Font Dialog Box in VB.net – Properties, Methods and Events

What is Font Dialog in VB.net?

A Font Dialog in VB.net is used to choose a font from a system’s installed fonts.

Please keep in mind that a FontDialog may have different fonts on different systems depending on what fonts are installed on a system.

Font Dialog Properties in VB.net

The Font Dialog Box in VB.net has the following Properties:

Font Dialog Methods in VB.net

The Font Dialog Box in VB.net has the following Methods:

Font Dialog Events in VB.net

The Font Dialog Box in VB.net has the following Events:

Let’s make a simple program that uses VB.NET Windows Forms to show the Font dialog box.

Public Class Form1
FontDialog1.ShowColor = True  
        If FontDialog1.ShowDialog = Windows.Forms.DialogResult.OK Then  
            TextBox1.Font = FontDialog1.Font 'Change the font of the selected string  
            TextBox1.ForeColor = FontDialog1.Color 'Change the color of selected string  
        End If  
End Class

Program Output:

Here’s the Output, based on the given program above.

Write some text in the TextArea box, as shown below.

By choosing the string and clicking the “Change Font” button, the Font window will open. In the Font window, we can change the selected string’s size, font, and font style.

After you set the font, font style, size, color, etc. on the Font dialog box, it shows the formatted string, as shown below.

Summary

A FontDialog Control in VB.net lets the user open the Windows Font Dialog and choose a font and color for the font.

In this article, we talked about how to use a Windows Font Dialog in a Windows Forms application using Microsoft Visual Studio and set its properties.

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Common use cases for Font Dialog Box

Font Dialog Box appears in most Windows Forms applications. Typical scenarios:

• File save operations. Prompt users to pick a target file name and format before writing data.
• File open operations. Let users browse for spreadsheets, images, PDFs, or configuration files to import.
• Font selection. Give users control over typography in rich-text editors, report designers, or accessibility settings.
• Color selection. Used in drawing apps, chart configurators, and theme editors.
• Print previews. Route content to the printer with pagination and margins under user control.

Best practices when using Font Dialog Box

• Always set a default. Users expect a sensible starting value (e.g., the last used color or the current font).
• Handle DialogResult. Check whether the user clicked OK vs Cancel before applying changes.
• Set filters correctly. For file dialogs, restrict extensions to the ones your app actually reads.
• Wrap in Using blocks. Dialog objects hold OS resources; Using ensures cleanup.
• Test on high-DPI monitors. Dialogs render differently at 125% and 150% scaling.

Working code example

Full working example showing Font Dialog Box in a real Windows Forms context:

Private Sub btnPick_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles btnPick.Click
    Using dlg As New OpenFileDialog()
        dlg.Title = "Select a file"
        dlg.Filter = "Text files (*.txt)|*.txt|All files (*.*)|*.*"
        dlg.InitialDirectory = Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.Desktop)

        If dlg.ShowDialog() = DialogResult.OK Then
            Dim contents As String = System.IO.File.ReadAllText(dlg.FileName)
            txtOutput.Text = contents
        End If
    End Using
End Sub

Troubleshooting common issues with Font Dialog Box

• Dialog does not appear. Confirm ShowDialog() is called on the UI thread. Cross-thread invocations must marshal via Control.Invoke().
• File permission errors. Wrap file operations in Try/Catch. UAC-protected folders throw UnauthorizedAccessException.
• Filter string ignored. Filters use the exact “Description|*.ext|Description2|*.ext2” format. A single stray character breaks parsing silently.
• Font not applied. After dialog closes, assign dlg.Font to the target control’s Font property explicitly.
• Print job silently drops. Confirm PrinterSettings.IsValid before calling Print().

Angel Jude Suarez

Full-Stack Developer at PIES IT Solution

Focuses on Python development, machine learning, and AI integration. Has built production AI systems including OpenAI Whisper integration for medical transcription and GPT-4o-powered diagnosis assistance. Strong background in pandas, scikit-learn, and TensorFlow.

Expertise: Python · PHP · Java · VB.NET · ASP.NET · Machine Learning · AI Integration · OpenCV · Django · CodeIgniter
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