Enable text wrapping inside a vertical sizer for wxStaticText #25753

RobertRoeb · 2025-09-02T14:57:41Z

Changed the wxWrapSizer code from using a variable "m_usedLast" to two different functions
CalcMinFirstPass() and CalcMin() for the two step min size calculation.
Added the same logic and naming to controls using GetEffectiveMinSizeFirstPass()
Implemented this for the generic code in wxStaticTextBase.
Added test to wrapsizer sample.

…to wxWrapSizer Changed the wxWrapSizer code from using a variable "m_usedLast" to two different functions CalcMinFirstPass() and CalcMin() for two step min size calculation. Added the same logic and naming to controls using GetEffectiveMinSizeFirstPass() Implemented this for the generic code in wxStaticText Added test to wrapsizer sample

RobertRoeb · 2025-09-02T15:00:20Z

So far only tested on GTK+. Will test on OSX later the week. I would appreciate testing on MSW.

vadz · 2025-09-02T15:03:13Z

Before looking at it, could you please explain the relationship between this and wxWrapSizer? I mean, they do conceptually similar things, but other than that, there is none, right?

Also, I don't know if we want to do this unconditionally or if some flag is specified. While people probably don't want their labels being truncated, they may not want them to take more than one line too... And the interaction of this with ellipsize flags is not clear at all.

vadz

Sorry, there are a number of things to fix here, but more importantly I see 2 changes here that should ideally correspond to 2 commits:

Addition of GetEffectiveMinSizeFirstPass() and changing wxWrapSizer to use it.
Changes to wxStaticText.

(1) is probably fine, but it really needs to be documented.

For (2) I'm still not sure if we want to do it unconditionally or depending on a flag. If nothing else, this almost certainly shouldn't override explicit calls to Wrap() in the user code as it, I believe, does now.

vadz · 2025-09-02T15:04:28Z

include/wx/sizer.h

+    // Can be overidden for two step process, e.g. by wxWrapSizer
+    virtual wxSize CalcMinFirstPass() { return CalcMin(); }


It would be nice to explain what the two step process is, because this is really not obvious.

Also, wxWrapSizer doesn't really need it, as it worked before adding it, so this makes things even more confusing.

wxWrapSizer called CalcMin() several times, but with different behaviour, but instead of using either a flag or two different calls, it set a flag in wxSizer::InformFirstDirection() which altered the behaviour of CalcMin(). I tried to use CalcMinFirstPass() or CalcMin( bool firstpass = false ); for both wrapsizer and a wrapped control, but there sizers and controls are handled differently in wxSizer::Layout()

wxWrapSizer was, AFAIR, somewhat of a hack and it's great to replace it with something better but this something should be documented/explained.

Maybe documenting it would also give some idea for a better name because, frankly, "first pass" is not great: it doesn't mean anything per se and implies the existence of "second pass" which doesn't actually exist.

vadz · 2025-09-02T15:05:09Z

include/wx/window.h

@@ -411,6 +411,7 @@ class WXDLLIMPEXP_CORE wxWindowBase : public wxEvtHandler
        // minimum size, giving priority to the min size components, and
        // returns the results.
    virtual wxSize GetEffectiveMinSize() const;
+    virtual wxSize GetEffectiveMinSizeFirstPass() const { return  GetEffectiveMinSize(); }


This should really be documented (in a comment here and in interface/wx/window.h) because I just have no idea how to use it right now.

Right, will do

vadz · 2025-09-02T15:05:41Z

include/wx/stattext.h

@@ -72,6 +77,12 @@ class WXDLLIMPEXP_CORE wxStaticTextBase : public wxControl
    // display.
    void UpdateLabel();

+    // save unwrapped label to allow to call Wrap() several times and 
+    // always starting from the original, unwrapped label
+    wxString m_unwrappedLabel;


Is this different from wxControl::m_labelOrig?

I could not figure out of the stripping of markup and/or mnemonics and/or the ellipsis code would alter m_labelOrig. I think m_labelOrig is the before any change, and m_unwrappedLabel is after the other changes, but before wrapping.

I think you're right, but is it really worth storing it separately instead of just stripping the other stuff from m_labelOrig?

It's not just about optimizing memory usage but also, in more places we store redundant information, more places we need to remember to update later.

vadz · 2025-09-02T15:06:02Z

include/wx/stattext.h

+    // save unwrapped label to allow to call Wrap() several times and 
+    // always starting from the original, unwrapped label
+    wxString m_unwrappedLabel;
+    int m_currentWrap = 0;


What is the value of this? Wrap width? With 0 meaning "none"? Please comment it too.

0 means no wrapping (will add comment). The current value needs to be saved to prevent uncountable recalculations of the wrapping code during the wxSizer Layout() process (as you probably guessed).

vadz · 2025-09-02T15:06:46Z

samples/wrapsizer/wrapsizer.cpp

@@ -118,10 +118,13 @@ WrapSizerFrame::WrapSizerFrame()

        sizerMidWrap->Add(chk, wxSizerFlags().Centre().Border());
    }
-


Please avoid mixing whitespace-only changes with significant ones if possible.

src/common/stattextcmn.cpp

vadz · 2025-09-02T15:09:07Z

src/common/stattextcmn.cpp

+    // While wxWrapSizer can only wrap entire controls, a text paragraph
+    // could theoretically wrap at a few letters, so we start with
+    // requesting very little space in the first pass
+    return wxSize( 10, 10 );


Could we avoid hardcoding magic numbers please? It would make sense to use GetCharWidth() or something else based it.

src/common/stattextcmn.cpp

vadz · 2025-09-02T15:10:37Z

src/common/wincmn.cpp

@@ -859,21 +859,39 @@ wxSize wxWindowBase::GetEffectiveMinSize() const
    // merge the best size with the min size, giving priority to the min size
    wxSize min = GetMinSize();

+    const wxStaticText *text = dynamic_cast<const wxStaticText*>(this);


Please remove this and all the other changes to this file.

RobertRoeb · 2025-09-02T18:00:37Z

Before looking at it, could you please explain the relationship between this and wxWrapSizer?
I mean, they do conceptually similar things, but other than that, there is none, right?

The code in wxSizer() always assumed this behaviour for wxWrapSizer and wxStaticText. It just
didn't work until now. This is even documented for probably 10 years:

https://docs.wxwidgets.org/3.2/classwx_window.html#a9fd5b6520c1b30eb8e82bb5d56bc24c0

Also, I don't know if we want to do this unconditionally or if some flag is specified. While
people probably don't want their labels being truncated, they may not want them to take
more than one line too... And the interaction of this with ellipsize flags is not clear at all.

This only happens inside of a vertical sizer, which calls InformsFirstDirection() to for the sole
purpose of wrapping the text. This change makes multiline text usable in sizers and should
not have an effect otherwise.

Co-authored-by: VZ <[email protected]>

vadz · 2025-09-02T21:39:17Z

This only happens inside of a vertical sizer, which calls InformsFirstDirection() to for the sole purpose of wrapping the text.

Wait, does this mean that wrapping still won't work in a wxFlexGridSizer? This makes it significantly less useful and potentially very, very confusing: there are no other examples of controls (AFAIK) that appear differently depending on the sizer they're placed in.

Can we make it work for 2D sizers too?

RobertRoeb · 2025-09-03T14:27:08Z

Wait, does this mean that wrapping still won't work
in a wxFlexGridSizer?

It should work there as well. I meant any vertical compartment in any sizer. And with my code it works for controls as well, although I cannot think of any apart from display of text. Well, a text editor or a HTML window, maybe.

Use GetCharHeight() and GetCharWidth() as minimal size for wrapping wxStaticText Removed accidentally committed debug code Added clarifying comments to new wrapping code in wxStaticText

RobertRoeb · 2025-09-07T16:37:10Z

I can confirm that the PR works on GTK, OSX and MSW. Thanks for the technical and mental support from VZ for setting git up and making this possible.

vadz · 2025-09-07T17:38:01Z

Could you please check the CI failures? There are some trivial to fix compile errors, but this also broke wxWrapSizer unit tests.

RobertRoeb · 2025-09-07T19:23:41Z

I will look at the compile errors, but doing further test scenarios I encountered a situation that might constitute an unexpected change of behaviour. If you put a vertical wxStaticBoxSizer in a dialog and you add two wxStaticText elements into it, the previous code stretched the wxStaticBoxSizer horizontally until the wxStaticText would fit it using a single line each. Previously, there was no way to make the wxStaticText wrap elegantly if the text was too long - you could just set a hard wrap at a e.g. 200px. But the point is: if your dialog layout relied on an expectation that the text would force the owning sizer to stretch, then that layout will be broken with the new code. Here is my artistic explanation
Before
+--wxStaticBox--------------------------
| This is a long text that stretches the box
| This is short text
| ( ) wxCheckBox
| What ever else here
+----------------------------------------

I need to think if we need a wxST_WRAP_IN_SIZER or a wxWrapStaticText in order not to break anything.

vadz · 2025-09-07T20:59:41Z

FWIW, I didn't have time to really think about this yet, but since the very beginning I thought we would add a style (wxST_WRAP) or a function (AllowWrap()?) instead of making the new behaviour unconditional.

This make it possible to choose between the three wrap modes: - Don't wrap at all (and force owning size to stretch out to accomodate whole length on a single line) - Fixed wrapping when falling wxStaticText::Wrap() - Dynamic wrapping, typically with very long text Added test for all three modes side by side in the wrapsizer sample Documented new style flag

RobertRoeb · 2025-09-09T18:59:59Z

Added wxST_WRAP, fixed tests and spelling mistakes

vadz reviewed Sep 2, 2025

View reviewed changes

RobertRoeb and others added 3 commits September 2, 2025 20:03

Comply to formatting

ac68407

Co-authored-by: VZ <[email protected]>

use String

752ece6

Co-authored-by: VZ <[email protected]>

Avoid unnecessary call of setting flag

bd0c8e8

Co-authored-by: VZ <[email protected]>

Robert Roebling added 3 commits September 7, 2025 14:34

Added documentation for new xxx FirstPass() methods

bd21c4c

Use GetCharHeight() and GetCharWidth() as minimal size for wrapping wxStaticText Removed accidentally committed debug code Added clarifying comments to new wrapping code in wxStaticText

Document the new behaviour in wxStaticText

15e9d67

Added missing override statement

73c86c6

Robert Roebling added 5 commits September 9, 2025 10:40

Corrected indentation

d07482a

Converted tests to use new CalcMinFirstPass()

212f1bb

Spelling error corrected

5f2f5ab

Fix spelling and trailing white spaces

5ec6de1

		// Can be overidden for two step process, e.g. by wxWrapSizer
		virtual wxSize CalcMinFirstPass() { return CalcMin(); }

		@@ -118,10 +118,13 @@ WrapSizerFrame::WrapSizerFrame()

		sizerMidWrap->Add(chk, wxSizerFlags().Centre().Border());
		}

Enable text wrapping inside a vertical sizer for wxStaticText #25753

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Enable text wrapping inside a vertical sizer for wxStaticText #25753

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RobertRoeb commented Sep 2, 2025

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