How do I change the selected text of a combobox on the fly?

Question

Hi all,
I am trying to make a combobox, that is sort of a "recently used" connection box. So you can type in a computer name, hit connect and it then connects. When you disconnect, it adds the computer name, and the logged in username to the combobox,
so when you click on the drop down, you get selections for example : "COMPUTER1 - johnsmith"
Which is cool, but what I want, is to be able to click on the selection, and it only puts the computer name in the TextBox - i.e. "COMPUTER1"
So I have done a bit of research, and tried making a hashtable, and using the DisplayMember and ValueMember properties, so i can at least have a combobox selection like "COMPUTER1 (johnsmith)". I have tried many different pages and suggestions,
but the furtherest I have got is to only have one or the other value display, or it displays as System.Collection...... (can't remember the rest).
So my next attempt, is using an event handler for the combobox to change the text, so that once "COMPUTER1 - johnsmith" is selected from the combobox, it puts "COMPUTER1" as the selected text.
I have tried the following using the SelectedIndexChanged handler. Here is a snippet of my code relating to the ComboBox:
# PC Connection Input Box$global:pcInputBox = New-Object System.Windows.Forms.ComboBox
$global:pcInputBox.Location = New-Object System.Drawing.Size(70,50)
$global:pcInputBox.Size = New-Object System.Drawing.Size(210,20)
$global:pcInputBox_SelectedIndexChanged = {
if (($global:pcInputBox.Text -ne $null) -and ($global:pcInputBox.Text -ne "")){
$selection = $global:pcInputBox.Text
addLog("Selection is $selection")
$global:trimSelection = $selection.substring(0,$selection.indexof("-"))
addLog("TrimSelection is $global:trimSelection")
$global:pcInputBox.SelectedItem = $global:trimSelection
addLog("SelectedText is $global:pcInputBox.SelectedItem")
$global:pcInputBox.add_GotFocus({
$Form.AcceptButton = $pcButton
$global:pcInputBox.add_SelectedIndexChanged($global:pcInputBox_SelectedIndexChanged)
$Form.Controls.Add($global:pcInputBox)
I have also tried setting the $global:pcInputBox.Text but the result is that nothing changes. Its as though I can't change that ComboBox from its own event?? If I try setting $global:pcInputBox.Text from another function, it will do it fine.
Can anyone please recommend how I would get this achieved?
Thanks in advance
Adam Street

Answer 1

Use objects:
$o=@()
$o+=New-Object PsObject -Property @{Computer='COMP1';User='USER01'}
$o+=New-Object PsObject -Property @{Computer='COMP2';User='USER02'}
$o+=New-Object PsObject -Property @{Computer='COMP3';User='USER03'}
$combobox1.DataSource=[collections.arraylist]($o|select Computer,User, @{N='DisplayName';E={"$($_.Computer)-$($_.User)"}})
$combobox1.DisplayMember='DisplayName'
This can also be loaded from a CSV or from AD or almost anywhere else;
Here is another trivial example:
$o=@()
$o+=New-Object PsObject -Property @{Computer='COMP1';User='USER01'}
$o+=New-Object PsObject -Property @{Computer='COMP2';User='USER02'}
$o+=New-Object PsObject -Property @{Computer='COMP3';User='USER03'}
Add-Type -AssemblyName System.Windows.Forms
$form=New-Object System.Windows.Forms.Form
$form.StartPosition='CenterScreen'
$combobox1 = New-Object System.Windows.Forms.ComboBox
$combobox1.Location='70,50'
$combobox1.Size='210,20'
$combobox1.DataSource=[collections.arraylist]($o|select Computer,User, @{N='DisplayName';E={"$($_.Computer)-$($_.User)"}})
$combobox1.DisplayMember='DisplayName'
$combobox1.add_SelectedIndexChanged({[System.Windows.Forms.MessageBox]::Show($combobox1.SelectedItem.Computer)})
$form.Controls.Add($combobox1)
$form.ShowDialog()
¯\_(ツ)_/¯