Getting Started with Windows Forms AutoComplete

23 Sep 2020 / 6 minutes to read

This section provides a quick overview for working with the AutoComplete in Windows Forms.

Assembly deployment

Refer to the Control dependencies section to get the list of assemblies or NuGet package that needs to be added as reference to use the component in any application.

Refer to this documentation to find more details about installing nuget packages in a Windows Forms application.

Creating Application with AutoComplete

In this walk through, users will create WinForms application that contains AutoComplete control.

Creating the Project

Create new Windows Forms Project in Visual Studio to display AutoComplete control.

Adding control via designer

AutoComplete control can be added to the application by dragging it from Toolbox and dropping it in Designer. The required assembly references will be added automatically.

Adding control in code

1. Create a new Windows Forms application in Visual Studio. Add the following required assembly references:

• Syncfusion.Grid.Base
• Syncfusion.Grid.Windows
• Syncfusion.Shared.Base
• Syncfusion.Shared.Windows
• Syncfusion.SpellChecker.Base
• Syncfusion.Tools.Base
• Syncfusion.Tools.Windows

1. Add the required namespace and create an instance for AutoComplete and TextBox controls.

c#

Using Syncfusion.Windows.Forms.Tools

public Form1()
{
    InitializeComponent();
    AutoComplete autoComplete1 = new AutoComplete();
    TextBox textBox1 = new TextBox();
    this.Controls.Add(textBox1);
}

vb

Imports Syncfusion.Windows.Forms.Tools

Public Sub New()
    InitializeComponent()
    Dim autoComplete1 As AutoComplete = New AutoComplete()
    Dim textBox1 As TextBox = New TextBox()
    Me.Controls.Add(textBox1)
End Sub

Enable AutoComplete functionality for TextBox control

Enabling via designer

Set the AutoComplete on autoComplete1 property as AutoSuggest using the drop-down provided in the TextBox properties dialog window. The Default value is Disabled.

Enabling via Code

Use the SetAutoComplete method to add the AutoComplete component with the TextBox control.

c#

public Form1()
{
    InitializeComponent();
    AutoComplete autoComplete1 = new AutoComplete();
    TextBox textBox1 = new TextBox();
    autoComplete1.SetAutoComplete(textBox1, AutoCompleteModes.AutoSuggest);
    this.Controls.Add(textBox1);
}

vb

Public Sub New()
    InitializeComponent()
    Dim autoComplete1 As AutoComplete = New AutoComplete()
    Dim textBox1 As TextBox = New TextBox()
    autoComplete1.SetAutoComplete(textBox1, AutoCompleteModes.AutoSuggest)
    Me.Controls.Add(textBox1)
End Sub

Creating Datasource for Sample Application

The AutoComplete component supports variety of data sources such as DataTables, DataSets, or any component that implement interfaces like IList, IBindingList, ITypedList, or IListSource. For assigning data source to AutoComplete, use the DataSource property.

c#

private void Form1_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    //Create a data table
    DataTable dt = new DataTable("Table1");
    dt.Columns.Add("Country");
    dt.Columns.Add("Capital");

    // Create a data set
    DataSet ds = new DataSet();
    ds.Tables.Add(dt);
    dt.Rows.Add(new string[] { "United Kingdom ", "London" });
    dt.Rows.Add(new string[] { "USA", "Washington, D.C." });
    dt.Rows.Add(new string[] { "Brazil", "Brasilia" });
    dt.Rows.Add(new string[] { "France", "Paris" });
    dt.Rows.Add(new string[] { "Russia", "Moscow" });
    dt.Rows.Add(new string[] { "India", "Delhi" });
    DataView view = new DataView(dt);

    // Setting data source to AutoComplete
    this.autoComplete1.DataSource = view;
}

vb

Private Sub Form1_Load(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)

    'Create dataTable
    Dim dt As DataTable = New DataTable("Table1")
    dt.Columns.Add("Country")
    dt.Columns.Add("Capital")

    'Create a Data Set
    Dim ds As DataSet = New DataSet()
    ds.Tables.Add(dt)
    dt.Rows.Add(New String() {"United Kingdom ", "London"})
    dt.Rows.Add(New String() {"USA", "Washington, D.C."})
    dt.Rows.Add(New String() {"Brazil", "Brasilia"})
    dt.Rows.Add(New String() {"France", "Paris"})
    dt.Rows.Add(New String() {"Russia", "Moscow"})
    dt.Rows.Add(New String() {"India", "Delhi"})
    Dim view As DataView = New DataView(dt)

    ' setting datasource to autocomplete
    Me.autoComplete1.DataSource = view
End Sub