Edit Control

Explore an edit control that can display an icon and a prompt text on the background (when the edit control has no text).

Determine when a document has been modified. In the particular case of word processors, most tend to have a "dirty" flag that is set when a user types. This article demonstrates a smarter "dirty" flag that uses probabilistic methods.

Generate a secure, random password of a desired length.

Learn about a masked numeric edit ActiveX control.

Learn about an edit control with a masked input that prohibits pasting text with disallowed characters.

Learn how to change the background color of a text box.

Learn about a set of control-derived classes for a colorful presentation by using XP-styled hottracked controls with themed gradient buttons.

If you are writing a telnet-like application that needs a console window, try this simple solution.

An E Notation Numeric Edit Control

This article explains how to create a transparent edit control. Instead of using a NULL_BRUSH for the CtlColor message, we create a pattern brush using a chunk of bitmap from the parent window from the place where the editor is going to be shown.

Provides an easy way to enter IDs, PINs, product keys, or so. Also interesting for those who want to know how to embed a customized font into an application.

A masked edit control allows per-character masking. Also, it can be put into passworded mode. There may also be read-only text inside of the box the user can not modify.

Normally, you see stars (*) when you type something into an edit box that has the password flag. Unfortunately, these edit controls are not secure. By using secure edit controls, you can make your edit boxes resistant to password revealers.

Illustrates how to handle the OnCtlColor message and modify the background colors of edit controls. (The article was updated.)

Learn how to create a transparent edit box that works with a bitmap background.

If a multiline Edit Control is created with scroll bars set, the scroll bars are always displayed, even when not needed. Solve this problem using a class such as CScrollEdit, which is presented here.

Allows the dragging and dropping of files with an edit control. In the example, the path name of what you dragged will be determined along with the features of the file (such as last create date).

A prompted edit control.

Make extra functionality available from Windows controls. See how to extend the simple edit with a built-in expression calculator (just type in the expression and press "=").

[Update] Source code has been added for this article.

How to use an Edit control in ATL with WTL.

A prompted edit control.

A Whole New Class of Edit Controls

CVisValidEdit is an edit control with a difference - there is visual cues '& validation (both built in '& customisable).