Both controls provide the AutoFindMethod property, which indicates the method used to assist the user in locating items.

• AutoFindMethod.Standard

  Both controls behave like their .NET and Windows counterparts. In the case of itCombo, with an edit text box, no special response is provided; otherwise both controls will perform a first character match

• AutoFindMethod.TypeAhead

  Both controls will perform a type-ahead (also known as auto-complete) style response

Our AutoFind functionality came about due to customer feedback. We've provided type-ahead in the edit text box before, in our COM itCombo - and other vendors do this too. But it's not always an ideal solution. In many situations you will want to assist the user in rapid location of items - but having the edit text box is not desirable.

We think providing type-ahead in itList, and itCombo without an edit text box, is the perfect solution for most requirements. To the best of our knowledge, this functionality is unique to our controls.

Also unique to itCombo is multi-column edit, which can be seen in the first two screenshots. This feature is very handy where data in the primary edit column is not unique. You can let the user drop the list to see which item they've actually picked, or take advantage of the EditFormat property.

Here's a good example, taken from the List Controls for .NET WinForms demo.

The Australian suburb file contains six instances of "Red Hill". To choose a suburb the user needs to see State and Postcode in order to differentiate similarly named suburbs.

Having to drop a combo's list portion can be irritating, especially when you do a lot of data entry. itCombo's multi-column edit (provided by the EditFormat property) makes life much easier!

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