sending a string from one form to another (help!)

Put it in the Constructor of the target form public sub new(X as string) mybase.new() InitializeComponent() lblwhatever.text=x end sub *p.s. don't remove or modify the origional constructor

Where in the frmResults are you making the assignment. If it is anywhere outside the Form.Load event handler lblDisplay.Text is being over-written when the ShowDialog event is called. Form.Show and Form.ShowDialog initialize controls in the Form object to defaults if the form has not been previously initialized. When the form object is created it allocates space for the form and then calls the New method to initialize the form, however control objects are not filled with their default values until they are 'visible'. You can pass the string directly to the public variable, but that is not considered a good practice. Local global variables should always be declared as Private. Here's the proper way to pass a variable to a form or control: frmSearch Private Sub btnSearch_Click(ByVal sender as System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles btnSearch.Click Dim frmNewResults as New frmResults frmNewResults.RowFilter = "Test" frmNewResults.ShowDialog() End Sub frmResults(Global): Private strRowFilter as String Public Property RowFilter() As String Get Return strRowFilter End Get Set(ByVal value as String) strRowFilter = value End Set End Property '... elsewhere in your code. Most likely in the Form.Load event handler lblDisplay.Text = strRowFilter