Category Archives: dialogs

Display reusable dialog forms in C#

Posted on May 19, 2017 by Rod Stephens

The example Make a dialog with standard dialog features in C# shows the most common approach to making dialogs. Whenever it needs to display the dialog, the main program initializes a new instance of it and displays it. If the … Continue reading →

Posted in dialogs, user interface | Tagged C#, C# programming, dialog, dialogs, example, example program, FormClosing, reusable dialog, reusable form, ShowDialog, user interface, Windows Forms programming | Leave a comment

Use the Filter property to select image files in C#

Posted on May 8, 2017 by Rod Stephens

This example is mostly intended to make it easier to find these filters. I use them a lot and it’s a pain to have to recreate them every time I need them. When you click the Different Types button, the … Continue reading →

Posted in controls, dialogs, image processing | Tagged bmp, C#, C# programming, controls, dialogs, example, example program, filter property, image files, image processing, images, jpg, picture files, pictures, png, tif, Windows Forms programming | Leave a comment

Use file dialog filters in C#

Posted on May 6, 2016 by Rod Stephens

The OpenFileDialog and SaveFileDialog components have a Filter property that lets the user look for specific kinds of files. The property’s value should be a pipe symbol (|) separated list of alternating filter names and patterns. Each pattern can include … Continue reading →

Posted in dialogs, files | Tagged C#, C# programming, dialogs, example, example program, file filters, files, filters, open file dialog, OpenFileDialog, save file dialog, SaveFileDialog, Windows Forms programming | Leave a comment

Set the MessageBox default button in C#

Posted on May 3, 2016 by Rod Stephens

The fifth parameter to MessageBox.Show indicates the default button. The following code shows how the program displays a MessageBox with the second button as the default so it is initially selected when the message box appears. // Display a message … Continue reading →

Posted in dialogs, MessageBox | Tagged button, C#, C# programming, default, default button, dialogs, example, example program, MessageBox, Windows Forms programming | Leave a comment

Display a simple password dialog before a program starts in C#

Posted on December 2, 2014 by Rod Stephens

You might think that a program could start with a password form and then display its main form if the user enters a valid password. Unfortunately when the initial password form closes, it ends the whole application. A better approach … Continue reading →

Posted in dialogs, forms, programs | Tagged dialog, DialogResult, dialogs, example, example program, forms, password, password dialog, PasswordChar, programs, Windows Forms programming | Leave a comment

Display custom colors in the color selection dialog in C#

Posted on October 29, 2014 by Rod Stephens

The color selection dialog can display custom colors in the 16 boxes on its lower left (see the picture). Your code can initialize those colors by setting the dialog’s CustomColors property to an array of integers representing the colors. One … Continue reading →

Posted in dialogs, graphics | Tagged C#, C# programming, color dialog, color selection, custom colors, dialog, dialogs, example, example program, graphics, Windows Forms programming | 1 Comment

Use value equality to compare font objects in C#

Posted on August 30, 2014 by RodStephens

This example explains the difference between reference equality and value equality, and shows how you can test value equality for font objects. Reference equality asks whether two variables refer to the same object. In contrast, value equality asks whether two … Continue reading →

Posted in dialogs, fonts, OOP, syntax | Tagged C#, C# programming, dialogs, example, example program, font dialog, font selection dialog, fonts, object equality, object-oriented programming, OOP, select font, syntax, value equality, Windows Forms programming | Leave a comment

Display a font selection dialog with an Apply button in C#

Posted on August 29, 2014 by Rod Stephens

Sometimes an application displays a font selection dialog that has an Apply button. If you click that button, the application shows what it would look like if you accept the dialog’s current font. If you click OK, the dialog closes … Continue reading →

Posted in dialogs, fonts | Tagged C#, C# programming, dialogs, example, example program, font dialog, font selection dialog, fonts, select font, Windows Forms programming | 1 Comment

Make a dialog with standard dialog features in C#

Posted on July 27, 2014 by Rod Stephens

Making a dialog is easy. Just add a new form to the project. Making a dialog that provides standard features (so it acts more or less like a standard dialog) only takes a little more work. To do it right, … Continue reading →

Posted in controls, dialogs, forms | Tagged C#, C# programming, ColorDialog, controls, custom dialogs, dialogs, example, example program, FontDialog, forms, OpenFileDialog, SaveFileDialog, standard dialogs, Windows Forms programming | 1 Comment

Use standard dialogs in C#

Posted on July 25, 2014 by Rod Stephens

To use a standard dialog, first place the dialog on a form and set any properties that you want to customize. For example, you may want to set a file dialog’s Filter property to let the user easily filter for … Continue reading →