Join us Sign in Manchester

Want to stay in touch with what's going on? Follow us on twitter!

Library tutorials & articles

RichTextBox Control
By James Crowley, published on 14 Jul 2001 Comments (28) PDF

Introduction
The RichTextBox is a additional VB component that comes with Visual Basic Professional and Enterprise Edition.
This control allows your program to create formatted text (i.e. bulleted, bold and coloured text) in RTF (Rich Text
Format). This file format can then be read by other programs like WordPad and MS Word. It could be use in two main
ways.

1) You could program your application like a Word Processor, which would give your user much more freedom than
just plain text

2) Use the control in an application where it would be beneficial to the user if you colour certain portions of text. E.G in
a HTML editor, where it makes tags one colour, and text another.

<p>THIS IS TEXT </P>

To add the Rich Text Box control to your project click Project|Components. Check the box next to Microsoft Rich
TextBox Control. Click OK

REQUIRED FILES
If you will be installing a program using the RichTextBox control, you need to distribute the following files:
RichTx32.ocx - 200KB
RichEd32.dll - 171KB

Loading and saving files

You can load and save files in 2 different formats; RTF and Plain Text. To load a file use the following syntax:

RichTextBox1.LoadFile FilePath, Format

Where format is either the constant rtfRTF (Rich Text Format) or rtfText (Plain Text).

RichTextBox1.LoadFile "C:Document1.rtf", rtfRTF

Loads C:Document1.rtf into RichTextBox1 in RTF

To Save a file use the following syntax:

RichTextBox1.SaveFile FilePath, Format

So

RichTextBox1.SaveFile RichTextBox1.Filename, rtfRTF

This saves the current file in RTF. RichTextBox1.Filename stores the current files path.

Formatting text
To make selected text bold, underlined, italic or strikethrough you can use the following code:

Statement Action

RichTextBox1.SelBold = True Makes the selected text Bold

RichTextBox1.SelItalic = True Makes the selected text Italic

RichTextBox1.SelUnderline = True Makes the selected text Underlined

RichTextBox1.SelStrikeThru = True Makes the selected text Strikethrough

To change the alignment, simply use this syntax:

RichTextBox1.SelAlignment = Alignment

Where alignment is one of the following constants:

Constant Alignment

vbRight Right

vbLeft Left

vbCenter Centre

So, the following code will set make the selected text underlined, and aligned to the right.

RichTextBox1.SelAlignment = vbRight
RichTextBox1.SelUnderline = True
If you want to know how to make a toolbar that shows the current underlined/italic/etc state, click here.

Advanced Formatting
Apart from making text bold, underlined, italic or strikethrough you can also use bullets, tab stops and left and right
indents. Of these, tab stops are the most complicated and will be covered in another section. Note: For any of these
examples, set the Scale Mode property on the Form that the text box is contained to Millimetres, or adjust the values
shown in any examples on this page.

Statement Action

RichTextBox1.SelBullet = True Makes the selected text bulleted

RichTextBox1.BulletIndent = 10 Sets the distance between the bullet and the text to 10 (applies to all)

RichTextBox1.RightMargin = 100 Sets the right margin of all the text in the Rich Text Box to 100.

RichTextBox1.SelRightIndent = 100 Sets the right indent of all the selected text in the Rich Text Box to 100 (measured from the
left).

RichTextBox1.SelIndent = 100 Sets the selected text left indent to 100

So, the following code will set make the selected text bulleted, indents by 10 mm and sets the right margin to 100 mm

' Set the forms scale mode

Me.ScaleMode = vbMillimeters
' Set the bullet
RichTextBox1.SelBullet = True
' Set the indent
RichTextBox1.SelIndent = 10
' Set the right margin
RichTextBox1.RightMargin = 100

Tab Stops
Tab Stops allow you to specify the intervals the cursor moves to when you press the tab key. (Try right clicking on the
ruler in word to see an example). The Rich Text Box supports this, but you must note that in order for it to work, the tab
values have to be in order. For this I use a list box. The current tabs are loaded into the list box, and can be removed
or added and when the dialog is closed, the contents of the list box loaded back into the SelTabs property. Note that
the property name is SelTabs, ie that they are not applied to the whole document.

Create a form called frmMain with a rich text box on it called txtText. Then create a form named frmTabStops, and add
the following controls:

Control Type Name Properties

Combo Box cboTabs Style = Simple Combo; Sorted = False

Command Button cmdOK

Command Button cmdAdd

Command Button cmdRemove

I use the following code:

' Form load code

Private Sub Form_Load()
On Error Resume Next
' Add the tab stops
For i = 0 To frmMain.txtText.SelTabCount - 1
' Add the item to the list box
cboTabs.AddItem CInt((frmMain.txtText.SelTabs(i) * 100) / 100#)
Next
cboTabs.ListIndex = 0
End Sub

' Add tab code

Public Sub cmdAdd_Click()
Dim gItemFound As Boolean
gItemFound = False
' Add new value
For i = 0 To cboTabs.ListCount - 1
' Is the current item more than
' new one?
If Val(cboTabs.List(i)) > Val(cboTabs.Text) Then
' Yes it is, add the new
' item here
cboTabs.AddItem cboTabs.Text, i
' select this item
cboTabs.ListIndex = i
' we have put it in
gItemFound = True
Exit For
End If
Next
If gItemFound = False Then
' No item found that is greater
' put the new item at bottom
cboTabs.AddItem cboTabs.Text, cboTabs.ListCount
' select the item
cboTabs.ListIndex = cboTabs.ListCount - 1
End If

End Sub

' Remove tab code

Private Sub cmdRemove_Click()
' Are you sure?
If MsgBox("Remove current tab stop?", vbYesNo + vbExclamation) = vbNo Then Exit Sub
cboTabs.RemoveItem (cboTabs.ListIndex)
End Sub

' OK code
Public Sub cmdOK_Click()
' Update sel tabs
frmMain.txtText.SelTabCount = cboTabs.ListCount
For i = 0 To cboTabs.ListCount - 1
' Add the sel tab
frmMain.txtText.SelTabs(i) = cboTabs.List(i)
Next
Unload Me
End Sub

Printing
It is very easy to print from the RichTextbox. Use the following statement:

fMainForm.ActiveForm.txtText.SelPrint (Printer.hDC)
However, it will send the text to the printer without any margins, so the text will be printed right on the edge of the
sheet. However, it is possible to do this, just with much more code! Click here for more info.

Finding and Replacing

You can find text in the Rich Text box control very easily using the Find Method. The Find Method uses the following
syntax:

RichTextBox1.Find FindString, StartPos, EndPos, Options

FindString is the Text to fine. StartPos is an integer representing the start position. To start from the beginning of the
document this would be set to 0. EndPos is an integer representing the end position. If this is left blank then it is set
the the length of the document. Options contains one or more of the following flags:

Flag Action

rtfNoHighlight Don't highlight selection

rtfWholeWord Only searches for the whole word

rtfMatchCase Matches the case of the FindString

The following code searches RichTextBox1 for the Text contained in Text1. It searched for the whole word only:

Sub Command1_Click()
SearchText = Text1.Text
gOptions = rtfWholeWord
Result = RichTextBox1.Find (SearchText,0, ,gOptions)

If Result = -1 Then
Msgbox "Text not found"
Else
Msgbox "Text Found"
End If
End Sub

Once you have found the text, you can change it using the SelText property. The following code will search the whole of
RTB1 for the text contained in txtFind, and then will replace that text with the text in txtReplace. It uses Match Case and
Whole Word Only.

' Set the options

gOptions = rtfWholeWord + rtfMatchCase
' Set the counter to 0
gCount = 0
Do
If gDoc.Find(txtFind.Text, RTB1.SelStart + RTB1.SelLength, , goptions) = -1 Then
' No more matches
If gCount = 0 Then
' First time round, no matches found
MsgBox "Unable to find '" & txtFind.Text & "' in specified range"
Else
' Matches found
MsgBox "The specified region has been searched. " & gCount & _
" replacements have been made"
End If
cmdFind.Caption = "&Find"
Exit Do
Else
' Increment replace count
gCount = gCount + 1
' Replace the selected text with the replace text
gDoc.SelText = txtReplace.Text
End If
Loop
Inserting files and images
The RichTextBox supports inserting both Images and Files. The following image formats are supported:

Bitmap (*.bmp)
Gif (*.gif)
JPEG (*.jpg)

It also supports

Word Documents (*.doc)

Excel Spreadsheets (*.xls)

Any other file will be displayed as an icon.

The following code shows a dialog to select a file, and then inserts the file into the RichTextBox

Sub Command1_Click()
With CommonDialog1
.CancelError = True
.Filter = "All Files *.*|*.*"
On Error Resume Next
' Show open dialog
.ShowOpen
If Err Then Exit Sub
End With
On Error Resume Next
' Attemt to add OLE Object
RichTextBox1.OLEObjects.Add , , CommonDialog1.Filename
' Check to see if an error has occured
If Err = 462 Then
MsgBox "Error importing file, may be low on memory"
End If
End Sub

Advanced Features
The next few sections discuss more advanced (and hidden!) features of the RichTextBox.

Adding View Modes

The short code below allows you to easily add view modes to your RichTextBox code. This supports:
Default (ercDefault) '// WordWrap
NoWrap (ercWordWrap)
WYSIWYG (ercWYSIWYG) '// What you see is what you get.

To change the WYSIWYG settings (such as page orientation and paper size), simply change the printer properties,
and call SetViewMode again. This will then allow for pages to be set to landscape, or an A5 page. Add this code to a
module

You need Public Const WM_USER = &H400

Public Const EM_SETTARGETDEVICE = (WM_USER + 72)
Public Declare Function SendMessageLong Lib "user32" Alias "SendMessageA" (ByVal hwnd As
Long, ByVal wMsg As Long, ByVal wParam As Long, ByVal lParam As Long) As Long

'// View Types

Public Enum ERECViewModes
ercDefault = 0
ercWordWrap = 1
ercWYSIWYG = 2
End Enum

'// Sets the View Mode

Private Sub SetViewMode(ByVal eViewMode As ERECViewModes)
Select Case eViewMode
Case ercWYSIWYG
On Error Resume Next
SendMessageLong frmMain.rtfText.hWnd, EM_SETTARGETDEVICE, Printer.hDC, Printer.Width
Case ercWordWrap
SendMessageLong frmMain.rtfText.hWnd, EM_SETTARGETDEVICE, 0, 0
Case ercDefault
SendMessageLong frmMain.rtfText.hWnd, EM_SETTARGETDEVICE, 0, 1
End Select
End Sub

This code has been adapted from VB Accelerator's RichEdit control.

Multiple undo/redo
The RichTextBox actually supports multiple undo and redo. However, this functionality is hidden from VB
programmers. In order to be able to use the undo and redo facilities, you need to add the following code.

Add this code to the Form_Load() event of the form that contains the RichTextBox control. We are calling the
RichTextBox rtfText

Dim lStyle As Long

'// required to 'reveal' multiple undo
'// set rich text box style
lStyle = TM_RICHTEXT Or TM_MULTILEVELUNDO Or TM_MULTICODEPAGE
SendMessageLong rtfText.hwnd, EM_SETTEXTMODE, lStyle, 0
Then, add the code below. This code also adds cut/copy/paste/clear functionality, and expects the following menu
items:

Menu Name Caption

mnuEdit &Edit

mnuEditUndo &Undo

mnuEditRedo &Redo

mnuEditCut Cu&t

mnuEditCopy &Copy

mnuEditPaste &Paste

mnuEditClear C&lear

Call the UpdateItems procedure in the mnuEdit_Click() event. This procedure updates the menu items.

Public Property Get UndoType() As ERECUndoTypeConstants

UndoType = SendMessageLong(rtfText.hWnd, EM_GETUNDONAME, 0, 0)
End Property
Public Property Get RedoType() As ERECUndoTypeConstants
RedoType = SendMessageLong(rtfText.hWnd, EM_GETREDONAME, 0, 0)
End Property
Public Property Get CanPaste() As Boolean
CanPaste = SendMessageLong(rtfText.hWnd, EM_CANPASTE, 0, 0)
End Property
Public Property Get CanCopy() As Boolean
If rtfText.SelLength > 0 Then
CanCopy = True
End If
End Property
Public Property Get CanUndo() As Boolean
CanUndo = SendMessageLong(rtfText.hWnd, EM_CANUNDO, 0, 0)
End Property
Public Property Get CanRedo() As Boolean
CanRedo = SendMessageLong(rtfText.hWnd, EM_CANREDO, 0, 0)
End Property

'///////////////////////////////////////////////////////
'// Methods
Public Sub Undo()
SendMessageLong rtfText.hWnd, EM_UNDO, 0, 0
End Sub
Public Sub Redo()
SendMessageLong rtfText.hWnd, EM_REDO, 0, 0
End Sub
Public Sub Cut()
SendMessageLong rtfText.hWnd, WM_CUT, 0, 0
End Sub
Public Sub Copy()
SendMessageLong rtfText.hWnd, WM_COPY, 0, 0
End Sub
Public Sub Paste()
SendMessageLong rtfText.hWnd, WM_PASTE, 0, 0
End Sub
Public Sub Clear()
rtfText.SelText = Empty
End Sub
Public Sub UpdateItems()
Dim bCanUndo As Boolean
'// Undo/Redo options:
bCanUndo = CanUndo
mnuEditUndo.Enabled = bCanUndo
'// Set Undo Text
If (bCanUndo) Then
mnuEditUndo.Caption = "&Undo " & TranslateUndoType(UndoType)
Else
mnuEditUndo.Caption = "&Undo"
End If
'// Set Redo Text
bCanUndo = CanRedo
If (bCanUndo) Then
mnuEditRedo.Caption = "&Redo " & TranslateUndoType(RedoType)
Else
mnuEditRedo.Caption = "&Redo"
End If
mnuEditRedo.Enabled = bCanUndo
tbToolBar.Buttons("Redo").Enabled = bCanUndo
'// Cut/Copy/Paste/Clear options
mnuEditCut.Enabled = CanCopy
mnuEditCopy.Enabled = CanCopy
mnuEditPaste.Enabled = CanPaste
mnuEditClear.Enabled = CanCopy
End Sub
'// Returns the undo/redo type
Private Function TranslateUndoType(ByVal eType As ERECUndoTypeConstants) As String
Select Case eType
 Case ercUID_UNKNOWN
TranslateUndoType = "Last Action"
Case ercUID_TYPING
TranslateUndoType = "Typing"
Case ercUID_PASTE
TranslateUndoType = "Paste"
Case ercUID_DRAGDROP
TranslateUndoType = "Drag Drop"
Case ercUID_DELETE
TranslateUndoType = "Delete"
Case ercUID_CUT
TranslateUndoType = "Cut"
End Select
End Function

Then, add this code to a module

'// View Types

Public Enum ERECViewModes
ercDefault = 0
ercWordWrap = 1
ercWYSIWYG = 2
End Enum
'// Undo Types
Public Enum ERECUndoTypeConstants
ercUID_UNKNOWN = 0
ercUID_TYPING = 1
ercUID_DELETE = 2
ercUID_DRAGDROP = 3
ercUID_CUT = 4
ercUID_PASTE = 5
End Enum
'// Text Modes
Public Enum TextMode
TM_PLAINTEXT = 1
TM_RICHTEXT = 2 ' /* default behavior */
TM_SINGLELEVELUNDO = 4
TM_MULTILEVELUNDO = 8 ' /* default behavior */
TM_SINGLECODEPAGE = 16
TM_MULTICODEPAGE = 32 ' /* default behavior */
End Enum

Public Const WM_COPY = &H301

Public Const WM_CUT = &H300
Public Const WM_PASTE = &H302

Public Const WM_USER = &H400

Public Const EM_SETTEXTMODE = (WM_USER + 89)
Public Const EM_UNDO = &HC7
Public Const EM_REDO = (WM_USER + 84)
Public Const EM_CANPASTE = (WM_USER + 50)
Public Const EM_CANUNDO = &HC6&
Public Const EM_CANREDO = (WM_USER + 85)
Public Const EM_GETUNDONAME = (WM_USER + 86)
Public Const EM_GETREDONAME = (WM_USER + 87)

Public Declare Function SendMessageLong Lib "user32" Alias "SendMessageA" (ByVal hwnd As
Long, ByVal wMsg As Long, ByVal wParam As Long, ByVal lParam As Long) As Long
Public Declare Function SendMessage Lib "user32" Alias "SendMessageA" (ByVal hwnd As Long,
ByVal wMsg As Long, ByVal wParam As Long, ByVal lParam As Any) As Long

And that's it! What you thought is impossible, is actually possible in a few lines of code. Of course, it would have been
much easier if Microsoft had provided these functions for VB programmers anyway. This code has been adapted from
VB Accelerator's RichEdit control.

Automatic URL detection

The code below adds an automatic URL detection facility to the RichTextBox (which again, is actually built into it). The
code uses subclassing, and the SSUBTMR.DLL (only 27K) file so that VB does not crash when you try to debug the
program! The richtextbox is named rtfText, and you need a label called lblStatus.

Private m_bAutoURLDetect As Boolean

'// subclassing implementation
Implements ISubclass
Private m_emr As EMsgResponse

Private Sub rtfText_MouseMove(Button As Integer, Shift As Integer, x As Single, y As

Single)
lblStatus = ""
End Sub

Private Sub Form_Load()

AttachMessages
'// auto detect urls
AutoURLDetect = True
Form_Resize
End Sub
Private Sub Form_Unload(Cancel As Integer)
 '// unsubclass!
DetachMessages
End Sub
Private Sub Form_Resize()
On Error Resume Next
rtfText.Move 0, 0, ScaleWidth, ScaleHeight
End Sub

'///////////////////////////////////////////////////////
'// Subclassing
'// Required for automatic url detection
'///////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Private Sub AttachMessages()

Dim dwMask As Long
AttachMessage Me, hwnd, WM_NOTIFY
'// we need to detect the link over messages
'// by setting enm_link, however, this then
'// cancels any other messages (such as the
'// change event, so we need to specify
'// these too.
' Key And Mouse Events
dwMask = ENM_KEYEVENTS Or ENM_MOUSEEVENTS
' Selection change
dwMask = dwMask Or ENM_SELCHANGE
' Update
dwMask = dwMask Or ENM_DROPFILES
' Scrolling
dwMask = dwMask Or ENM_SCROLL
' Update:
dwMask = dwMask Or ENM_UPDATE
' Change:
dwMask = dwMask Or ENM_CHANGE
dwMask = dwMask Or ENM_LINK
SendMessageLong rtfText.hwnd, EM_SETEVENTMASK, 0, dwMask
End Sub
Private Sub DetachMessages()
DetachMessage Me, hwnd, WM_NOTIFY
End Sub
Private Function ISubclass_WindowProc(ByVal hwnd As Long, ByVal iMsg As Long, ByVal wParam
As Long, ByVal lParam As Long) As Long
Dim tNMH As NMHDR_RICHEDIT
Dim tEN As ENLINK
Select Case iMsg

Case WM_NOTIFY
CopyMemory tNMH, ByVal lParam, Len(tNMH)
If (tNMH.hwndFrom = rtfText.hwnd) Then
Select Case tNMH.code
Case EN_LINK
CopyMemory tEN, ByVal lParam, Len(tEN)
LinkOver tEN.msg, tEN.chrg.cpMin, tEN.chrg.cpMax - tEN.chrg.cpMin
End Select
End If
End Select
End Function
Private Property Let ISubclass_MsgResponse(ByVal RHS As SSubTimer.EMsgResponse)
'// this sub has to exist whether you like it or not
End Property
Private Property Get ISubclass_MsgResponse() As SSubTimer.EMsgResponse
ISubclass_MsgResponse = emrPostProcess
End Property
'///////////////////////////////////////////////////////
'// URL detection
Public Property Let AutoURLDetect(ByVal bState As Boolean)
m_bAutoURLDetect = bState
SendMessageLong rtfText.hwnd, EM_AUTOURLDETECT, Abs(bState), 0
End Property
Public Property Get AutoURLDetect() As Boolean
AutoURLDetect = m_bAutoURLDetect
End Property

'// occurs when the mouse is moved over a link, or it is clicked

Public Sub LinkOver(ByVal iType As ERECLinkEventTypeCOnstants, ByVal lStart As Long, ByVal
lLength As Long)
Dim strText As String
strText = Mid$(rtfText.Text, lStart + 1, lLength + 1)
If (iType = ercLButtonUp) Then
If ShellExecute(hwnd, vbNullString, strText, vbNullString, vbNullString,
vbNormalFocus) = 2 Then
MsgBox "Link Failed", vbExclamation
End If
Else
'lblStatus = "LinkOver: " & strText
End If
End Sub

Then, add this code to a module

Public Type CHARRANGE
cpMin As Long
cpMax As Long
End Type
'// notification structures
Public Type NMHDR_RICHEDIT
hwndFrom As Long
wPad1 As Integer
idfrom As Integer
code As Integer
wPad2 As Integer
End Type

Public Type ENLINK

NMHDR As NMHDR_RICHEDIT
msg As Integer
wPad1 As Integer
wParam As Integer
wPad2 As Integer
lParam As Integer
chrg As CHARRANGE
End Type
'// events and messages
Public Const ENM_LINK = &H4000000
Public Const WM_LBUTTONDOWN = &H201
Public Const WM_LBUTTONUP = &H202
Public Const WM_LBUTTONDBLCLK = &H203
Public Const WM_RBUTTONDOWN = &H204
Public Const WM_RBUTTONUP = &H205
Public Const WM_RBUTTONDBLCLK = &H206
Public Const WM_MBUTTONDOWN = &H207
Public Const WM_MBUTTONUP = &H208
Public Const WM_SETCURSOR = &H20
Public Const WM_MOUSEMOVE = &H200

Public Enum ERECLinkEventTypeCOnstants

ercLButtonDblClick = WM_LBUTTONDBLCLK
ercLButtonDown = WM_LBUTTONDOWN
ercLButtonUp = WM_LBUTTONUP
ercMouseMove = WM_MOUSEMOVE
ercRButtonDblClick = WM_RBUTTONDBLCLK
ercRButtonDown = WM_RBUTTONDOWN
ercRBUttonUp = WM_RBUTTONUP
ercSetCursor = WM_SETCURSOR
End Enum

Public Const WM_USER = &H400

Public Const EM_SETEVENTMASK = (WM_USER + 69)

Public Const WM_NOTIFY = &H4E

Public Const EN_LINK = &H70B&

'// Event Masks

Public Const ENM_NONE = &H0
Public Const ENM_CHANGE = &H1
Public Const ENM_UPDATE = &H2
Public Const ENM_SCROLL = &H4
Public Const ENM_KEYEVENTS = &H10000
Public Const ENM_MOUSEEVENTS = &H20000
Public Const ENM_REQUESTRESIZE = &H40000
Public Const ENM_SELCHANGE = &H80000
Public Const ENM_DROPFILES = &H100000
Public Const ENM_PROTECTED = &H200000
Public Const ENM_CORRECTTEXT = &H400000 ' /* PenWin specific */
Public Const ENM_SCROLLEVENTS = &H8
Public Const ENM_DRAGDROPDONE = &H10

Public Const EM_SETTARGETDEVICE = (WM_USER + 72)

Public Const EM_SETTEXTMODE = (WM_USER + 89)

Public Const EM_AUTOURLDETECT = (WM_USER + 91)

Public Declare Sub CopyMemory Lib "kernel32" Alias "RtlMoveMemory" (lpvDest As Any,
lpvSource As Any, ByVal cbCopy As Long)

Public Declare Function SendMessageLong Lib "user32" Alias "SendMessageA" (ByVal hwnd As
Long, ByVal wMsg As Long, ByVal wParam As Long, ByVal lParam As Long) As Long
Public Declare Function SendMessage Lib "user32" Alias "SendMessageA" (ByVal hwnd As Long,
ByVal wMsg As Long, ByVal wParam As Long, ByVal lParam As Any) As Long
Public Declare Function ShellExecute Lib "shell32.dll" Alias "ShellExecuteA" (ByVal hwnd As
Long, ByVal lpOperation As String, ByVal lpFile As String, ByVal lpParameters As String,
ByVal lpDirectory As String, ByVal nShowCmd As Long) As Long

That's it! This code has been adapted from VB Accelerator's RichEdit control.

Related tags
visual basic
Languages Web Development Frameworks & Architecture Other major sections
C# Programming ASP.NET (Quickstart) .NET Framework .NET Forum
VB.NET PHP Java Developer Jobs
Java JavaScript Patterns Podcasts
C++ CSS Test Driven Development Software books

© 1999-2009 Developer Fusion Ltd Web hosting by UKFast