Why Does Double Buffering Still Cause Display Artifacts in My WinForms Application?

Solving Persistent Display Artifacts in WinForms with Double Buffering

WinForms double buffering typically reduces visual glitches like flickering during control updates. However, artifacts can persist even with double buffering enabled via ControlStyles flags. This is because these flags only impact the form itself, not its child controls. Sequential painting of multiple child controls can lead to visible gaps.

The solution is to enable double buffering for both the form and its child controls using the WS_EX_COMPOSITED style. This is done by overriding the CreateParams property in your form's class:

protected override CreateParams CreateParams {
  get {
    CreateParams cp = base.CreateParams;
    cp.ExStyle |= 0x02000000;  // Enable WS_EX_COMPOSITED
    return cp;
  }
}

WS_EX_COMPOSITED directs the form and its controls to render to an off-screen buffer before displaying on the screen, thus preventing visible gaps and improving update smoothness.

Important Note: This doesn't speed up painting; it just synchronizes display updates. For genuine performance gains, consider replacing standard controls with custom controls drawn directly in the OnPaint method. This provides complete painting control and can significantly reduce rendering delays.

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