BBCode-Inspired Markup: Supported DevExpress Controls

• Jun 10, 2026
• 5 minutes to read

This topic contains general information on support for BBCode-inspired formatting markup in DevExpress components. Each supported control includes formatted text-related settings and events.

In this topic…

• Common Formatted Text-Related Properties and Events
  • General Appearance and Behavior-Related APIs
  • User Interaction-Related Events
• Supported Components
  • Data Grid
  • Editors
  • Layout Control
  • Message Boxes
    • Optional BBCode Markup-Related Parameters
  • Tree List

Common Formatted Text-Related Properties and Events

All supported components have common APIs designed to customize formatted text appearance and behavior.

General Appearance and Behavior-Related APIs

FormattedText.HyperlinkColor

Allows you to explicitly override the hyperlink color determined by the current skin and palette settings.

FormattedText.ShowHyperlinkHint

ShowHyperlinkHint^[1] Specifies if a hyperlink displays a hint when a user positions the mouse pointer within an anchor text range enclosed between [URL] and [/URL] tags.

FormattedText.ShowTextHint

ShowTextHint^[2] specifies if a hint is displayed when a user positions the mouse pointer within a text range enclosed between [HINT] and [/HINT] tags.

User Interaction-Related Events

The following events allow you to customize interactive formatted text range behavior (hyperlinks and hint-marked text ranges):

FormattedText.OnHintedTextClick

Allows you to execute custom code in response to clicks on a text range enclosed between [HINT] and [/HINT] tags.

FormattedText.OnHintedTextMouseEnter | FormattedText.OnHintedTextMouseLeave

Allow you to track mouse pointer movement through text ranges enclosed between [HINT] and [/HINT] tags.

FormattedText.OnHyperlinkClick

Allows you to respond to a click on a hyperlink or prevent hyperlink activation.

FormattedText.OnHyperlinkMouseEnter | FormattedText.OnHyperlinkMouseLeave

Allow you to track mouse pointer movement through hyperlinks (text ranges enclosed between [URL] and [/URL] tags).

Supported Components

This section lists all DevExpress products wih support for caption, label, and description text formatting using BBCode-inspired formatting markup.

Data Grid

The TcxGrid control supports BBCode-inspired markup tags in grid item/column captions for the following Views:

TcxGridTableView | TcxGridDBTableView | TcxGridServerModeTableView

A grid Table View.

TcxGridLayoutView | TcxGridDBLayoutView

A grid Layout View.

Editors

TcxButton

An advanced button component with support for multiple usage scenarios.

Both Caption and Description properties support BBCode-inspired markup tags.

The FormattedText property provides access to BBCode formatting-related settings and events.

TdxFormattedLabel | TdxDBFormattedLabel

A static label control with support for BBCode-inspired markup tags. Use the editor’s Caption property.

The Properties.FormattedText property provides access to BBCode formatting-related settings and events for formatted label editors.

Layout Control

Layout item captions allow you to use all supported BBCode-inspired markup tags. You can use the following properties to access and configure formatted text-related settings:

OptionsItem.FormattedText

Provides access to BBCode formatting-related settings and events at the TdxLayoutControl level.

CaptionOptions.FormattedText

Provides access to BBCode formatting-related settings and events at the level of individual layout groups and items. Layout group/item-level formatted text settings have priority over control-level settings.

Message Boxes

Message Box Dialogs are DevExpress counterparts of standard system message dialog boxes with support for skins and BBCode-inspired markup tags:

All message box creation methods accept a content string that can include all supported BBCode markup tags:

Delphi

dxMessageBox('Read the [URL=https://www.devexpress.com/VCL]DevExpress VCL Documentation[/URL]',
  'Note', MB_OK or MB_ICONINFORMATION);

C++

dxMessageBox("Read the [URL=https://www.devexpress.com/VCL]DevExpress VCL Documentation[/URL]",
  "Note", MB_OK | MB_ICONINFORMATION);

Optional BBCode Markup-Related Parameters

DevExpress message box creation methods are API-compatible with corresponding standard methods available in the VCL library. In addition to the same parameters available in standard methods, all DevExpress methods allow you to specify the following optional parameters associated with hyperlink and hint-related behavior:

AHyperlinkClickProc

Specifies a click handler that allows you to identify the clicked hyperlink and prevent certain links from being activated.

Refer to the TdxMessageDialogHyperlinkClickDelegate procedural type description for detailed information and a code example.

AShowHyperlinkHintProc

Specifies a hyperlink hint handler that allows you to change the predefined hint message (the hyperlink target URI) depending on certain conditions in your application.

Refer to the TdxMessageDialogShowHyperlinkHintDelegate procedural type description for detailed information and a code example.

AHintedTextClickProc

Specifies a handler routine that allows you to execute custom commands in response to a click on a text range enclosed between [HINT] and [/HINT] markup tags.

Refer to the TdxMessageDialogHintedTextClickDelegate procedural type description for detailed information and a code example.

AShowTextHintProc

Specifies a hint display handler for a text range enclosed between [HINT] and [/HINT] tags. For example, you can use this handler to modify the current hint message depending on certain conditions in your application.

Refer to the TdxMessageDialogShowTextHintDelegate procedural type description for detailed information and a code example.

Tree List

DevExpress Tree List controls (TcxTreeList, TcxDBTreeList, and TcxVirtualTreeList) support BBCode-inspired markup tags in column and band captions.

You can use the following properties to access and configure formatted text-related settings:

TcxCustomTreeList.FormattedText

Provides access to BBCode formatting-related settings and events at the control level.

TcxTreeListBand.FormattedText | TcxTreeListColumn.FormattedText

Provide access to BBCode formatting-related settings at the level of individual bands and columns. Band/column-level settings have priority over control-level settings.

Footnotes

1. Use the following links to navigate to corresponding ShowHyperlinkHint topic descriptions:

   • TdxCustomFormattedTextProperties.ShowHyperlinkHint (a component-level setting)
   • TdxCustomItemFormattedTextProperties.ShowHyperlinkHint (a nested item-level setting)

2. Use the following links to navigate to corresponding ShowTextHint topic descriptions:

   • TdxCustomFormattedTextProperties.ShowTextHint (a component-level setting)
   • TdxCustomItemFormattedTextProperties.ShowTextHint