What does Windows error code 1434 (ERROR_LB_WITHOUT_TABSTOPS) mean?

ERROR_LB_WITHOUT_TABSTOPS

The list box was not created to expand tab characters

LB_SETTABSTOPS configures tab positions used when a list box expands tab characters in displayed strings. Microsoft requires the list box to have the LBS_USETABSTOPS style.

Without that style, tab-stop coordinates have no documented rendering role, so USER32 rejects the operation. This is a creation-style mismatch rather than malformed item text. A string can contain tab characters and still not make the control tab-stop aware.

What to check

• Check the list-box LBS_* styles in the active resource variant.
• Add LBS_USETABSTOPS when tabbed columns are an intentional part of classic list-box rendering.
• Call LB_SETTABSTOPS after the control exists and with dialog-unit positions as documented.
• For complex tabular presentation, consider a list-view control instead of forcing a list box into a grid role.

This differs from an invalid list-box message based on selection mode; the error concerns text layout capability selected at creation.

References

• Microsoft: LB_SETTABSTOPS
• Microsoft: About List Boxes

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