C#.NET Winforms: Is it possible to override Label.Autosize?

Question

I don't like the AutoSize property of the Label control. I have a custom Label that draws a fancy rounded border among other things. I'm placing a AutoSize = false in my constructor, however, when I place it in design mode, the property always is True.

I have overridden other properties with success but this one is happily ignoring me. Does anybody has a clue if this is "by MS design"?

Here's the full source code of my Label in case anyone is interested.

using System;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Drawing.Drawing2D;
using System.Windows.Forms;

namespace Dentactil.UI.WinControls
{
    [DefaultProperty("TextString")]
    [DefaultEvent("TextClick")]
    public partial class RoundedLabel : UserControl
    {
        private static readonly Color DEFAULT_BORDER_COLOR = Color.FromArgb( 132, 100, 161 );
        private const float DEFAULT_BORDER_WIDTH = 2.0F;
        private const int DEFAULT_ROUNDED_WIDTH = 16;
        private const int DEFAULT_ROUNDED_HEIGHT = 12;

        private Color mBorderColor = DEFAULT_BORDER_COLOR;
        private float mBorderWidth = DEFAULT_BORDER_WIDTH;
        private int mRoundedWidth = DEFAULT_ROUNDED_WIDTH;
        private int mRoundedHeight = DEFAULT_ROUNDED_HEIGHT;

        public event EventHandler TextClick;

        private Padding mPadding = new Padding(8);

        public RoundedLabel()
        {
            InitializeComponent();
        }

        public Cursor TextCursor
        {
            get { return lblText.Cursor; }
            set { lblText.Cursor = value; }
        }

        public Padding TextPadding
        {
            get { return mPadding; }
            set
            {
                mPadding = value;
                UpdateInternalBounds();
            }
        }

        public ContentAlignment TextAlign
        {
            get { return lblText.TextAlign; }
            set { lblText.TextAlign = value; }
        }

        public string TextString
        {
            get { return lblText.Text; }
            set { lblText.Text = value; }
        }

        public override Font Font
        {
            get { return base.Font; }
            set
            {
                base.Font = value;
                lblText.Font = value;
            }
        }

        public override Color ForeColor
        {
            get { return base.ForeColor; }
            set
            {
                base.ForeColor = value;
                lblText.ForeColor = value;
            }
        }

        public Color BorderColor
        {
            get { return mBorderColor; }
            set
            {
                mBorderColor = value;
                Invalidate();
            }
        }

        [DefaultValue(DEFAULT_BORDER_WIDTH)]
        public float BorderWidth
        {
            get { return mBorderWidth; }
            set
            {
                mBorderWidth = value;
                Invalidate();
            }
        }

        [DefaultValue(DEFAULT_ROUNDED_WIDTH)]
        public int RoundedWidth
        {
            get { return mRoundedWidth; }
            set
            {
                mRoundedWidth = value;
                Invalidate();
            }
        }

        [DefaultValue(DEFAULT_ROUNDED_HEIGHT)]
        public int RoundedHeight
        {
            get { return mRoundedHeight; }
            set
            {
                mRoundedHeight = value;
                Invalidate();
            }
        }

        private void UpdateInternalBounds()
        {
            lblText.Left = mPadding.Left;
            lblText.Top = mPadding.Top;

            int width = Width - mPadding.Right - mPadding.Left;
            lblText.Width = width > 0 ? width : 0;

            int heigth = Height - mPadding.Bottom - mPadding.Top;
            lblText.Height = heigth > 0 ? heigth : 0;
        }

        protected override void OnLoad(EventArgs e)
        {
            UpdateInternalBounds();
            base.OnLoad(e);
        }

        protected override void OnPaint(PaintEventArgs e)
        {
            SmoothingMode smoothingMode = e.Graphics.SmoothingMode;
            e.Graphics.SmoothingMode = SmoothingMode.AntiAlias;

            int roundedWidth = RoundedWidth > (Width - 1)/2 ? (Width - 1)/2 : RoundedWidth;
            int roundedHeight = RoundedHeight > (Height - 1)/2 ? (Height - 1)/2 : RoundedHeight;

            GraphicsPath path = new GraphicsPath();
            path.AddLine(0, roundedHeight, 0, Height - 1 - roundedHeight);
            path.AddArc(new RectangleF(0, Height - 1 - 2*roundedHeight, 2*roundedWidth, 2*roundedHeight), 180, -90);
            path.AddLine(roundedWidth, Height - 1, Width - 1 - 2*roundedWidth, Height - 1);
            path.AddArc(new RectangleF(Width - 1 - 2*roundedWidth, Height - 1 - 2*roundedHeight, 2*roundedWidth, 2*roundedHeight), 90, -90);
            path.AddLine(Width - 1, Height - 1 - roundedHeight, Width - 1, roundedHeight);
            path.AddArc(new RectangleF(Width - 1 - 2*roundedWidth, 0, 2*roundedWidth, 2*roundedHeight), 0, -90);
            path.AddLine(Width - 1 - roundedWidth, 0, roundedWidth, 0);
            path.AddArc(new RectangleF(0, 0, 2*roundedWidth, 2*roundedHeight), -90, -90);

            e.Graphics.DrawPath(new Pen(new SolidBrush(BorderColor), BorderWidth), path);

            e.Graphics.SmoothingMode = smoothingMode;
            base.OnPaint(e);
        }

        protected override void OnResize(EventArgs e)
        {
            UpdateInternalBounds();
            base.OnResize(e);
        }

        private void lblText_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
        {
            if (TextClick != null)
            {
                TextClick(this, e);
            }
        }
    }
}

(there are some issues with Stack Overflow's markup and the Underscore, but it's easy to follow the code).

---

I have actually removed that override some time ago when I saw that it wasn't working. I'll add it again now and test. Basically I want to replace the Label with some new label called: IWillNotAutoSizeLabel ;)

I basically hate the autosize property "on by default".

Answer 1

I've seen similar behaviour when setting certain properties of controls in the constructor of the form itself. They seem to revert back to their design-time defaults.

I notice you're already overriding the OnLoad method. Have you tried setting AutoSize = false there? Or are you mainly concerned with providing a default value of false?

Answer 2

I spent a lot of time with it and this finally works! (my code is vb.net but is simple to convert it)

Private _Autosize As Boolean 

Public Sub New()
    _Autosize=False
End Sub

Public Overrides Property AutoSize() As Boolean
    Get
        Return MyBase.AutoSize
    End Get

    Set(ByVal Value As Boolean)
        If _Autosize <> Value And _Autosize = False Then
            MyBase.AutoSize = False
            _Autosize = Value
        Else
            MyBase.AutoSize = Value
        End If
    End Set
End Property

Answer 3

Your problem could be that you're not actually overriding Autosize in your code (ie, in the same way that you're overriding Font or ForeColor).

Answer 4

I don't see this.AutoSize = false in your constructor. Your class is marked as partial -- perhaps you have a constructor in another file with that line. The visual studio designer will call that parameterless constructor you've got there.