Aligning Columns in a Windows 3.x List Box

The information in this article applies to:

• Microsoft Windows Software Development Kit (SDK) versions 3.0 and 3.1

SUMMARY

To align columns of text in a list box in an application running under Windows version 3.0, the suggested approach is to use the proportional system font and to use tab characters to align the text. For tabs to work properly, you must specify the LBS_USETABSTOPS style when you create the list box.

Code that depends on space characters for correct alignment of text does not work correctly with the Windows proportional system font. This is a common problem when migrating applications written for Windows 2.x and earlier to Windows 3.0. This problem can be corrected by using tabs, or by using a fixed-pitch font in the list box.

MORE INFORMATION

One particular fixed-pitch font is always available as a system resource. This font, identified as the SYSTEM_FIXED_FONT, is used by applications developed for previous versions of Windows that have not been marked for Windows 3.0 font compatibility.

To use a fixed font in a dialog box, you must send each control a WM_SETFONT message as part of the dialog box's initialization process. The handle to the font is passed in wParam for the message. When lParam contains a nonzero value, the control redraws itself using the new font. An lParam of zero omits the redraw. Below is a small code fragment that demonstrates the processing of the WM_INITDIALOG message. ID_CONTROL represents the control ID of the list box (or other control).

  HFONT   hFixedFont;
  ...
  case WM_INITDIALOG:
          hFixedFont = GetStockObject(SYSTEM_FIXED_FONT);
          SendDlgItemMessage(hDlg, ID_CONTROL, WM_SETFONT,
                             hFixedFont, 0L);
          ... /* possibly other processing */
          break;

  HFONT   hFixedFont;
  ...
  hFixedFont = GetStockObject(SYSTEM_FIXED_FONT);
  hOldFont   = SelectObject (hDC, hFixedFont);
  ...
  /* before calling DeleteDC() or ReleaseDC(),
   * restore original font */
  SelectObject(hDC, hOldFont);
  ...