Embed a File Chooser in a UserControl / Form

Question

I've inherited a desktop application which has a custom .NET file chooser that is embedded in a control, but it has some issues. I'd like to replace it with a non-custom File Chooser (like the OpenFileDialog). However, for a variety of reasons it needs to be embedded in the parent control not a popup dialog. Is there a control I'm missing, or does MS only provide the popup dialog out of the box?

Answer 1

The .Net control is a thin wrapper for the common dialog built into windows, and that is a dialog.

Answer 2

Depending on your needs, you COULD abuse the web browser control to show local files and folders. It won't match all the functionality of the OpenFileDialog, but it could work.

Here's one that I remembered from way-back. The Shell Mega-Pack. It has ActiveX and .NET versions. It looks promising.

Alternatively, if you want to build your own, you could start here on CodeProject: A Windows Explorer in a User Control. That looks like a good start. Here's another one: An All VB.NET Explorer Tree Control with ImageList Management.