How to auto resize and adjust Form controls with change in resolution

Question

I have noticed that some applications change their controls' positions to fit themselves as much as possible in the current resolution. For example, if the window is maximized, the controls are set in such a way that the overall GUI looks balanced.

Is it possible to make or implement this functionality in Visual studio 2010 using C#?

score 72 · Accepted Answer · edited Nov 12 '13 at 11:27

72

Use Dock and Anchor properties. Here is a good article. Note that these will handle changes when maximizing/minimizing. That is a little different that if the screen resolution changes, but it will be along the same idea.

edited Nov 12 '13 at 11:27

Phil Ross

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answered Nov 22 '10 at 18:12

SwDevMan81

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I must mention the AutoScaleMode which made me waist **lots** of time of games with Anchor&Dock (which weren't actually the problem...) – ephraim May 07 '18 at 11:28

Bhaskar · Answer 2 · 2014-11-25T10:40:12.770

Use combinations of these to get the desired result:

Set Anchor property to None, the controls will not be resized, they only shift their position.
Set Anchor property to Top+Bottom+Left+Right, the controls will be resized but they don't change their position.
Set the Minimum Size of the form to a proper value.
Set Dock property.
Use Form Resize event to change whatever you want

I don't know how font size (label, textbox, combobox, etc.) will be affected in (1) - (4), but it can be controlled in (5).

score 12 · Answer 3 · answered Sep 16 '12 at 07:15

12

float widthRatio = Screen.PrimaryScreen.Bounds.Width / 1280;
float heightRatio = Screen.PrimaryScreen.Bounds.Height / 800f;
SizeF scale = new SizeF(widthRatio, heightRatio);
this.Scale(scale);
foreach (Control control in this.Controls)
{
control.Font = new Font("Verdana", control.Font.SizeInPoints * heightRatio * widthRatio);
}

answered Sep 16 '12 at 07:15

Mohammad Shahnawaz

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@AfnanBashir perhaps, but this one saves you tons of time, if you already have a Windows form with tons of controls. +1 – Oct 12 '15 at 19:39
That's an interesting approach (even if the ratio calculation could be improved). Ostensibly it relies on `AutoScaleMode` of the form being `Font`. – Zeus Jul 08 '21 at 02:31

score 2 · Answer 4 · answered Nov 23 '10 at 07:45

2

..and to detect a change in resolution to handle it (once you're using Docking and Anchoring like SwDevMan81 suggested) use the SystemEvents.DisplaySettingsChanged event in Microsoft.Win32.

answered Nov 23 '10 at 07:45

Thushan Fernando

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score 1 · Answer 5 · answered Aug 25 '20 at 12:12

sorry I saw the question late, Here is an easy programmatically solution that works well on me,

Create those global variables:

 float firstWidth;
 float firstHeight;

after on load, fill those variables;

 firstWidth = this.Size.Width;
 firstHeight = this.Size.Height;

then select your form and put these code to your form's SizeChange event;

 private void AnaMenu_SizeChanged(object sender, EventArgs e)
    {
        

        float size1 = this.Size.Width /  firstWidth;
        float size2 = this.Size.Height / firstHeight;

            SizeF scale = new SizeF(size1, size2);
        firstWidth = this.Size.Width;
        firstHeight = this.Size.Height;

        foreach (Control control in this.Controls)
        {
                
            control.Font = new Font(control.Font.FontFamily, control.Font.Size* ((size1+ size2)/2));
            
            control.Scale(scale);
                

        }


    }

I hope this helps, it works perfect on my projects.

I'm getting the error `Value of '∞' is not valid for 'emSize'. 'emSize' should be greater than 0 and less than or equal to System.Single.MaxValue. Parameter name: emSize` in the line `control.Font = new Font(control.Font.FontFamily, control.Font.Size* ((size1+ size2)/2));` after using your code.. — Bumba, Nov 29 '21 at 13:29

score 0 · Answer 6 · answered Aug 08 '19 at 07:09

0

Here I like to use https://www.netresize.net/index.php?c=3a&id=11#buyopt. But it is paid version.

You also can get their source codes if you buy 1 Site License (Unlimited Developers).

How ever I am finding the nuget package solution.

answered Aug 08 '19 at 07:09

Zin Min

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score -1 · Answer 7 · edited Feb 04 '13 at 13:08

-1

add this code at page load do for all control or add all control in containers

int x;
Point pt = new Point();
x = Screen.PrimaryScreen.WorkingArea.Width - 1024;
x = x / 2;
pt.Y = groupBox1.Location.Y + 50;
pt.X = groupBox1.Location.X + x;
groupBox1.Location = pt;

edited Feb 04 '13 at 13:08

sschrass

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answered Feb 04 '13 at 12:48

chirag

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score -2 · Answer 8 · edited Jun 14 '13 at 09:45

-2

in the form load event add this line

this.WindowState = FormWindowState.Maximized;

edited Jun 14 '13 at 09:45

Bohemian

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answered Jun 14 '13 at 09:28

soldiershin

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score -3 · Answer 9 · answered Feb 26 '15 at 02:08

-3

private void MainForm_Load( object sender, EventArgs e ) 
     { 
        this.Size = Screen.PrimaryScreen.WorkingArea.Size 
     }

answered Feb 26 '15 at 02:08

Sherif Hamdy

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score -6 · Answer 10 · edited Sep 29 '16 at 13:15

-6

this.WindowState = FormWindowState.Maximized;

edited Sep 29 '16 at 13:15

ryanyuyu

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answered Sep 29 '16 at 13:13

user6899728

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Welcome to Stack Overflow! While this code may answer the question, providing additional context regarding why and/or how this code answers the question improves its long-term value. – ryanyuyu Sep 29 '16 at 13:15
3

This code will only make your windows maximized, but the size of all controls inside the windows won't dynamically changed. – Vincent Elbert Budiman May 04 '18 at 05:37

How to auto resize and adjust Form controls with change in resolution

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