How can I make a ComboBox non-editable in .NET?

Question

I want to have a \"select-only\" ComboBox that provides a list of items for the user to select from. Typing should be disabled in the text portion of the

Answer 1

COMBOBOXID.DropDownStyle = ComboBoxStyle.DropDownList;

Answer 2

To make the text portion of a ComboBox non-editable, set the DropDownStyle property to "DropDownList". The ComboBox is now essentially select-only for the user. You can do this in the Visual Studio designer, or in C# like this:

stateComboBox.DropDownStyle = ComboBoxStyle.DropDownList;

Link to the documentation for the ComboBox DropDownStyle property on MSDN.

Answer 3

To continue displaying data in the input after selecting, do so:

VB.NET
Private Sub ComboBox1_KeyPress(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.Windows.Forms.KeyPressEventArgs) Handles ComboBox1.KeyPress
    e.Handled = True
End Sub



C#
Private void ComboBox1_KeyPress(object sender, KeyPressEventArgs e)
{
    e.Handled = true;
}

Answer 4

Stay on your ComboBox and search the DropDropStyle property from the properties window and then choose DropDownList.

Answer 5

To add a Visual Studio GUI reference, you can find the DropDownStyle options under the Properties of the selected ComboBox:

Which will automatically add the line mentioned in the first answer to the Form.Designer.cs InitializeComponent(), like so:

this.comboBoxBatch.DropDownStyle = System.Windows.Forms.ComboBoxStyle.DropDownList;