AutoCorrect
- 5 minutes to read
The RichEditControl AutoCorrect feature can help you automate inserting frequently used text, auto-correcting typing errors and misspelled capitalization. You can specify the built-in options, construct a custom replacement table or handle the Autocorrect event to analyze the input text and provide the necessary substitution.
Built-in Automatic Correction Options
The following members enable you to enable certain automatic correction features:
Property | Description |
---|---|
AutoCorrectOptions.DetectUrls | Automatically detects an inserted web address, a network path or email address and converts it to a hyperlink. |
AutoCorrectOptions.CorrectTwoInitialCapitals | Corrects capitalization errors. |
AutoCorrectOptions.ReplaceTextAsYouType | Scans for entries as you type and replaces them with the designated text or image. |
AutoCorrectOptions.UseSpellCheckerSuggestions | Automatically detects and corrects typos and misspelled word if the RichEditControl.SpellChecker property specifies a spell checker component. If the spell checker provides one suggestion, this suggestion automatically substitutes the incorrect word. Otherwise, no changes are made. |
Use the richEditCotnrol.Options.AutoCorrect notation to access the built-in autocorrect options, as shown in the code snippet below:
Note
A complete sample project is available at https://github.com/DevExpress-Examples/text-expander-application-that-uses-the-autocorrect-feature-e3038
AutoCorrectOptions сorrectionOptions = richEditControl1.Options.AutoCorrect;
сorrectionOptions.CorrectTwoInitialCapitals = true;
сorrectionOptions.DetectUrls = false;
сorrectionOptions.ReplaceTextAsYouType = true;
сorrectionOptions.UseSpellCheckerSuggestions = true;
Automatic Correction Using Table Entries
The text expander functionality allows you to insert symbols, decipher abbreviations and insert images. Follow the steps below to implement the text expander:
Create a new AutoCorrectReplaceInfoCollection instance and fill it with AutoCorrectReplaceInfo entries:
Note
A complete sample project is available at https://github.com/DevExpress-Examples/text-expander-application-that-uses-the-autocorrect-feature-e3038
private AutoCorrectReplaceInfoCollection LoadAbbrevs(string path) { AutoCorrectReplaceInfoCollection coll = new AutoCorrectReplaceInfoCollection(); string aLine = ""; AutoCorrectReplaceInfo acrInfoIm = new AutoCorrectReplaceInfo(":-)", CreateImageFromResx("smile.png")); coll.Add(acrInfoIm); if (File.Exists(path)) { StreamReader sr = new StreamReader(path); while (!(sr.EndOfStream)) { aLine = sr.ReadLine(); if (aLine != "START") continue; while (!(sr.EndOfStream)) { aLine = sr.ReadLine(); aLine = aLine.Trim(); string[] words = aLine.Split('='); if (words.Length == 2) { AutoCorrectReplaceInfo acrInfo = new AutoCorrectReplaceInfo(words[0], words[1]); coll.Add(acrInfo); } } } sr.Close(); } return coll; }
Call the IAutoCorrectService.SetReplaceTable method to register a created replacement list:
Note
A complete sample project is available at https://github.com/DevExpress-Examples/text-expander-application-that-uses-the-autocorrect-feature-e3038
When you type a space, punctuation mark or carriage return (a character that typically means you have finished typing a word), AutoCorrect compares the word (or more precisely the group of characters) against its list of entries. If the word matches an entry, AutoCorrect substitutes this word with a replacement object.
In this example, the substitution is performed as shown in the animation below:
Automatic Correction Using the AutoCorrect Event
Handle the RichEditControl.AutoCorrect event to analyze the input text and provide a specific object for replacement. Use the following API (accessible using the AutoCorrectEventArgs.AutoCorrectInfo property) to perform the desired actions:
API | Description |
---|---|
AutoCorrectInfo.Text | Gets the input string to check whether it should be replaced. |
AutoCorrectInfo.IncrementStartPosition | Decreases a text range being analyzed by moving its start by one position. |
AutoCorrectInfo.DecrementStartPosition | Extends a text range being analyzed by moving its start by one position. |
AutoCorrectInfo.IncrementEndPosition | Extends a text range being analyzed by moving its end by one position. |
AutoCorrectInfo.DecrementEndPosition | Decreases a text range being analyzed by moving its end by one position. |
AutoCorrectInfo.ReplaceWith | Gets or sets the object used to replace the input string in the document. |
The following code sample shows how to handle the RichEditControl.AutoCorrect event to replace the typed $ symbol with a picture of a dollar, and substitute the text enclosed in percent symbols with custom content.
Use the AutoCorrectEventArgs.AutoCorrectInfo property to obtain the document text, then call the AutoCorrectInfo.DecrementStartPosition method to expand its left boundary until a special symbol or a word separator symbol is found. Use the AutoCorrectInfo.ReplaceWith property to pass a replacement object (a string or an image) to the document if a resulting string meets certain conditions, such as whether it is a dollar sign or a %date% string.
Note
A complete sample project is available at https://github.com/DevExpress-Examples/how-to-handle-the-autocorrect-event-e3041
private void richEditControl1_AutoCorrect(object sender, DevExpress.XtraRichEdit.AutoCorrectEventArgs e)
{
AutoCorrectInfo info = e.AutoCorrectInfo;
e.AutoCorrectInfo = null;
if (info.Text.Length <= 0)
return;
for (; ; ) {
if (!info.DecrementStartPosition())
return;
if (IsSeparator(info.Text[0]))
return;
if (info.Text[0] == '$') {
info.ReplaceWith = CreateImageFromResx("dollar_pic.png");
e.AutoCorrectInfo = info;
return;
}
if (info.Text[0] == '%') {
string replaceString = CalculateFunction(info.Text);
if (!String.IsNullOrEmpty(replaceString)) {
info.ReplaceWith = replaceString;
e.AutoCorrectInfo = info;
}
return;
}
}
}