Object does not match target type

Question

I have a TableLayoutPanel with a grid of PictureBox controls within it. I'm trying to find a shortcut way to change them all to Label controls instead of manually deleting each one and placing new controls in each cell.

I thought I could go into the designer code and find/replace PictureBox with Label, but now I get an

"Object does not match target type"

error in Visual Studio's error list. I can't view the designer page now either. Is this not allowed? If it is allowed, what's the right way to do it?

Answer 1

If you take a closer look at the generated code:

label1:

this.label1 = new System.Windows.Forms.Label();
// 
// label1
// 
this.label1.AutoSize = true;
this.label1.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(134, 163);
this.label1.Name = "label1";
this.label1.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(35, 13);
this.label1.TabIndex = 1;
this.label1.Text = "label1";

pictureBox1:

this.pictureBox1 = new System.Windows.Forms.PictureBox();
((System.ComponentModel.ISupportInitialize)(this.pictureBox1)).BeginInit();
// 
// pictureBox1
// 
this.pictureBox1.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(97, 75);
this.pictureBox1.Name = "pictureBox1";
this.pictureBox1.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(100, 50);
this.pictureBox1.TabIndex = 0;
this.pictureBox1.TabStop = false;

My guess is that the

((System.ComponentModel.ISupportInitialize)(this.pictureBox1)).BeginInit();

is changed by you into something like:

((System.ComponentModel.ISupportInitialize)(this.label1)).BeginInit();

which doesn't work, and results in designer issues. Object does not match target type.

so, apply the changes you already did, remove the lines like:

((System.ComponentModel.ISupportInitialize)(this.label1)).BeginInit();
((System.ComponentModel.ISupportInitialize)(this.label1)).EndInit();

and I think you're good to go.

Answer 2

Don't change designer code. That stuff is automatically generated. Not only can your changes cause unexpected behavior, but they can get over-written as well.

I would attempt to make a change or 2 to your form, or whatever your designer is behind, and hope it regenerates all it's code.

Answer 3

You can delete all the picture boxes in the designer, then add all the labels in the _load event (or another convenient event). That way it will be easier to change next time.