The Static Text control

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Static Text control overview
Control in a window, in a page (static or dynamic) or in a report
Creating a Static Text control in a window or page
Creating a Static Text control in a window or page
Handling long text
Special case: RTF Static Text control
Creating a Static Text control in a report
Creating a Static Text control in a report
Content of Static Text control
Entering text in a Static Text control in the editor
Content of Static Text control (report editor)
Notes

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The Static Text control

Static Text control overview

Control in a window, in a page (static or dynamic) or in a report

A Static Text control is a control used to display a static text. The content of the control cannot be entered by the user.

To apply effects to the displayed text, you have the ability to use:

The control style, by configuring the "Shadow" element.
The "RTF" type to display a text in RTF.
A specific animation (scroll or blink).
New in version 2025
This feature is available for Android and iOS applications starting with version 2025 Update 1.

Remarks:

Static Text controls can also be configured with a display mask to automatically apply a format to the value that is assigned to them.
You can configure different effects for the Static Text control in the "Style" tab of the control description window. You can:
- configure the border of the control. For example, this option allows you to display an image in a Static Text control.
  The icon (to the right of the "Border" option) allows you to configure the shadow of the border. If a shadow is used, you can choose the X and Y offset, percentage of opacity, blur radius and shadow color.
- set the characteristics of the font via the button. You can specify:
  - the line spacing,
  - the character spacing,
  - the text angle.

Creating a Static Text control in a window or page

To create a Static Text control in a window or page:

On the "Creation" tab, in the "Usual controls" group, click .
Click where you want to create the control in the window or page. The control appears in the editor.

To view the characteristics of the control, select "Description" in the context menu. You can type text in the control or define the type of information that will be displayed.

Handling long text

If the text is too long, there are several possible solutions:

Reduce font size:
You can set a minimum font size for text that is too long ("Reduce font size" in the "Details" tab of the control description window).
Display an ellipsis: You can use an ellipsis.. Ellipses (three consecutive dots) replace excessively long text.
- In a window, you can use an ellipsis at the end or in the middle of a long text. The use of the ellipsis can be defined in the "Details" tab of the Static Text control.
- Use an animation: You can use an animation to make the text scroll automatically. This will allow the user to see the entire text. For more details on how to configure the animation, see Animating a Static Text control.

Special case: RTF Static Text control

To create a Static Text control in RTF in a window:

On the "Creation" tab, in the "Usual controls" group, click .
Open the control description window (select "Description" in the context menu).
In the "General" tab:
- Select the type of Static Text control: "RTF".
- Enter the RTF text. A specific text formatting toolbar automatically appears.

Remarks:

You can also create an RTF Static Text control via the "RTF text" Smart control.
An RTF Static Text control can also be created by pasting RTF text directly in the window.
To use a Static Text control in RTF, the "RICHED20.DLL" file must be on the current computer. In most cases, the "RICHED20.DLL" file is in the Windows system directory.
You can also use the RichEdit property to modify the RTF type of a Static Text control programmatically.

Creating a Static Text control in a report

To create a Static Text control in a report:

On the "Creation" tab, in the "Text" group, click .
Click where you want to create the control. The control appears in the editor.

To view the characteristics of the control, select "Description" in the context menu. You can type text in the control or define the type of information that will be displayed. For more details on the characteristics of controls in reports, see Modifying the characteristics of report controls.

Notes: The "UI" tab of the Static Text control description in the report editor allows you to manage numerous options, including ellipsis, conditional display, etc.

Content of Static Text control

Static Text controls can display information:

entered in the editor.
defined programmatically.
from a data file. In this case, the Static Text control is bound to a data file item. In this case, the control is used to view the content of the items in the data file.

Entering text in a Static Text control in the editor

To type the text of the Static Text control:

Click the Static Text control in the editor. The input cursor is displayed.
Type the text of the Static Text control.
For RTF Static Text controls (in a window or report), the format of each element can be defined via a toolbar.

Note: You can also edit the text in a Static Text control from the control description window.

Content of Static Text control (report editor)

The character string displayed in the Static Text control can contain the value of an item printed in the report. To insert the value of an item or a control of the report into the text of the Static Text control, enter the name of the item or control between [% and %].
For example, the text of the control can correspond to:
The ]%SupplierName%[ supplier sells the ]%ProductName%[ product at ]%PriceIOT%[.
SupplierName, ProductName and PriceIOT will be replaced with their value when the report is executed.
Text can span multiple lines. In this case, the control must be a multiline control and its size must be large enough.
Note: If an angle is applied to a multiline control, automatic carriage returns are ignored. Only manual carriage returns are taken into account.

Reminder: The "Auto-resizing" option automatically resizes the control according to its content.

Notes

In the windows, Static Text controls include a display mask to automatically apply a format to the data assigned to them. This mask can be modified programmatically with the InputMask property.

Related Examples:

Unit examples (WINDEV): Management of RTF

[ + ] Using the main functions for RTF management in a WINDEV application:
- Load a file in RTF format
- Save a file in RTF format
- Find and select a word in an RTF text
- Display a text in RTF format
- Modify the characteristics of a selection (font, case, color, ...)

Unit examples (WEBDEV): HTMLClass property

[ + ] The property ..HTMLClass allows you to read and update the control's HTML attribute "class".
This property lets you select the CSS Style applied on the control.

Sample components (WEBDEV): WW_CloudTags

[ + ] This example explains how to display a cloud of tags in a dynamic WEBDEV application.
Indeed, on Internet, a site page responds more or less to a set of keywords.
The purpose of this example is to explain how to display the keywords of a site in an area of the page by indicating the important keywords graphically.
The keywords are represented as links of different sizes: the more important the keyword is, the larger the font is.