The DrawText function draws formatted text in the specified rectangle. It formats the text according to the specified method (expanding tabs, justifying characters, breaking lines, and so forth).

To specify additional formatting options, use the DrawTextEx function.

int DrawText(
  HDC hDC,          // handle to DC
  LPCTSTR lpchText, // text to draw
  int nCount,       // text length
  LPRECT lpRect,    // formatting dimensions
  UINT uFormat      // text-drawing options
);

Parameters

hDC

[in] Handle to the device context.

lpchText

[in, out] Pointer to the string that specifies the text to be drawn. If the nCount parameter is -1, the string must be null-terminated.

If uFormat includes DT_MODIFYSTRING, the function could add up to four additional characters to this string. The buffer containing the string should be large enough to accommodate these extra characters.

nCount

[in] Specifies the length in TCHARS of the string. If nCount is -1, then the lpchText parameter is assumed to be a pointer to a null-terminated string and DrawText computes the character count automatically.

Windows 95/98/Me: This number may not exceed 8192.

lpRect

[in/out] Pointer to a RECT structure that contains the rectangle (in logical coordinates) in which the text is to be formatted.

uFormat

[in] Specifies the method of formatting the text. This parameter can be one or more of the following values.

Value	Description
DT_BOTTOM	Justifies the text to the bottom of the rectangle. This value is used only with the DT_SINGLELINE value.
DT_CALCRECT	Determines the width and height of the rectangle. If there are multiple lines of text, DrawText uses the width of the rectangle pointed to by the lpRect parameter and extends the base of the rectangle to bound the last line of text. If the largest word is wider than the rectangle, the width is expanded. If the text is less than the width of the rectangle, the width is reduced. If there is only one line of text, DrawText modifies the right side of the rectangle so that it bounds the last character in the line. In either case, DrawText returns the height of the formatted text but does not draw the text.
DT_CENTER	Centers text horizontally in the rectangle.
DT_EDITCONTROL	Duplicates the text-displaying characteristics of a multiline edit control. Specifically, the average character width is calculated in the same manner as for an edit control, and the function does not display a partially visible last line.
DT_END_ELLIPSIS	For displayed text, if the end of a string does not fit in the rectangle, it is truncated and ellipses are added. If a word that is not at the end of the string goes beyond the limits of the rectangle, it is truncated without ellipses. The string is not modified unless the DT_MODIFYSTRING flag is specified. Compare with DT_PATH_ELLIPSIS and DT_WORD_ELLIPSIS.
DT_EXPANDTABS	Expands tab characters. The default number of characters per tab is eight. The DT_WORD_ELLIPSIS, DT_PATH_ELLIPSIS, and DT_END_ELLIPSIS values cannot be used with the DT_EXPANDTABS value.
DT_EXTERNALLEADING	Includes the font external leading in line height. Normally, external leading is not included in the height of a line of text.
DT_HIDEPREFIX	Windows 2000/XP: Ignores the ampersand (&) prefix character in the text. The letter that follows will not be underlined, but other mnemonic-prefix characters are still processed. For example: input string: "A&bc&&d" normal: "Abc&d" DT_HIDEPREFIX: "Abc&d" Compare with DT_NOPREFIX and DT_PREFIXONLY.
DT_INTERNAL	Uses the system font to calculate text metrics.
DT_LEFT	Aligns text to the left.
DT_MODIFYSTRING	Modifies the specified string to match the displayed text. This value has no effect unless DT_END_ELLIPSIS or DT_PATH_ELLIPSIS is specified.
DT_NOCLIP	Draws without clipping. DrawText is somewhat faster when DT_NOCLIP is used.
DT_NOFULLWIDTHCHARBREAK	Windows 98/Me, Windows 2000/XP: Prevents a line break at a DBCS (double-wide character string), so that the line breaking rule is equivalent to SBCS strings. For example, this can be used in Korean windows, for more readability of icon labels. This value has no effect unless DT_WORDBREAK is specified.
DT_NOPREFIX	Turns off processing of prefix characters. Normally, DrawText interprets the mnemonic-prefix character & as a directive to underscore the character that follows, and the mnemonic-prefix characters && as a directive to print a single &. By specifying DT_NOPREFIX, this processing is turned off. For example, input string: "A&bc&&d" normal: "Abc&d" DT_NOPREFIX: "A&bc&&d" Compare with DT_HIDEPREFIX and DT_PREFIXONLY.
DT_PATH_ELLIPSIS	For displayed text, replaces characters in the middle of the string with ellipses so that the result fits in the specified rectangle. If the string contains backslash (\) characters, DT_PATH_ELLIPSIS preserves as much as possible of the text after the last backslash. The string is not modified unless the DT_MODIFYSTRING flag is specified. Compare with DT_END_ELLIPSIS and DT_WORD_ELLIPSIS.
DT_PREFIXONLY	Windows 2000/XP: Draws only an underline at the position of the character following the ampersand (&) prefix character. Does not draw any other characters in the string. For example, input string: "A&bc&&d" normal: "Abc&d" DT_PREFIXONLY: " _ " Compare with DT_HIDEPREFIX and DT_NOPREFIX.
DT_RIGHT	Aligns text to the right.
DT_RTLREADING	Layout in right-to-left reading order for bi-directional text when the font selected into the hdc is a Hebrew or Arabic font. The default reading order for all text is left-to-right.
DT_SINGLELINE	Displays text on a single line only. Carriage returns and line feeds do not break the line.
DT_TABSTOP	Sets tab stops. Bits 15-8 (high-order byte of the low-order word) of the uFormat parameter specify the number of characters for each tab. The default number of characters per tab is eight. The DT_CALCRECT, DT_EXTERNALLEADING, DT_INTERNAL, DT_NOCLIP, and DT_NOPREFIX values cannot be used with the DT_TABSTOP value.
DT_TOP	Justifies the text to the top of the rectangle.
DT_VCENTER	Centers text vertically. This value is used only with the DT_SINGLELINE value.
DT_WORDBREAK	Breaks words. Lines are automatically broken between words if a word would extend past the edge of the rectangle specified by the lpRect parameter. A carriage return-line feed sequence also breaks the line. If this is not specified, output is on one line.
DT_WORD_ELLIPSIS	Truncates any word that does not fit in the rectangle and adds ellipses. Compare with DT_END_ELLIPSIS and DT_PATH_ELLIPSIS.

Return Values

If the function succeeds, the return value is the height of the text in logical units. If DT_VCENTER or DT_BOTTOM is specified, the return value is the offset from lpRect->top to the bottom of the drawn text

If the function fails, the return value is zero.

Remarks

The DrawText function uses the device context's selected font, text color, and background color to draw the text. Unless the DT_NOCLIP format is used, DrawText clips the text so that it does not appear outside the specified rectangle. Note that text with significant overhang may be clipped, for example, an initial "W" in the text string or text that is in italics. All formatting is assumed to have multiple lines unless the DT_SINGLELINE format is specified.

If the selected font is too large for the specified rectangle, the DrawText function does not attempt to substitute a smaller font.

The DrawText function supports only fonts whose escapement and orientation are both zero.

The text alignment mode for the device context must include the TA_LEFT, TA_TOP, and TA_NOUPDATECP flags.

Windows 95/98/Me: DrawTextW is supported by the Microsoft Layer for Unicode. To use this, you must add certain files to your application, as outlined in Microsoft Layer for Unicode on Windows 95/98/Me Systems.

Example Code

For an example, see "Displaying Keyboard Input" in Using Keyboard Input.

Requirements

  Windows NT/2000/XP/Vista: Included in Windows NT 3.1 and later.
  Windows 95/98/Me: Included in Windows 95 and later.
  Header: Declared in Winuser.h; include Windows.h.
  Library: Use User32.lib.
  Unicode: Implemented as Unicode and ANSI versions on Windows NT/2000/XP. Also supported by Microsoft Layer for Unicode.

See Also

Fonts and Text Overview, Font and Text Functions, DrawTextEx, GrayString, TabbedTextOut, TextOut, RECT