C# and .NET examples · Windows desktop

FourKWinForm — High-DPI Windows Forms Example

A minimal C# Windows Forms application targeting .NET 8 that demonstrates high-DPI awareness for 4K and other high-resolution displays. It enables HighDpiMode.SystemAware through the project’s ApplicationHighDpiMode setting, to configure system DPI awareness. Actual appearance depends on the display setup and control layout. The form collects a name and country from two text boxes, then displays a personalised greeting in a message box.

Use it as a starting point when you want to see how a modern .NET 8 WinForms project configures DPI scaling with ApplicationConfiguration.Initialize().

In this guide: Get started · Walk through the example · Understand the details · Check the limits

✨ Features

  • High-DPI support via ApplicationHighDpiMode.SystemAware
  • Two text inputs: Name and Country
  • Message button — shows a greeting dialog using the entered values
  • Exit button — closes the application cleanly

🚀 Quick start

Build and Run

cd FourKWinForm
dotnet build
dotnet run

Or open FourKWinForm.sln in Visual Studio and press F5.

📦 Prerequisites and installation

Requirements

  • .NET 8 SDK (Windows target)
  • Windows OS (Windows Forms is Windows-only)

⚙️ Configuration

Project Configuration

Setting Value
Target Framework net8.0-windows
Output Type WinExe
DPI Mode SystemAware
Designer DPI Unaware true

💡 Usage

  1. Launch the application.
  2. Enter your name and country in the text boxes.
  3. Click Message to display:
Hello my name is <name>,
I am from <country>
  1. Click Exit to close the application.

🏗️ Architecture

Project Structure

FourKWinForm/
├── HDForm.cs              # Main form logic — button handlers
├── HDForm.Designer.cs     # Auto-generated form layout
├── HDForm.resx            # Form resources
├── Program.cs             # Entry point — initialises ApplicationConfiguration
├── FourKWinForm.csproj
└── FourKWinForm.sln

🧪 Development and testing

On Windows, build the project and check Message/Exit behavior, empty inputs and the scaling settings you intend to support. Test moving between monitors separately. The source and project settings were reviewed; the GUI was not launched.

🛠️ Troubleshooting and limitations

SystemAware uses system DPI awareness; it does not configure per-monitor DPI awareness. Moving the window between monitors with different scaling may behave differently from starting it on a single monitor. Test the actual Windows scaling settings you intend to support. Inputs are displayed directly without validation.

🔗 Related documentation

Read all C# and .NET Code Examples guides online · Project overview · All developer projects