Can you load a .Net form as a control?

Question

I want to load a desktop application, via reflection, as a Control inside another application.

The application I'm reflecting is a legacy one - I can't make changes to it.

I can dynamically access the Form, but can't load it as a Control.

In .Net Form expands on Control, and I can assign the reflected Form as a Control, but it throws a run-time exception.

Forms cannot be loaded as controls.

Is there any way to convert the form to a control?

Answer 1

Yes, this works just fine. I'm working on a .NET app right now that loads forms into a panel on a host form.

The relevant snippet:

// setup the new form
form.TopLevel = false;
form.FormBorderStyle = FormBorderStyle.None;
form.Dock = DockStyle.Fill;
form.Show ( );

// add to the panel's list of child controls
panelFormHost.Controls.Add ( form );