591531 - size="n" and emptytext="foo" on Win7 -> flickering

Status: NEW

(Toolkit :: UI Widgets, defect)

Description

[Ben Bucksch (:BenB)]

Reproduction:
1. Create a XUL text field:
<textbox size="20" emptytext="type here" />
2. Start it on Windows 7
3. Click in the textfield

Actual result:
The textfield resizes, creating an annoying, buggy "flickering" effect.

Expected result:
Textfield keeps the same size.

Note:
On Win7, the emptytext is rendered in italics. Not on other platforms.

Reason:
The textbox apparently uses the text font and style currently used for the text input as basis for the size="" calculation. That's generally a sane and proper way.
However, when the textfield is empty, and an emptytext exists and applies, the font style is changed to italics. Italics letters in proportional fonts are wider that non-italics. Gecko apparently recalculates, now 31 * character width is more pixels, thus the textbox is made wider. Click into the textbox, italics is removed, width is normal again, textbox is made shorter. -> Flickering when you click into it.

Comment 1

[Neil Deakin]

Does this also happen with <html:input size="20" placeholder="some text"> ?

Comment 2

[Mike Kaply [:mkaply]]

html inputs don't use italics, so it's not an issue.

But I'm not seeing this bug at all anymore anyway.