Enable Text Editor Functionality

Nov 21, 2023
7 minutes to read

The Web Dashboard supports the Rich Text Editor used to edit Text Box item content: add data items, format and edit characters, paragraphs, lists, tables, and so on.

Web dashboard - Text box item editor overview

You need to enable the Rich Edit control functionality before use.

ASP.NET Web Forms

Set the ASPxDashboard.EnableTextBoxItemEditor property to true.

<dx:ASPxDashboard ID="ASPxDashboard1" runat="server" EnableTextBoxItemEditor="true">
</dx:ASPxDashboard>

ASP.NET MVC

Add the ClientRichEdit scripts and styles.

<head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8" />
    <title>Dashboard Web Application</title>
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0, maximum-scale=1.0, user-scalable=no" />

    @Html.DevExpress().GetStyleSheets(
        new StyleSheet { ExtensionSuite = ExtensionSuite.Dashboard },
        new StyleSheet { ExtensionSuite = ExtensionSuite.ClientRichEdit }
    )
    @Html.DevExpress().GetScripts( 
        new Script { ExtensionSuite = ExtensionSuite.Dashboard },
        new Script { ExtensionSuite = ExtensionSuite.ClientRichEdit }
    )
</head>

Pass the TextBoxItemEditorExtension instance as the DashboardControl.registerExtension method parameter before the Web Dashboard control is rendered:

function onBeforeRender(sender) {
    var control = sender.GetDashboardControl();
    control.registerExtension(new DevExpress.Dashboard.Designer.TextBoxItemEditorExtension(control));
}

ASP.NET Core

Install the devexpress-richedit and jszip npm packages in addition to scripts the Web Dashboard requires:

package.json

{
    "name": "dxwebapplication3",
    "version": "1.0.0",
    "private": true,
    "dependencies": {
        "devextreme-dist": "23.2.5",
        "@devexpress/analytics-core": "23.2.5",
        "devexpress-dashboard": "23.2.5",
        "devexpress-richedit": "23.2.5",
        "jszip": "3.5.0"
    }
}

Install the libgdiplus library when you add the application to a Linux container. More information: ASP.NET Core Dashboard Control on Linux and MacOS.

Add the Rich Edit scripts, styles, and JSZip library to the bundleconfig.json file in the following order:

[
    {
        "outputFileName": "wwwroot/css/site.min.css",
        "inputFiles": [
            ...
            "node_modules/devextreme-dist/css/dx.light.css",
            "node_modules/devexpress-richedit/dist/dx.richedit.css",
            "node_modules/@devexpress/analytics-core/dist/css/dx-analytics.common.css",
            ...
        ],
        "minify": {      
            "enabled": false,
            "adjustRelativePaths": false
        }
    },
    {
        "outputFileName": "wwwroot/js/site.min.js",
        "inputFiles": [
            ...
            "node_modules/jszip/dist/jszip.min.js",
            "node_modules/devextreme-dist/js/dx.all.js",
            "node_modules/devexpress-richedit/dist/dx.richedit.min.js",
            "node_modules/@devexpress/analytics-core/dist/js/dx-analytics-core.min.js",
            ...
        ],
        ...
    }
]

Important

The order of script references is important. You should add scripts and styles in the following order: DevExtreme Libraries, Rich Edit, DevExpress Analytics Components, Dashboard.

Add the Rich Edit’s icon fonts to the libman.json file to copy them to the application’s static content folder. If this file does not exist, create it in the root directory of the project next to the bundleconfig.json and package.json files:

{
"version": "1.0",
"defaultProvider": "filesystem",
"libraries": [        
    // ...
    {
        "library": "node_modules/devexpress-richedit/dist/icons/",
        "destination": "wwwroot/css/icons/",
        "files": [
            "dxre-icons.ttf",
            "dxre-icons.woff",
            "dxre-icons.woff2"
        ]
    }
]
}

Note

This step requires the Microsoft.Web.LibraryManager.Build NuGet package to be installed.

Pass the TextBoxItemEditorExtension instance as the DashboardControl.registerExtension method parameter before the Web Dashboard control is rendered:

function onBeforeRender(dashboardControl) {
    dashboardControl.registerExtension(new DevExpress.Dashboard.Designer.TextBoxItemEditorExtension(dashboardControl));
}

Dashboard Component for Blazor

Download and add the following files to your project in the wwwroot folder:
- jszip.min.js → wwwroot/js
- dx.richedit.js → wwwroot/js
- dx.richedit.css → wwwroot/css
You can find them in the devexpress-richedit and jszip npm packages. Run the following command to install and copy files:
```
npm i devexpress-richedit@23.2.5 jszip
```
The Rich Edit style sheet requires icon fonts located in the icons folder. Add the icons folder to the application’s static content folder next to the dx.richedit.css file (the wwwroot/css folder). The folder should contain the following files:
- dxre-icons.ttf
- dxre-icons.woff
- dxre-icons.woff2

Attach the dx.richedit.css file to the page. The order of attachment is important:

<head>
    <link href="css/site.css" rel="stylesheet" />

    <link href="_content/DevExpress.Blazor.Dashboard/dx.light.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="css/dx.richedit.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="_content/DevExpress.Blazor.Dashboard/dx-analytics.common.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="_content/DevExpress.Blazor.Dashboard/dx-analytics.light.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="_content/DevExpress.Blazor.Dashboard/dx-querybuilder.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="_content/DevExpress.Blazor.Dashboard/dx-dashboard.light.min.css" rel="stylesheet" />
</head>

In the wwwroot/js folder, create the custom dashboard-events-scripts.js file. Attach it to the page after the DevExtreme and Web Dashboard scripts:

<head>
    <link href="css/site.css" rel="stylesheet" />

    <link href="_content/DevExpress.Blazor.Dashboard/dx.light.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="css/dx.richedit.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="_content/DevExpress.Blazor.Dashboard/dx-analytics.common.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="_content/DevExpress.Blazor.Dashboard/dx-analytics.light.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="_content/DevExpress.Blazor.Dashboard/dx-querybuilder.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="_content/DevExpress.Blazor.Dashboard/dx-dashboard.light.min.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <script src="js/dashboard-events-scripts.js"></script>
</head>

In the dashboard-events-scripts.js file, add the following code to register the TextBoxItemEditorExtension extension:

window.dashboardEvents = {
    onBeforeRender: (args) => {
        var dashboardControl = args.component;
        dashboardControl.registerExtension(new DevExpress.Dashboard.Designer.TextBoxItemEditorExtension(dashboardControl));
    }
}

In the Dashboard component, handle the DxJSCustomization.OnScriptsLoading event to modify scripts before they are loaded. Register jszip.js and dx.richedit.js in the following order:

Dashboard.razor

@page "/"

<DxDashboard Endpoint="api/dashboard" style="width: 100%; height: 100%;">
    <DxJSCustomization Identifier="dashboardEvents" OnScriptsLoading="OnDashboardScriptsLoading"></DxJSCustomization>   
</DxDashboard>

@code{
    public void OnDashboardScriptsLoading(ScriptsLoadingEventArgs e) {
        e.Scripts.Insert(0, "/js/jszip.min.js");
        var x = e.Scripts.IndexOf(ScriptIdentifiers.DevExtreme);
        e.Scripts.Insert(x+1, "/js/dx.richedit.js");        
    }
}

Dashboard Component for Angular

Install the devexpress-richedit and jszip npm packages in addition to scripts the Web Dashboard requires.
```
npm i devexpress-richedit@23.2.5 jszip
```

Import the TextBoxItemEditorExtension module.

app.component.ts

import { Component } from "@angular/core";
import {TextBoxItemEditorExtension} from 'devexpress-dashboard/designer/text-box-item-editor-extension';

@Component({
    selector: 'app-root',
    templateUrl: './app.component.html',
    styleUrls: ['./app.component.css']
})
export class AppComponent { 
    // ...
}

In the tsconfig.json file, add a path to map the jszip module.

{ 
    "compilerOptions": { 
        // ...
        "paths": { 
            "jszip": [  
            "node_modules/jszip/dist/jszip.min.js"  
           ]
        }
    }
}

Handle the onBeforeRender event. Use the e.component property to get the dashboard control instance. Pass the TextBoxItemEditorExtension instance as the control’s registerExtension method parameter:

app.component.html
app.component.ts

<dx-dashboard-control 
    style="display: block;width:100%;height:800px;" 
    endpoint='https://demos.devexpress.com/services/dashboard/api'
    workingMode="Designer"
    (onBeforeRender) = "onBeforeRender($event)"        
>
</dx-dashboard-control>

import { Component } from "@angular/core";
import {TextBoxItemEditorExtension} from 'devexpress-dashboard/designer/text-box-item-editor-extension';

@Component({
    selector: 'app-root',
    templateUrl: './app.component.html',
    styleUrls: ['./app.component.css']
})
export class AppComponent {
    onBeforeRender(e){
        e.component.registerExtension(new TextBoxItemEditorExtension(e.component)); 
    }
}

Add the Rich Edit’s styles. The order of attachment is important:

styles.css

@import url("../node_modules/ace-builds/css/ace.css");  
@import url("../node_modules/ace-builds/css/theme/dreamweaver.css");  
@import url("../node_modules/ace-builds/css/theme/ambiance.css");  
@import url("../node_modules/devextreme/dist/css/dx.light.css");  
@import url("../node_modules/devexpress-richedit/dist/dx.richedit.css");
@import url("../node_modules/@devexpress/analytics-core/dist/css/dx-analytics.common.css");  
@import url("../node_modules/@devexpress/analytics-core/dist/css/dx-analytics.light.css");  
@import url("../node_modules/@devexpress/analytics-core/dist/css/dx-querybuilder.css");  
@import url("../node_modules/devexpress-dashboard/dist/css/dx-dashboard.light.css");

Dashboard Component for React

Install the devexpress-richedit and jszip npm packages in addition to scripts the Web Dashboard requires.
```
npm i devexpress-richedit@23.2.5 jszip
```

Import the TextBoxItemEditorExtension module. Handle the onBeforeRender event. Use the e.component property to get the dashboard control instance. Pass the TextBoxItemEditorExtension instance as the control’s registerExtension method parameter:

App.js

import './App.css';
import DashboardControl from 'devexpress-dashboard-react';
import {TextBoxItemEditorExtension} from 'devexpress-dashboard/designer/text-box-item-editor-extension';

function onBeforeRender(e) { 
    e.component.registerExtension(new TextBoxItemEditorExtension(e.component)); 
}

function App() {
    return (
        <div style={{ position : 'absolute', top : '0px', left: '0px', right : '0px', bottom: '0px' }}>
            <DashboardControl style={{ height: '90%' }} 
                endpoint="https://demos.devexpress.com/services/dashboard/api"
                workingMode="Designer"
                onBeforeRender = { onBeforeRender(e)}
            ></DashboardControl>
        </div>
    );
};

export default App;

Add the Rich Edit’s styles. The order of attachment is important:

index.css

@import url("../node_modules/devextreme/dist/css/dx.light.css");
@import url("../node_modules/devexpress-richedit/dist/dx.richedit.css");
@import url("../node_modules/@devexpress/analytics-core/dist/css/dx-analytics.common.css");
@import url("../node_modules/@devexpress/analytics-core/dist/css/dx-analytics.light.css");
@import url("../node_modules/@devexpress/analytics-core/dist/css/dx-querybuilder.css");
@import url("../node_modules/devexpress-dashboard/dist/css/dx-dashboard.light.css");

Dashboard Component for Vue

Install the devexpress-richedit and jszip npm packages in addition to scripts the Web Dashboard requires.
```
npm i devexpress-richedit@23.2.5 jszip
```

Import the TextBoxItemEditorExtension module and pass the TextBoxItemEditorExtension instance as the DashboardControl.registerExtension method parameter before the Web Dashboard control is rendered:

App.vue

<template>
    <div>
        <DxDashboardControl 
        style="height:900px; display: 'block'; width: '100%';"
        endpoint="https://demos.devexpress.com/services/dashboard/api"
        @beforeRender="onBeforeRender" />
    </div>  
</template>

<script>
import { DxDashboardControl } from 'devexpress-dashboard-vue';
import {TextBoxItemEditorExtension} from 'devexpress-dashboard/designer/text-box-item-editor-extension';

export default {
    components: {
        DxDashboardControl
    },
    methods: {
        onBeforeRender(e) {
            e.component.registerExtension(new TextBoxItemEditorExtension(e.component));
        }
    }        
}
</script>

Add the Rich Edit’s styles. The order of attachment is important:

main.js

import { createApp } from 'vue'
import App from './App.vue'

import "ace-builds/css/ace.css";
import "ace-builds/css/theme/dreamweaver.css";
import "ace-builds/css/theme/ambiance.css"; 
import 'devextreme/dist/css/dx.light.css';
import "devexpress-richedit/dist/dx.richedit.css";
import "@devexpress/analytics-core/dist/css/dx-analytics.common.css";
import "@devexpress/analytics-core/dist/css/dx-analytics.light.css";
import "@devexpress/analytics-core/dist/css/dx-querybuilder.css";
import "devexpress-dashboard/dist/css/dx-dashboard.light.css";

createApp(App).mount('#app')

Dashboard Control for JavaScript Applications

Install the devexpress-richedit and jszip npm packages in addition to scripts the Web Dashboard requires.
```
npm i devexpress-richedit@23.2.5 jszip
```

Attach Rich Edit’s scripts, styles and the JSZip library to the project inside the <head> section in the following order:

<head>
    <!-- ... -->        
    <link href="node_modules/devextreme-dist/css/dx.light.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="node_modules/devexpress-richedit/dist/dx.richedit.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="node_modules/@devexpress/analytics-core/dist/css/dx-analytics.common.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <!-- ... -->
    <script src="node_modules/ace-builds/src-min-noconflict/theme-ambiance.js"></script>
    <script src="node_modules/jszip/dist/jszip.min.js"></script>
    <script src="node_modules/devextreme-dist/js/dx.all.js"></script>
    <script src="node_modules/devexpress-richedit/dist/dx.richedit.min.js"></script>
    <script src="node_modules/@devexpress/analytics-core/dist/js/dx-analytics-core.min.js"></script>
    <!-- ... -->
</head>

A full list of scripts and styles you can find here: Required Client Libraries.

Important

The order of script references is important. You should add scripts and styles in the following order: DevExtreme Libraries, Rich Edit, DevExpress Analytics Components, Dashboard.

Pass the TextBoxItemEditorExtension instance as the DashboardControl.registerExtension method parameter before the Web Dashboard control is rendered:

<script>
    window.onload = function () {
        var dashboardControl = new DevExpress.Dashboard.DashboardControl(document.getElementById("web-dashboard"), {
            endpoint: "/dashboardControl"
        });
        // Register the Text Box Item Editor extension.
        dashboardControl.registerExtension(new DevExpress.Dashboard.Designer.TextBoxItemEditorExtension(dashboardControl));
        dashboardControl.render();
    };
</script>

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ASP.NET Web Forms

ASP.NET MVC

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Dashboard Component for Blazor

Dashboard Component for Angular

Dashboard Component for React

Dashboard Component for Vue

Dashboard Control for JavaScript Applications