What are there advantages to using Static Text instead of Label in Delphi?

Question

From the docwiki for labels:

You place a label on a form when you need to identify or annotate another component such as an edit box or when you want to include text on a form. The standard label component, TLabel, is a non-windowed control, so it cannot receive focus; when you need a label with a window handle, use TStaticText instead.

What does the statement "when you need a label with a window handle, use TStaticText instead" mean?

Answer 1

At work, we use a TStaticText when we want our UI automation testing tool to 'read' the text of a "label". Most of the interaction is done by Windows API messaging, so a TStaticText will respond to GetWindowText, while a TLabel will not. This is a simplistic overview on how we use TStaticText and a TLabel.

Answer 2

Cut and pasted from Embarcadero

The TStaticText component functions like TLabel, except that it descends from TWinControl and therefore has a window handle. Use TStaticText instead of TLabel when the component's accelerator key must belong to a windowed control—for example, on an ActiveX property page.

Answer 3

Also, if you're creating forms that need to work with screen readers for visually impaired users, TLabels can't be seen by the software, but TStaticText labels can.

Answer 4

TStaticText
TStaticText has a Window Handle and can accept focus whereas TLabel does not have a Window Handle and cannot accept focus

TStaticText allows the user to edit the text displayed whereas TLabel does not allow the user to edit the text displayed

TLabel
TLabel's caption property can be changed programmatically whereas TStaticText's Caption property cannot be changed programmatically

TLabel does not have a ShowAccelChar property whereas TStaticText does have a ShowAccelChar property

Answer 5

I believe the reason there are these two label controls with almost the same functionality is (pre)historical.

In old versions of Windows (old as Windows 3.x), there was a practical limit of number of handles the whole system could have. So using handle-less label control was good way to save these precious system resources. That's why Borland introduced the TLabel.