Selecting Initial File in RadOpenFileDialog in UI for WPF

Updated on Feb 19, 2026

Environment

Product	UI for WPF RadFileDialogs
Version	Current

Description

I need to select an initial file in RadOpenFileDialog when opening it. While setting the FileName property displays the path in the edit box at the bottom of the dialog, the file is not selected in the file list.

This knowledge base article also answers the following questions:

• How do I preselect a file in RadOpenFileDialog?
• How to set the selected file in RadOpenFileDialog in UI for WPF?
• How can I highlight a file in RadOpenFileDialog's file list?

Solution

RadOpenFileDialog does not provide this functionality out of the box. To achieve this, use custom logic by subscribing to the Loaded event of the dialog. Retrieve the FileBrowserListBox element using the ChildrenOfType extension method and set its SelectedItem property to the file matching the FileName property.

Follow these steps:

1. Subscribe to the Loaded event of the RadOpenFileDialog instance.
2. Access the FileBrowserListBox element using the ChildrenOfType extension method.
3. Check if its items contain a file matching the FileName property of RadOpenFileDialog.
4. Set the matching file to the SelectedItem property of FileBrowserListBox.

Here is the code snippet implementing this logic:

csharp

private void OpenFileDialog_Loaded(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
    RadOpenFileDialog openFileDialog = (RadOpenFileDialog)sender;

    // Retrieve the FileBrowserListBox element.
    FileBrowserListBox fileBrowserListBox = openFileDialog.ChildrenOfType<FileBrowserListBox>().FirstOrDefault();

    if (fileBrowserListBox != null)
    {
        // Find the file matching the FileName property.
        FileSystemInfoWrapper selectedFileSystemInfoWrapper = fileBrowserListBox.ItemsSource
            .Cast<FileSystemInfoWrapper>()
            .Where(x => openFileDialog.FileName.Contains(x.Name))
            .FirstOrDefault();

        if (selectedFileSystemInfoWrapper != null)
        {
            // Set the matching file as the selected item.
            fileBrowserListBox.SelectedItem = selectedFileSystemInfoWrapper;
        }
    }
}

Attach the Loaded event handler to the dialog:

csharp

RadOpenFileDialog openFileDialog = new RadOpenFileDialog();
openFileDialog.Loaded += OpenFileDialog_Loaded;

This approach ensures that the specified file is selected in the file list when the dialog is displayed.