How Can WinForms Applications Be Optimized for Auto-Scaling with System Font and DPI Changes?

How WinForms applications auto-scale optimized for system font and DPI changes

Despite common misconception, WinForms offers powerful autoscaling capabilities in .NET 2.0 that can mitigate potential font and DPI inconsistency issues. However, programmers should follow some specific guidelines to ensure optimal autoscaling results.

Controls that do not support auto-scaling:

Some controls have limitations with autoscaling:

• Label control, if AutoSize = False and inherits the font, you need to explicitly set the font of the control.
• ListView The column width of the control. You need to override the ScaleControl method of the form to adjust the column width.
• SplitContainer The Panel1MinSize, Panel2MinSize and SplitterDistance properties of the control.
• TextBox control, if MultiLine = True and inherits the font, you need to set the font explicitly.
• ToolStripButton Image of the control. The AutoSize and ImageScalingSize attributes need to be adjusted based on DPI.
• PictureBox control if the SizeMode attribute is not Zoom or StretchImage.
• TreeView Image of the control. The ImageList.ImageSize attribute needs to be adjusted based on DPI.
• Form The size of the control. Fixed-size forms require manual scaling after the form is created.

Design Guidelines:

For optimal autoscaling results, please follow these guidelines:

• Set the AutoScaleMode and AutoScaleDimensions attributes consistently throughout your application.
• Choose a baseline DPI (for example, 96dpi) to work on.
• Avoid setting fonts at the container level.
• Consistently use anchoring or docking for controls on the same container.
• Pause layout before adding controls dynamically.
• Avoid inheriting AutoScaleMode properties for base classes.
• Consider using the MaxSize and ClientSize attributes dynamically to ensure scaling within screen limitations.
• Avoid mixing anchoring and docking on the same container.

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