Controls are components of the Windows graphical interface. Examples of controls include buttons, input fields, lists, scroll bars, and other interface elements that allow you to enter a number, select a value, or perform some other action. Various controls can be placed on an Excel worksheet. Controls are available by clicking the Insert button located on the Developer tab of the ribbon in the Controls group.
It should be noted that when you click the Insert button, two groups of controls are available: Form Controls and ActiveX Controls.
The Form Controls group is mainly intended to ensure compatibility with documents created in earlier versions of Excel (prior to Excel 97) that used these corresponding controls. They have much fewer capabilities compared to the controls available in the ActiveX Controls group. Some of these controls cannot be used at all in the latest versions of Excel — such as the Text Box, Combo Box, and Drop-down List. However, they do offer some features not available in ActiveX controls, for example, they can be placed on chart sheets.
The ActiveX Controls group consists of independent components of various applications and can also be used in Excel. Table 4.1 provides a list of the main controls and the corresponding toolbar buttons.
Table. Controls from the Toolbar
| Control | Name | Prefix | Creating Button |
|---|---|---|---|
| Text Box | TextBox | txt |  |
| Label | Label | lbl |  |
| Command Button | CommandButton | cmd |  |
| List Box | ListBox | lst |  |
| Combo Box | ComboBox | cbo |  |
| Scroll Bar | ScrollBar | scr |  |
| Spin Button | SpinButton | spn |  |
| Option Button | OptionButton | opt |  |
| Check Box | CheckBox | chk |  |
| Toggle Button | ToggleButton | tgl |  |
| Image | Image | img |  |
| Other Controls | More Controls | — |  |