The descriptive text component is very similar to the variable value component, except that after the expression is evaluated, the result is compared to a list of text labels to determine which gets displayed.  No numbers are displayed, only labels.  This is most useful for digital signals that only have two values, for example On / Off , Open / Closed, etc.  The descriptive text component can also be used to display simple text labels, which is what is displayed when a descriptive text component is first created, but the static - text component is probably better for this use.

To have the descriptive text component change with the result of the expression requires an expression and the entry of the various labels in the MultiText list.  The expression typically should evaluate to a one dimensional value, but will be converted to a one dimensional value if necessary.

Properties:

Main:

MultiText: very similar to the MultiBrush and MultiColor lists described in section 7.17 except of course with text strings.  This determines what is displayed after the Caption.

Text:  determines what is displayed if no MultiText is provided or the Expression doesn't evaluate to a valid value.

Format:

TextFormat, TextFormatPreset: the formatting such as font type, size, weight, direction used to draw the result, and the caption / units if they are not Outside.  Note if FitText is enabled, the font size will be changed by the system as the component is resized.

FitText: if enabled, the font size is adjusted so that the text fits inside the bounds of the component in a single line.  If not enabled, the font size in the TextFormat property or preset are used and the text is cropped to the size of the component.  If the caption is Outside, it is not adjusted by FitText and will use its format settings.

TextMultiColor, TextMultiPreset, TextColor, TextColorPreset: determine the color of the text.  Please see sections 7.4.2 and 7.4.3 for details on Multi- properties and presets.

Caption:

CaptionText: text displayed in front of the result unless CaptionOutside is enabled with a different CaptionLocation.  The text is displayed as typed.  This property is not an expression.

CaptionOutside: if enabled, the caption is placed outside the components boundaries on the side determined by CaptionLocation, justified to be closest to the appropriate edge of the component.  

CaptionLocation: if CaptionOutside is enabled, this property determines which side of the result the caption is displayed

CaptionFormat, CaptionFormatPreset: the formatting such as font type, size, weight, direction used to draw the caption when it is Outside.  If the caption is not Outside, the regular TextFormat parameters are used to draw the caption.

CaptionTextMultiColor, CaptionTextMultiPreset, CaptionTextColor, CaptionTextColorPreset: determine the color of the caption when it is outside.  Please see sections 7.4.2 and 7.4.3 for details on Multi- properties and presets.

Common Properties:

This component includes all the common properties of components plus the background properties described in section 7.4.4.