Working with Text and Strings in GDI+

This article has been excerpted from book "Graphics Programming with GDI+".

As we discussed, the DrawString method of the Graphics class can be used to draw text on a graphics surface. The DrawString method takes a string, font, brush and starting point.

Listing 5.8 creates three different fonts and draws text on a form using the DrawString method. Each DrawString method uses a different color and font to draw the string.

LISTING 5.8: Drawing text on a graphics surface

using System;

using System.Collections.Generic;

using System.ComponentModel;

using System.Data;

using System.Drawing;

using System.Linq;

using System.IO;

using System.Text;

using System.Windows.Forms;

namespace WindowsFormsApplication1

{

    public partial class Form1 : Form

    {

        public Form1()

        {

            InitializeComponent();

        }

        private void Form1_Paint(object sender, PaintEventArgs e)

        {

            //Create a Graphics object

            Graphics g = this.CreateGraphics();

            //Create font families

            FontFamily verdanaFamily = new FontFamily("Verdana");

            FontFamily arialFamily = new FontFamily("Arial");

            //Construct font objects

            Font verdanaFont = new Font("Verdana", 10);

            Font arialFont = new Font(arialFamily, 16, FontStyle.Bold);

            Font tahomaFont = new Font("Tahoma", 24,

            FontStyle.Underline | FontStyle.Italic);

            //Create Brush and other objects

            PointF pointF = new PointF(30, 10);

            SolidBrush solidBrush =

                new SolidBrush(Color.FromArgb(255, 0, 0, 255));

            //Draw text using DrawString

            g.DrawString("Drawing Text", verdanaFont,

                new SolidBrush(Color.Red), new PointF(20, 20));

            g.DrawString("Drawing Text", arialFont,

                new SolidBrush(Color.Blue), new PointF(20, 50));

            g.DrawString("Drawing Text", tahomaFont,

                new SolidBrush(Color.Green), new Point(20, 80));

            //Dispose of objects

            solidBrush.Dispose();

            g.Dispose();

        }

    }

}

FIGURE 5.13: Fonts with different styles and sizes

Figure 5.13 shows the output from Listing 5.8. The first text is 10-point Verdana; the second, 14-point Arial Bold; and the third, 24-point Tahoma Italic.

Conclusion

Hope the article would have helped you in understanding Working with Text and Strings in GDI+. Read other articles on GDI+ on the website.

This book teaches .NET developers how to work with GDI+ as they develop applications that include graphics, or that interact with monitors or printers. It begins by explaining the difference between GDI and GDI+, and covering the basic concepts of graphics programming in Windows.