Adding placeholder text to textbox

Question

I am looking for a way to add placeholder text to a textbox like you can with a textbox in html5    I e  if the textbox has no text  then it adds the text Enter some text here  when the user clicks on it the placeholder text disappears and allows the user to enter their own text  and if the textbox loses focus and there is still no text then the placeholder is added back to the textbox

User · Answer

Instead of handling the focus enter and focus leave events in order to set and remove the placeholder text it is possible to use the Windows SendMessage function to send EM_SETCUEBANNER message to our textbox to do the work for us.

This can be done with two easy steps. First we need to expose the Windows SendMessage function.

private const int EM_SETCUEBANNER = 0x1501;

[DllImport("user32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto)]
private static extern Int32 SendMessage(IntPtr hWnd, int msg, int wParam, [MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPWStr)]string lParam);

Then simply call the method with the handle of our textbox, EM_SETCUEBANNER’s value and the text we want to set.

SendMessage(textBox1.Handle, EM_SETCUEBANNER, 0, "Username");
SendMessage(textBox2.Handle, EM_SETCUEBANNER, 0, "Password");

Reference: Set placeholder text for textbox (cue text)

User · Answer

there are BETTER solutions  but the easiest solution is here  set the textbox text to your desired string then create a function that deletes the text  have that function fire on textbox Focus Enter event

User · Answer

Here I come with this solution inspired by  Kemal Karadag   I noticed that every solution posted here is relying on the focus   While I wanted my placeholder to be the exact clone of a standard HTML placeholder in Google Chrome   Instead of hiding showing the placeholder when the box is focused   I hide show the placeholder depending on the text length of the box   If the box is empty  the placeholder is shown  and if you type in the box  the placeholder disappears   As it is inherited from a standard TextBox  you can find it in your Toolbox   using System  using System Drawing  using System Windows Forms   public class PlaceHolderTextBox   TextBox       private bool isPlaceHolder   true      private string placeHolderText       public string PlaceHolderText               get   return placeHolderText            set                       placeHolderText   value              SetPlaceholder                         public PlaceHolderTextBox                 TextChanged    OnTextChanged             private void SetPlaceholder                 if   isPlaceHolder                        this Text   placeHolderText              this ForeColor   Color Gray              isPlaceHolder   true                       private void RemovePlaceHolder                 if  isPlaceHolder                        this Text   this Text 0  ToString       Remove placeHolder text  but keep the character we just entered             this Select 1  0      Place the caret after the character we just entered             this ForeColor   System Drawing SystemColors WindowText              isPlaceHolder   false                       private void OnTextChanged object sender  EventArgs e                if  this Text Length    0                        SetPlaceholder                      else                       RemovePlaceHolder

User · Answer

using System  using System Collections Generic  using System Linq  using System Text  using System Windows  using System Windows Controls   namespace App name      public class CustomTextBox   TextBox               private string Text                public CustomTextBox     base                       public string setHint                       get   return Text                 set   Text    value                      protected override void OnGotFocus RoutedEventArgs e                        base OnGotFocus e               if  Text  Equals this Text                   this Clear                      protected override void OnLostFocus RoutedEventArgs e                        base OnLostFocus e               if  String IsNullOrWhiteSpace this Text                   this Text   Text                      gt     xmlns local  clr-namespace app name   gt    lt local CustomTextBox  gt                  x Name  id number txt   gt                  Width  240px   gt                  Height  auto   gt

User · Answer

I wrote a reusable custom control  maybe it can help someone that need to implement multiple placeholder textboxes in his project  here is the custom class with implementation example of an instance  you can test easily by pasting this code on a new winforms project using VS   namespace reusebleplaceholdertextbox       public partial class Form1   Form               public Form1                         InitializeComponent                       private void Form1 Load object sender  EventArgs e                           implementation             CustomPlaceHolderTextbox myCustomTxt   new CustomPlaceHolderTextbox                   Please Write Text Here      Color Gray  new Font  ARIAL   11  FontStyle Italic                    Color Black  new Font  ARIAL   11  FontStyle Regular                                  myCustomTxt Multiline   true              myCustomTxt Size   new Size 200  50               myCustomTxt Location   new Point 10  10               this Controls Add myCustomTxt                        class CustomPlaceHolderTextbox   System Windows Forms TextBox               public string PlaceholderText   get  private set            public Color PlaceholderForeColor   get  private set            public Font PlaceholderFont   get  private set             public Color TextForeColor   get  private set            public Font TextFont   get  private set             public CustomPlaceHolderTextbox string placeholdertext  Color placeholderforecolor              Font placeholderfont  Color textforecolor  Font textfont                        this PlaceholderText   placeholdertext              this PlaceholderFont   placeholderfont              this PlaceholderForeColor   placeholderforecolor              this PlaceholderFont   placeholderfont              this TextForeColor   textforecolor              this TextFont   textfont              if   string IsNullOrEmpty this PlaceholderText                                 SetPlaceHolder true                   this Update                                     private void SetPlaceHolder bool addEvents                        if  addEvents                                  this LostFocus    txt lostfocus                  this Click    txt click                             this Text   PlaceholderText              this ForeColor   PlaceholderForeColor              this Font   PlaceholderFont                     private void txt click object sender  EventArgs e                           IsNotFirstClickOnThis                 if there is no other control in the form                we will have a problem after the first load                because we dont other focusable control to move the focus to                and we dont want to remove the place holder                only on first time the place holder will be removed by click event             RemovePlaceHolder                this GotFocus    txt focus                 no need for this event listener now             this Click -  txt click                     private void RemovePlaceHolder                         this Text                   this ForeColor   TextForeColor              this Font   TextFont                    private void txt lostfocus object sender  EventArgs e                        if  string IsNullOrEmpty this Text                                    set placeholder again                 SetPlaceHolder false                                    private void txt focus object sender  EventArgs e                        if  this Text    PlaceholderText                                   IsNotFirstClickOnThis                     if there is no other control in the form                    we will have a problem after the first load                    because we dont other focusable control to move the focus to                    and we dont want to remove the place holder                 RemovePlaceHolder

User · Answer

This is a extension method for the texbox  Simply Add the Placeholder Text programmatically  myTextBox AddPlaceholderText  quot Hello World  quot     The extension method  public static void AddPlaceholderText this TextBox textBox  string placeholderText                        if  string IsNullOrWhiteSpace textBox Text                   textBox Text   placeholderText              textBox SetResourceReference Control ForegroundProperty                  textBox Text    placeholderText                        quot SystemControlForegroundBaseHighBrush quot                         quot SystemControlForegroundBaseMediumBrush quot                var ignoreSelectionChanged   false              textBox SelectionChanged     sender  args    gt                                if  ignoreSelectionChanged    ignoreSelectionChanged   false  return                    if  textBox Text    placeholderText  return                  ignoreSelectionChanged   true                  textBox Select 0  0                              var lastText   textBox Text              var ignoreTextChanged   false              textBox TextChanged     sender  args    gt                                if  ignoreTextChanged    ignoreTextChanged   false  return                    if  string IsNullOrWhiteSpace textBox Text                                         ignoreTextChanged   true                      textBox Text   placeholderText                      textBox Select 0  0                                     else if  lastText    placeholderText                                        ignoreTextChanged   true                      textBox Text   textBox Text Substring 0  1                       textBox Select 1  0                                      textBox SetResourceReference Control ForegroundProperty                      textBox Text    placeholderText                            quot SystemControlForegroundBaseHighBrush quot                             quot SystemControlForegroundBaseMediumBrush quot                    lastText   textBox Text                            Happy coding  BierDav

User · Answer

Try the following code    lt TextBox x Name  InvoiceDate  Text    Width  300   TextAlignment  Left  Height  30  Grid Row  0  Grid Column  3  Grid ColumnSpan  2    gt                       lt TextBlock IsHitTestVisible  False  Text  Men att l  sa  Width  300   TextAlignment  Left  Height  30  Grid Row  0  Grid Column  3  Grid ColumnSpan  2  Padding  5  5  5  5   Foreground  LightGray  gt                           lt TextBlock Style gt                               lt Style TargetType   x Type TextBlock   gt                                   lt Setter Property  Visibility  Value  Collapsed   gt                                   lt Style Triggers gt                                       lt DataTrigger Binding   Binding Text  ElementName InvoiceDate   Value    gt                                           lt Setter Property  Visibility  Value  Visible   gt                                       lt  DataTrigger gt                                       lt DataTrigger Binding   Binding ElementName InvoiceDate  Path IsFocused   Value  True  gt                                           lt Setter Property  Visibility  Value  Collapsed   gt                                       lt  DataTrigger gt                                    lt  Style Triggers gt                               lt  Style gt                           lt  TextBlock Style gt                       lt  TextBlock gt

User · Answer

Based on ExceptionLimeCat s answer  an improvement   Color farbe  string ph    Placeholder-Text    private void Form1 Load object sender  EventArgs e        farbe   myTxtbx ForeColor      myTxtbx GotFocus    RemoveText      myTxtbx LostFocus    AddText      myTxtbx Text   ph      public void RemoveText object sender  EventArgs e        myTxtbx ForeColor   farbe      if  myTxtbx Text    ph          myTxtbx Text          public void AddText object sender  EventArgs e        if  String IsNullOrWhiteSpace myTxtbx Text                 myTxtbx ForeColor   Color Gray          myTxtbx Text   ph

User · Answer

This would mean you have a button which allows you to do an action  such as logging in or something  Before you do the action you check if the textbox is filled in  If not it will replace the text   private void button Click object sender  EventArgs e          string textBoxText   textBox Text        if  String IsNullOrWhiteSpace textBoxText                   textBox Text    Fill in the textbox               private void textBox Enter object sender  EventArgs e          TextBox currentTextbox   sender as TextBox       if  currentTextbox Text     Fill in the textbox                   currentTextbox Text                   It s kind of cheesy but checking the text for the value you re giving it is the best I can do atm  not that good at c  to get a better solution

User · Answer

Add this class your project and build your solution  Click to Toolbox on visual studio you will see a new textbox component named PlaceholderTextBox  Delete your current textbox on form designe and replace with PlaceHolderTextBox     PlaceHolderTextBox has a property PlaceHolderText  Set any text you want and have nice day     public class PlaceHolderTextBox   TextBox        bool isPlaceHolder   true      string  placeHolderText      public string PlaceHolderText               get   return  placeHolderText            set                        placeHolderText   value              setPlaceholder                         public new string Text               get   gt  isPlaceHolder   string Empty   base Text          set   gt  base Text   value               when the control loses focus  the placeholder is shown     private void setPlaceholder                 if  string IsNullOrEmpty base Text                         base Text   PlaceHolderText              this ForeColor   Color Gray              this Font   new Font this Font  FontStyle Italic               isPlaceHolder   true                         when the control is focused  the placeholder is removed     private void removePlaceHolder                  if  isPlaceHolder                        base Text                   this ForeColor   System Drawing SystemColors WindowText              this Font   new Font this Font  FontStyle Regular               isPlaceHolder   false                      public PlaceHolderTextBox                 GotFocus    removePlaceHolder          LostFocus    setPlaceholder             private void setPlaceholder object sender  EventArgs e                setPlaceholder               private void removePlaceHolder object sender  EventArgs e                removePlaceHolder

User · Answer

Instead of using the  Text property of a TextBox  I overlayed a TextBlock with the placeholder  I couldn t use the  Text property because this was binded to an Event   XAML    lt Canvas Name  placeHolderCanvas  gt       lt TextBox  AcceptsReturn  True  Name  txtAddress  Height  50  Width   Binding ActualWidth  ElementName placeHolderCanvas                 Tag  Please enter your address   gt   lt  Canvas gt    VB NET  Public Shared Sub InitPlaceholder canvas As Canvas      Dim txt As TextBox   canvas Children OfType Of TextBox  First       Dim placeHolderLabel   New TextBlock   With   Text   txt Tag                                                    Foreground   New SolidColorBrush Color FromRgb  amp H77   amp H77   amp H77                                                      IsHitTestVisible   False      Canvas SetLeft placeHolderLabel  3      Canvas SetTop placeHolderLabel  1      canvas Children Add placeHolderLabel      AddHandler txt TextChanged  Sub   placeHolderLabel Visibility   If txt Text       Visibility Visible  Visibility Hidden  End Sub   Result

User · Answer

I came up with a method that worked for me  but only because I was willing to use the textbox name as my placeholder   See below   public TextBox employee   new TextBox     private void InitializeHomeComponent                  employee            this employee Name    Caller Name       this employee Text    Caller Name       this employee BackColor   System Drawing SystemColors InactiveBorder      this employee Location   new System Drawing Point 5  160       this employee Size   new System Drawing Size 190  30       this employee TabStop   false      this Controls Add employee          I loop through all of my textboxes giving them the same function     foreach  Control C in this Controls                if  C GetType      typeof System Windows Forms TextBox                         C GotFocus    g GotFocus              C LostFocus    g LostFocus                           private void g GotFocus object sender  EventArgs e                var tbox   sender as TextBox          tbox Text                  private void g LostFocus object sender  EventArgs e                var tbox   sender as TextBox          if  tbox Text                              tbox Text   tbox Name

User · Answer

Let s extend the TextBox with PlcaeHoldText and PlaceHoldBackround  I stripped some code form my project  say goodbye to Grid or Canvas   lt TextBox x Class  quot VcpkgGui View PlaceHoldedTextBox quot               xmlns  quot http   schemas microsoft com winfx 2006 xaml presentation quot               xmlns x  quot http   schemas microsoft com winfx 2006 xaml quot               xmlns mc  quot http   schemas openxmlformats org markup-compatibility 2006 quot                xmlns d  quot http   schemas microsoft com expression blend 2008 quot               xmlns local  quot clr-namespace VcpkgGui View quot               mc Ignorable  quot d quot               Name  quot placeHoldTextBox quot               TextAlignment  quot Left quot            gt       lt TextBox Resources gt           lt local FrameworkWidthConverter x Key  quot getElemWidth quot   gt           lt local FrameworkHeightConverter x Key  quot getElemHeight quot   gt           lt VisualBrush x Key  quot PlaceHoldTextBrush quot  TileMode  quot None quot  Stretch  quot None quot  AlignmentX  quot Left quot  AlignmentY  quot Center quot  Opacity  quot 1 quot  gt               lt VisualBrush Visual gt                   lt Border Background  quot  Binding ElementName placeHoldTextBox  Path PlaceHoldBackground  quot                          BorderThickness  quot 0 quot                          Margin  quot 0 0 0 0 quot                          Width  quot  Binding Mode OneWay  ElementName placeHoldTextBox  Converter  StaticResource getElemWidth   quot                          Height  quot  Binding Mode OneWay  ElementName placeHoldTextBox  Converter  StaticResource getElemHeight   quot                           gt                       lt Label Content  quot  Binding ElementName placeHoldTextBox  Path PlaceHoldText  quot                             Background  quot Transparent quot                             Foreground  quot  88000000 quot                             HorizontalAlignment  quot Stretch quot                             VerticalAlignment  quot Stretch quot                             HorizontalContentAlignment  quot Left quot                             VerticalContentAlignment  quot Center quot                             ClipToBounds  quot True quot                             Padding  quot 0 0 0 0 quot                             FontSize  quot 14 quot                             FontStyle  quot Normal quot                             Opacity  quot 1 quot   gt                   lt  Border gt               lt  VisualBrush Visual gt           lt  VisualBrush gt       lt  TextBox Resources gt       lt TextBox Style gt           lt Style TargetType  quot TextBox quot  gt               lt Style Triggers gt                   lt Trigger Property  quot Text quot  Value  quot  x Null  quot  gt                       lt Setter Property  quot Background quot   Value  quot  StaticResource PlaceHoldTextBrush  quot   gt                   lt  Trigger gt                   lt Trigger Property  quot Text quot  Value  quot  quot  gt                       lt Setter Property  quot Background quot   Value  quot  StaticResource PlaceHoldTextBrush  quot   gt                   lt  Trigger gt               lt  Style Triggers gt           lt  Style gt       lt  TextBox Style gt   lt  TextBox gt   using System  using System Collections Generic  using System Globalization  using System Linq  using System Text  using System Threading Tasks  using System Windows  using System Windows Controls  using System Windows Data  using System Windows Documents  using System Windows Input  using System Windows Media  using System Windows Media Imaging  using System Windows Navigation  using System Windows Shapes   namespace VcpkgGui View            lt summary gt          PlaceHoldedTextBox xaml                lt  summary gt      public partial class PlaceHoldedTextBox   TextBox                public string PlaceHoldText                       get   return  string GetValue PlaceHoldTextProperty                 set   SetValue PlaceHoldTextProperty  value                           Using a DependencyProperty as the backing store for PlaceHolderText   This enables animation  styling  binding  etc            public static readonly DependencyProperty PlaceHoldTextProperty               DependencyProperty Register  quot PlaceHoldText quot   typeof string   typeof PlaceHoldedTextBox   new PropertyMetadata string Empty               public Brush PlaceHoldBackground                       get   return  Brush GetValue PlaceHoldBackgroundProperty                 set   SetValue PlaceHoldBackgroundProperty  value                        public static readonly DependencyProperty PlaceHoldBackgroundProperty               DependencyProperty Register nameof PlaceHoldBackground   typeof Brush   typeof PlaceHoldedTextBox   new PropertyMetadata Brushes White             public PlaceHoldedTextBox    base                         InitializeComponent                          ValueConversion typeof FrameworkElement   typeof double        internal class FrameworkWidthConverter   System Windows Data IValueConverter               public object Convert object value  Type targetType  object parameter  CultureInfo culture                        if value is FrameworkElement elem                  return double IsNaN elem Width    elem ActualWidth   elem Width              else                 return DependencyProperty UnsetValue                     public object ConvertBack object value  Type targetType  object parameter  CultureInfo culture                        return DependencyProperty UnsetValue                        ValueConversion typeof FrameworkElement   typeof double        internal class FrameworkHeightConverter   System Windows Data IValueConverter               public object Convert object value  Type targetType  object parameter  CultureInfo culture                        if  value is FrameworkElement elem                  return double IsNaN elem Height    elem ActualHeight   elem Height              else                 return DependencyProperty UnsetValue                     public object ConvertBack object value  Type targetType  object parameter  CultureInfo culture                        return DependencyProperty UnsetValue

User · Answer

public void Initialize                 SetPlaceHolder loginTextBox                      SetPlaceHolder passwordTextBox                          public void SetPlaceHolder Control control  string PlaceHolderText                control Text   PlaceHolderText          control GotFocus    delegate object sender  EventArgs args                if  control Text    PlaceHolderText                                control Text                                        control LostFocus    delegate object sender  EventArgs args               if  control Text Length    0                                control Text   PlaceHolderText

User · Answer

This is not my code  but I use it a lot and it works perfect    XAML ONLY   lt TextBox x Name  Textbox  Height  23  Margin  0 17 18 8 0  TextWrapping  Wrap  Text    VerticalAlignment  Top  HorizontalAlignment  Right   gt  lt  TextBox gt    lt TextBlock x Name  Placeholder  IsHitTestVisible  False  TextWrapping  Wrap  Text  Placeholder Text  VerticalAlignment  Top  Margin  0 20 298 8 0  Foreground  DarkGray  HorizontalAlignment  Right  Width  214  gt     lt TextBlock Style gt       lt Style TargetType   x Type TextBlock   gt         lt Setter Property  Visibility  Value  Collapsed   gt         lt Style Triggers gt           lt DataTrigger Binding   Binding Text  ElementName Textbox   Value    gt             lt Setter Property  Visibility  Value  Visible   gt           lt  DataTrigger gt         lt  Style Triggers gt       lt  Style gt     lt  TextBlock Style gt   lt  TextBlock gt

User · Answer

You can use this  it s working for me and is extremely simple solution        lt Style x Key  placeHolder  TargetType   x Type TextBox   BasedOn   StaticResource  x Type TextBox    gt           lt Setter Property  Template  gt               lt Setter Value gt                   lt ControlTemplate TargetType   x Type TextBox   gt                       lt Grid gt                           lt TextBox Text   Binding Path Text                                                  RelativeSource  RelativeSource TemplatedParent                                                    Mode TwoWay                                                  UpdateSourceTrigger PropertyChanged                                    x Name  textSource                                    Background  Transparent                                    Panel ZIndex  2    gt                           lt TextBox Text   TemplateBinding Tag   Background   TemplateBinding Background   Panel ZIndex  1  gt                               lt TextBox Style gt                                   lt Style TargetType   x Type TextBox   gt                                       lt Setter Property  Foreground  Value  Transparent   gt                                       lt Style Triggers gt                                           lt DataTrigger Binding   Binding Path Text  Source  x Reference textSource    Value    gt                                               lt Setter Property  Foreground  Value  LightGray   gt                                           lt  DataTrigger gt                                       lt  Style Triggers gt                                   lt  Style gt                               lt  TextBox Style gt                           lt  TextBox gt                       lt  Grid gt                   lt  ControlTemplate gt               lt  Setter Value gt           lt  Setter gt       lt  Style gt    Usage    lt TextBox Style   StaticResource placeHolder   Tag  Name of customer  Width  150  Height  24   gt

User · Answer

You can get the default Template  modify it by overlaying a TextBlock  and use a Style to add triggers that hide and show it in the right states

User · Answer

You could also try in this way    call the function  TextboxPlaceHolder this textBox1   YourPlaceHolder      write this function  private void TextboxPlaceHolder Control control  string PlaceHolderText            control Text   PlaceHolderText          control GotFocus    delegate  object sender  EventArgs args                        if  cusmode    false                                control Text   control Text    PlaceHolderText   string Empty   control Text                    IF Focus TextBox forecolor Black                 control ForeColor   Color Black                                    control LostFocus    delegate  object sender  EventArgs args                        if  string IsNullOrWhiteSpace control Text     true                                control Text   PlaceHolderText                    If not focus TextBox forecolor to gray                 control ForeColor   Color Gray

User · Answer

Attached properties to the rescue   public static class TextboxExtensions       public static readonly DependencyProperty PlaceholderProperty            DependencyProperty RegisterAttached               Placeholder                typeof string                typeof TextboxExtensions                new PropertyMetadata default string   propertyChangedCallback  PlaceholderChanged                      private static void PlaceholderChanged DependencyObject dependencyObject  DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs args                var tb   dependencyObject as TextBox           if  tb    null              return           tb LostFocus -  OnLostFocus          tb GotFocus -  OnGotFocus           if  args NewValue    null                        tb GotFocus    OnGotFocus              tb LostFocus    OnLostFocus                     SetPlaceholder dependencyObject  args NewValue as string            if   tb IsFocused              ShowPlaceholder tb              private static void OnLostFocus object sender  RoutedEventArgs routedEventArgs                ShowPlaceholder sender as TextBox              private static void OnGotFocus object sender  RoutedEventArgs routedEventArgs                HidePlaceholder sender as TextBox               AttachedPropertyBrowsableForType typeof TextBox        public static void SetPlaceholder DependencyObject element  string value                element SetValue PlaceholderProperty  value               AttachedPropertyBrowsableForType typeof TextBox        public static string GetPlaceholder DependencyObject element                return  string element GetValue PlaceholderProperty              private static void ShowPlaceholder TextBox textBox                if  string IsNullOrWhiteSpace textBox Text                         textBox Text   GetPlaceholder textBox                        private static void HidePlaceholder TextBox textBox                string placeholderText   GetPlaceholder textBox            if  textBox Text    placeholderText              textBox Text   string Empty            Usage     lt TextBox Text  hi  local TextboxExtensions Placeholder  Hello there  gt  lt  TextBox gt

User · Answer

While using the EM SETCUEBANNER message is probably simplest  one thing I do not like is that the placeholder text disappears when the control gets focus  That s a pet peeve of mine when I m filling out forms  I have to click off of it to remember what the field is for   So here is another solution for WinForms  It overlays a Label on top of the control  which disappears only when the user starts typing   It s certainly not bulletproof  It accepts any Control  but I ve only tested with a TextBox  It may need modification to work with some controls  The method returns the Label control in case you need to modify it a bit in a specific case  but that may never be needed   Use it like this   SetPlaceholder txtSearch   Type what you re searching for      Here is the method        lt summary gt      Sets placeholder text on a control  may not work for some controls       lt  summary gt       lt param name  control  gt The control to set the placeholder on lt  param gt       lt param name  text  gt The text to display as the placeholder lt  param gt       lt returns gt The newly-created placeholder Label lt  returns gt  public static Label SetPlaceholder Control control  string text        var placeholder   new Label           Text   text          Font   control Font          ForeColor   Color Gray          BackColor   Color Transparent          Cursor   Cursors IBeam          Margin   Padding Empty             get rid of the left margin that all labels have         FlatStyle   FlatStyle System          AutoSize   false             Leave 1px on the left so we can see the blinking cursor         Size   new Size control Size Width - 1  control Size Height           Location   new Point control Location X   1  control Location Y                when clicking on the label  pass focus to the control     placeholder Click     sender  args    gt    control Focus              disappear when the user starts typing     control TextChanged     sender  args    gt            placeholder Visible   string IsNullOrEmpty control Text                 stay the same size location as the control     EventHandler updateSize    sender  args    gt            placeholder Location   new Point control Location X   1  control Location Y           placeholder Size   new Size control Size Width - 1  control Size Height               control SizeChanged    updateSize      control LocationChanged    updateSize       control Parent Controls Add placeholder       placeholder BringToFront         return placeholder

User · Answer

Works like a charm   public class WTextBox   TextBox       private string  placeholder         Category  Appearance        public string Placeholder               get   return  placeholder            set                        placeholder   value    string Empty              Invalidate                         public WTextBox                  placeholder   string Empty             protected override void WndProc ref Message m                base WndProc ref m            if  m Msg    0xF    Focused     string IsNullOrEmpty Text     string IsNullOrWhiteSpace  placeholder                         return                     using  var g   CreateGraphics                          TextRenderer DrawText g   placeholder  Font  ClientRectangle  SystemColors GrayText  BackColor  TextFormatFlags Left

User · Answer

you can also do that when the mouse clicks  let s suppose your placeholder text is  User Name    private void textBox1 MouseClick object sender  MouseEventArgs e          if textBox1 Text     User Name             textBox1 Text

User · Answer

Wouldn t that just be something like this   Textbox myTxtbx   new Textbox    myTxtbx Text    Enter text here       myTxtbx GotFocus    GotFocus EventHandle RemoveText   myTxtbx LostFocus    LostFocus EventHandle AddText    public void RemoveText object sender  EventArgs e        if  myTxtbx Text     Enter text here                  myTxtbx Text                public void AddText object sender  EventArgs e        if  string IsNullOrWhiteSpace myTxtbx Text           myTxtbx Text    Enter text here          Thats just pseudocode but the concept is there

User · Answer

txtUsuario Attributes Add  placeholder    Texto

User · Answer

Very effective solution here for WindowsForms TextBox control   not sure about XAML    This will work in Multliline mode also   Probably it may be extended for other controls  like ComboBox control  not checked

[c#] Adding placeholder text to textbox

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