Implementing the Syncfusion WinForms FontListBox Control

The Syncfusion FontListBox (Syncfusion.Windows.Forms.Tools.FontListBox) is a ListBox-derived control that automatically populates itself with all fonts installed on the user's system. It supports multiple selection modes, type-to-match auto-complete, horizontal scrollbars, item height control, and Office-style visual themes.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when you need to:

• Display a list of installed system fonts — auto-populated on creation
• Allow users to select a font — apply the selected font to labels, text boxes, or other controls
• Configure selection modes — single, multi-simple, or multi-extended selection
• Enable type-to-match auto-complete — UseAutoComplete
• Apply Office visual styles — VisualStyle with FontListBoxStyle enum
• Control scrollbar visibility — HorizontalScrollbar, ScrollAlwaysVisible
• Handle font selection events — SelectedIndexChanged

Component Overview

Property	Type	Description
SelectionMode	SelectionMode	One, MultiSimple, or MultiExtended
UseAutoComplete	bool	Type-ahead matching within the list
Sorted	bool	Sort font names alphabetically
ItemHeight	int	Height in pixels of each list item
HorizontalScrollbar	bool	Show horizontal scrollbar when items overflow
HorizontalExtent	int	Width (px) of the scrollable area when horizontal scrollbar is on
ScrollAlwaysVisible	bool	Keep scrollbars visible regardless of item count
VisualStyle	FontListBoxStyle	Office/Metro visual theme

Documentation and Navigation Guide

Getting Started

📄 Read: references/getting-started.md

• Assembly references and NuGet package setup
• Adding FontListBox via designer or programmatically
• Auto-population with system fonts
• SelectionMode — None, One, MultiSimple, MultiExtended
• Handling SelectedIndexChanged to apply font to another control

Customization and Behavior

📄 Read: references/customization-and-behavior.md

• ItemHeight — row height per font entry
• Sorted — alphabetical sorting of font names
• UseAutoComplete — type-to-match as user types
• HorizontalScrollbar + HorizontalExtent
• ScrollAlwaysVisible — force scrollbars always visible

Visual Styles

📄 Read: references/visual-styles.md

• VisualStyle property using FontListBoxStyle enum
• Available styles: Default, Metro, Office2016Colorful, Office2016White, Office2016Black, Office2016DarkGray

Quick Start

C#:

using Syncfusion.Windows.Forms.Tools;

FontListBox fontListBox1 = new FontListBox();
fontListBox1.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(160, 94);
fontListBox1.UseAutoComplete = true;
fontListBox1.SelectionMode = System.Windows.Forms.SelectionMode.One;
fontListBox1.SelectedIndexChanged += FontListBox1_SelectedIndexChanged;
this.Controls.Add(fontListBox1);

private void FontListBox1_SelectedIndexChanged(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    label1.Font = new System.Drawing.Font(
        fontListBox1.SelectedItem.ToString(), 11, System.Drawing.FontStyle.Regular);
}

VB.NET:

Imports Syncfusion.Windows.Forms.Tools

Dim fontListBox1 As New FontListBox()
fontListBox1.Size = New System.Drawing.Size(160, 94)
fontListBox1.UseAutoComplete = True
fontListBox1.SelectionMode = System.Windows.Forms.SelectionMode.One
AddHandler fontListBox1.SelectedIndexChanged, AddressOf FontListBox1_SelectedIndexChanged
Me.Controls.Add(fontListBox1)

Private Sub FontListBox1_SelectedIndexChanged(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)
    label1.Font = New System.Drawing.Font(
        fontListBox1.SelectedItem.ToString(), 11, System.Drawing.FontStyle.Regular)
End Sub

Common Use Cases

Scenario	Properties to Set
Font picker for a text editor	SelectionMode = One, handle SelectedIndexChanged
Multi-font selection	SelectionMode = MultiExtended
Fast keyboard navigation	UseAutoComplete = true
Always show scrollbar	ScrollAlwaysVisible = true
Alphabetically sorted list	Sorted = true
Office-style appearance	VisualStyle = FontListBoxStyle.Office2016Colorful