How Can I Eliminate Flickering Artifacts in My WinForms Application When Using Double Buffering?

Addressing Flickering Artifacts in WinForms Double Buffering

WinForms applications using double buffering can sometimes exhibit persistent visual artifacts during control loading or updates. This is because standard double buffering only affects the main form, not its child controls.

The solution requires implementing double buffering at both the form and child control levels. The WS_EX_COMPOSITED style flag (introduced with Windows XP) enables double buffering for the entire form. Here's how to enable it:

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

While this doesn't speed up painting, it prevents visible painting artifacts by ensuring the form is displayed correctly after a short delay.

For complete elimination of the delay, consider a different approach: avoid using standard controls and instead draw custom controls directly within the OnPaint method. Handle user interaction via the OnMouseClick event.

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