Can I disable a combobox in WinForms without graying it out?

Question

Is there a way to disable value change for a combo box without graying it out in windows forms? I saw a few posts but they were for WPF and didnt help my situation.

Answer 1

Setting these on your comobobox will do the trick you are looking for, Combo is enabled but nobody can change or type anything so Appearance = Enabled, Behaviour = Disabled :)

        comboBox1.DropDownHeight = 1;
        comboBox1.KeyDown += (s, e) => e.Handled = true;
        comboBox1.KeyPress += (s, e) => e.Handled = true;
        comboBox1.KeyUp += (s, e) => e.Handled = true;

If for some reason you cannot use lambdas then following handlers can be associated. Right Click -> Paste has to be handled additionally if you have DropDownStyle = DropDown.

    //void comboBox1_KeyUp(object sender, KeyEventArgs e)
    //{
    //    e.Handled = true;
    //}

    //void comboBox1_KeyPress(object sender, KeyPressEventArgs e)
    //{
    //    e.Handled = true;
    //}

    //void comboBox1_KeyDown(object sender, KeyEventArgs e)
    //{
    //    e.Handled = true;
    //}