Q197116: BUG: Label Width Changes with WordWrap and AutoSize Set to True

Article: Q197116
Product(s): Microsoft Visual Basic for Windows
Version(s): WINDOWS:5.0,6.0
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kbcode kbVBp500bug kbVBp600bug kbGrpDSVB kbCodeSam
Last Modified: 24-JUL-2001

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Visual Basic Learning Edition for Windows, version 6.0 
- Microsoft Visual Basic Professional Edition for Windows, version 6.0 
- Microsoft Visual Basic Enterprise Edition for Windows, version 6.0 
- Microsoft Visual Basic Control Creation Edition for Windows, version 5.0 
- Microsoft Visual Basic Learning Edition for Windows, version 5.0 
- Microsoft Visual Basic Professional Edition for Windows, version 5.0 
- Microsoft Visual Basic Enterprise Edition for Windows, version 5.0 
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SYMPTOMS
========

If you set the Caption property of a Label control when the label's WordWrap and
AutoSize properties are set to True, Visual Basic slightly changes the width of
the label instead of wrapping the label's caption.

STATUS
======

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a bug in the Microsoft products listed at the
beginning of this article.

MORE INFORMATION
================

According to Visual Basic Help, the horizontal size of a label should not change
when the WordWrap and AutoSize properties are both set to True, unless the
label's caption consists of a single word that is larger than the width of the
Label.

The following are excerpts from the Visual Basic 6.0 WordWrap Help topic:

  To maintain a constant horizontal size for the Label and allow for increasing
  or decreasing text, set the WordWrap and AutoSize properties to True.

  If both AutoSize and WordWrap are set to True, text will wrap without
  increasing the size of the Label control, unless a single word is entered
  that is larger than the width of the Label. In that case, the AutoSize
  property takes priority and the width of the Label increases to accommodate
  the long word.

Steps to Reproduce Behavior
---------------------------

1. Create a new Standard EXE project. Form1 is created by default.

2. Add a TextBox and a Label control to Form1.

3. Set the MultiLine property of the TextBox control to True.

4. Set the BorderStyle property of the TextBox control to None.

5. Set the AutoSize and WordWrap properties of the Label control to True.

6. Paste the following code into Form1:

        Option Explicit

        Const LABEL_WIDTH = 2880

        Private Sub Form_Load()
           ' Clear textbox initial value.
           Text1.Text = ""

           ' Set both controls to the same initial width.
           Text1.Width = LABEL_WIDTH
           Label1.Width = LABEL_WIDTH

           ' Set colors for easy viewing.
           Me.BackColor = vbRed
           Text1.BackColor = vbGreen
           Label1.BackColor = vbGreen

           ' Make sure Form is wide enough for Label to grow.
           Me.Width = LABEL_WIDTH + Label1.Left + 1000
        End Sub

        Private Sub Text1_Change()
           ' Sync the two control's displays.
           Label1.Caption = Text1.Text

           ' Check for change in label's width.
           If Label1.Width <> LABEL_WIDTH Then
              Debug.Print "Label Width: " & Label1.Width & _
                 vbTab & "TextBox Width: " & Text1.Width
           End If
        End Sub

7. Run the project.

RESULT: Begin typing some text into the TextBox until the debug window shows a
change in the label's width. The actual amount of typing you must do to see this
behavior can vary from system to system. To consistently cause this behavior,
type some text up to the end of the first line and then hit the space bar
several times, or just enter spaces.

Additional query words:

======================================================================
Keywords          : kbcode kbVBp500bug kbVBp600bug kbGrpDSVB kbCodeSam 
Technology        : kbVBSearch kbAudDeveloper kbZNotKeyword6 kbZNotKeyword2 kbVB500Search kbVB600Search kbVBA500Search kbVB500 kbVB600 kbZNotKeyword3
Version           : WINDOWS:5.0,6.0
Issue type        : kbbug
Solution Type     : kbpending

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