WinForms Hiding TabControl Headers

Put the tabcontrol in a panel and fixate it so it hides the headers. Easiest is to do it in the code behind (or create a custom control that does this):

Private Sub Form1_Load(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles Me.Load
    Dim bordersize As Integer = 3 'could'nt find this on the control.

    Dim ControlSize As New Size(437, 303) ' the size you want for the tabcontrol
    Dim ControlLocation As New Point(10, 10) 'location

    Dim p As New Panel
    p.Size = ControlSize
    p.Location = ControlLocation
    Me.Controls.Add(p)

    Dim t As New TabControl
    t.Size = ControlSize
    p.Controls.Add(t)



    t.Left = -t.Padding.Y
    t.Top = -(t.ItemSize.Height + t.Padding.Y)
    p.Width = t.Width - t.Padding.X
    p.Height = t.Height - (t.ItemSize.Height + t.Padding.Y + bordersize)
    t.Anchor = AnchorStyles.Bottom Or AnchorStyles.Left Or AnchorStyles.Right Or AnchorStyles.Top

    AddHandler t.GotFocus, AddressOf ignoreFocus
End Sub

Private Sub ignoreFocus(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs)
    Dim t As TabControl = CType(sender, TabControl)
    If t.SelectedIndex > -1 Then t.TabPages(t.SelectedIndex).Focus()
End Sub

Now, if you resize the panel, the tabcontrol will follow and only show the tabpage-area.

Depending on your needs, you might also consider using a WinForms version of MultiView:

Public Class MultiView
  Inherits Panel

  Public Property SelectedIndex As Integer
    Get
      Return _SelectedIndex
    End Get
    Set(Value As Integer)
      If Value.IsBetween(-1, Me.Controls.Count, InclusionOptions.Exclusive) Then
        Me.SelectView(Me.Controls(Value))
      Else
        _SelectedIndex = -1
      End If
    End Set
  End Property
  Private _SelectedIndex As Integer = -1



  Public Property SelectedView As UserControl
    Get
      Return _SelectedView
    End Get
    Set(Value As UserControl)
      If Value IsNot Nothing Then
        Me.SelectView(Value)
      End If
    End Set
  End Property
  Private _SelectedView As UserControl



  Default Public ReadOnly Property Item(Index As Integer) As UserControl
    Get
      Return Me.Views(Index)
    End Get
  End Property



  Default Public ReadOnly Property Item(Name As String) As UserControl
    Get
      Return Me.Views.Where(Function(View As UserControl)
                              Return View.Name.ToLower = Name.ToLower
                            End Function).SingleOrDefault
    End Get
  End Property



  Public ReadOnly Property Views As List(Of UserControl)
    Get
      Return Me.Controls.Cast(Of UserControl).ToList
    End Get
  End Property



  Public Sub AddView(View As UserControl)
    Me.Controls.Add(View)
    View.Dock = DockStyle.Fill
  End Sub



  Private Sub SelectView(NewView As UserControl)
    Me.Controls.Cast(Of UserControl).ToList.ForEach(Sub(OldView As UserControl)
                                                      OldView.Visible = OldView Is NewView

                                                      If OldView Is NewView Then
                                                        OldView.Visible = True
                                                        _SelectedView = OldView
                                                        _SelectedIndex = Me.Controls.IndexOf(_SelectedView)
                                                      Else
                                                        OldView.Visible = False
                                                      End If
                                                    End Sub)
  End Sub
End Class

Here is the simplest solution:

tabControl.ItemSize = new Size(0, 1);
tabControl.SizeMode = TabSizeMode.Fixed;

Although the height is being set to 1 pixel, the headers will actually disappear completely when you also use TabSizeMode.Fixed.

This has worked well for me.