WinForms Lookup - Display custom tooltips

This example demonstrates how to display custom tooltips for drop-down items in the WinForms LookUpEdit control.

C#
void lookUpEditHints1_BeforeShowingTooltip(object sender, EventArgs e) {  
    ToolTipControllerShowEventArgs ee = e as ToolTipControllerShowEventArgs;  
    ee.ToolTip += " + custom tool tip can be added";  
}

Files to Review

Form1.cs (VB: Form1.vb)
LookUpEditHints.cs (VB: LookUpEditHints.vb)
PopupLookUpEditHintsForm.cs (VB: PopupLookUpEditHintsForm.vb)
RepositoryItemLookUpEditHints.cs (VB: RepositoryItemLookUpEditHints.vb)

Documentation

Hints and Tooltips

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Example Code

LookUpEditWithHints/Form1.cs(vb)

C#
VB.NET

C#
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Data;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using DevExpress.Utils;
using DevExpress.XtraEditors.Controls;

namespace LookUpEditWithHints
{
    public partial class Form1 : Form
    {
        public Form1()
        {
            InitializeComponent();
        }

        private void Form1_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
        {
            lookUpEditHints1.Properties.DataSource = FillTable();
            lookUpEditHints1.Properties.DisplayMember = "Customer";
            lookUpEditHints1.Properties.DescriptionField = "Description";
            lookUpEditHints1.BeforeShowingTooltip += new EventHandler(lookUpEditHints1_BeforeShowingTooltip);

            // LookUpEdit customization: adding two columns from DataSource
            // and making one of them invisible
            LookUpColumnInfoCollection coll = lookUpEditHints1.Properties.Columns;
            coll.Add(new LookUpColumnInfo("Customer"));
            coll.Add(new LookUpColumnInfo("Description"));
            lookUpEditHints1.Properties.Columns["Description"].Visible = false;
        }

        void lookUpEditHints1_BeforeShowingTooltip(object sender, EventArgs e)
        {
            ToolTipControllerShowEventArgs ee = e as ToolTipControllerShowEventArgs;
            ee.ToolTip += " + custom tool tip also can be added";
        }

        DataTable FillTable()
        {
            DataTable _customersTable = new DataTable();
            DataColumn col;
            DataRow row;

            _customersTable.TableName = "Customers";

            col = new DataColumn();
            col.ColumnName = "Customer";
            col.DataType = System.Type.GetType("System.String");
            _customersTable.Columns.Add(col);

            col = new DataColumn();
            col.ColumnName = "Description";
            col.DataType = System.Type.GetType("System.String");
            _customersTable.Columns.Add(col);

            row = _customersTable.NewRow();
            row["Customer"] = "John";
            row["Description"] = "A description for customer John";
            _customersTable.Rows.Add(row);

            row = _customersTable.NewRow();
            row["Customer"] = "Jane";
            row["Description"] = "A description for customer Jane";
            _customersTable.Rows.Add(row);

            row = _customersTable.NewRow();
            row["Customer"] = "Jack";
            row["Description"] = "A description for customer Jack";
            _customersTable.Rows.Add(row);

            return _customersTable;
        }
    }
}

Visual Basic
Imports System
Imports System.ComponentModel
Imports System.Data
Imports System.Drawing
Imports System.Windows.Forms
Imports DevExpress.Utils
Imports DevExpress.XtraEditors.Controls

Namespace LookUpEditWithHints

    Public Partial Class Form1
        Inherits Form

        Public Sub New()
            InitializeComponent()
        End Sub

        Private Sub Form1_Load(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)
            lookUpEditHints1.Properties.DataSource = FillTable()
            lookUpEditHints1.Properties.DisplayMember = "Customer"
            lookUpEditHints1.Properties.DescriptionField = "Description"
            AddHandler lookUpEditHints1.BeforeShowingTooltip, New EventHandler(AddressOf lookUpEditHints1_BeforeShowingTooltip)
            ' LookUpEdit customization: adding two columns from DataSource
            ' and making one of them invisible
            Dim coll As LookUpColumnInfoCollection = lookUpEditHints1.Properties.Columns
            coll.Add(New LookUpColumnInfo("Customer"))
            coll.Add(New LookUpColumnInfo("Description"))
            lookUpEditHints1.Properties.Columns("Description").Visible = False
        End Sub

        Private Sub lookUpEditHints1_BeforeShowingTooltip(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)
            Dim ee As ToolTipControllerShowEventArgs = TryCast(e, ToolTipControllerShowEventArgs)
            ee.ToolTip += " + custom tool tip also can be added"
        End Sub

        Private Function FillTable() As DataTable
            Dim _customersTable As DataTable = New DataTable()
            Dim col As DataColumn
            Dim row As DataRow
            _customersTable.TableName = "Customers"
            col = New DataColumn()
            col.ColumnName = "Customer"
            col.DataType = Type.GetType("System.String")
            _customersTable.Columns.Add(col)
            col = New DataColumn()
            col.ColumnName = "Description"
            col.DataType = Type.GetType("System.String")
            _customersTable.Columns.Add(col)
            row = _customersTable.NewRow()
            row("Customer") = "John"
            row("Description") = "A description for customer John"
            _customersTable.Rows.Add(row)
            row = _customersTable.NewRow()
            row("Customer") = "Jane"
            row("Description") = "A description for customer Jane"
            _customersTable.Rows.Add(row)
            row = _customersTable.NewRow()
            row("Customer") = "Jack"
            row("Description") = "A description for customer Jack"
            _customersTable.Rows.Add(row)
            Return _customersTable
        End Function
    End Class
End Namespace

LookUpEditWithHints/LookUpEditHints.cs(vb)

C#
VB.NET

C#
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using DevExpress.XtraEditors;
using System.ComponentModel;
using DevExpress.XtraEditors.Popup;

namespace LookUpEditWithHints
{
    class LookUpEditHints : LookUpEdit
    {
        static LookUpEditHints() { RepositoryItemLookUpEditHints.RegisterLookUpEditHints(); }
        public LookUpEditHints() : base() { }

        public override string EditorTypeName
        { get { return RepositoryItemLookUpEditHints.LookUpEditHintsName; } }

        [DesignerSerializationVisibility(DesignerSerializationVisibility.Content)]
        public new RepositoryItemLookUpEditHints Properties
        { get { return base.Properties as RepositoryItemLookUpEditHints; } }

        protected override DevExpress.XtraEditors.Popup.PopupBaseForm CreatePopupForm()
        {
            return new PopupLookUpEditHintsForm(this);
        }

        public string DescriptionField {
            set { Properties.DescriptionField = value; OnPropertiesChanged(); }
            get { return Properties.DescriptionField; }
        }

        public event EventHandler BeforeShowingTooltip
        {
            add { Properties.BeforeShowingTooltip += value; }
            remove { Properties.BeforeShowingTooltip -= value; }
        }
    }
}

Visual Basic
Imports System
Imports DevExpress.XtraEditors
Imports System.ComponentModel
Imports DevExpress.XtraEditors.Popup

Namespace LookUpEditWithHints

    Friend Class LookUpEditHints
        Inherits LookUpEdit

        Shared Sub New()
            RepositoryItemLookUpEditHints.RegisterLookUpEditHints()
        End Sub

        Public Sub New()
            MyBase.New()
        End Sub

        Public Overrides ReadOnly Property EditorTypeName As String
            Get
                Return RepositoryItemLookUpEditHints.LookUpEditHintsName
            End Get
        End Property

        <DesignerSerializationVisibility(DesignerSerializationVisibility.Content)>
        Public Overloads ReadOnly Property Properties As RepositoryItemLookUpEditHints
            Get
                Return TryCast(MyBase.Properties, RepositoryItemLookUpEditHints)
            End Get
        End Property

        Protected Overrides Function CreatePopupForm() As PopupBaseForm
            Return New PopupLookUpEditHintsForm(Me)
        End Function

        Public Property DescriptionField As String
            Set(ByVal value As String)
                Properties.DescriptionField = value
                OnPropertiesChanged()
            End Set

            Get
                Return Properties.DescriptionField
            End Get
        End Property

        Public Custom Event BeforeShowingTooltip As EventHandler
            AddHandler(ByVal value As EventHandler)
                AddHandler Properties.BeforeShowingTooltip, value
            End AddHandler

            RemoveHandler(ByVal value As EventHandler)
                RemoveHandler Properties.BeforeShowingTooltip, value
            End RemoveHandler

            RaiseEvent(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)
            End RaiseEvent
        End Event
    End Class
End Namespace

LookUpEditWithHints/PopupLookUpEditHintsForm.cs(vb)

C#
VB.NET

C#
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.Data;
using DevExpress.XtraEditors.Popup;
using System.Collections;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using DevExpress.XtraEditors.Controls;
using DevExpress.Utils;
using System.Drawing;

namespace LookUpEditWithHints
{
    class PopupLookUpEditHintsForm : PopupLookUpEditForm
    {
        Point prevPoint = Point.Empty;
        ToolTipController tt;
        DataTable dt;
        int prevRowIndex = -1;

        public PopupLookUpEditHintsForm(LookUpEditHints ownerEdit) : base(ownerEdit) {
            if (this.OwnerEdit.ToolTipController == null)
                tt = ToolTipController.DefaultController;
            tt.BeforeShow += new ToolTipControllerBeforeShowEventHandler(tt_BeforeShow);
            dt = this.OwnerEdit.Properties.DataSource as DataTable;
        }

        void tt_BeforeShow(object sender, ToolTipControllerShowEventArgs e)
        {
            LookUpEditHints le = OwnerEdit as LookUpEditHints;
            le.Properties.OnBeforeShowingTooltip(e);
        }

        public override void ShowPopupForm()
        {
            SetToolTipController();
            SetDataTable();
            base.ShowPopupForm();
        }

        void SetToolTipController()
        {
            if (this.OwnerEdit.ToolTipController != null && this.OwnerEdit.ToolTipController != tt)
            {
                tt = this.OwnerEdit.ToolTipController;
                tt.BeforeShow += new ToolTipControllerBeforeShowEventHandler(tt_BeforeShow);
            }
        }

        void SetDataTable()
        {
            dt = dt != this.OwnerEdit.Properties.DataSource as DataTable ? this.OwnerEdit.Properties.DataSource as DataTable : dt;
        }

        protected override void CheckMouseCursor(LookUpPopupHitTest ht)
        {
            if (prevPoint.X != ht.Point.X || prevPoint.Y != ht.Point.Y)
            {
                prevPoint = ht.Point;

                LookUpEditHints le = this.OwnerEdit as LookUpEditHints;
                LookUpColumnInfo column;
                int columnPos = -1;

                for (int i = 0; i < this.OwnerEdit.Properties.Columns.Count; i++)
                {
                    column = this.OwnerEdit.Properties.Columns[i];
                    if (column.FieldName == le.Properties.DescriptionField)
                    {
                        columnPos = i;
                        break;
                    }
                }

                if (columnPos != -1)
                {
                    if (ht.HitType == LookUpPopupHitType.Row)
                    {
                        if (ht.Index != prevRowIndex)
                        {
                            tt.HideHint();
                            prevRowIndex = ht.Index;
                        }
                        tt.ShowHint(dt.Rows[ht.Index][columnPos].ToString());
                    }
                }
            }
            base.CheckMouseCursor(ht);
        }
    }
}

Visual Basic
Imports System.Data
Imports DevExpress.XtraEditors.Popup
Imports DevExpress.XtraEditors.Controls
Imports DevExpress.Utils
Imports System.Drawing

Namespace LookUpEditWithHints

    Friend Class PopupLookUpEditHintsForm
        Inherits PopupLookUpEditForm

        Private prevPoint As Point = Point.Empty

        Private tt As ToolTipController

        Private dt As DataTable

        Private prevRowIndex As Integer = -1

        Public Sub New(ByVal ownerEdit As LookUpEditHints)
            MyBase.New(ownerEdit)
            If Me.OwnerEdit.ToolTipController Is Nothing Then tt = ToolTipController.DefaultController
            AddHandler tt.BeforeShow, New ToolTipControllerBeforeShowEventHandler(AddressOf tt_BeforeShow)
            dt = TryCast(Me.OwnerEdit.Properties.DataSource, DataTable)
        End Sub

        Private Sub tt_BeforeShow(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As ToolTipControllerShowEventArgs)
            Dim le As LookUpEditHints = TryCast(OwnerEdit, LookUpEditHints)
            le.Properties.OnBeforeShowingTooltip(e)
        End Sub

        Public Overrides Sub ShowPopupForm()
            SetToolTipController()
            SetDataTable()
            MyBase.ShowPopupForm()
        End Sub

        Private Sub SetToolTipController()
            If OwnerEdit.ToolTipController IsNot Nothing AndAlso OwnerEdit.ToolTipController IsNot tt Then
                tt = OwnerEdit.ToolTipController
                AddHandler tt.BeforeShow, New ToolTipControllerBeforeShowEventHandler(AddressOf tt_BeforeShow)
            End If
        End Sub

        Private Sub SetDataTable()
            dt = If(dt IsNot TryCast(OwnerEdit.Properties.DataSource, DataTable), TryCast(OwnerEdit.Properties.DataSource, DataTable), dt)
        End Sub

        Protected Overrides Sub CheckMouseCursor(ByVal ht As LookUpPopupHitTest)
            If prevPoint.X <> ht.Point.X OrElse prevPoint.Y <> ht.Point.Y Then
                prevPoint = ht.Point
                Dim le As LookUpEditHints = TryCast(OwnerEdit, LookUpEditHints)
                Dim column As LookUpColumnInfo
                Dim columnPos As Integer = -1
                For i As Integer = 0 To OwnerEdit.Properties.Columns.Count - 1
                    column = OwnerEdit.Properties.Columns(i)
                    If Equals(column.FieldName, le.Properties.DescriptionField) Then
                        columnPos = i
                        Exit For
                    End If
                Next

                If columnPos <> -1 Then
                    If ht.HitType = LookUpPopupHitType.Row Then
                        If ht.Index <> prevRowIndex Then
                            tt.HideHint()
                            prevRowIndex = ht.Index
                        End If

                        tt.ShowHint(dt.Rows(ht.Index)(columnPos).ToString())
                    End If
                End If
            End If

            MyBase.CheckMouseCursor(ht)
        End Sub
    End Class
End Namespace

LookUpEditWithHints/RepositoryItemLookUpEditHints.cs(vb)

C#
VB.NET

C#
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using DevExpress.XtraEditors.Repository;
using DevExpress.XtraEditors.Registrator;
using DevExpress.XtraEditors.Drawing;
using DevExpress.XtraEditors.Popup;
using DevExpress.XtraEditors.ViewInfo;

namespace LookUpEditWithHints
{
    [UserRepositoryItem("RegisterLookUpEditHints")]
    class RepositoryItemLookUpEditHints : RepositoryItemLookUpEdit
    {
        string descriptionField = "";
        static readonly object _beforeShowingTooltip = new object();

        static RepositoryItemLookUpEditHints() { RegisterLookUpEditHints(); }
        public RepositoryItemLookUpEditHints() : base() { }

        // Unique name for custom control
        public const string LookUpEditHintsName = "LookUpEditHints";
        public override string EditorTypeName { get { return LookUpEditHintsName; } }

        //Register the editor
        public static void RegisterLookUpEditHints()
        {
            EditorRegistrationInfo.Default.Editors.Add(new EditorClassInfo(
                LookUpEditHintsName, typeof(LookUpEditHints), typeof(RepositoryItemLookUpEditHints),
                typeof(LookUpEditViewInfo), new ButtonEditPainter(), true));
        }

        public string DescriptionField {
            set { descriptionField = value; OnPropertiesChanged(); }
            get { return descriptionField; } }

        public event EventHandler BeforeShowingTooltip
        {
            add { Events.AddHandler(RepositoryItemLookUpEditHints._beforeShowingTooltip, value); }
            remove { Events.RemoveHandler(RepositoryItemLookUpEditHints._beforeShowingTooltip, value); }
        }

        protected internal virtual void OnBeforeShowingTooltip(EventArgs e)
        {
            EventHandler handler = (EventHandler)Events[RepositoryItemLookUpEditHints._beforeShowingTooltip];
            if (handler != null) handler(GetEventSender(), e);
        }

        public override void Assign(RepositoryItem item)
        {
            BeginUpdate();
            base.Assign(item);
            RepositoryItemLookUpEditHints source = item as RepositoryItemLookUpEditHints;
            if (source == null) return;
            this.DescriptionField = source.DescriptionField;
            EndUpdate();
            Events.AddHandler(RepositoryItemLookUpEditHints._beforeShowingTooltip, source.Events[RepositoryItemLookUpEditHints._beforeShowingTooltip]);
        }
    }
}

Visual Basic
Imports System
Imports DevExpress.XtraEditors.Repository
Imports DevExpress.XtraEditors.Registrator
Imports DevExpress.XtraEditors.Drawing
Imports DevExpress.XtraEditors.ViewInfo

Namespace LookUpEditWithHints

    <UserRepositoryItem("RegisterLookUpEditHints")>
    Friend Class RepositoryItemLookUpEditHints
        Inherits RepositoryItemLookUpEdit

        Private descriptionFieldField As String = ""

        Private Shared ReadOnly _beforeShowingTooltip As Object = New Object()

        Shared Sub New()
            Call RegisterLookUpEditHints()
        End Sub

        Public Sub New()
            MyBase.New()
        End Sub

        ' Unique name for custom control
        Public Const LookUpEditHintsName As String = "LookUpEditHints"

        Public Overrides ReadOnly Property EditorTypeName As String
            Get
                Return LookUpEditHintsName
            End Get
        End Property

        'Register the editor
        Public Shared Sub RegisterLookUpEditHints()
            Call EditorRegistrationInfo.Default.Editors.Add(New EditorClassInfo(LookUpEditHintsName, GetType(LookUpEditHints), GetType(RepositoryItemLookUpEditHints), GetType(LookUpEditViewInfo), New ButtonEditPainter(), True))
        End Sub

        Public Property DescriptionField As String
            Set(ByVal value As String)
                descriptionFieldField = value
                OnPropertiesChanged()
            End Set

            Get
                Return descriptionFieldField
            End Get
        End Property

        Public Custom Event BeforeShowingTooltip As EventHandler
            AddHandler(ByVal value As EventHandler)
                Events.AddHandler(_beforeShowingTooltip, value)
            End AddHandler

            RemoveHandler(ByVal value As EventHandler)
                Events.RemoveHandler(_beforeShowingTooltip, value)
            End RemoveHandler

            RaiseEvent(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)
            End RaiseEvent
        End Event

        Protected Friend Overridable Sub OnBeforeShowingTooltip(ByVal e As EventArgs)
            Dim handler As EventHandler = CType(Events(_beforeShowingTooltip), EventHandler)
            If handler IsNot Nothing Then handler(GetEventSender(), e)
        End Sub

        Public Overrides Sub Assign(ByVal item As RepositoryItem)
            BeginUpdate()
            MyBase.Assign(item)
            Dim source As RepositoryItemLookUpEditHints = TryCast(item, RepositoryItemLookUpEditHints)
            If source Is Nothing Then Return
            DescriptionField = source.DescriptionField
            EndUpdate()
            Events.AddHandler(_beforeShowingTooltip, source.Events(_beforeShowingTooltip))
        End Sub
    End Class
End Namespace

DevExpress Support Team

last modified 2 years ago

Modified: September 20, 2023 11:02 AM

Platform: WinForms

Product: XtraEditors Library

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WinForms Lookup - Display custom tooltips

Files to Review

Documentation

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Example Code

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