Shapouri & Associates

RTFEdit ActiveX

32 Bit OCX Control

Technical Document

Version 3.0 Designed & Developed by : Shahram Shapouri

For technical support please contact : Shahram Shapouri Rich Text Box is an ActiveX control by Microsoft (c) corporation.

Events

Methods

Properties

SelBold, SelItalic, SelStrikethru, SelUnderline Properties

SelFontName , SelFontSize Property

SelLength, SelStart, SelText Properties

Click Event

Occurs when the user presses and then releases a mouse button over editor's area.

Example :
Private Sub RTFEdit1_Click()
MsgBox "Click event"
End Sub

MouseDown, MouseUp Events

Occur when the user presses (MouseDown) or releases (MouseUp) a mouse button.

Example :
Private Sub RTFEdit1_MouseUp (Button As Integer, Shift As Integer, X As Single, Y As Single)
MsgBox "Mouse Up"
End Sub

MouseMove Event

Occurs when the user moves the mouse.

Example :
Private Sub RTFEdit1_MouseMove (Button As Integer, Shift As Integer, X As Single, Y As Single)
MsgBox "Mouse Move"
End Sub

DblClick Event

Occurs when the user presses and releases a mouse button and then presses and releases it again over an object.

Example :
Private Sub RTFEdit1_DblClick()
MsgBox "Double Click event"
End Sub

KeyDown, KeyUp Events

Occur when the user presses (KeyDown) or releases (KeyUp) a key while an object has the focus. (To interpret ANSI characters, use the KeyPress event.)

Example :
Private Sub RTFEdit1_KeyDown (KeyCode As Integer, Shift As Integer)
MsgBox KeyCode & " Pressed"
End Sub

KeyPress Event

Occurs when the user presses and releases an ANSI key.

Example :
Private Sub RTFEdit1_KeyPress (KeyCode As Integer, Shift As Integer)
MsgBox KeyCode & " Pressed"
End Sub

SelChange Event

Occurs when the current selection of text in the RTFEdit control has changed or the insertion point has moved.
You can use the SelChange event to check the various properties that give information about the current selection (such as SelBold).

Example :
Private Sub RTFEdit1_SelChange()
        If RTFEit1.SelBold Then
                MsgBox "The Current Style is BOLD"
        End If
End Sub

SaveFile Method

Saves the contents of a RTFEdit control to a file.

Syntax :
object.SaveFile(pathname, filetype)

The SaveFile method syntax has these parts:

object Required. An object expression that evaluates to a RTFEdit control.
pathname Required. A string expression defining the path and filename of the file to receive the contents of the control.
filetype Optional. An integer or constant that specifies the type of file loaded, as described in Settings.

Settings :
The settings for filetype are:

Constant	Value	Description
rtfRTF	0 (Default) RTF.	The RTFEdit control saves its contents as an .RTF file.
rtfText	1 Text.	The RTFEdit control saves its contents as a text file.

Example :
This example displays a dialog box to choose an .RTF file to which you will save the contents of a RTFEdit control. To try this example, put a RTFEdit control, a CommandButton control, and a CommonDialog control on a form. Paste this code into the Click event of the CommandButton control. Then run the example.

Private Sub Command1_Click()
CommonDialog1.ShowSave
RTFEdit1.SaveFile CommonDialog1.Filename, rtfRTF
End Sub

SelPrint Method

Sends formatted text in a RTFEdit control to a device for printing.

Syntax :
Object.SelPrint(hdc)

The SelPrint method syntax has these parts:

Part Description

object An object expression that evaluates to a RTFEdit control.

hdc The device context of the device you plan to use to print the contents of the control.

Remarks :
If text is selected in the RTFEdit control, the SelPrint method sends only the selected text to the target device. If no text is selected, the entire contents of the RTFEdit are sent to the target device.
The SelPrint method does not print text from the RTFEdit control. Rather, it sends a copy of formatted text to a device which can print the text. For example, you can send the text to the Printer object using code as follows:

RTFEdit1.SelPrint(Printer.hDC)

Notice that the hDC property of the Printer object is used to specify the device context argument of the SelPrint method.
Note If you use the Printer object as the destination of the text from the RTFEdit control, you must first initialize the device context of the Printer object by printing something like a zero-length string.

Example :
This example prints the formatted text in a RTFEdit control. To try this example, put a RTFEdit control, a CommonDialog control, and a CommandButton control on a form. Paste this code into the Click event of the CommandButton control. Then run the example.

Private Sub Command1_Click()
        CommonDialog1.Flags = cdlPDReturnDC + cdlPDNoPageNums
        If RTFEdit1.SelLength = 0 Then
                CommonDialog1.Flags = CommonDialog1.Flags + cdlPDAllPages
        Else
                CommonDialog1.Flags = CommonDialog1.Flags + cdlPDSelection
        End If
        CommonDialog1.ShowPrinter
        Printer.Print ""
        RTFEdit1.SelPrint CommonDialog1.hDC
End Sub

EnableButton Method

Enable or Disable a RTFEdit toolbar button.

Syntax :
RTFEdit.EnableButton IndexOfButton , StatusOfButton

Remarks :
Buttons numberd from 1 to 14. The font and fontsize combo boxes on the toolbar has same index of 14.

Example :
Private Sub Form_Load()
RTFEdit1.EnabledButton 1 , False 'This will disable the color selection button
End Sub

ContextMenu Method

It causes to show or hide the RTFEdit context menu. (Popupmenu)

Syntax :
RTFEdit.ContextMenu StatusOfMenu

Example :
Private Sub Form_Load()
RTFEdit1.ContextMenu False 'This will disable the context menu
End Sub

ShowToolbar

It causes to show or hide the RTFEdit toolbar and margin bars. (Ruler)

Syntax :
RTFEdit.ShowToolbar StatusOfToolbar

Example :
Private Sub Form_Load()
RTFEdit1.ShowToolbar False 'Make toolbar and margin bars invisible
End Sub

LoadFile Method

Loads an .RTF file or text file into a RTFEdit control.

Syntax :
object.LoadFile pathname, filetype

The LoadFile method syntax has these parts:

Part Description

object Required. An object expression that evaluates to a RTFEdit Control.

pathname Required. A string expression defining the path and filename of the file to load into the control.

filetype Optional. An integer or constant that specifies the type of file loaded, as described in Settings.

Settings :
The settings for filetype are:

Constant Value Description

rtfRTF 0 (Default) RTF. The file loaded must be a valid .RTF file.

rtfText 1 Text. The RTFEdit control loads any text file.

Remarks :
When loading a file with the LoadFile method, the contents of the loaded file replaces the entire contents of the RTFEdit control. This will cause the values of the Text and RTFText properties to change.

Example :
This example displays a dialog box to choose an .RTF file, then loads that file into a RTFEdit control. To try this example, put a RTFEdit control, a CommandButton control, and a CommonDialog control on a form. Paste this code into the General Declarations section of the form. Then run the example.

Private Sub Command1_Click()
        CommonDialog1.Filter = "Rich Text Format files|*.rtf"
        CommonDialog1.ShowOpen
        RTFEdit1.LoadFile CommonDialog1.Filename, rtfRTF
End Sub

VisibleButton Method

Making a RTFEdit toolbar button Visible or Invisible.

Syntax :
RTFEdit.VisibleButton IndexOfButton , StatusOfButton

Remarks :
Buttons numberd from 1 to 14. The font and fontsize combo boxes on the toolbar has same index of 14.

Example :
Private Sub Form_Load()
RTFEdit1.VisibleButton 1 , False 'This will make the color selection button invisible.
End Sub

BackColor Property

Returns or sets the background color of RTFEdit control.

Syntax :
RTFEdit.BackColo [= VBColor]

SelAlignment Property

Returns or sets a value that controls the alignment of the paragraphs in a RTFEdit control. Not available at design time.

Settings :
The settings for value are:

Constant Value Description

Null Neither. The current selection spans more than one paragraph with different alignments.

rtfLeft 0 (Default) Left. The paragraph is aligned along the left margin.

rtfRight 1 Right. The paragraph is aligned along the right margin.

rtfCenter 2 Center. The paragraph is centered between the left and right margins.

Remarks :
The SelAlignment property determines paragraph alignment for all paragraphs that have text in the current selection or for the paragraph containing the insertion point if no text is selected.
To distinguish between the values of Null and 0 when reading this property at run time, use the IsNull function with the If...Then...Else statement. For example:

If IsNull(RTFEdit1.SelAlignment) = True Then
' Code to run when selection is mixed.
ElseIf RTFEdit1.SelAlignment = 0 Then
' Code to run when selection is left aligned.
End If

Example :
This example uses an array of OptionButton controls to change the paragraph alignment of selected text in a RTFEdit control, but only if text is selected. The indices of the controls in the array correspond to settings for the SelAlignment property. To try this example, put a RTFEdit control and three OptionButton controls on a form. Give all three of the OptionButton controls the same name and set their Index property to 0, 1, and 2. Paste this code into the Click event of the OptionButton control. Then run the example.

Private Sub Option1_Click(Index As Integer)
        If RTFEdit1.SelLength > 0 Then
                RTFEdit1.SelAlignment = Index
        End If
End Sub

SelBold, SelItalic, SelStrikethru, SelUnderline Properties

Return or set font styles of the currently selected text in a RTFEdit control. The font styles include the following formats: Bold, Italic, Strikethru, and Underline. Not available at design time.

Syntax :
RTFEdit.SelBold [= value]
RTFEdit.SelItalic [= value]
RTFEdit.SelStrikethru [= value]
RTFEdit.SelUnderline [= value]
[Value] is a Boolean expression or constant that determines the font style.

Example :
Private Sub Command1_Click()
RTFEdit1.SelBold = True
End Sub

SelBullet Property

Returns or sets a value that determines if a paragraph in the RTFEdit control containing the current selection or insertion point has the bullet style. Not available at design time.

Syntax :
RTFEdit.SelBullet [= value]
[Value] is a Boolean expression or constant that determines the font style.

Example :
Private Sub Command1_Click()
RTFEdit1.SelBullet = True
End Sub

SelColor Property

Returns or sets a value that determines the color of text in the RTFEdit control. Not available at design time.

Syntax :
RTFEdit.SelColor = [Color]
[Color] Is a value that specifies a color.

Example :
Private Sub Command1_Click()
RTFEdit1.SelColor = VbRed
End Sub

SelFontName , SelFontSize Property

Returns or sets the font and fontsize used to display the currently selected text or the character(s) immediately following the insertion point in the RTFEdit control. Not available at design time.

Syntax :
RTFEdit.SelFontName = [String]
RTFEdit.SelFontSize = [Value]
[String] Is a windows installed font name.
[Value] Is font size in points.

Example :
Private Sub Command1_Click()
RTFEdit1.SelFontName = "Arial"
RTFEdit1.SelFontSize = 22
End Sub

SelLength, SelStart, SelText Properties

SelLength  returns or sets the number of characters selected.
SelStart  returns or sets the starting point of text selected; indicates the position of the insertion point if no text is selected.
SelText  returns or sets the string containing the currently selected text; consists of a zero-length string ("") if no characters are selected.

These properties aren't available at design time.
Syntax
object.SelLength [= number]
object.SelStart [= index]
object.SelText [= value]

The SelLength, SelStart, and SelText property syntaxes have these parts:

Part	Description
object	An object expression that evaluates to a RTFEdit control.
number	A numeric expression specifying the number of characters selected. For SelLength and SelStart, the valid range of settings is 0 to text length --- the total number of characters in the edit area RTFEdit control.
index	A numeric expression specifying the starting point of the selected text, as described in Settings.
value	A string expression containing the selected text.

Remarks :
Use these properties for tasks such as setting the insertion point, establishing an insertion range, selecting substrings in a control, or clearing text. Used in conjunction with the Clipboard object, these properties are useful for copy, cut, and paste operations.
When working with these properties:

Setting SelLength less than 0 causes a run-time error.
Setting SelStart greater than the text length sets the property to the existing text length; changing SelStart changes the selection to an insertion point and sets SelLength to 0.
Setting SelText to a new value sets SelLength to 0 and replaces the selected text with the new string.

Example :
This example enables the user to specify some text to search for and then searches for the text and selects it, if found. To try this example, paste the code into the Declarations section of a form that contains a wide TextBox control, and then press F5 and click the form.

Private Sub Form_Load ()
RTFEdit1.Text = "This is a sample text for using with RTFEdit ActiveX control"
End Sub

Private Sub Form_Click ()
Dim Search, Where ' Declare variables.
' Get search string from user.
Search = InputBox("Enter text to be found:")
Where = InStr(RTFEdit1.Text, Search) ' Find string in text.
        If Where Then ' If found,
                RTFEdit1.SelStart = Where - 1 ' set selection start and
                RTFEdit1.SelLength = Len(Search) ' set selection length.
        Else
                MsgBox "String not found." ' Notify user.
        End If
End Sub

SelRTF Property

Returns or sets the text (in .RTF format) in the current selection of a RTFEdit control. Not available at design time.

Syntax :
object.SelRTF [= string]

Remarks :
Setting the SelRTF property replaces any selected text in the RTFEdit control with the new string. This property returns a zero-length string ("") if no text is selected in the control.
You can use the SelRTF property along with the Print function to write .RTF files.

Example :
This example saves the highlighted contents of a RTFEdit control to an .RTF file. To try this example, put a RTFEdit control and a CommandButton control on a form. Paste this code into the Click event of the CommandButton control. Then run the example.

Private Sub Command1_Click ()
        Open "mytext.rtf" For Output As 1
        Print #1, RTFEdit1.SelRTF
        Close 1
End Sub

Text Property

Returns or sets the text contained in an object.

Syntax :
object.Text [= string]

ToolTipText Property

Returns or sets a ToolTip.

Syntax :
object.ToolTipText [= string]

DataSource Property

Sets a value that specifies the Data control through which the current RTFEdit control is bound to a database. Not available at run time.

Remarks:
To bind a RTFEdit control to a field in a database at run time, you must specify a Data control in the DataSource property at design time using the Properties window.
To complete the connection with a field in the Recordset managed by the Data control, you must also provide the name of a Field object in the DataField property. Unlike the DataField property, the DataSource property setting isn't available at run time.

DataField Property

Returns or sets a value that binds a control to a field in the current record

Syntax:
object.DataField [= value]

The DataField property syntax has these parts:

Part Description

object An object expression that evaluates to a RTFEdit control.

value A string expression that evaluates to the name of one of the fields in the Recordset object specified by a Data control's RecordSource and DatabaseName properties.

This document containing articales from Microsoft's 'Rich Text Box' help file. Copyright Micosoft Corporation.