TextBox.AutoCompleteMode Property

Definition

Gets or sets an option that controls how automatic completion works for the TextBox.

public:
 property System::Windows::Forms::AutoCompleteMode AutoCompleteMode { System::Windows::Forms::AutoCompleteMode get(); void set(System::Windows::Forms::AutoCompleteMode value); };
[System.ComponentModel.Browsable(true)]
public System.Windows.Forms.AutoCompleteMode AutoCompleteMode { get; set; }
[<System.ComponentModel.Browsable(true)>]
member this.AutoCompleteMode : System.Windows.Forms.AutoCompleteMode with get, set
Public Property AutoCompleteMode As AutoCompleteMode

Property Value

One of the values of AutoCompleteMode. The following are the values.

Append
Appends the remainder of the most likely candidate string to the existing characters, highlighting the appended characters.

Suggest
Displays the auxiliary drop-down list associated with the edit control. This drop-down is populated with one or more suggested completion strings.

SuggestAppend
Appends both Suggest and Append options.

None
Disables automatic completion. This is the default.

Attributes

Exceptions

The specified value is not one of the values of AutoCompleteMode.

Examples

The following code example demonstrates how to use a collection as the auto-complete custom source for a TextBox control. This example does the following:

private void Form1_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    // Create the list to use as the custom source. 
    var source = new AutoCompleteStringCollection();
    source.AddRange(new string[]
                    {
                        "January",
                        "February",
                        "March",
                        "April",
                        "May",
                        "June",
                        "July",
                        "August",
                        "September",
                        "October",
                        "November",
                        "December"
                    });

    // Create and initialize the text box.
    var textBox = new TextBox
                  {
                      AutoCompleteCustomSource = source,
                      AutoCompleteMode = 
                          AutoCompleteMode.SuggestAppend,
                      AutoCompleteSource =
                          AutoCompleteSource.CustomSource,
                      Location = new Point(20, 20),
                      Width = ClientRectangle.Width - 40,
                      Visible = true
                  };

    // Add the text box to the form.
    Controls.Add(textBox);
}
Private Sub Form1_Load(ByVal sender As System.Object, _
                       ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load

    ' Create the list to use as the custom source.
    Dim MySource As New AutoCompleteStringCollection()
    MySource.AddRange(New String() _
                        { _
                            "January", _
                            "February", _
                            "March", _
                            "April", _
                            "May", _
                            "June", _
                            "July", _
                            "August", _
                            "September", _
                            "October", _
                            "November", _
                            "December" _
                        })

    ' Create and initialize the text box.
    Dim MyTextBox As New TextBox()
    With MyTextBox
        .AutoCompleteCustomSource = MySource
        .AutoCompleteMode = AutoCompleteMode.SuggestAppend
        .AutoCompleteSource = AutoCompleteSource.CustomSource
        .Location = New Point(20, 20)
        .Width = Me.ClientRectangle.Width - 40
        .Visible = True
    End With

    ' Add the text box to the form.
    Me.Controls.Add(MyTextBox)
End Sub

Remarks

Use the AutoCompleteCustomSource, AutoCompleteMode, and AutoCompleteSource properties to create a TextBox that automatically completes input strings by comparing the prefix being entered to the prefixes of all strings in a maintained source. This is useful for TextBox controls in which URLs, addresses, file names, or commands will be frequently entered.

The use of the AutoCompleteCustomSource property is optional, but you must set the AutoCompleteSource property to CustomSource in order to use AutoCompleteCustomSource.

You must use the AutoCompleteMode and AutoCompleteSource properties together.

Note

The operating system might limit the number of custom strings that it can display at once.

Applies to

See also