Show text box in FolderBrowserDialog

Question

how can I show a text field in a FolderBrowserDialog as shown below

Answer 1

This is not possible directly, you need to abandon the use of the shell function. Project + Add link, View tab, select c: \ windows \ system32 \ shell32.dll. Example usage in a Winforms application:

Private Sub Button1_Click(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click Dim options As Integer = &H40 + &H200 + &H20 options += &H10 '' Adds edit box Dim shell = New Shell32.ShellClass Dim root = Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.Desktop) Dim folder = CType(shell.BrowseForFolder(CInt(Me.Handle), _ "Select folder", options, root), Shell32.Folder2) If folder IsNot Nothing Then MsgBox("You selected " + folder.Self.Path) End If End Sub 

Answer 2

Check this out: FolderBrowserDialogEx: C # setup for FolderBrowserDialog

The code is in C #, there is VB Conversion here

 Imports System Imports System.Collections.Generic Imports System.Linq Imports System.Text Imports System.Drawing Imports System.Runtime.InteropServices Imports System.Windows.Forms Imports System.Diagnostics Namespace DaveChambers.FolderBrowserDialogEx Public Class FolderBrowserDialogEx #Region "Fields that mimic the same-named fields in FolderBrowserDialog" Public Property RootFolder() As Environment.SpecialFolder Get Return m_RootFolder End Get Set m_RootFolder = Value End Set End Property Private m_RootFolder As Environment.SpecialFolder Public Property SelectedPath() As String Get Return m_SelectedPath End Get Set m_SelectedPath = Value End Set End Property Private m_SelectedPath As String Public Property ShowNewFolderButton() As Boolean Get Return m_ShowNewFolderButton End Get Set m_ShowNewFolderButton = Value End Set End Property Private m_ShowNewFolderButton As Boolean Public Property StartPosition() As FormStartPosition Get Return m_StartPosition End Get Set m_StartPosition = Value End Set End Property Private m_StartPosition As FormStartPosition #End Region ' Fields specific to CustomFolderBrowserDialog Public Property Title() As String Get Return m_Title End Get Set m_Title = Value End Set End Property Private m_Title As String Public Property ShowEditbox() As Boolean Get Return m_ShowEditbox End Get Set m_ShowEditbox = Value End Set End Property Private m_ShowEditbox As Boolean ' These are the control IDs used in the dialog Private Structure CtlIds Public Const PATH_EDIT As Integer = &H3744 'public const int PATH_EDIT_LABEL = 0x3748; // Only when BIF_NEWDIALOGSTYLE Public Const TITLE As Integer = &H3742 Public Const TREEVIEW As Integer = &H3741 Public Const NEW_FOLDER_BUTTON As Integer = &H3746 Public Const IDOK As Integer = 1 Public Const IDCANCEL As Integer = 2 End Structure <StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential, CharSet := CharSet.Unicode)> _ Public Structure InitData ' Titles shouldn't too long, should they? <MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.ByValTStr, SizeConst := 128)> _ Public Title As String <MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.ByValTStr, SizeConst := Win32.MAX_PATH)> _ Public InitialPath As String Public ShowEditbox As Boolean Public ShowNewFolderButton As Boolean Public StartPosition As FormStartPosition Public hParent As IntPtr Public Sub New(dlg As FolderBrowserDialogEx, hParent As IntPtr) ' We need to make copies of these values from the dialog. ' I tried passing the dlg obj itself in this struct, but Windows will barf after repeated invocations. Me.Title = dlg.Title Me.InitialPath = dlg.SelectedPath Me.ShowNewFolderButton = dlg.ShowNewFolderButton Me.ShowEditbox = dlg.ShowEditbox Me.StartPosition = dlg.StartPosition Me.hParent = hParent End Sub End Structure Public Sub New() Title = "Browse For Folder" ' Default to same caption as std dialog RootFolder = Environment.SpecialFolder.Desktop SelectedPath = "c:\" ShowEditbox = False ShowNewFolderButton = False StartPosition = FormStartPosition.WindowsDefaultLocation End Sub Public Function ShowDialog(owner As IWin32Window) As DialogResult Dim initdata As New InitData(Me, owner.Handle) Dim bi As New Win32.BROWSEINFO() bi.iImage = 0 bi.hwndOwner = owner.Handle If 0 <> Win32.SHGetSpecialFolderLocation(owner.Handle, CInt(Me.RootFolder), bi.pidlRoot) Then bi.pidlRoot = IntPtr.Zero End If bi.lpszTitle = "" bi.ulFlags = Win32.BIF_RETURNONLYFSDIRS ' do NOT use BIF_NEWDIALOGSTYLE or BIF_STATUSTEXT If Me.ShowEditbox Then bi.ulFlags = bi.ulFlags Or Win32.BIF_EDITBOX End If If Not Me.ShowNewFolderButton Then bi.ulFlags = bi.ulFlags Or Win32.BIF_NONEWFOLDERBUTTON End If bi.lpfn = New Win32.BrowseCallbackProc(_browseCallbackHandler) ' Initialization data, used in _browseCallbackHandler Dim hInit As IntPtr = Marshal.AllocHGlobal(Marshal.SizeOf(initdata)) Marshal.StructureToPtr(initdata, hInit, True) bi.lParam = hInit Dim pidlSelectedPath As IntPtr = IntPtr.Zero Try pidlSelectedPath = Win32.SHBrowseForFolder(bi) Dim sb As New StringBuilder(256) If Win32.SHGetPathFromIDList(pidlSelectedPath, sb) Then SelectedPath = sb.ToString() Return DialogResult.OK End If Finally ' Caller is responsible for freeing this memory. Marshal.FreeCoTaskMem(pidlSelectedPath) End Try Return DialogResult.Cancel End Function Private Function _browseCallbackHandler(hDlg As IntPtr, msg As Integer, lParam As IntPtr, lpData As IntPtr) As Integer Select Case msg Case Win32.BFFM_INITIALIZED ' remove context help button from dialog caption Dim lStyle As Integer = Win32.GetWindowLong(hDlg, Win32.GWL_STYLE) lStyle = lStyle And Not Win32.DS_CONTEXTHELP Win32.SetWindowLong(hDlg, Win32.GWL_STYLE, lStyle) lStyle = Win32.GetWindowLong(hDlg, Win32.GWL_EXSTYLE) lStyle = lStyle And Not Win32.WS_EX_CONTEXTHELP Win32.SetWindowLong(hDlg, Win32.GWL_EXSTYLE, lStyle) _adjustUi(hDlg, lpData) Exit Select Case Win32.BFFM_SELCHANGED If True Then Dim ok As Boolean = False Dim sb As New StringBuilder(Win32.MAX_PATH) If Win32.SHGetPathFromIDList(lParam, sb) Then ok = True Dim dir As String = sb.ToString() Dim hEdit As IntPtr = Win32.GetDlgItem(hDlg, CtlIds.PATH_EDIT) Win32.SetWindowText(hEdit, dir) #If UsingStatusText Then ' We're not using status text, but if we were, this is how you'd set it Win32.SendMessage(hDlg, Win32.BFFM_SETSTATUSTEXTW, 0, dir) #End If #If SHBrowseForFolder_lists_links Then ' This check doesn't seem to be necessary - the SHBrowseForFolder dirtree doesn't seem to list links Dim sfi As New Win32.SHFILEINFO() Win32.SHGetFileInfo(lParam, 0, sfi, Marshal.SizeOf(sfi), Win32.SHGFI_PIDL Or Win32.SHGFI_ATTRIBUTES) ' fail if pidl is a link If (sfi.dwAttributes And Win32.SFGAO_LINK) = Win32.SFGAO_LINK Then ok = False #End If End If End If ' if invalid selection, disable the OK button If Not ok Then Win32.EnableWindow(Win32.GetDlgItem(hDlg, CtlIds.IDOK), False) End If Exit Select End If End Select Return 0 End Function Private Sub _adjustUi(hDlg As IntPtr, lpData As IntPtr) ' Only do the adjustments if InitData was supplied If lpData = IntPtr.Zero Then Return End If Dim obj As Object = Marshal.PtrToStructure(lpData, GetType(InitData)) If obj Is Nothing Then Return End If Dim initdata As InitData = DirectCast(obj, InitData) ' Only do the adjustments if we can find the dirtree control Dim hTree As IntPtr = Win32.GetDlgItem(hDlg, CtlIds.TREEVIEW) If hTree = IntPtr.Zero Then hTree = Win32.FindWindowEx(IntPtr.Zero, IntPtr.Zero, "SysTreeView32", IntPtr.Zero) If hTree = IntPtr.Zero Then ' This usually means that BIF_NEWDIALOGSTYLE is enabled. hTree = Win32.FindWindowEx(hDlg, IntPtr.Zero, "SHBrowseForFolder ShellNameSpace Control", IntPtr.Zero) End If End If If hTree = IntPtr.Zero Then Return End If ' Prep the basic UI Win32.SendMessage(hDlg, Win32.BFFM_SETSELECTIONW, 1, initdata.InitialPath) Win32.SetWindowText(hDlg, initdata.Title) If initdata.StartPosition = FormStartPosition.CenterParent Then _centerTo(hDlg, initdata.hParent) ElseIf initdata.StartPosition = FormStartPosition.CenterScreen Then _centerTo(hDlg, Win32.GetDesktopWindow()) End If ' else we do nothing ' Prep the edit box Dim rcEdit As New Win32.RECT() Dim hEdit As IntPtr = Win32.GetDlgItem(hDlg, CtlIds.PATH_EDIT) If hEdit <> IntPtr.Zero Then If initdata.ShowEditbox Then Win32.GetWindowRect(hEdit, rcEdit) Win32.ScreenToClient(hEdit, rcEdit) Else Win32.ShowWindow(hEdit, Win32.SW_HIDE) End If End If ' make the dialog larger Dim rcDlg As Win32.RECT Win32.GetWindowRect(hDlg, rcDlg) rcDlg.Right += 40 rcDlg.Bottom += 30 If hEdit <> IntPtr.Zero Then rcDlg.Bottom += (rcEdit.Height + 5) End If Win32.MoveWindow(hDlg, rcDlg, True) Win32.GetClientRect(hDlg, rcDlg) Dim vMargin As Integer = 10 ' Accomodate the resizing handle width Dim hMargin As Integer = 10 ' SystemInformation.VerticalScrollBarWidth; ' Move the Cancel button Dim rcCancel As New Win32.RECT() Dim hCancel As IntPtr = Win32.GetDlgItem(hDlg, CtlIds.IDCANCEL) If hCancel <> IntPtr.Zero Then Win32.GetWindowRect(hCancel, rcCancel) Win32.ScreenToClient(hDlg, rcCancel) rcCancel = New Win32.RECT(rcDlg.Right - (rcCancel.Width + hMargin), rcDlg.Bottom - (rcCancel.Height + vMargin), rcCancel.Width, rcCancel.Height) Win32.MoveWindow(hCancel, rcCancel, False) End If ' Move the OK button Dim rcOK As New Win32.RECT() Dim hOK As IntPtr = Win32.GetDlgItem(hDlg, CtlIds.IDOK) If hOK <> IntPtr.Zero Then Win32.GetWindowRect(hOK, rcOK) Win32.ScreenToClient(hDlg, rcOK) rcOK = New Win32.RECT(rcCancel.Left - (rcCancel.Width + hMargin), rcCancel.Top, rcOK.Width, rcOK.Height) Win32.MoveWindow(hOK, rcOK, False) End If ' Manage the "Make New Folder" button Dim hBtn As IntPtr = Win32.GetDlgItem(hDlg, CtlIds.NEW_FOLDER_BUTTON) If Not initdata.ShowNewFolderButton Then ' Make sure this button is not visible Win32.ShowWindow(hBtn, Win32.SW_HIDE) ElseIf hBtn = IntPtr.Zero Then ' Create a button - button is only auto-created under BIF_NEWDIALOGSTYLE ' This is failing, and I don't know why! hBtn = Win32.CreateWindowEx(&H50010000, "button", "&Make New Folder", &H4, hMargin, rcOK.Top, _ 105, rcOK.Height, hDlg, New IntPtr(CtlIds.NEW_FOLDER_BUTTON), Process.GetCurrentProcess().Handle, IntPtr.Zero) End If ' Position the path editbox and it label ' We'll repurpose the Title (static) control as the editbox label Dim treeTop As Integer = vMargin If hEdit <> IntPtr.Zero Then Dim xEdit As Integer = hMargin Dim cxEdit As Integer = rcDlg.Width - (2 * hMargin) Dim hLabel As IntPtr = Win32.GetDlgItem(hDlg, CtlIds.TITLE) If hLabel <> IntPtr.Zero Then Dim labelText As String = "Folder: " Win32.SetWindowText(hLabel, labelText) ' This code obtains the required size of the static control that serves as the label for the editbox. ' All this GDI code is a bit excessive, but I figured "what the hell". Dim hdc As IntPtr = Win32.GetDC(hLabel) Dim hFont As IntPtr = Win32.SendMessage(hLabel, Win32.WM_GETFONT, IntPtr.Zero, IntPtr.Zero) Dim oldfnt As IntPtr = Win32.SelectObject(hdc, hFont) Dim szLabel As Size = Size.Empty Win32.GetTextExtentPoint32(hdc, labelText, labelText.Length, szLabel) Win32.SelectObject(hdc, oldfnt) Win32.ReleaseDC(hLabel, hdc) Dim rcLabel As New Win32.RECT(hMargin, vMargin + ((rcEdit.Height - szLabel.Height) / 2), szLabel.Width, szLabel.Height) Win32.MoveWindow(hLabel, rcLabel, False) xEdit += rcLabel.Width cxEdit -= rcLabel.Width End If ' Expand the folder tree to fill the dialog rcEdit = New Win32.RECT(xEdit, vMargin, cxEdit, rcEdit.Height) Win32.MoveWindow(hEdit, rcEdit, False) treeTop = rcEdit.Bottom + 5 End If Dim rcTree As New Win32.RECT(hMargin, treeTop, rcDlg.Width - (2 * hMargin), rcDlg.Bottom - (treeTop + (2 * vMargin) + rcOK.Height)) Win32.MoveWindow(hTree, rcTree, False) End Sub Private Sub _centerTo(hDlg As IntPtr, hRef As IntPtr) Dim rcDlg As Win32.RECT Win32.GetWindowRect(hDlg, rcDlg) Dim rcRef As Win32.RECT Win32.GetWindowRect(hRef, rcRef) Dim cx As Integer = (rcRef.Width - rcDlg.Width) / 2 Dim cy As Integer = (rcRef.Height - rcDlg.Height) / 2 Dim rcNew As New Win32.RECT(rcRef.Left + cx, rcRef.Top + cy, rcDlg.Width, rcDlg.Height) Win32.MoveWindow(hDlg, rcNew, True) End Sub End Class End Namespace '======================================================= 'Service provided by Telerik (www.telerik.com) 'Conversion powered by NRefactory. 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Answer 3

I see two problems with the above dialog boxes (and any other dialog I've seen):

1: you cannot specify a custom start folder that will be pre-selected when the dialog box opens, say "c: \ temp"

2: When you enter a path in a text box and press TAB or ENTER, it should NOT be considered the final selected folder, but the tree should instead move and expand to that path (just like if you did the same on Windows Explorer).

(sorry for putting this as an answer, can't make a comment)