Binding an enum to a WinForms combo box, and then setting it

Question

a lot of people have answered the question of how to bind an enum to a combo box in WinForms. Its like this:

comboBox1.DataSource = Enum.GetValues(typeof(MyE         


        

Answer 1

Generic method for setting a enum as datasource for drop downs

Display would be name. Selected value would be Enum itself

public IList<KeyValuePair<string, T>> GetDataSourceFromEnum<T>() where T : struct,IConvertible
    {
        IList<KeyValuePair<string, T>> list = new BindingList<KeyValuePair<string, T>>();
        foreach (string value in Enum.GetNames(typeof(T)))
        {
            list.Add(new KeyValuePair<string, T>(value, (T)Enum.Parse(typeof(T), value)));
        }
        return list;
    }

Answer 2

 public static void FillByEnumOrderByNumber<TEnum>(this System.Windows.Forms.ListControl ctrl, TEnum enum1, bool showValueInDisplay = true) where TEnum : struct
    {
        if (!typeof(TEnum).IsEnum) throw new ArgumentException("An Enumeration type is required.", "enumObj");

        var values = from TEnum enumValue in Enum.GetValues(typeof(TEnum))
                     select
                        new
                         KeyValuePair<TEnum, string>(   (enumValue), enumValue.ToString());

        ctrl.DataSource = values
            .OrderBy(x => x.Key)

            .ToList();

        ctrl.DisplayMember = "Value";
        ctrl.ValueMember = "Key";

        ctrl.SelectedValue = enum1;
    }
    public static void  FillByEnumOrderByName<TEnum>(this System.Windows.Forms.ListControl ctrl, TEnum enum1, bool showValueInDisplay = true  ) where TEnum : struct
    {
        if (!typeof(TEnum).IsEnum) throw new ArgumentException("An Enumeration type is required.", "enumObj");

        var values = from TEnum enumValue in Enum.GetValues(typeof(TEnum))
                     select 
                        new 
                         KeyValuePair<TEnum,string> ( (enumValue),  enumValue.ToString()  );

        ctrl.DataSource = values
            .OrderBy(x=>x.Value)
            .ToList();

        ctrl.DisplayMember = "Value";
        ctrl.ValueMember = "Key";

        ctrl.SelectedValue = enum1;
    }

Answer 3

this is the solution to load item of enum in combobox :

comboBox1.Items.AddRange( Enum.GetNames(typeof(Border3DStyle)));

And then use the enum item as text :

toolStripStatusLabel1.BorderStyle = (Border3DStyle)Enum.Parse(typeof(Border3DStyle),comboBox1.Text);

Answer 4

At the moment I am using the Items property rather than the DataSource, it means I have to call Add for each enum value, but its a small enum, and its temporary code anyway.

Then I can just do the Convert.ToInt32 on the value and set it with SelectedIndex.

Temporary solution, but YAGNI for now.

Cheers for the ideas, I will probably use them when I do the proper version after getting a round of customer feedback.