Looking for explanation for WPF Grid ColumnSpan behavior

Question

I asked a question at http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/wpf/thread/5c7f5cdf-4351-4969-990f-29ce9ec84b87/ , but still lack a good explanation for a strange behavior.

Running the following XAML shows that the TextBlock in column 0 is width greater than 100 even though the column is set to width 100. I think that the strangeness may have something to do with it being wrapped in a ScrollViewer, but I don't know why. If I set a MaxWidth on the columns, it works fine, but setting Width does not.

1. Why is the width of column 0 not being honored?
2. Why does the column sizing behave differently when you remove the scroll viewer?

I appreciate any explanation! This is a real puzzle to me.

<Window x:Class="WpfApplication2.MainWindow" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
        xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml" Title="MainWindow" Width="300">
    <ScrollViewer HorizontalScrollBarVisibility="Auto" >
        <Grid>
            <Grid.RowDefinitions>
                <RowDefinition Height="Auto" />
                <RowDefinition Height="Auto" />
            </Grid.RowDefinitions>
            <Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
                <ColumnDefinition Width="100" />
                <ColumnDefinition Width="100" />
                <ColumnDefinition />
            </Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
            <TextBlock x:Name="textBlock" Text="{Binding ElementName=textBlock, Path=ActualWidth}" />
            <TextBlock Text="column 1" Grid.Column="1" />
            <TextBlock Grid.Row="1" Grid.ColumnSpan="3" Text="text here that is wider than the first two columns combined" />
        </Grid>
    </ScrollViewer>
</Window>

Answer 1

This is a very good question and tests the limits of our intuition. It reveals the implementation details of the Grid's layout logic.

The width of 100 is not being honored because:

1. There is nothing in the third column that causes the grid to give it width.
2. The long text in the second row is wider than can fit in the first two columns.
3. When the width of the Grid is not constrained or set by its parent its layout logic evidently stretches the first column instead of the last column.

By putting a MaxWidth on the first column, you are constraining the Grid's layout logic, so it moves on to the second column and stretches it. You'll note it will be wider than 100 in that scenario.

However, as soon as the Grid's width is set to a specific value or is constrained by its parent (e.g. when no ScrollViewer in the Window), the Grid's width has a specific value, and the third column gets a width set even though it is empty. Now the Grid's auto-size code is deactivated, and it no longer stretches any of your columns to try to squeeze in that text. You can see this by putting a specific width on the Grid, even though it is still in the ScrollViewer.

Edit: Now that I read the answer of the MSDN support in your original thread, I believe it is correct, meaning this is probably the result of the implementation of the attached property and not the grid itself. However, the principle is the same, and hopefully my explanation is clear enough to make sense of the subtlety here.