Add spell check functionality to windows form textbox [duplicate] - vb.net

I am trying to use the SpellCheck class C# provides (in PresentationFramework.dll).
But, I am experiencing problems when trying to bind the spelling to my textbox:
SpellCheck.SetIsEnabled(txtWhatever, true);
The problem is that my txtWhatever is of type System.Windows.Forms and the parameter this function is looking for is System.Windows.Controls, and simple converting failed.
I also tried to make my TextBox of this type, but... couldn't.
Does anyone know how to use this SpellCheck object?
(MSDN wasn't that helpful...)
Thanks

You have to use a WPF TextBox to make spell checking work. You can embed one in a Windows Forms form with the ElementHost control. It works pretty similar to a UserControl. Here's a control that you can drop straight from the toolbox. To get started, you need Project + Add Reference and select WindowsFormsIntegration, System.Design and the WPF assemblies PresentationCore, PresentationFramework and WindowsBase.
Add a new class to your project and paste the code shown below. Compile. Drop the SpellBox control from the top of the toolbox onto a form. It supports the TextChanged event and the Multiline and WordWrap properties. There's a nagging problem with the Font, there is no easy way to map a WF Font to the WPF font properties. The easiest workaround for that is to set the form's Font to "Segoe UI", the default for WPF.
using System;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.ComponentModel.Design.Serialization;
using System.Windows;
using System.Windows.Controls;
using System.Windows.Forms.Integration;
using System.Windows.Forms.Design;
[Designer(typeof(ControlDesigner))]
//[DesignerSerializer("System.Windows.Forms.Design.ControlCodeDomSerializer, System.Design, Version=2.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a", "System.ComponentModel.Design.Serialization.CodeDomSerializer, System.Design, Version=2.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a")]
class SpellBox : ElementHost {
public SpellBox() {
box = new TextBox();
base.Child = box;
box.TextChanged += (s, e) => OnTextChanged(EventArgs.Empty);
box.SpellCheck.IsEnabled = true;
box.VerticalScrollBarVisibility = ScrollBarVisibility.Auto;
this.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(100, 20);
}
public override string Text {
get { return box.Text; }
set { box.Text = value; }
}
[DefaultValue(false)]
public bool Multiline {
get { return box.AcceptsReturn; }
set { box.AcceptsReturn = value; }
}
[DefaultValue(false)]
public bool WordWrap {
get { return box.TextWrapping != TextWrapping.NoWrap; }
set { box.TextWrapping = value ? TextWrapping.Wrap : TextWrapping.NoWrap; }
}
[DesignerSerializationVisibility(DesignerSerializationVisibility.Hidden)]
public new System.Windows.UIElement Child {
get { return base.Child; }
set { /* Do nothing to solve a problem with the serializer !! */ }
}
private TextBox box;
}
By popular demand, a VB.NET version of this code that avoids the lambda:
Imports System
Imports System.ComponentModel
Imports System.ComponentModel.Design.Serialization
Imports System.Windows
Imports System.Windows.Controls
Imports System.Windows.Forms.Integration
Imports System.Windows.Forms.Design
<Designer(GetType(ControlDesigner))> _
Class SpellBox
Inherits ElementHost
Public Sub New()
box = New TextBox()
MyBase.Child = box
AddHandler box.TextChanged, AddressOf box_TextChanged
box.SpellCheck.IsEnabled = True
box.VerticalScrollBarVisibility = ScrollBarVisibility.Auto
Me.Size = New System.Drawing.Size(100, 20)
End Sub
Private Sub box_TextChanged(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)
OnTextChanged(EventArgs.Empty)
End Sub
Public Overrides Property Text() As String
Get
Return box.Text
End Get
Set(ByVal value As String)
box.Text = value
End Set
End Property
<DefaultValue(False)> _
Public Property MultiLine() As Boolean
Get
Return box.AcceptsReturn
End Get
Set(ByVal value As Boolean)
box.AcceptsReturn = value
End Set
End Property
<DefaultValue(False)> _
Public Property WordWrap() As Boolean
Get
Return box.TextWrapping <> TextWrapping.NoWrap
End Get
Set(ByVal value As Boolean)
If value Then
box.TextWrapping = TextWrapping.Wrap
Else
box.TextWrapping = TextWrapping.NoWrap
End If
End Set
End Property
<DesignerSerializationVisibility(DesignerSerializationVisibility.Hidden)> _
Public Shadows Property Child() As System.Windows.UIElement
Get
Return MyBase.Child
End Get
Set(ByVal value As System.Windows.UIElement)
'' Do nothing to solve a problem with the serializer !!
End Set
End Property
Private box As TextBox
End Class

Have you tried just setting the property on the actual TextBox your attempting to spellcheck. e.g.
txtWhatever.SpellCheck.IsEnabled = true;

You're trying to use a spell-check component designed for WPF on a WinForms application. They're incompatible.
If you want to use the .NET-provided spell check, you'll have to use WPF as your widget system.
If you want to stick with WinForms, you'll need a third-party spell check component.

Free .NET spell checker based around a WPF text box that can be used client or server side can be seen here. It will wrap the text box for you although you still need the assembly includes to Presentation framework etc.
Full disclosure...written by yours truly

I needed to add a background colour to the textbox in winforms that reflected the colour selected in the designer:
public override System.Drawing.Color BackColor
{
get
{
if (box == null) { return Color.White; }
System.Windows.Media.Brush br = box.Background;
byte a = ((System.Windows.Media.SolidColorBrush)(br)).Color.A;
byte g = ((System.Windows.Media.SolidColorBrush)(br)).Color.G;
byte r = ((System.Windows.Media.SolidColorBrush)(br)).Color.R;
byte b = ((System.Windows.Media.SolidColorBrush)(br)).Color.B;
return System.Drawing.Color.FromArgb((int)a, (int)r, (int)g, (int)b);
}
set
{
box.Background = new System.Windows.Media.SolidColorBrush(System.Windows.Media.Color.FromArgb(value.A, value.R, value.G, value.B));
}
}

If you want to enable the TextChanged Event write the code like this.
using System;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.ComponentModel.Design.Serialization;
using System.Windows;
using System.Windows.Controls;
using System.Windows.Forms.Integration;
using System.Windows.Forms.Design;
[Designer(typeof(ControlDesigner))]
//[DesignerSerializer("System.Windows.Forms.Design.ControlCodeDomSerializer, System.Design, Version=2.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a", "System.ComponentModel.Design.Serialization.CodeDomSerializer, System.Design, Version=2.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a")]
class SpellBox : ElementHost
{
public SpellBox()
{
box = new TextBox();
base.Child = box;
box.TextChanged += (s, e) => OnTextChanged(EventArgs.Empty);
box.SpellCheck.IsEnabled = true;
box.VerticalScrollBarVisibility = ScrollBarVisibility.Auto;
box.TextChanged += new System.Windows.Controls.TextChangedEventHandler(SpellBox_TextChanged);
this.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(100, 20);
}
[Browsable(true)]
[Category("Action")]
[Description("Invoked when Text Changes")]
public new event EventHandler TextChanged;
protected void SpellBox_TextChanged(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
if (this.TextChanged!=null)
this.TextChanged(this, e);
}
public override string Text
{
get { return box.Text; }
set { box.Text = value; }
}
[DefaultValue(false)]
public bool Multiline
{
get { return box.AcceptsReturn; }
set { box.AcceptsReturn = value; }
}
[DefaultValue(false)]
public bool WordWrap
{
get { return box.TextWrapping != TextWrapping.NoWrap; }
set { box.TextWrapping = value ? TextWrapping.Wrap : TextWrapping.NoWrap; }
}
[DesignerSerializationVisibility(DesignerSerializationVisibility.Hidden)]
public new System.Windows.UIElement Child
{
get { return base.Child; }
set { /* Do nothing to solve a problem with the serializer !! */ }
}
private TextBox box;
}

what about getting a list of words in the english language and copying that to a text file. add the reference. then use streamreader class to analyze the list against textbox.text. any words not found in the text file could be set to be highlighted or displayed in a dialog box with options to replace or ignore. this is a shotgun suggestion with many missing steps and i am 2 months into programming but....its what im going to attempt anyway. i am making a notepad project (rexpad on idreamincode.com). hope this helped!

Related

Change the backcolor of current line of caret position [duplicate]

I have uploaded a image of what i want to achive...
So as you can see i want to highlight the line i click on [And update it on _textchanged event!
Is there any possible way of doing this in any colour... doesnt have to be yellow. I have searched alot but i cant understand how to get the starting length and end length and all of that.
It has confused me alot and i don;'t understand and would require some help.
Thanks for all help that is given in this thread. Also it is windows form. Im making a notepad app like notepad++ or some other notepad app... .NET Windows Form C# RichTextBox
You'll need to create your own control that inherits from RichTextBox and use that control on your form. Since the RichTextBox does not support owner drawing, you will have to listen for the WM_PAINT message and then do your work in there. Here is an example that works fairly well, though the line height is hard coded right now:
public class HighlightableRTB : RichTextBox
{
// You should probably find a way to calculate this, as each line could have a different height.
private int LineHeight = 15;
public HighlightableRTB()
{
HighlightColor = Color.Yellow;
}
[Category("Custom"),
Description("Specifies the highlight color.")]
public Color HighlightColor { get; set; }
protected override void OnSelectionChanged(EventArgs e)
{
base.OnSelectionChanged(e);
this.Invalidate();
}
private const int WM_PAINT = 15;
protected override void WndProc(ref Message m)
{
if (m.Msg == WM_PAINT)
{
var selectLength = this.SelectionLength;
var selectStart = this.SelectionStart;
this.Invalidate();
base.WndProc(ref m);
if (selectLength > 0) return; // Hides the highlight if the user is selecting something
using (Graphics g = Graphics.FromHwnd(this.Handle))
{
Brush b = new SolidBrush(Color.FromArgb(50, HighlightColor));
var line = this.GetLineFromCharIndex(selectStart);
var loc = this.GetPositionFromCharIndex(this.GetFirstCharIndexFromLine(line));
g.FillRectangle(b, new Rectangle(loc, new Size(this.Width, LineHeight)));
}
}
else
{
base.WndProc(ref m);
}
}
}

How to display a Labels 'Error on ErrorProvider1'

Goal
I want to display the text that I put in the Label's "Error on ErrorProvider1" attribute whenever I get an error. See the following label's attributes below.
I try to display the text in the red rectangle into my ErrorProvider1 SetError(control, value) function.
If TextBox1.Text.Trim.Contains("'") Then
ErrorProvider1.SetError(lblErr, ErrorProvider1.GetError(lblErr))
Else
ErrorProvider1.SetError(lblErr, "")
End If
How can I retrieve the 'Error on ErrorProvider1' text from the lblErr to display it in the ErrorProvider1 SetError value?
The ErrorProvider component is very awkward to use effectively. It is fixable however, I'll give an example in C# that extends the component with some new capabilities:
ShowError(Control ctl, bool enable) displays the text that you entered at design-time when the enable argument is true. The easier-to-use version of SetError().
HasErrors returns true if the any active warning icons are displayed. Handy in your OK button's Click event handler.
FocusError() sets the focus to the first control that has a warning icon, if any. It returns false if no warnings are remaining.
SetError() is a replacement of ErrorProvider.SetError(). You only need it if you add any controls after the form's Load event fired or if you need to modify the warning text.
Add a new class to your project and paste the code shown below. Compile. Drop it from the top of the toolbox onto the form. The design-time behavior is identical. Modestly tested.
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using System.ComponentModel.Design;
class MyErrorProvider : ErrorProvider {
public void ShowError(Control ctl, bool enable) {
// Easy to use version of SetError(), uses design-time text
if (!enable) base.SetError(ctl, "");
else {
if (errors.ContainsKey(ctl)) base.SetError(ctl, errors[ctl]);
else base.SetError(ctl, "No error text available");
}
}
public bool HasErrors {
// True if any errors are present
get {
foreach (var err in errors)
if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(base.GetError(err.Key))) return true;
return false;
}
}
public bool FocusError() {
// Set the focus to the first control with an active error
foreach (var err in errors) {
if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(base.GetError(err.Key))) {
err.Key.Focus();
return true;
}
}
return false;
}
public new void SetError(Control ctl, string text) {
// Use this only to add/modify error text after the form's Load event
if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(text)) {
if (errors.ContainsKey(ctl)) errors[ctl] = text;
else errors.Add(ctl, text);
}
base.SetError(ctl, text);
}
private void initialize(object sender, EventArgs e) {
// Preserve error text
copyErrors(((Form)sender).Controls);
}
private void copyErrors(Control.ControlCollection ctls) {
foreach (Control ctl in ctls) {
var text = this.GetError(ctl);
if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(text)) {
errors.Add(ctl, text);
base.SetError(ctl, "");
}
copyErrors(ctl.Controls);
}
}
private Dictionary<Control, string> errors = new Dictionary<Control, string>();
// Plumbing to hook the form's Load event
[Browsable(false)]
public new ContainerControl ContainerControl {
get { return base.ContainerControl; }
set {
if (base.ContainerControl == null) {
var form = value.FindForm();
if (form != null) form.Load += initialize;
}
base.ContainerControl = value;
}
}
public override ISite Site {
set {
// Runs at design time, ensures designer initializes ContainerControl
base.Site = value;
if (value == null) return;
IDesignerHost service = value.GetService(typeof(IDesignerHost)) as IDesignerHost;
if (service == null) return;
IComponent rootComponent = service.RootComponent;
this.ContainerControl = rootComponent as ContainerControl;
}
}
}
Your issue is that you are replacing the error message when nothing is wrong. As noted in your comment below, you are storing the localized error message in the label's Tag, so you can do the following:
If TextBox1.Text.Trim.Contains("'") Then
ErrorProvider1.SetError(lblErr, lblErr.Tag)
Else
ErrorProvider1.SetError(lblErr, "")
End If
You were correct to use ErrorProvider1.GetError(Control) to get the value. It's just that you're more than likely replacing it with an empty string before you were retrieving it.

log4net smtpappender custom email recipients

I am able to use log4net to send logging information to an email address using the smtpappender and a Gmail account in a VB solution (Visual Studio 2010). The recipient is configured in the log4net config file, however I would like to be able to change the recipient email address dynamically.
Is it possible without having to write a custom smtpappender?
Wether the answer is yes or no, please give me an example, preferably in VB.
It's not possible, the current SmtpAppender won't allow it. But you're lucky, the SendBuffer in the SmtpAppender can be overridden, so you can easily add some behavior to it. I think your best bet is to use the LoggingEvent properties to set the recipient:
public class MySmtpAppender : SmtpAppender
{
protected override void SendBuffer(log4net.Core.LoggingEvent[] events)
{
var Recipients = events
.Where(e => e.Properties.Contains("recipient"))
.Select(e => e.Properties["recipient"])
.Distinct();
var RecipientsAsASingleLine = string.Join(";", Recipients.ToArray()); // or whatever the separator is
var PreviousTo = To;
To = RecipientsAsASingleLine;
base.SendBuffer(events);
To = PreviousTo;
}
}
You may want to change the way to select recipients, your call.
edit The tool recommended by stuartd works quite well (well, it is quite a simple class, but still):
Public Class MySmtpAppender
Inherits SmtpAppender
Protected Overrides Sub SendBuffer(events As log4net.Core.LoggingEvent())
Dim Recipients = events.Where(Function(e) e.Properties.Contains("recipient")).[Select](Function(e) e.Properties("recipient")).Distinct()
Dim RecipientsAsASingleLine = String.Join(";", Recipients.ToArray())
' or whatever the separator is
Dim PreviousTo = [To]
[To] = RecipientsAsASingleLine
MyBase.SendBuffer(events)
[To] = PreviousTo
End Sub
End Class
it is possible. see my answer in this question - copied code below
using System;
using System.IO;
using System.Web.Mail;
using log4net.Layout;
using log4net.Core;
using log4net.Appender;
namespace SampleAppendersApp.Appender
{
/// <summary>
/// Simple mail appender that sends individual messages
/// </summary>
/// <remarks>
/// This SimpleSmtpAppender sends each LoggingEvent received as a
/// separate mail message.
/// The mail subject line can be specified using a pattern layout.
/// </remarks>
public class SimpleSmtpAppender : AppenderSkeleton
{
public SimpleSmtpAppender()
{
}
public string To
{
get { return m_to; }
set { m_to = value; }
}
public string From
{
get { return m_from; }
set { m_from = value; }
}
public PatternLayout Subject
{
get { return m_subjectLayout; }
set { m_subjectLayout = value; }
}
public string SmtpHost
{
get { return m_smtpHost; }
set { m_smtpHost = value; }
}
#region Override implementation of AppenderSkeleton
override protected void Append(LoggingEvent loggingEvent)
{
try
{
StringWriter writer = new StringWriter(System.Globalization.CultureInfo.InvariantCulture);
string t = Layout.Header;
if (t != null)
{
writer.Write(t);
}
// Render the event and append the text to the buffer
RenderLoggingEvent(writer, loggingEvent);
t = Layout.Footer;
if (t != null)
{
writer.Write(t);
}
MailMessage mailMessage = new MailMessage();
mailMessage.Body = writer.ToString();
mailMessage.From = m_from;
mailMessage.To = m_to;
if (m_subjectLayout == null)
{
mailMessage.Subject = "Missing Subject Layout";
}
else
{
StringWriter subjectWriter = new StringWriter(System.Globalization.CultureInfo.InvariantCulture);
m_subjectLayout.Format(subjectWriter, loggingEvent);
mailMessage.Subject = subjectWriter.ToString();
}
if (m_smtpHost != null && m_smtpHost.Length > 0)
{
SmtpMail.SmtpServer = m_smtpHost;
}
SmtpMail.Send(mailMessage);
}
catch(Exception e)
{
ErrorHandler.Error("Error occurred while sending e-mail notification.", e);
}
}
override protected bool RequiresLayout
{
get { return true; }
}
#endregion // Override implementation of AppenderSkeleton
private string m_to;
private string m_from;
private PatternLayout m_subjectLayout;
private string m_smtpHost;
}
}
You can use log4Net.GlobalContext class.
code:
App.config
<appender name="SmtpLogAppender" type="log4net.Appender.SmtpAppender">
<to type="log4net.Util.PatternString" value="%property{SenderList}"/>
C# Code
GlobalContext.Properties["SenderList"] = "abc#xyz.com, def#xyz.com";
log4net.Config.XmlConfigurator.Configure();
It is possible, to a certain degree, to get dynamic recipient.
In the SMTP appender the replacements for To, CC, From etc is done during configuration. Not ideal (would be best if it were to calculate the values at every send) but still workable.
Re-configuring the logging is not free but is doable programatically. You can set your To field as such :
<to type="log4net.Util.PatternString" value="SomeAccountThatReceivesAll#yourCorp.com%property{MailRecipient}" />
then in your code you can set a comma separated list of recipient like this :
log4net.GlobalContext.Properties["MailRecipient"] = "SomeOtherAccount#yourCorp.com,YourCorpSupportForThisApp#yourCorp.com";
the important bit is that you force a re-configuration AFTER you set these values. The exact syntax will depend on your config strategy, we use a central config file for all the logging so in C# it would look like this :
log4net.Config.XmlConfigurator.ConfigureAndWatch("PathToYourCentralFile.xml");
and voila ! Dynamic recipient without any custom appenders !
Personally I would prefer the custom appender, less hackish as it does not require constant re-configuring if you need to change them often. But if you only need the 10 minute fix and the config for recipient does not change once started then I found this to be good enough.

datagridview with datasource out of bound index

I'm binding some fields to a datagridview with
myDataGridView.datasource = List(of MyCustomObject)
And i never touch the indexes manually but i'm getting -1 index have no value (so, an out of bound error)
The error comes on the onRowEnter() Event when I select any row in the grid.
It doesn't even enter any of my events for handling my clic, it bugs before...
On the interface,just before clicking,
I can see that no rows of grid 2 is the (currentRow).
I guess the bug comes from there but I don't know how to set a currentRow Manually or simply avoid this bug...
Any one have seen this before?
edit -
I've added some code to test:
dgvAssDet.CurrentCell = dgvAssDet.Rows(0).Cells(0)
When this assignation runs, the currentCell = nothing,
there is > 5 rows and columns...
And i've got the same error, before changing the old currentCell it trys to retrieve it,
but in my case there is none and it bugs... I've got no idea why.
When you use a DataSource on a DGV, you should use the collection System.ComponentModel.BindingList<T>, not System.Collections.Generic.List<T>
public class MyObject
{
public int Field1 { get; set; }
public MyObject() { }
}
public partial class Form1 : Form
{
public Form1()
{
InitializeComponent();
DataGridViewTest();
}
public void DataGridViewTest() {
BindingList<MyObject> objects = new BindingList<MyObject>();
dataGridView1.AutoGenerateColumns = true;
dataGridView1.DataSource = objects;
dataGridView1.AllowUserToAddRows = true;
objects.Add(new MyObject() {
Field1 = 1
});
}
}
If your objects list was the type of List<T> you would get the index out of bounds error.

How to make a custom ComboBox (OwnerDrawFixed) looks 3D like the standard ComboBox?

I am making a custom ComboBox, inherited from Winforms' standard ComboBox. For my custom ComboBox, I set DrawMode to OwnerDrawFixed and DropDownStyle to DropDownList. Then I write my own OnDrawItem method. But I ended up like this:
How do I make my Custom ComboBox to look like the Standard one?
Update 1: ButtonRenderer
After searching all around, I found the ButtonRenderer class. It provides a DrawButton static/shared method which -- as the name implies -- draws the proper 3D button. I'm experimenting with it now.
Update 2: What overwrites my control?
I tried using the Graphics properties of various objects I can think of, but I always fail. Finally, I tried the Graphics of the form, and apparently something is overwriting my button.
Here's the code:
Protected Overrides Sub OnDrawItem(ByVal e As System.Windows.Forms.DrawItemEventArgs)
Dim TextToDraw As String = _DefaultText
__Brush_Window.Color = Color.FromKnownColor(KnownColor.Window)
__Brush_Disabled.Color = Color.FromKnownColor(KnownColor.GrayText)
__Brush_Enabled.Color = Color.FromKnownColor(KnownColor.WindowText)
If e.Index >= 0 Then
TextToDraw = _DataSource.ItemText(e.Index)
End If
If TextToDraw.StartsWith("---") Then TextToDraw = StrDup(3, ChrW(&H2500)) ' U+2500 is "Box Drawing Light Horizontal"
If (e.State And DrawItemState.ComboBoxEdit) > 0 Then
'ButtonRenderer.DrawButton(e.Graphics, e.Bounds, VisualStyles.PushButtonState.Default)
Else
e.DrawBackground()
End If
With e
If _IsEnabled(.Index) Then
.Graphics.DrawString(TextToDraw, Me.Font, __Brush_Enabled, .Bounds.X, .Bounds.Y)
Else
'.Graphics.FillRectangle(__Brush_Window, .Bounds)
.Graphics.DrawString(TextToDraw, Me.Font, __Brush_Disabled, .Bounds.X, .Bounds.Y)
End If
End With
TextToDraw = Nothing
ButtonRenderer.DrawButton(Me.Parent.CreateGraphics, Me.ClientRectangle, VisualStyles.PushButtonState.Default)
'MyBase.OnDrawItem(e)
End Sub
And here's the result:
Replacing Me.Parent.CreateGraphics with e.Graphics got me this:
And doing the above + replacing Me.ClientRectangle with e.Bounds got me this:
Can anyone point me whose Graphics I must use for the ButtonRenderer.DrawButton method?
PS: The bluish border is due to my using PushButtonState.Default instead of PushButtonState.Normal
I Found An Answer! (see below)
I forgot where I found the answer... I'll edit this answer when I remember.
But apparently, I need to set the Systems.Windows.Forms.ControlStyles flags. Especially the ControlStyles.UserPaint flag.
So, my New() now looks like this:
Private _ButtonArea as New Rectangle
Public Sub New()
' This call is required by the designer.
InitializeComponent()
' Add any initialization after the InitializeComponent() call.
MyBase.SetStyle(ControlStyles.Opaque Or ControlStyles.UserPaint, True)
MyBase.DrawMode = Windows.Forms.DrawMode.OwnerDrawFixed
MyBase.DropDownStyle = ComboBoxStyle.DropDownList
' Cache the button's modified ClientRectangle (see Note)
With _ButtonArea
.X = Me.ClientRectangle.X - 1
.Y = Me.ClientRectangle.Y - 1
.Width = Me.ClientRectangle.Width + 2
.Height = Me.ClientRectangle.Height + 2
End With
End Sub
And now I can hook into the OnPaint event:
Protected Overrides Sub OnPaint(ByVal e As System.Windows.Forms.PaintEventArgs)
If Me.DroppedDown Then
ButtonRenderer.DrawButton(Me.CreateGraphics, _ButtonArea, VisualStyles.PushButtonState.Pressed)
Else
ButtonRenderer.DrawButton(Me.CreateGraphics, _ButtonArea, VisualStyles.PushButtonState.Normal)
End If
MyBase.OnPaint(e)
End Sub
Note: Yes, the _ButtonArea rectangle must be enlarged by 1 pixel to all directions (up, down, left, right), or else there will be a 1-pixel 'perimeter' around the ButtonRenderer that shows garbage. Made me crazy for awhile until I read that I must enlarge the Control's rect for ButtonRenderer.
I had this problem myself and the reply by pepoluan got me started. I still think a few things are missing in order to get a ComboBox with looks and behavior similar to the standard ComboBox with DropDownStyle=DropDownList though.
DropDownArrow
We also need to draw the DropDownArrow. I played around with the ComboBoxRenderer, but it draws a dark border around the area of the drop down arrow so that didn't work.
My final solution was to simply draw a similar arrow and render it onto the button in the OnPaint method.
Hot Item Behavior
We also need to ensure our ComboBox has a hot item behavior similar to the standard ComboBox. I don't know of any simple and reliable method to know when a mouse is no longer above the control. Therefore I suggest using a Timer that checks at each tick whether the mouse is still over the control.
Edit
Just added a KeyUp event handler to make sure the control would update correctly when a selection was made using the keyboard. Also made a minor correction of where the text was rendered, to ensure it is more similar to the vanilla combobox' text positioning.
Below is the full code of my customized ComboBox. It allows you to display images on each item and is always rendered as in the DropDownList style, but hopefully it should be easy to accommodate the code to your own solution.
using System;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Drawing.Design;
using System.Drawing.Drawing2D;
using System.Drawing.Imaging;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using System.Windows.Forms.VisualStyles;
namespace CustomControls
{
/// <summary>
/// This is a special ComboBox that each item may conatins an image.
/// </summary>
public class ImageComboBox : ComboBox
{
private static readonly Size arrowSize = new Size(18, 20);
private bool itemIsHot;
/* Since properties such as SelectedIndex and SelectedItems may change when the mouser is hovering over items in the drop down list
* we need a property that will store the item that has been selected by comitted selection so we know what to draw as the selected item.*/
private object comittedSelection;
private readonly ImgHolder dropDownArrow = ImgHolder.Create(ImageComboBox.DropDownArrow());
private Timer hotItemTimer;
public Font SelectedItemFont { get; set; }
public Padding ImageMargin { get; set; }
//
// Summary:
// Gets or sets the path of the property to use as the image for the items
// in the System.Windows.Forms.ListControl.
//
// Returns:
// A System.String representing a single property name of the System.Windows.Forms.ListControl.DataSource
// property value, or a hierarchy of period-delimited property names that resolves
// to a property name of the final data-bound object. The default is an empty string
// ("").
//
// Exceptions:
// T:System.ArgumentException:
// The specified property path cannot be resolved through the object specified by
// the System.Windows.Forms.ListControl.DataSource property.
[DefaultValue("")]
[Editor("System.Windows.Forms.Design.DataMemberFieldEditor, System.Design, Version=4.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a", typeof(UITypeEditor))]
public string ImageMember { get; set; }
public ImageComboBox()
{
base.SetStyle(ControlStyles.Opaque | ControlStyles.UserPaint, true);
//All the elements in the control are drawn manually.
base.DrawMode = DrawMode.OwnerDrawFixed;
//Specifies that the list is displayed by clicking the down arrow and that the text portion is not editable.
//This means that the user cannot enter a new value.
//Only values already in the list can be selected.
this.DropDownStyle = ComboBoxStyle.DropDownList;
//using DrawItem event we need to draw item
this.DrawItem += this.ComboBoxDrawItemEvent;
this.hotItemTimer = new Timer();
this.hotItemTimer.Interval = 250;
this.hotItemTimer.Tick += this.HotItemTimer_Tick;
this.MouseEnter += this.ImageComboBox_MouseEnter;
this.KeyUp += this.ImageComboBox_KeyUp;
this.SelectedItemFont = this.Font;
this.ImageMargin = new Padding(4, 4, 5, 4);
this.SelectionChangeCommitted += this.ImageComboBox_SelectionChangeCommitted;
this.SelectedIndexChanged += this.ImageComboBox_SelectedIndexChanged;
}
private static Image DropDownArrow()
{
var arrow = new Bitmap(8, 4, PixelFormat.Format32bppArgb);
using (Graphics g = Graphics.FromImage(arrow))
{
g.CompositingQuality = CompositingQuality.HighQuality;
g.FillPolygon(Brushes.Black, ImageComboBox.CreateArrowHeadPoints());
}
return arrow;
}
private static PointF[] CreateArrowHeadPoints()
{
return new PointF[4] { new PointF(0, 0), new PointF(7F, 0), new PointF(3.5F, 3.5F), new PointF(0, 0) };
}
private static void DrawComboBoxItem(Graphics g, string text, Image image, Rectangle itemArea, int itemHeight, int itemWidth, Padding imageMargin
, Brush brush, Font font)
{
if (image != null)
{
// recalculate margins so image is always approximately vertically centered
int extraImageMargin = itemHeight - image.Height;
int imageMarginTop = Math.Max(imageMargin.Top, extraImageMargin / 2);
int imageMarginBotttom = Math.Max(imageMargin.Bottom, extraImageMargin / 2);
g.DrawImage(image, itemArea.X + imageMargin.Left, itemArea.Y + imageMarginTop, itemHeight, itemHeight - (imageMarginBotttom
+ imageMarginTop));
}
const double TEXT_MARGIN_TOP_PROPORTION = 1.1;
const double TEXT_MARGIN_BOTTOM_PROPORTION = 2 - TEXT_MARGIN_TOP_PROPORTION;
int textMarginTop = (int)Math.Round((TEXT_MARGIN_TOP_PROPORTION * itemHeight - g.MeasureString(text, font).Height) / 2.0, 0);
int textMarginBottom = (int)Math.Round((TEXT_MARGIN_BOTTOM_PROPORTION * itemHeight - g.MeasureString(text, font).Height) / 2.0, 0);
//we need to draw the item as string because we made drawmode to ownervariable
g.DrawString(text, font, brush, new RectangleF(itemArea.X + itemHeight + imageMargin.Left + imageMargin.Right, itemArea.Y + textMarginTop
, itemWidth, itemHeight - textMarginBottom));
}
private string GetDistplayText(object item)
{
if (this.DisplayMember == string.Empty) { return item.ToString(); }
else
{
var display = item.GetType().GetProperty(this.DisplayMember).GetValue(item).ToString();
return display ?? item.ToString();
}
}
private Image GetImage(object item)
{
if (this.ImageMember == string.Empty) { return null; }
else { return item.GetType().GetProperty(this.ImageMember).GetValue(item) as Image; }
}
private void ImageComboBox_SelectionChangeCommitted(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
this.comittedSelection = this.Items[this.SelectedIndex];
}
private void HotItemTimer_Tick(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
if (!this.RectangleToScreen(this.ClientRectangle).Contains(Cursor.Position)) { this.TurnOffHotItem(); }
}
private void ImageComboBox_KeyUp(object sender, KeyEventArgs e)
{
this.Invalidate();
}
private void ImageComboBox_MouseEnter(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
this.TurnOnHotItem();
}
private void ImageComboBox_SelectedIndexChanged(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
if (!this.DroppedDown)
{
if (this.SelectedIndex > -1) { this.comittedSelection = this.Items[this.SelectedIndex]; }
else { this.comittedSelection = null; }
}
}
private void TurnOnHotItem()
{
this.itemIsHot = true;
this.hotItemTimer.Enabled = true;
}
private void TurnOffHotItem()
{
this.itemIsHot = false;
this.hotItemTimer.Enabled = false;
this.Invalidate(this.ClientRectangle);
}
/// <summary>
/// Draws overridden items.
/// </summary>
/// <param name="sender"></param>
/// <param name="e"></param>
private void ComboBoxDrawItemEvent(object sender, DrawItemEventArgs e)
{
//Draw backgroud of the item
e.DrawBackground();
if (e.Index != -1)
{
Brush brush;
if (e.State.HasFlag(DrawItemState.Focus) || e.State.HasFlag(DrawItemState.Selected)) { brush = Brushes.White; }
else { brush = Brushes.Black; }
object item = this.Items[e.Index];
ImageComboBox.DrawComboBoxItem(e.Graphics, this.GetDistplayText(item), this.GetImage(item), e.Bounds, this.ItemHeight, this.DropDownWidth
, new Padding(0, 1, 5, 1), brush, this.Font);
}
}
protected override void OnPaint(PaintEventArgs e)
{
base.OnPaint(e);
// define the area of the control where we will write the text
var topTextRectangle = new Rectangle(e.ClipRectangle.X - 1, e.ClipRectangle.Y - 1, e.ClipRectangle.Width + 2, e.ClipRectangle.Height + 2);
using (var controlImage = new Bitmap(e.ClipRectangle.Width, e.ClipRectangle.Height, PixelFormat.Format32bppArgb))
{
using (Graphics ctrlG = Graphics.FromImage(controlImage))
{
/* Render the control. We use ButtonRenderer and not ComboBoxRenderer because we want the control to appear with the DropDownList style. */
if (this.DroppedDown) { ButtonRenderer.DrawButton(ctrlG, topTextRectangle, PushButtonState.Pressed); }
else if (this.itemIsHot) { ButtonRenderer.DrawButton(ctrlG, topTextRectangle, PushButtonState.Hot); }
else { ButtonRenderer.DrawButton(ctrlG, topTextRectangle, PushButtonState.Normal); }
// Draw item, if any has been selected
if (this.comittedSelection != null)
{
ImageComboBox.DrawComboBoxItem(ctrlG, this.GetDistplayText(this.comittedSelection), this.GetImage(this.comittedSelection)
, topTextRectangle, this.Height, this.Width - ImageComboBox.arrowSize.Width, this.ImageMargin, Brushes.Black, this.SelectedItemFont);
}
/* Now we need to draw the arrow. If we use ComboBoxRenderer for this job, it will display a distinct border around the dropDownArrow and we don't want that. As an alternative we define the area where the arrow should be drawn, and then procede to draw it. */
var dropDownButtonArea = new RectangleF(topTextRectangle.X + topTextRectangle.Width - (ImageComboBox.arrowSize.Width
+ this.dropDownArrow.Image.Width) / 2.0F, topTextRectangle.Y + topTextRectangle.Height - (topTextRectangle.Height
+ this.dropDownArrow.Image.Height) / 2.0F, this.dropDownArrow.Image.Width, this.dropDownArrow.Image.Height);
ctrlG.DrawImage(this.dropDownArrow.Image, dropDownButtonArea);
}
if (this.Enabled) { e.Graphics.DrawImage(controlImage, 0, 0); }
else { ControlPaint.DrawImageDisabled(e.Graphics, controlImage, 0, 0, Color.Transparent); }
}
}
}
internal struct ImgHolder
{
internal Image Image
{
get
{
return this._image ?? new Bitmap(1, 1); ;
}
}
private Image _image;
internal ImgHolder(Bitmap data)
{
_image = data;
}
internal ImgHolder(Image data)
{
_image = data;
}
internal static ImgHolder Create(Image data)
{
return new ImgHolder(data);
}
internal static ImgHolder Create(Bitmap data)
{
return new ImgHolder(data);
}
}
}