Is it normal for the Hints not to reappear? wxTextCtrl

[Nick]

I was wondering if I was doing something wrong!
I build wxTextCtrl the way below, creating the Hint and everything works when the wxFrame is shown

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EdName = new wxTextCtrl(TabContacts, wxID_ANY, wxEmptyString, wxPoint(190,45), wxSize(300,30));
EdName->SetMaxLength(250);
EdName->SetHint("Name");

Then I click a button to clear the wxTextCtrl with the command below, but by doing that, the Hints disappear completely.
And I thought that if the wxTextCtrl no longer has text, the hints would be shown!

Code: Select all

EdName->SetValue("");

[ONEEYEMAN]

Hi,
What if you start the program, go to the text control type something and then backspace the text?
Will it show then?

Thank you.

[Nick]

Hi,
What if you start the program, go to the text control type something and then backspace the text?
Will it show then?

Thank you.

I created an example with 4 TextCtrl to test! Then after your answer I discovered that: When executing the command

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   TextCtrl1->SetValue("");
   TextCtrl2->SetValue("");
   TextCtrl3->SetValue("");
   TextCtrl4->SetValue("");

He erases all the hints. But if I navigate the TAB between the controls the Hints are restored.
Is there any way I can restore those hints without having to get in and out of control? Like a general Refresh for all TextCtrl?
Because there are TextCtrl in other wxNotebook tabs, there are 4 tabs in total!

[PB]

So, is what you do any different than running into limitations described in the docs?
https://docs.wxwidgets.org/trunk/classw ... be83f1bed4

[ONEEYEMAN]

Hi,
Try to call SetHint()

Thank you.

[ONEEYEMAN]

Hi,
@PB
It says that those limitations are for generic implementations

@OP:

Sets a hint shown in an empty unfocused text control.

So the answer is "NO". Control shuoldn't have a focus in order to display the hint.

Thank you.

[PB]

Hi,
@PB
It says that those limitations are for generic implementations

I know that but I did not know that the OP was not using generic implementation (such as on GTK2).

Sets a hint shown in an empty unfocused text control.

So the answer is "NO". Control shuoldn't have a focus in order to display the hint.

Actually, on Win10 the hint is still displayed in the focused control and disappears only when I type something and reappears when I delete all the text. Can be seen e.g. here

Code: Select all

#include <wx/wx.h>

class MyDialog : public wxDialog
{
public:
    MyDialog(): wxDialog(nullptr, wxID_ANY, "Test")
    {
        wxFlexGridSizer* mainSizer = new wxFlexGridSizer(2);
        
        for ( size_t i = 0; i < 4; ++i )
        {
            wxTextCtrl* textCtrl= new wxTextCtrl(this, wxID_ANY);
            textCtrl->SetHint(wxString::Format("wxTextCtrl #%zu", i + 1));
            mainSizer->Add(textCtrl, wxSizerFlags().Proportion(1).Expand().Border());
            mainSizer->Add(new wxButton(this, wxID_ANY, "Clear"), wxSizerFlags().Border());
        }
        
        Bind(wxEVT_BUTTON, &MyDialog::OnClear, this);

        SetSizerAndFit(mainSizer);
    }
private:
    void OnClear(wxCommandEvent& evt)
    {
        wxWindow* evtSource = dynamic_cast<wxWindow*>(evt.GetEventObject());
        wxTextCtrl* toClear = dynamic_cast<wxTextCtrl*>(evtSource->GetPrevSibling());

        if ( toClear )
            toClear->Clear();
    }
};

class MyApp : public wxApp
{
public:
    bool OnInit() override
    {        
        MyDialog().ShowModal();
        return false;
    }
}; wxIMPLEMENT_APP(MyApp);

[ONEEYEMAN]

@PB,
Then I think the docs needs to be updated.

Thank you.

[Nick]

Actually, on Win10 the hint is still displayed in the focused control and disappears only when I type something and reappears when I delete all the text. Can be seen e.g. here

Interestingly for me, your example has the same effect that I reported earlier. If I write, and use the clear button, it erases TextCtrl but the tip is not shown! It is only displayed if I enter TextCtrl and exit it again. Or of course if I write inside of it, and inside of it I delete the text myself and get out of it!

I need the clear button to show the tip!

I use Linux, Slackware64-Current

[Nick]

Hi,
Try to call SetHint()

Thank you.

Yeah, that's the way I found to solve it, creating the hint again. I even did a function with all the TextCtrl hints in one place only!

[PB]

I can see differences even between Win7 and Win10.

Win7 (probably the same as observed by Nick):
1. The hint is shown only when the control does not have focus.
2. If I clear the control programmatically, the hint is not shown but appears if the control gets and loses focus.

Win10
1. The hint is always shown, regardless of focus.
2. If I clear the control programmatically, the hint appears.

[Nick]

Possible BUG?

I noticed that if I have a TextCtrl with the blue Text or any other color.
If by any chance I send him a text with the same text that exists configured in Hint, the text turns grey and not blue

I understood that because I send texts to TextCtrl from a Struct. And whenever the text from Struct is the same as Hint, TextCtrl keeps the gray color of Hint texts. Instead of using the pre-configured blue color. Do you realize that yet?
The Color only returns to normal blue, if I in this same field modify the text, or if I have any event that rewrites the text

[ONEEYEMAN]

Hi,
It's not a bug.
It means that the native control behaviiour changed in Windows.

Unless of course you can reproduce the Win10 behaviour in the native Win32 application in Win7. Or vice versa.

Thank you.