Access and Customize Rich Text Editor Controls

• Aug 28, 2025
• 6 minutes to read

This topic describes how to access and customize the following controls in XAF applications with the Office Module:

Platform	Control	Purpose
ASP.NET Core Blazor	DxRichEdit	Displays Rich Text documents
WinForms	RichEditControl	Displays Rich Text documents

This topic describes the following tasks:

1. Specify font size, spell checker availability, and paper type (ASP.NET Core Blazor, Windows Forms).
2. Change Toolbar and Ribbon Tab availability (Windows Forms).
3. Specify a Menu Manager for a Detail View (Windows Forms).
4. Change the document storage format (Windows Forms).
5. Specify the editor height in a List View (Windows Forms).

ASP.NET Core Blazor: Access the Rich Text Editor Control

Follow these steps to access the DxRichEditModel component model. A component model defines a Blazor component in code. When you modify the model, the underlying component reflects these changes. For more information about component models, refer to the following topic: Underlying Controls and Components Behind UI Elements (ASP.NET Core Blazor).

1. In the Controllers folder of the YourSolutionName.Blazor.Server project, create a custom ViewController.
2. In the Controller’s OnActivated method, use the CustomizeViewItemControl<T>(DetailView, Controller, Action<T>) extension method to customize the RichTextPropertyEditor.

3. In the event handlers, access the DevExpress.ExpressApp.Office.Blazor.Components.Models.DxRichEditModel component model and do the following:

   • Specify its ViewType property to change a document view layout type (see ViewType).
   • Enable spell checker.
   • Specify the document’s font size.
   • Specify the paper type.

   File:
   YourSolutionName.Blazor.Server\Controllers\BlazorRichEditController.cs

   using DevExpress.Drawing.Printing;
   using DevExpress.ExpressApp;
   using DevExpress.ExpressApp.Office.Blazor.Components.Models;
   using DevExpress.ExpressApp.Office.Blazor.Editors;
   using DevExpress.ExpressApp.Office.Blazor.Editors.Adapters;
   using DevExpress.XtraRichEdit;
   using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components;
   
   namespace dxTestSolution.Blazor.Server.Controllers;
   
   public class BlazorRichEditController : ViewController<DetailView> {
   
       protected override void OnActivated() {
           base.OnActivated();
           View.CustomizeViewItemControl<RichTextPropertyEditor>(this, CustomizeRichTextEditor);
       }
   
       void CustomizeRichTextEditor(RichTextPropertyEditor propertyEditor) {
   
           DxRichEditModel richEditModel = propertyEditor.ComponentModel;
           // Specify the View type.
           richEditModel.ViewType = DevExpress.Blazor.RichEdit.ViewType.Simple;
   
           // Enable spell checker. For more information, refer to the following topic:
           // https://docs.devexpress.com/Blazor/DevExpress.Blazor.RichEdit.SpellCheck.SpellCheckExtensions
           richEditModel.CheckSpelling = true;
           richEditModel.DocumentCulture = "en-US";
   
           if (propertyEditor.PropertyValue == null) {
               var documentLoadedHandler = richEditModel.DocumentLoaded;
               // Specify the document's font size.
               richEditModel.DocumentLoaded = EventCallback.Factory.Create<DevExpress.Blazor.RichEdit.Document>(this, async document => {
                   await documentLoadedHandler.InvokeAsync(document);
                   await document.ChangeDefaultCharacterPropertiesAsync(properties => {
                       properties.FontSize = 22;
                   });
                   // Specify the paper type.
                   foreach (var section in await document.Sections.GetAllAsync()) {
                       await section.ChangePropertiesAsync(properties => {
                           properties.PaperKind = DXPaperKind.A2;
                       });
                   }
               });
           }
           // Set up the document.
           propertyEditor.CustomizeRichEditDocumentServer += CustomizeDocument;
       }
   
       void CustomizeDocument(object sender, CustomizeRichEditDocumentServerEventArgs e) {
           e.RichEditDocumentServer.EmptyDocumentCreated += SetupDocument;
       }
   
       // Specify the document's font size.
       private void SetupDocument(object sender, EventArgs e) {
           RichEditDocumentServer richEditDocumentServer = (RichEditDocumentServer)sender;
           richEditDocumentServer.Document.DefaultCharacterProperties.FontSize = 22;
       }
   }
   

Windows Forms: Access the Rich Text Editor Control

1. In the Controllers folder of the YourSolutionName.Win project, create a custom ViewController.
2. Add two assemblies to project references: DevExpress.SpellChecker.v25.2.dll and DevExpress.XtraSpellChecker.v25.2.dll.

3. Override the OnActivated method and use the CustomizeViewItemControl<T>(DetailView, Controller, Action<T>) extension method. Create and set up the SpellChecker object and pass this object to the SpellChecker property.

   File:
   YourSolutionName.Win\Controllers\WinRichEditController.cs

   using DevExpress.Drawing.Printing;
   using DevExpress.ExpressApp;
   using DevExpress.ExpressApp.Office.Win;
   using DevExpress.XtraRichEdit;
   using DevExpress.XtraSpellChecker;
   
   namespace YourSolutionName.Win;
   
   public partial class WinRichEditController : ViewController<DetailView> {
       protected override void OnActivated() {
           base.OnActivated();
           View.CustomizeViewItemControl<RichTextPropertyEditor>(this, (propertyEditor) => {
               // Specify the View type.
               propertyEditor.RichEditControl.ActiveViewType = RichEditViewType.Simple;
               // Enable spell checker. For more information refer to the following topic:
               // https://docs.devexpress.com/WindowsForms/9889/controls-and-libraries/rich-text-editor/spell-checking
               SpellChecker spellChecker = new SpellChecker();
               spellChecker.SetSpellCheckerOptions(propertyEditor.RichEditControl, new OptionsSpelling());
               spellChecker.SpellCheckMode = SpellCheckMode.AsYouType;
               propertyEditor.RichEditControl.SpellChecker = spellChecker;
               // Setup the document.
               propertyEditor.RichEditControl.EmptyDocumentCreated += SetupDocument;
           });
       }
   
       private void SetupDocument(object sender, EventArgs e) {
           RichEditControl richEditControl = (RichEditControl)sender;
           // Specify the font size.
           richEditControl.Document.DefaultCharacterProperties.FontSize = 22;
           // Specify the paper type.
           foreach (var section in richEditControl.Document.Sections) {
               section.Page.PaperKind = DXPaperKind.A2;
           }
       }
   }
   

Note

The spell checker uses an English dictionary by default. To see how to change the dictionary, refer to the following topic: Dictionaries.

Change Toolbar and Ribbon Tab Availability

The RichTextPropertyEditor menu does not display all available toolbars and ribbon tabs. Use the static RichTextPropertyEditor.DefaultRichEditToolbarType property to customize toolbars. The available toolbars and tabs are listed in the RichEditToolbarType enumeration.

C#

using DevExpress.XtraRichEdit;
using DevExpress.ExpressApp.Office.Win;
// ...
RichTextPropertyEditor.DefaultRichEditToolbarType = 
    RichEditToolbarType.Home | RichEditToolbarType.Insert | RichEditToolbarType.File | 
    RichEditToolbarType.FloatingObject | RichEditToolbarType.Table | RichEditToolbarType.HeaderFooter;

Handle the MenuManagerController.CustomizeRichEditToolbarType event to change toolbar and tab availability for a single editor:

1. Create a View Controller in the Windows Forms application project (YourSolutionName.Win\Controllers).
2. Access the MenuManagerController and subscribe to its CustomizeRichEditToolbarType event in the overridden OnActivated method.

3. In the event handler, specify the CustomizeRichEditToolbarTypeEventArgs.RichEditToolbarType property.

   File:
   YourSolutionName.Win\Controllers\CustomRichEditController.cs

   C#

   using DevExpress.ExpressApp;
   using DevExpress.ExpressApp.Office.Win;
   using DevExpress.XtraRichEdit;
   
   namespace YourSolutionName.Win.Controllers;
   
   public class CustomRichEditController : ViewController {
       protected override void OnActivated() {
           base.OnActivated();
           MenuManagerController controller = Frame.GetController<MenuManagerController>();
           if (controller != null) {
               controller.CustomizeRichEditToolbarType += Controller_CustomizeRichEditToolbarType;
           }
       }
       private void Controller_CustomizeRichEditToolbarType(object sender, CustomizeRichEditToolbarTypeEventArgs e) {
           e.RichEditToolbarType = 
               RichEditToolbarType.Home | RichEditToolbarType.Insert | RichEditToolbarType.File | 
               RichEditToolbarType.FloatingObject | RichEditToolbarType.Table | RichEditToolbarType.HeaderFooter;
       }
   }
   

You can also use the Toolbar Customization menu at runtime. The result is saved to the user’s model differences.

Customize Ribbon Categories and Items

Handle the CustomizeRibbonControl event to customize the ribbon. Use the event argument’s RibbonControl property to access ribbon settings.

using DevExpress.ExpressApp;
using DevExpress.ExpressApp.Office.Win;
using DevExpress.XtraRichEdit;

namespace YourSolutionName.Win.Controllers;
public class CustomRichEditController : ViewController {
    protected override void OnActivated() {
        base.OnActivated();
        MenuManagerController controller = Frame.GetController<MenuManagerController>();
        if (controller != null) {
            controller.CustomizeRibbonControl += Controller_CustomizeRibbonControl;
        }
    }
        private void Controller_CustomizeRibbonControl(object sender, CustomizeRibbonControlEventArgs e) {
            BarButtonItem customButton = e.RibbonControl.Items.CreateButton("Test");
            MenuManagerController menuManagerController = (MenuManagerController)sender;
            var defaultCategory = menuManagerController.RibbonObjectsContainer.RichRibbonCategories.FirstOrDefault(t => t.Text == "RichText");
            defaultCategory.Pages[0].Groups[0].ItemLinks.Add(customButton);
        }
}

Use Model Editor to Customize Rich Text Editors

This section demonstrates how to use the Model Editor to customize the Rich Text Property Editor in a Windows Forms or ASP.NET Web Forms project.

Specify MenuManagerType for a Detail View

The RichTextPropertyEditor menu manager can display a Ribbon Control or Bars.

Navigate to the Views | <DetailView> | Items | <PropertyEditor> node and set the editor’s MenuManagerType:

Change the Document Storage Format

Set the BOModel | <Class> | OwnMembers | <Member> node’s DocumentStorageFormat property to the desired format (RTF or HTML) for string properties.

You can use a byte array property to save documents in the DOCX format or a string property to store documents in the RTF and HTML formats.

Specify the Editor Height (Embedded Cell Viewer/Editor)

In WinForms applications, the Rich Text Editor’s height is fixed and equal to the height of a single-line editor.

To change the editor’s height, set the IModelRichTextColumn.CustomHeight property in the Views | <ListView> | Columns | <Column> node.

Set the CustomHeight property to -1 to allow the grid control to automatically calculate the row height based on the Rich Text Editor’s content in WinForms.