AutoComplete: Enhanced auto-completion for .NET
It finds and displays information as you type. It suggests web sites you have visited.
It looks for files and folders on your hard drive or network. It even makes suggestions
from any data source–a database, collection object, or a simple array.
Software acts smarter with AutoComplete. Download it today and give your applications
an instant competitive advantage.
Never Type It Twice
Enter it once, and never again, thanks to the magic of autocompletion. The second time filling out a field,
simply enter the first few letters, and watch as AutoComplete makes suggestions based on all previous
data entered. If it finds exactly what you were planning to type—congratulations, you're on the way to
some serious productivity.
There are two ways to make suggestions in text and combo box fields: Inline mode selects the
closest match directly in front of the cursor, while DropDown mode displays
all matching suggestions in a drop-down window. The mode which works best
depends on your application, and can be set separately for each control.
Find Files and Recent URLs
AutoComplete finds files anywhere on your computer or wherever you've been on the web. This feature
will make the fields in your application work exactly like the system
Open,
Save and
Run dialog boxes, or the address bar in a modern web browser.
But it gets better. AutoComplete goes a step beyond what you'd expect from a System
Dialog and even displays an associated icon beside each suggested file or folder. Enabling this feature
is as simple as setting one property, and easily scores your program an extra point for usability.
Bind To Any Data Source
AutoComplete can make suggestions from several different types of data sources. It can be data-bound
to
any object that implements IList, such as a database record set, array or ArrayList. Or you
can use the Items property if your requirements are simple. In practice, it works much the same as a
ComboBox, making databinding fast, flexible and familliar.
Owner Draw
AutoComplete includes support for complete or partial owner-drawing and owner-measuring. Partial
owner-draw empowers you to draw
only the parts of each item that require customization,
leaving the rest up to the system. For example, the field in the bottom part of the screenshot is only
owner-drawing the gray
Members text; the type names, icons, and background colors are
drawn automatically.
Owner-measure enables you to include items of varying height in the same list.
Of course, owner-drawn lists render flicker free and resize as lightning fast as their non-owner-drawn
counterparts.
Support Delete
Pressing the delete key causes the selected suggestion to be removed from the list. When the suggestion
list is bound to a custom data source, or for applications where special processing is required when a
suggestion is removed, an event is raised which allows you to perform the required actions.
This feature may also be turned off.
Save Time At Design-time
In most situations, you'll never need to open the code editor. Like all our controls, complete design-time
support is a top priority.
Just drop an AutoCompleteManager component on a form to add autocompletion support to all existing
text and combo boxes. Any custom controls you use which inherit from TextBox or ComboBox are
also compatible with AutoComplete.
This architecture makes it a piece of cake to add or remove AutoComplete from existing applications.
Built To Last
Part of the formula behind every successful product lies in the manufacturing
process. Software development is no different, and that's why we've invested
heavily in an automated build process that enforces strict unit tests, design
patterns and framework conventions. Every name down to every last field of every
little class is planned, written, tested, and carefully documented.