Code:
Option Explicit
'-------------
'API Declares.
'=============
Public Declare Function CallNextHookEx Lib "user32" (ByVal hHook As Long, ByVal nCode As Long, ByVal wParam As Long, ByVal lParam As Long) As Long
Public Declare Function UnhookWindowsHookEx Lib "user32" (ByVal hHook As Long) As Long
Public Declare Function SetWindowsHookEx Lib "user32" Alias "SetWindowsHookExA" (ByVal idHook As Long, ByVal lpfn As Long, ByVal hmod As Long, ByVal dwThreadId As Long) As Long
Public Declare Function SendMessage Lib "user32" Alias "SendMessageA" (ByVal hwnd As Long, ByVal wMsg As Integer, ByVal wParam As Integer, lParam As Any) As Long
'--------------
'API Constants.
'==============
'Used for Hooking into the key board.
Public Const WH_KEYBOARD = 2
'Find a string.
Public Const CB_FINDSTRING = &H14C
'-----------------
'Public variables.
'=================
'Used for the windows hook.
Public hHook As Long
'Used to track the last key pressed.
Public LastKeyPressed As Long
'
'Used to handle keys pressed before windows gets to them.
'
Public Function KeyboardProc(ByVal nCode As Long, ByVal wParam As Long, ByVal lParam As Long) As Long
If nCode >= 0 Then
KeyboardProc = 1
LastKeyPressed = wParam
End If
KeyboardProc = CallNextHookEx(hHook, nCode, wParam, lParam)
End Function
Public Function AutoComplete(cbo As ComboBox) As Boolean
Dim sText As String
Dim lIndex As Long
Static iLen As Integer
With cbo
'Check if backspace was pressed.
If LastKeyPressed = 8 Then
'Backspace pressed so
'strip off the last letter
'of the combo text.
'If iLen = 0 Then iLen = 1
'.Text = Left$(.Text, iLen - 1)
Exit Function
End If
'Check if delete was pressed.
If LastKeyPressed = 46 Then
'Just exit and let
'the delete go ahead.
Exit Function
End If
sText = .Text
iLen = Len(.Text)
'Used the SendMessage API for a fast search of the combo.
lIndex = SendMessage(.hwnd, CB_FINDSTRING, -1, ByVal .Text)
'Check if a match if found.
If lIndex >= 0 Then
'If so, select it.
.ListIndex = lIndex
'set the highlight text to
'the auto completed section.
.SelStart = iLen
.SelLength = Len(.List(.ListIndex)) - iLen
'Set the function to true.
AutoComplete = True
Else
'Select nothing.
.ListIndex = -1
'Set the function to false.
AutoComplete = False
End If
End With
End Function
put that in a module and use it like this
Code:
Private Sub Form_Load()
'Hook into the keyboard to track the key strokes.
hHook = SetWindowsHookEx(WH_KEYBOARD, _
AddressOf KeyboardProc, _
0&, _
App.ThreadID)
End Sub
Private Sub cboTest_Change()
AutoComplete cboTest
End Sub
Private Sub Form_Unload(Cancel As Integer)
Call UnhookWindowsHookEx(hHook)
End Sub