Textbox with Columns

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JanetTerra JanetTerra Aug 26, 2010


Creating Columns in a Textbox with _EM_SETTABSTOPS


mColTBImage1.png
The typical Liberty BASIC textbox display is a single line of text. With a few simple changes, the textbox #main.col, can and will display the output in column format. Copy or type this small program into your Liberty BASIC IDE. All changes will be made within the
' =========================================================
' Modified Code
' =========================================================
block of code.


 
    Nomainwin
 
' Design a GUI with a textbox
    WindowWidth = 400
    WindowHeight = 300
 
    UpperLeftX = Int((DisplayWidth - WindowWidth) /2)
    UpperLeftY = Int((DisplayHeight - WindowHeight) /2)
 
    Statictext #main, "Capital Cities", 24, 20, 350, 24
    Textbox #main.col, 20, 50, 350, 100
    Open "Multicolumn Textboxes" for Window as #main
    #main, "Trapclose XbyTrap"
 
' =========================================================
' Make changes to code here
 
    #main, "Font Times_New_Roman 14"
 
' Create data appropriate for column output
    Dim capital$(20)
    capital$ = ""
    For i = 1 to 20
        Read c$
        capital$(i) = c$
        capital$ = capital$;capital$(i);Chr$(13);Chr$(10)
    Next i
 
    #main.col capital$
 
' =========================================================
 
Wait
 
Sub XbyTrap handle$
    Close #handle$
    End
End Sub
 
    Data "Canberra, Australia"
    Data "Vienna, Austria"
    Data "Santiago, Chile"
    Data "Copenhagen, Denmark"
    Data "Cairo, Egypt"
    Data "London, England"
    Data "Helsinki, Finland"
    Data "Paris, France"
    Data "Athens, Greece"
    Data "Rome, Italy"
    Data "Tokyo, Japan"
    Data "Amsterdam, Netherlands"
    Data "Abuja, Nigeria"
    Data "Oslo, Norway"
    Data "Lisbon, Portugal"
    Data "Mogadishu, Somalia"
    Data "Madrid, Spain"
    Data "Bern, Switzerland"
    Data "Damascus, Syria"
    Data "Ankara, Turkey"

Multilines with Carriage Return and Line Feed


mColTBImage2.png
The text output of any Liberty BASIC textbox can be forced to the next line using a carriage return, Chr$(13), and a line feed Chr$(10).


' =========================================================
' Make changes to code here
 
    #main "Font Times_New_Roman 14"
 
' Create data appropriate for column output
    Dim capital$(20)
    capital$ = ""
    For i = 1 to 20
        Read c$
        capital$(i) = c$
        capital$ = capital$;capital$(i);Chr$(13);Chr$(10)
    Next i
 
    #main.col capital$
 
' =========================================================

Simulating Tabs with Spaces


mColTBImage3.png
It is possible to simulate tabs using spaces.
  1. Determine the number of spaces to place the second column
  2. Determine the number of characters in the text of the first column
  3. Subtract that number of characters from the desired second column position


' =========================================================
' Make changes to code here
 
    #main "Font Times_New_Roman 14"
' Create data appropriate for column output
    Dim capital$(20)
    capital$ = ""
    For i = 1 to 20
        Read c$
        city$ = Word$(c$, 1)
        nation$ = Word$(c$, 2)
        capital$(i) = city$;Space$(14 - Len(city$));nation$
        capital$ = capital$;capital$(i);Chr$(13);Chr$(10)
    Next i
 
    #main.col capital$
 
' =========================================================

Variable Font Width vs Fixed Font Width


mColTBImage4.png
Hey, this doesn't look right. What happened? The problem with using Space$(20 - Len(city$)) lies with the choice of font. This math formula is not dependable with fonts of variable font width, such as Times New Roman. The math formula is dependable with fonts of fixed font width, such as Courier New. Changing the font to a fixed font width will give a more desirable output.


' =========================================================
' Make changes to code here
 
    #main "Font Courier_New 14"
' Create data appropriate for column output
    Dim capital$(20)
    capital$ = ""
    For i = 1 to 20
        Read c$
        city$ = Word$(c$, 1)
        nation$ = Word$(c$, 2)
        capital$(i) = city$;Space$(14 - Len(city$));nation$
        capital$ = capital$;capital$(i);Chr$(13);Chr$(10)
    Next i
 
    #main.col capital$
 
' =========================================================

Setting a TabStop with _EM_SETTABSTOPS


mColTBImage5.png
A tabstop can be defined in your Liberty BASIC programs by sending the _EM_SETTABSTOPS message to the textbox. Setting a tabstop allows column formatting with fonts of variable fonts such as Times New Roman. Tabstops are defined as a set, the set being passed as an array. Liberty BASIC passes an array as a struct. In this simple example, only one tabstop is being set. Still that one tabstop must be passed as a struct.


' =========================================================
' Make changes to code here
 
    #main "Font Times_New_Roman 14"
 
' Get the handle of the textbox
    hTB = hWnd(#main.col)
 
' Define the struct
    Struct TabStop, tab1 as Long
 
' Set the struct variable
    TabStop.tab1.struct = 56
 
' Define the tab key [ Tab = Chr$(9) ]
    LBTab$ = Chr$(9)
 
' Send the message
    CallDLL #user32, "SendMessageA", _
        hTB as Ulong, _ ' Handle of textbox
        _EM_SETTABSTOPS as Long, _ ' Windows Constant 203
        1 as Long, _ ' The number of tabstops to set
        TabStop as Struct, _ ' The array of tabstops
        SetTabs as Long ' Non-zero equals success
 
' Create data appropriate for column output
    Dim capital$(20)
    capital$ = ""
    For i = 1 to 20
        Read c$
        city$ = Word$(c$, 1)
        nation$ = Word$(c$, 2)
        capital$(i) = city$;LBTab$;nation$
        capital$ = capital$;capital$(i);Chr$(13);Chr$(10)
    Next i
 
    #main.col capital$
 
' =========================================================

Dialog Units


mColTBImage6.png
Notice that TabStop.tab1.struct is set to 56. This doesn't set the tabstop position to 56 characters to the right, but 56 dialog units to the right. A dialog unit is approximately 1/4 the width of a character in the assigned font. In the fixed width (Courier New) example, the tabstop was simulated at 14 characters to the right. Multiplying that number of characters by 4 (14 x 4 `=` 56), yields the tabstop position of 56 dialog units.


Adding a Scrollbar and Editing the Textbox


Add a scrollbar to the textbox with Stylebits. Stylebits must be added before the window is opened.
    Textbox #main.col 20, 50, 350, 100
    Stylebits #main.col _WS_VSCROLL OR _ES_MULTILINE, _ES_AUTOHSCROLL, 0, 0
Text within the textbox can be edited. To force a new line, press Ctrl-Enter. To advance to the next tabstop, press Ctrl-Tab. Try editing one of the capital cities in the text box or add a new capital city to the list.


Multiple Tabstops


mColTBImage7.png
It is possible to set a number of tabstops in the textbox. Each tabstop must be passed as part of the struct. The following demo sets up three tabstops, each of varying distances.





 
    Nomainwin
 
' Design a GUI with a textbox
    WindowWidth = 400
    WindowHeight = 300
 
    UpperLeftX = Int((DisplayWidth - WindowWidth) /2)
    UpperLeftY = Int((DisplayHeight - WindowHeight) /2)
 
    Statictext #main, "Capital Cities", 24, 20, 350, 24
    Textbox #main.col, 20, 50, 350, 100
    Stylebits #main.col, _WS_VSCROLL OR _ES_MULTILINE, _ES_AUTOHSCROLL, 0, 0
    Open "Multicolumn Textboxes" for Window as #main
    #main "Trapclose XbyTrap"
 
    #main "Font Times_New_Roman 14"
 
' Get the handle of the textbox
    hTB = hWnd(#main.col)
 
' Define the struct to hold 3 tabstops
    Struct TabStop, tab1 as Long, tab2 as Long, tab3 as Long
 
' Define the tab key [ Tab = Chr$(9) ]
    LBTab$ = Chr$(9)
 
' Make the API Call
    Call SetTabStops hWnd(#main.col), 12, 68, 112
 
' Create data appropriate for column output
    capital$ = ""
    For i = 1 to 20
        Read c$
        city$ = Word$(c$, 1)
        nation$ = Word$(c$, 2)
        txt$ = LBTab$;city$;LBTab$;nation$;LBTab$;"*"
        capital$ = capital$;txt$;Chr$(13);Chr$(10)
    Next i
 
    #main.col capital$
 
Wait
 
Sub XbyTrap handle$
    Close #handle$
    End
End Sub
 
Sub SetTabStops hTb, tb1, tb2, tb3
    TabStop.tab1.struct = tb1
    TabStop.tab2.struct = tb2
    TabStop.tab3.struct = tb3
    CallDLL #user32, "SendMessageA", _
        hTb as Ulong, _ ' Handle of textbox
        _EM_SETTABSTOPS as Long, _ ' Windows Constant 203
        3 as Long, _ ' The number of tabstops to set
        TabStop as Struct, _  ' The array of tabstops
        SetTabs as Long ' Non-zero equals success
End Sub
 
    Data "Canberra, Australia"
    Data "Vienna, Austria"
    Data "Santiago, Chile"
    Data "Copenhagen, Denmark"
    Data "Cairo, Egypt"
    Data "London, England"
    Data "Helsinki, Finland"
    Data "Paris, France"
    Data "Athens, Greece"
    Data "Rome, Italy"
    Data "Tokyo, Japan"
    Data "Amsterdam, Netherlands"
    Data "Abuja, Nigeria"
    Data "Oslo, Norway"
    Data "Lisbon, Portugal"
    Data "Mogadishu, Somalia"
    Data "Madrid, Spain"
    Data "Bern, Switzerland"
    Data "Damascus, Syria"
    Data "Ankara, Turkey"
 

A special thanks to Bill Beasley who posted code using _EM_SETTABSTOPS for the Liberty BASIC community.