OpenFileDialog C# custom filter like 'ABC*.pdf'

Question

Is it possible to specify custom filters like 'ABC*.pdf' which means: "Show all PDF which starts with ABC"?

I can only specify *.pdf, *.doc, *.*, etc.

Thanks Florian

Answer 1

Updated

Changed my solution a little after realizing the following would be better:

This is not a complete "hard filter", but making use of the FileName property should still cover your needs:

using System;
using System.Windows.Forms;

namespace TestingFileOpenDialog
{
    public partial class Form1 : Form
    {
        public Form1()
        {
            InitializeComponent();
        }

        private void button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
        {
            this.openFileDialog1.FileName = "pro*";
            this.openFileDialog1.Filter = "Pdf Files|*.pdf";
            this.openFileDialog1.ShowDialog();
        }
    }
}

I suppose this might depend on which OS you are working with, but it did work in my case any way, on Windows 8.

I also realize that this does not filter out all irrelevant files "permanently", but it does at least provide an initial filter.

Result:
(Without pro* in the FileName-field, this will show several other PDF files).

Answer 2

Yes and no.

No: Look at the MSDN, page. The filter is not used that way. It's only for the extensions.

Yes: You could write your own class that extends/mimics the OpenFileDialog, have some regular expressions to do what you want, and simply run that match against all the files in the current folder (Might take some work, but if you really want it so bad, go for it :) )