How to make a pane docking by default

Here is how to hide a pane.  Be sure that you hide the pane only after you are done refrencing it with other CreatePane calls.  In the example below, Pane B is docked on top of Pane A, Pane A is referenced in Pane B's CreatePane call, so you must wait to hide Pane A until Pane B was created.

    Dim A As Pane, B As Pane
    
    Set A = DockingPaneManager.CreatePane(1, 200, 120, DockLeftOf)
    A.Title = "Pane A"
   
    Set B = DockingPaneManager.CreatePane(2, 200, 120, DockTopOf, A)
    B.Title = "Pane B"

    A.Hide

If you are working with a pane that has not been shown I might just create a new instance of each form that is attached to your panes in the Form_Load event you can then work with this instance before the pane is even shown.  Then you can attach the form you created in the Load_Form event when the Pane fires the Attach_Pane event.  So you wouldn't be creating the new instance of a form in the Attach_Pane event, you only attached the forms you already created when the app first started. 

Hope this help/made sense

What problem are you referring to?

Thats because the form/controls has not yet been attached to the pane.  In my previous post I mentioned that you should create a new instance of the forms you will attach to the pane.  You then work with the new form when accessing controls.  When the attach_pane event is fired, you simply test when pane triggered the evant and attache the appropriate form.

'Placed in Genaral code section (frmMyControls is my form)
    Const PANE_1 = 100
    Dim frmMyControls As frmMyControls

'In Form_Load
    Set frmMyControls = New frmMyControls
   
    'Here you can work with the form and controls on the form before the docking pane is ever created.

    Dim A As Pane
   
    Set A = DockingPaneManager.CreatePane(PANE_1, 200, 120, DockLeftOf, Nothing)
    A.Tag = PANE_1
    A.Hide

'In Attach_Pane event
    If Item.Tag = PANE_1 Then
        Item.Handle = frmMyControls.hWnd
    ElseIf Item.Tag = PANE_2 Then
        Item.Handle = form2.hWnd
    Else
        Item.Handle = form3.hWnd
    End If



Edited by SuperMario