Combobox - prevent user input

Question

Can anyone tell me if there is a property of a combobox that prevents the user from manually entering text?

I only want the user to be able to select options from the the dropdown list.

 

Thanks!

Answer 1

Set your ComboBox's DropDownStyle property to DropDownList.

comboBox1.DropDownStyle = ComboBoxStyle.DropDownList;

Regards,

-chris

Answer 2

If anyone is like me and is not a fan of the style, then here is another option.  Create a custom control and override the textchange event.  This will keep the style of the combobox the same but it will only all the user to select an item.  You could also add a default index property if the combobox needs to have at least one item selected at all times.  Here is the code:

Public Class ClickOnlyComboBox
    Inherits System.Windows.Forms.ComboBox
    Private mySelectedText As String

    Protected Overrides Sub OnTextChanged(ByVal e As System.EventArgs)
        MyBase.OnTextChanged(e)
        If Me.Items.Contains(Me.Text) Then
            mySelectedText = Me.Text
        Else
            Me.Text = mySelectedText
        End If
        Me.Select(0, Me.Text.Length)
    End Sub
End Class

~Cheers!!