ComboBoxAdv Options in Windows Forms ComboBoxAdv(Classic)

26 Apr 20215 minutes to read

ComboBoxAdv control has a textbox, that is the edit portion of the control, and a dropdown.

TextBox

ComboBoxAdv control has properties that change the appearance and behavior of the textbox or the edit portion of the control.

Text Appearance

The following properties customize the text in the ComboBoxAdv control.

ComboBoxAdv TextBox Properties	Description
Text	Sets text for the textbox. The text can be set to null to clear the text in the textbox.
TextAlign	Sets the alignment of the text in the textbox.
ForeColor	Sets the fore color for the text entered in the edit portion of the control.

C#

//TextBox appearance properties. 
this.comboBoxAdv1.TextBox.Text = "Simple text in ComboBoxAdv";
this.comboBoxAdv1.TextBox.TextAlign = HorizontalAlignment.Center;
this.comboBoxAdv1.TextBox.ForeColor = Color.Red;

VB.NET

'TextBox appearance properties.   
Me.comboBoxAdv1.TextBox.Text = "Simple text in ComboBoxAdv"
Me.comboBoxAdv1.TextBox.TextAlign = HorizontalAlignment.Center
Me.comboBoxAdv1.TextBox.ForeColor = Color.Red

Text Selection

The selection of text during runtime can be controlled through the following properties.

ComboBoxAdv TextBox Properties	Description
SelectedText	Sets the currently selected text at runtime.
SelectionLength	Sets the number of characters selected in textbox.
SelectionStart	Sets the starting point of the text selection.

C#

//Text selection properties
this.comboBoxAdv1.TextBox.SelectedText = "Combo";
this.comboBoxAdv1.TextBox.SelectionLength = 5;
this.comboBoxAdv1.TextBox.SelectionStart = 2;

VB.NET

'Text selection properties
Me.comboBoxAdv1.TextBox.SelectedText = "Combo"
Me.comboBoxAdv1.TextBox.SelectionLength = 5
Me.comboBoxAdv1.TextBox.SelectionStart = 2

ReadOnly Settings

The following properties deal with read-only settings for the ComboBoxAdv control. 

ComboBoxAdv TextBox Properties	Description
ReadOnly	Specifies whether the control can be made read-only. By default it is set to false.
DropDownStyle	Specifies the dropdown style of the ComboBoxAdv control. Based on its options, it specifies whether the text in the control is editable or not. The styles are,Simple - The text portion is editable. The list portion is always visible.DropDown (default style) - The text portion is editable. Clicking the arrow button displays the list portion.DropDownList - The text portion is not editable. Clicking the arrow button displays the list portion.

C#

//Read only settings
this.comboBoxAdv1.ReadOnly = true;
this.comboBoxAdv1.DropDownStyle = System.Windows.Forms.ComboBoxStyle.Simple;

VB.NET

'Read only settings
Me.comboBoxAdv1.ReadOnly = True
Me.comboBoxAdv1.DropDownStyle = System.Windows.Forms.ComboBoxStyle.Simple

Behavior Settings

The following properties control the behavior of the text typed in the Textbox. 

ComboBoxAdv Properties	Description
NumberOnly	Specifies whether you can enter only numbers in the edit portion of the ComboBoxAdv.
CharacterCasing	Specifies the case of the characters that are entered in the textbox. The options are, Normal - Characters are left unchanged,UpperCase - Changes the case of the characters to UPPERCASE andLowerCase  - Changes the case of the characters to LOWERCASE.
TextBox.HideSelection	When it is set to false, it highlights the selected text in the edit portion, even if the control losses focus.
TextBox.WordWrap	Indicates whether the textbox automatically wraps words to the beginning of the next line. Note that the multiline property should be set to true, to make the word wrap feature effective.
AllowNewText	Indicates whether you are allowed to enter new text at run time.
MaxLength	Specifies the maximum number of characters allowed in the edit portion of the ComboBoxAdv control. Default (32767).

C#

//TextBox behavior settings
this.comboBoxAdv1.NumberOnly = true;
this.comboBoxAdv1.CharacterCasing = CharacterCasing.Upper;
this.comboBoxAdv1.TextBox.HideSelection = false;
this.comboBoxAdv1.TextBox.WordWrap = true;
this.comboBoxAdv1.AllowNewText = true;
this.comboBoxAdv1.MaxLength = 32766;

VB.NET

'TextBox behavior settings
Me.comboBoxAdv1.NumberOnly = True
Me.comboBoxAdv1.CharacterCasing = CharacterCasing.Upper
Me.comboBoxAdv1.TextBox.HideSelection = False
Me.comboBoxAdv1.TextBox.WordWrap = True
Me.comboBoxAdv1.AllowNewText = True
Me.comboBoxAdv1.MaxLength = 32766

Banner Text Support

You can set banner text for the ComboBoxAdv control. Refer to BannerTextProvider Component topic for more details.

DropDown Settings

Dropdown for the ComboBoxAdv control can be customized using the following properties.

ComboBoxAdv Properties	Description
DropDownWidth	Specifies the width of the dropdown. Default value is 100.
IntegralHeight	Indicates whether the list portion has complete items only, that is when this property is set to true, it displays only those items that are fully visible in terms of height.
MaxDropDownItems	Maximum number of entries that can be displayed in the dropdown. Set image for the dropdown items. Refer Image Settings topic.
Sorted	When set to true, it sorts the dropdown items in the alphabetical order.

C#

//DropDown settings
this.comboBoxAdv1.DropDownWidth = 200;
this.comboBoxAdv1.IntegralHeight = true;
this.comboBoxAdv1.MaxDropDownItems = 5;
this.comboBoxAdv1.Sorted = true;

VB.NET

'DropDown settings
Me.comboBoxAdv1.DropDownWidth = 200
Me.comboBoxAdv1.IntegralHeight = True
Me.comboBoxAdv1.MaxDropDownItems = 5
Me.comboBoxAdv1.Sorted = True

NOTE

Data for the dropdown can be set using Items property.

Refer Data Settings for details. To know about different dropdown styles available for the control, see ReadOnly Settings section in TextBox topic.