ComboBox.DataSource Property

Definition

Namespace:

System.Windows.Forms

Assembly:

System.Windows.Forms.dll

Gets or sets the data source for this ComboBox.

public:
 property System::Object ^ DataSource { System::Object ^ get(); void set(System::Object ^ value); };

public object? DataSource { get; set; }

member this.DataSource : obj with get, set

Public Property DataSource As Object

Property Value

Object

An object that implements the IList interface or an Array. The default is null.

Examples

The following example uses the DataSource property to display an array of weekdays in a ComboBox.

using System.Windows.Forms;

namespace ComboBox_DataSource_Sample
{
    public partial class Form1 : Form
    {
        public Form1()
        {
            // Initialize an array with data to bind to the combo box.
            var daysOfWeek =
                new[] { "Monday", "Tuesday", "Wednesday", 
                        "Thursday", "Friday", "Saturday", 
                        "Sunday" };

            // Initialize combo box
            var comboBox = new ComboBox
                                {
                                    DataSource = daysOfWeek,
                                    Location = new System.Drawing.Point(12, 12),
                                    Name = "comboBox",
                                    Size = new System.Drawing.Size(166, 21),
                                    DropDownStyle = ComboBoxStyle.DropDownList
                                };

            // Add the combo box to the form.
            this.Controls.Add(comboBox);
        }
    }
}

Imports System.Windows.Forms

Public Class Form1
    Inherits System.Windows.Forms.Form

    Private Sub Form1_Load(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) _
            Handles MyBase.Load

        Dim comboBox As New ComboBox
        Dim daysOfWeek As String() = _
            New String() {"Monday", "Tuesday", "Wednesday", _
                          "Thursday", "Friday", "Saturday", _
                          "Sunday"}

        With comboBox
            .DataSource = daysOfWeek
            .Location = New System.Drawing.Point(12, 12)
            .Name = "comboBox"
            .Size = New System.Drawing.Size(166, 21)
            .DropDownStyle = ComboBoxStyle.DropDownList
        End With

        Me.Controls.Add(comboBox)
    End Sub

End Class

Remarks

A data source can be a database, a Web service, or an object that can later be used to generate data-bound controls. When the DataSource property is set, the items collection cannot be modified.