Making combobox visible when it is disabled - vb.net

Question

I am disabling combobox in VB.net.
But in disable mode it not visible properly.
I tried changing both BackColor and ForeColor but it is not working.
Code :
cmbbox.BackColor = Color.FromName("Window")
or
cmbbox.ForeColor = Color.FromName("Window")
Please help
Dear Adam:
I am making my component enable false.But I want to make it viewable.You can reffer the link.This is what exacly I want but in VB.Net : A combobox that looks decent when it is disabled

Answer 1

To achieve disabling combobox without fading it, first change the dropdown style of the combobox to DropDownList, Then tweak with the events to achieve the goal.
Here is a piece of code by which you can achieve the same:
Public Class Form1
Dim selectindex As Integer
Private Sub Form1_Load(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load
ComboBox1.Items.Add("1")
ComboBox1.Items.Add("2")
ComboBox1.Items.Add("3")
ComboBox1.Items.Add("4")
selectindex = 3
ComboBox1.DropDownStyle = System.Windows.Forms.ComboBoxStyle.DropDownList
ComboBox1.SelectedIndex = selectindex
End Sub
Private Sub ComboBox1_SelectionChangeCommitted(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles ComboBox1.SelectionChangeCommitted
ComboBox1.SelectedIndex = selectindex
End Sub
End Class
Create anew form Form1 and add a combobox to the form, then add the above code to get a readonly combobox.

Answer 2

Have a look at this thread which has a solution for a readonly combobox and the code is all VB.NET.
A version of their code is as follows. You'll need to but it inside a class of your own which inherits System.Windows.Forms.ComboBox
Private _ReadOnly As Boolean = False
Public Property [ReadOnly]() As Boolean
Get
Return _ReadOnly
End Get
Set(ByVal Value As Boolean)
_ReadOnly = Value
End Set
End Property
Public Overrides Function PreProcessMessage(ByRef msg As Message) As Boolean
'Prevent keyboard entry if control is ReadOnly
If _ReadOnly = True Then
'Check if its a keydown message
If msg.Msg = &H100 Then
'Get the key that was pressed
Dim key As Int32 = msg.WParam.ToInt32
'Ignore navigation keys
If key = Keys.Tab Or key = Keys.Left Or key = Keys.Right Then
'Do nothing
Else
Return True
End If
End If
End If
'Call base method so delegates receive event
Return MyBase.PreProcessMessage(msg)
End Function
Protected Overrides Sub WndProc(ByRef m As Message)
'Prevent list displaying if ReadOnly
If _ReadOnly = True Then
If m.Msg = &H201 OrElse m.Msg = &H203 Then
Return
End If
End If
'Call base method so delegates receive event
MyBase.WndProc(m)
End Sub

Answer 3

I've been looking for the same not long ago and ended up doing the following. You may not like it, but i'll share it in case. I am using TableLayoutPanel to arrange my controls on the form and then i am swapping the positions of the desired controls.
For example I've created the following Items:
Form1 Design
TableLayoutPanel1 (two columns, three rows)
TextBox1 Read-only = True, BackColor = White
ComboBox1 Visible = False, DropDownStyle = DropDownList, FlatStyle = Popup
Button1 (named it to Change)
Button2 (named it to Done) -> Visible = False
Runtime - Screenshots
Here is my code:
Public Class Form1
Private Sub SwapControls(tlp As TableLayoutPanel, ctr1 As Control, ctr2 As Control)
Dim ctl1pos As TableLayoutPanelCellPosition = tlp.GetPositionFromControl(ctr1)
ctr1.Visible = False
tlp.SetCellPosition(ctr1, tlp.GetPositionFromControl(ctr2))
ctr2.Visible = True
tlp.SetCellPosition(ctr2, ctl1pos)
End Sub
Private Sub Button1_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click
SwapControls(TableLayoutPanel1, TextBox1, ComboBox1)
SwapControls(TableLayoutPanel1, Button1, Button2)
Label1.Select()
End Sub
Private Sub Button2_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Button2.Click
SwapControls(TableLayoutPanel1, ComboBox1, TextBox1)
SwapControls(TableLayoutPanel1, Button2, Button1)
Label1.Select()
End Sub
Private Sub Form1_Load(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load
Label1.Select()
ComboBox1.SelectedIndex = 0
TextBox1.Text = ComboBox1.SelectedItem
End Sub
Private Sub ComboBox1_SelectedIndexChanged(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles ComboBox1.SelectedIndexChanged
TextBox1.Text = ComboBox1.SelectedItem
End Sub
End Class