Not sure if still applicable, but I have run into the same problem in VS.Net 2003. I simply removed the border on the text box, set the background and fore color to "Control" (to match the color of the form), set ReadOnly to true, and TabStop to false. Then I hid them behing the other related components on the form. Problem solved! :) You have probably already figured out a way around this, but hopefully this will be helpful to others with the same problem...