C# Combo_box changes formatted string

Question

Given:

String course = String.Format
(
    "{0}-{2} {1}  {3} {4} {5}", 
    c.course_ID.ToString().Trim(), 
    c.course_Name.Trim().PadRight(20), 
    c.Section_Num.ToString().Trim(),
    c.Start_Time.ToString().Trim(), 
    c.Quarter.Trim(), 
    c.Year.ToString().Trim()) 
);

I have this output:

"150-2 FF Test 11:59:00 Winter 2016"

"314-1 Test Course 11:59:00 Winter 2016"

However, when these are then added to a combobox, the second line is always two spaces longer than the previous line.

combo_box.Items.add(course);

"150-2 FF Test 11:59:00 Winter 2016"

"314-1 Test Course 11:59:00 Winter 2016"

Any suggestions on how to fix this?

Answer 1

The problem is one of font widths. The default font for a Combo box is MS Sans Serif, which is a variable-width (or proportional) font. Each character takes up a different amount of space.

Switching to a monospaced (or fixed-width) font such as Courier New should solve your problem:

Like so: