Combo Box Control in VB.NET
Example of Combobox Control in VB.NET

ComboBox control represents list of items in a drop down list type structure from which user can select only one item at a time.
User can drop down the list to display list of items in a ComboBox.
ComboBox control comes with built in TextBox so user can enter new item if it is not available in the list of ComboBox.
ComboBox is similar to a ListBox but it does not allow user to select more then one items.
It occupies less space on the form because of its drop down structure.
User can add new items, remove selected or all items from ComboBox at runtime or design time.
ComboBox Control


Properties of Combo Box Control in VB.NET


Property Purpose

AutoComplete Mode

It is used to get or set value which determines how AutoComplete option works for ComboBox.
It has four options:
Suggest, Append, SuggestAppend, None
Default value is None.

AutoCompleteSource

It is used to get or set Auto Complete Source for ComboBox.

AutoCompleteCustomSource

It is used to specify Custom Source by defining list of items in it.  It works when AutoCompleteSource is set to CustomSource. 

DropDownStyle

It is used to get or set value which determines appearance and behavior style of ComboBox. It has three options:
(1)DropDown: ComboBox with built in TextBox and Drop Down List.
(2)DropDownList: ComboBox with only DropDown List.
(3) Simple: ComboBox with expanded DropDown List and built in TextBox.

DropDownWidth

It is used to get or set width of DropDown list in pixel.

DropDownHeight

It is used to get or set height of DropDown list in pixel.

MaxDropDownItems

It is used to get or set value which determines how many items should be display in dropdown list. For remaining items to display you need to scroll the dropdown list. Default value is 8.

     

MaxLength

It is used to get or set value which determines maximum number of characters that can be entered in built in TextBox of ComboBox.

Text

It is used to get or set text associated with built in TextBox of ComboBox.

Items

It represents collection of items contained in ComboBox control.

Sorted

It is used to specify weather items of ComboBox are sorted in alphabetical order or not. It has Boolean value. Default value is false.

SelectedIndex

It is used to get or set zero based index of the item currently selected in ComboBox.

SelectedItem

It is used to get or set item currently selected in ComboBox.

SelectionStart

It is used to get or set starting index of the text that is entered in the built in TextBox of ComboBox.

Selectionlength

It is used to get or set number of characters that is selected in the built in TextBox of ComboBox.

SelectedText

It is used to get or set text that is selected in built in TextBox of ComboBox.

Enable

It is used to specify weather ComboBox Control is enabled or not at runtime. It has Boolean value. Default value is true.

Visible

It is used to specify weather ComboBox Control is visible or not at runtime. It has Boolean value. Default value is true.

TabStop

It is used to specify weather user can use TAB key to set focus on ComboBox Control or not. It has Boolean value. Default value is true.

Methods of Combo Box Control in VB.NET


Method Purpose

FindString

It is used to find first occurrences of an item in the ComboBox that partially match with string specified as an argument. If an item is found than it returns zero based index of that item, otherwise it returns -1.  The search performed by this method is case insensitive.

FindStringExact

It is used to find first occurrences of an item in the ComboBox that exactly match with string specified as an argument. If an item is found than it returns zero based index of that item, otherwise it returns -1.  The search performed by this method is case insensitive.

SelectAll

It is used to select all the text in the built in TextBox of ComboBox.

Select

It is used to select all or specific range of the text in the built in TextBox of ComboBox.
Syntax:
ComboBox1.Select(Start, Length)
Example:
ComboBox1.Select (1,4)
It will select 4 characters starting from second character in the built in textbox of ComboBox.


Events of Combo Box Control in VB.NET


Event Purpose

SelectedIndexChanged

It is the default event of ComboBox Control. It fires each time a selected Item in the ListBox is changed.

TextChanged

It fires each time a text is changed in the built in TextBox of ComboBox Control.

DropDown

This event fires each time a DropDown list is displayed by clicking on DropDown arrow.

DropDownClosed

This event fires each time a DropDown list is disappeared after selecting particular Item.

Download Projects

Download Programs