Returns or sets a value determining if a control should not have a visible window at run time. The InvisibleAtRuntime property is read/write at the control’s authoring time, and not available at the control’s run time.
Settings
The settings for InvisibleAtRuntime are:
| Setting | Description |
| True | Allows the control to not have a visible window at run time. The container of the control may keep the control invisible during run time, like the Timer control. The control is still active, and therefore the developer who uses the control can still write programs that can interact with the control. There will be no Visible property in the extender object. |
| False | (Default) The control acts as a normal control at run time, where the state of the Visible extender property determines the visibility of the control. |
Remarks
Important Don’t use the Visible extender property to make the control invisible at run time. If you do, the control will still have all the overhead of a visible control at run time. Furthermore, the extender properties are available to the developer and end user, who may make the control visible.
Some containers may not support the InvisibleAtRuntime property; in this case the control will be visible at run time.
Before creating a control that is invisible at run time, consider creating an ordinary object provided by an in-process code component (ActiveX DLL) instead. Objects provided by in-process code components require fewer resources than controls, even invisible controls. The only reason to implement an invisible control is to take advantage of a feature that is only available to ActiveX controls.