WPF TextBox won't fill in StackPanel

Question

I have a TextBox control within a StackPanel whose Orientation is set to Horizontal, but can't get the TextBox to fill the remaining StackPanel space.

XAML:

<Window x:Class="WpfApplication1.MainWindow"
        xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
        xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
        Height="180" Width="324">

    <StackPanel Background="Orange" Orientation="Horizontal" >
        <TextBlock Text="a label" Margin="5" VerticalAlignment="Center"/>
        <TextBox Height="25" HorizontalAlignment="Stretch" Width="Auto"/>
    </StackPanel>
</Window>

And this is what it looks like:

alt text

Why is that TextBox not filling the StackPanel?

I know I can have more control by using a Grid control, I'm just confused about the layout.

score 177 · Accepted Answer · edited Jul 11 '22 at 10:28

177

I've had the same problem with StackPanel, and the behavior is "by design". StackPanel is meant for "stacking" things even outside the visible region, so it won't allow you to fill remaining space in the stacking dimension.

You can use a DockPanel with LastChildFill set to true and dock all the non-filling controls to the Left to simulate the effect you want.

<DockPanel Background="Orange" LastChildFill="True">
    <TextBlock Text="a label" Margin="5" 
        DockPanel.Dock="Left" VerticalAlignment="Center"/>
    <TextBox Height="25" Width="Auto"/>
</DockPanel>

edited Jul 11 '22 at 10:28

mrid

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answered Sep 17 '10 at 16:21

Zach Johnson

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Just to clarify - LastChildFill is by default set to "True" and setting HorizontalAlignment to stretch for the TextBox has no effect. :-) – Goblin Sep 17 '10 at 17:45
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@Goblin: Yes...I copied and pasted the OP's code but forgot to remove `HorizontalAlignment`. :) – Zach Johnson Sep 17 '10 at 18:06
Seriously, this is by design? Seems weird, since the control itself is obviously spanning the whole width. Are you saying that the content area is not necessarily the same as the visible area? – Hank Sep 17 '10 at 18:34
@Henry: Yes. `StackPanel` was created for controls such as `ListBox`. In the `ListBox`, the `StackPanel` does take up all the visible space, but items may go outside the visible region (into scrolling). This behavior is only in the stacking dimension, so child controls can take up all the vertical space if `Orientation="Horizontal"` or vice-versa. – Zach Johnson Sep 17 '10 at 18:51
@Henry: Here are some related questions: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/569095/wpf-xaml-how-to-get-stackpanels-children-to-fill-maximum-space-downward http://stackoverflow.com/questions/832216/wpf-how-to-make-controls-stretch-in-a-stackpanel – Zach Johnson Sep 17 '10 at 18:54
1

@peter haven't done wpf stuff in a long time but you might try some sort of grid with the first column set to take up the available space (http://stackoverflow.com/questions/12432189/autosizing-a-grid-column-to-take-up-remaining-space-in-parent) – Zach Johnson Apr 03 '15 at 05:51
6

I am a little late to the party here, but @peter: you can use `FlowDirection="RightToLeft"` on the `DockPanel`, so your last child will be the left one, using the remaining space. – Dennis Aug 30 '16 at 07:15
Using a Dockpanel is kind of a strange way of solving this problem. Better to learn how to use a Grid control. – Bimo Feb 24 '18 at 21:57
where were you for last 24 hours.. thank you so much. – Sarathi Jayapal Feb 27 '19 at 13:27

Bimo · Answer 2 · 2018-02-24T21:52:08.077

I would recommend using a Grid instead:

<Window x:Class="WpfApplication1.MainWindow"
        xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
        xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
        Height="180" Width="324">

    <Grid Background="Orange">
        <Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
            <ColumnDefinition Width="Auto"/>
            <ColumnDefinition Width="*"/>
        </Grid.ColumnDefinitions>

        <TextBlock Grid.Column="0" Text="a label" 
           VerticalAlignment="Center"/>
        <TextBox  Grid.Column="1"/>
    </Grid>
</Window>

The other way to get around this problem is to stack the label on top instead of to the right. I noticed that UWP has a built in header property you can use for that, not sure if the header property exists for WPF.

<TextBox Header="MyLabel" />

score 8 · Answer 3 · answered Nov 04 '19 at 05:56

8

Old question by actual topic:

HorizontalAlignment="Stretch"

is the required thing. Juste be sure that you remove the width.

answered Nov 04 '19 at 05:56

glihm

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Why did everyone ignore this answer? Worked for me. – Mikhail Kalashnikov May 12 '21 at 09:28
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@MikhailKalashnikov Because it doesn't work in a lot of cases? I know it's not working at all for me. It's the very first thing I tried and I was surprised it did not work: I got the same behavior as the OP. – SolarBear Aug 27 '21 at 17:53

Robert · Answer 4 · 2022-03-08T16:11:04.680

This probably has annoyed me a couple of times, quite a bit.

The code I started on used a DockPanel, probably because of this matter. But I am not used to it, and it did not seem able to fulfil my needs.

I tried a horizontal StackPanel, but then I ran into this annoying complication.

One would think just something simple needs to be set, or wrapped around. Then it turns out it doesn't. And one ends up trying things and searching the web.

I did not like finicky solutions with code behind, which I came across.

So, as Bimo did, I ended up defining an extra grid for just 2 controls. It is a bit elaborate, but essentially clear and simple.

    <!-- Used an extra grid to get both layout and tabbing right.-->
    <Grid Grid.Row="0" Margin="5,5,5,0">
        <Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
            <ColumnDefinition Width="*"/>
            <ColumnDefinition Width="Auto"/>
        </Grid.ColumnDefinitions>

        <TextBox Grid.Column="0" Name="UriTextBox" Text="{Binding Uri}"/>
        <Button Grid.Column="1" Content="Go" Command="{Binding NavigateCommand}" IsDefault="True" Margin="5,0,0,0" Padding="20,0"/>
    </Grid>

score 0 · Answer 5 · answered Jul 11 '19 at 04:06

0

I am able to fill a StackPanel with a textbox using the following:

<StackPanel Margin="5,5,5,5">
    <Label Content = "lblExample" Width = "70" Padding="0" HorizontalAlignment="Left"/>
    <TextBox Name = "txtExample" Text = "Example Text" HorizontalContentAlignment="Stretch"/>
</StackPanel>

Textbox Horizontally Filling Stackpanel

answered Jul 11 '19 at 04:06

Ben

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Yeah but not in a Horizontal Stackpanel ; yours is vertical :-) – JB. Mar 12 '20 at 15:51

score 0 · Answer 6 · answered Apr 24 '21 at 17:33

0

Also, eventually take care of styles, it took me a while to figure out that my global TextBox style defined a height so the TextBox didn't stretch. After setting Height="Auto" the TextBox stretched. "Live Property Explorer" is your friend. :)

answered Apr 24 '21 at 17:33

IngoB

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WPF TextBox won't fill in StackPanel

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