How to display a different value for dropdown list values/selected item in a WPF ComboBox?

Question

I have a WPF combobox bound to a list of items with long descriptions.

The type bound to the ComboBox has both short and long description as properties. Currently, I

Answer 1

I modified this custom rounded WPF ComboBox to display a different value from the item selected as well as change the color for each item.

Custom ComboBox

First you need to create the structure:

//Structure
public class COMBOITEM
{
    string _ITEM_NAME;
    string _ITEM_SHORT_NAME;
    Brush _ITEM_COLOR;

    public string ITEM_NAME
    {
        get { return _ITEM_NAME; }
        set { _ITEM_NAME = value; }
    }

    public string ITEM_SHORT_NAME
    {
        get { return _ITEM_SHORT_NAME; }
        set { _ITEM_SHORT_NAME = value; }
    }

    public Brush ITEM_COLOR
    {
        get { return _ITEM_COLOR; }
        set { _ITEM_COLOR = value; }
    }
}

Initialize the structure, fill it with data and bind to ComboBox:

private void Load_Data()
{
    Brush Normal_Blue = new SolidColorBrush((Color)ColorConverter.ConvertFromString("#FF1F4E79"));
    //Load first entry
    ObservableCollection _Line_Data = new ObservableCollection();
    _Line_Data.Add(new COMBOITEM() { ITEM_NAME = "Line Number 1", ITEM_SHORT_NAME = "LN 1", ITEM_COLOR = Normal_Blue });

    //Load Test Data
    for (int i = 2; i < 10; i++)
    {
        _Line_Data.Add(new COMBOITEM()
        {
            ITEM_NAME = "Line Number " + i.ToString(),
            ITEM_SHORT_NAME = "LN " + i.ToString(),
            ITEM_COLOR = (i % 2 == 0) ? new SolidColorBrush(Colors.Green) : new SolidColorBrush(Colors.Red) //This just changes color
        });
    }

    //Bind data to combobox
    cb_Test.ItemsSource = _Line_Data;
}

Now place the ComboBox in your design. To use it as a normal ComboBox, remove DisplayMemberPath and rename "ColorComboBoxItem" to "CustomComboBoxItem":

Now add the following styles/template to App.xaml Application.Resources:

I hope this helps..