The preferred way to add items to the ComboBox is to use the AddRange method of the ComboBox..::.ObjectCollection class (through the Items property of the ComboBox). This enables you to add an array of items to the list at one time. However, if you want to add items one at a time using the Add method of the ComboBox..::.ObjectCollection class, you can use the BeginUpdate method to prevent the control from repainting the ComboBox each time an item is added to the list. Once you have completed the task of adding items to the list, call the EndUpdate method to enable the ComboBox to repaint. This way of adding items can prevent flickered drawing of the ComboBox when a large number of items are being added to the list.

The following code example shows the usage of the BeginUpdate and EndUpdate methods. The example is part of a code example in the ComboBox class overview.

Private Sub addGrandButton_Click(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs)
    comboBox1.BeginUpdate()
    Dim I As Integer
    For I = 0 To 1000
        comboBox1.Items.Add("New Item " + i.ToString())
    Next
    comboBox1.EndUpdate()
End Sub

private void addGrandButton_Click(object sender, System.EventArgs e) {
    comboBox1.BeginUpdate();
    for (int i = 0; i < 1000; i++) {
        comboBox1.Items.Add("New Item " + i.ToString());
    }
    comboBox1.EndUpdate();
}

void addGrandButton_Click( Object^ sender, System::EventArgs^ e )
{
   comboBox1->BeginUpdate();
   for ( int i = 0; i < 1000; i++ )
   {
      comboBox1->Items->Add( "New Item " + i.ToString() );
   }
   comboBox1->EndUpdate();
}

Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP SP2, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows XP Starter Edition, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2000 SP4, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows 98, Windows CE, Windows Mobile for Smartphone, Windows Mobile for Pocket PC

.NET Framework

.NET Compact Framework

Reference