime = DateTimePicker2.Value
      Dim result As TimeSpan = d1.Subtract(d2)
      Dim days As Integer = result.TotalDays
      Label3.Text = days
   End Sub
End Class

When the above code is executed and run using Start button available at the Microsoft Visual Studio tool bar, it will show the following window −

Select two dates and click on the button for leave calculation −

vb.net_basic_controls.htm