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Rich Text Editor

  • 5 minutes to read

The DevExpress ASP.NET client RichEdit control allows users to create, open, modify, print, save, and convert rich-formatted text files.

Rich Text Editor Overview

Try DevExpress Rich Text Editor In Your Project

Visit DevExpress.com to learn more about this product’s features, capabilities, and pricing options: ASP.NET Core Rich Text Editor. To try DevExpress controls and libraries in your projects, download our fully-functional 30-day trial version.

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Frameworks

RichEdit is a client control that you can use in various client and server frameworks. The control has a common client implementation for all the supported frameworks.

Document Formats

The RichEdit control supports the following file extensions:

  • DOC / DOCX
  • RTF
  • TXT
  • HTML
  • PDF export (include programmatically)

You can use third-party server libraries (for instance, DevExpress Office File API) to convert a document to a suitable format.

Client API

The RichEdit class implements the control’s client functionality and includes the following most commonly used properties:

  • document - provides access to information about a document model.
  • selection - provides access to the selected content, allows you to position the cursor within a document, and to select document content elements.

The following section contains a number of client code samples: Examples.

Server API

Use the RichEditBuilder class to create and customize the control on the server.

You can modify a document on the server side with the non-visual cross-platform .NET library Office File API.

Features

  • The RichEdit works completely on the client side.
  • Fast document editing.
  • Lightweight Deployment. You can separate source files from other controls and compile required libraries into a RichEdit bundle.
  • Ribbon UI. You can customize the Ribbon UI on the server and client sides. (See demo)
  • Document Management. The ribbon command buttons allow users to create, open, edit, print, and save rich-text documents of any size. You can customize the default ribbon UI and perform file operations in code. (More details | See demo)
  • Fields. You can insert special placeholder fields, which are replaced with data when the document is displayed or printed. (See demo)
  • Mail Merge. The Mail Merge retrieves data from a bound data source and fills in the fields of a document template. This feature can be used to compose, preview, and generate catalogs, reports, or personalized letters. (See demo)
  • Autocorrect. Analyze, modify, and substitute the typed text. (See demo)
  • Spell Check (client-side).
  • Simple View. In this mode, a document occupies all the available area inside the control. Users can enable/disable the Simple view mode using ribbon commands. (See demo)
  • Font Management. The Fonts method allows you to specify fonts available to the control. This information is required when you export a document to PDF on the client side (exportToPdf) or print a document in client PDF printing mode. (More details)
  • Document Protection. The RichEdit control allows users to open and view protected documents. You can identify users and enable text ranges permitted for the specified user or group. (More details | See demo)
  • Localization. You can localize the RichEdit control to a variety of languages and cultures. (More details)

Unsupported features are listed in the following topic: Rich Text Editor Unsupported Features

Accessibility

The Rich Text Editor component supports screen reader announcements to help users navigate the document. As users move through content or select objects, the screen reader announces the current text fragment or identifies the selected layout element.

Text Fragment or Document Element Shortcut or Trigger Screen Reader Announcement
Paragraph Ctrl + Up Arrow
Ctrl + Down Arrow
Reads the entire paragraph.
Line Up Arrow
Down Arrow
Reads the entire line.
Word Ctrl + Right Arrow
Ctrl + Left Arrow
Reads the current word.
Character Right Arrow
Left Arrow
Reads the current character or symbol.
Text selection Select text or clear selection Announces the selection change and reads the selected text fragment if it is shorter than 500 characters. If the selected fragment is longer, announces the number of selected characters.
Hyperlink The caret moves to a hyperlink Announces that the caret entered a hyperlink. Does not read the target address.
Move the caret away from a hyperlink Announces that the caret left a hyperlink.
Image Move the caret next to an image / select an image Announces the presence of an image and reads the image’s alternate text or image name (if specified).
Table Move the caret into a table Announces the number of rows and columns.
Move the caret away from a table Announces that the caret left the table.
Table cell Move the caret between table cells Announces the current column and row. Reads cell content.

Demos and Examples

The DevExpress .NET Products Installer installs RichEdit control demos to your local machine.

  • Try demos in action: run the Demo Center 26.1 application from the Windows Start menu or run C:\Users\Public\Documents\DevExpress Demos 20.1\Components\Components\Bin\DevExpress.DemoCenter.v26.1.exe (by default).

  • Demo solution files: C:\Users\Public\Documents\DevExpress Demos 26.1\Components\ASP.NET\CS\AspNetCoreDemos.RichEdit.

Footnotes
  1. The DevExpress Blazor product line includes the Rich Text Editor UI component that you can use in Blazor applications.