Develop Reference

Why is TextDecorationCollection always empty in WPF RichTextBox?

I've seen some questions address this problem domain and the unnecessary complexity of handling underlines (mainly applying them, but I want to detect them), but none that I can recall suggesting as I am here that the default strategies for accomplishing this create illogical false negatives. Furthermore, most of the previous questions I've referred to have used a different control (e.g. TextBlock) and/or have obselete syntax.
The problem
(.NET Core 3.1) I would simply like to programatically detect if a WPF RichTextBox selection contains any TextDecorations, but debugging shows that the TextDecorationCollection is always empty, even when the selection is all underlined.
As you can see, TextDecorationCollection returns empty even when examining a fully underlined Inline (Run)
For context, this screenshot just shows the plain text representation of the FlowDocument
What I've tried
1
TextRange myrange = new TextRange(MainRtb.Selection.Start, MainRtb.Selection.End);
if (myrange.GetPropertyValue(Inline.TextDecorationsProperty).Equals(TextDecorations.Underline)) { }
2
TextRange myrange = new TextRange(MainRtb.Selection.Start, MainRtb.Selection.End);
var obj = myrange.GetPropertyValue(Inline.TextDecorationsProperty);
if (obj == DependencyProperty.UnsetValue) {
log.addLog("mix format");
}
if (obj is TextDecorationCollection) {
var objProper = obj as TextDecorationCollection;
if (objProper.Count > 0) {
log.addLog("all underlined");
} else {
log.addLog("none underlined");
}
}
3
foreach (Block block in MainRtb.Document.Blocks) {
Paragraph p = block as Paragraph;
if (p != null) {
foreach (Inline inline in p.Inlines) {
InlineUIContainer iuic = inline as InlineUIContainer;
if (iuic != null) {
Console.WriteLine("found underline");
}
}
}
}
Theory
This post https://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/vstudio/en-US/3ac626cf-60aa-427f-80e9-794f3775a70e/how-to-tell-if-richtextbox-selection-is-underlined?forum=wpf suggests that
myrange.GetPropertyValue(Inline.TextDecorationsProperty)
doesn't work properly due to an issue inside the "GetPropertyValue()" method, but it's a very old post. I couldn't run Jim's solution exactly because he initialises an "IEnumerable" which now needs to be declared with a type of some kind - at least that's what VS2019 said.
Test Rtf File:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YQmGsPcH4hX2XsP7KBdFqTFg4XjrSv8I/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=111968029811979231347&rtpof=true&sd=true

Try the following method:
public static void GetDecorations(RichTextBox rtb)
{
TextDecorationCollection decors = rtb.Selection.GetPropertyValue(Inline.TextDecorationsProperty) as TextDecorationCollection;
if (decors == null || decors.Count == 0)
{
if (rtb.Selection.Start.Parent is Run run)
{
if (run.Parent is Span span)
{
decors = span.TextDecorations;
}
else if (run.Parent is Paragraph para)
{
decors = para.TextDecorations;
}
}
}
if (decors is TextDecorationCollection tdc)
{
// TODO: Processing decorations...
}
}
I suppose the problem you are discovered is related to the particular structure of the FlowDocument after loading your RTF document and it might be described as follow.
When the RTF document is loaded for the underlined text tBox. See TextPointer for more information on text position terminology like "insertion position" a Run inline is created for this text, but the Run.TextDecorations property doesn't contain the actual decorations for this text. Instead of that the decorations settings are stored in the parent Span object that contains this Run. In another words, these decorations property is inherited from parent to child.
Therefore, if no decorations property is set on the current Run object, then you should to check the TextDecorations property in the parent object.

Bring a control to front

I have a user control that uses a textbox and a list box. List box isn't visible, it only becomes visible when user starts typing or click in text box.
I have added the user control to a group box which is on the form.
Now when the listox becomes visible, it stays inside the group box, and can't see the full height. I wan't it float on top so that i can see the full height.
I have looked around, implemented some solutions but nothing worked for me.
Constructor for the user control
namespace YarCustomControl
{
public partial class YarCustom : TextBox
{
public YarCustom()
{
InitializeComponent();
_code = "";
_id = -1;
//list box handling
listBox = new ListBox();
listBox.Visible = false;
listBox.Font = this.Font;
listBox.Location = this.Location;
listBox.BorderStyle = BorderStyle.Fixed3D;
listBox.Resize += new EventHandler(listBox_Resize);
//listBox.SelectedValueChanged += new EventHandler(listBox_SelectedValueChanged);
listBox.KeyDown += new KeyEventHandler(listBox_KeyDown);
listBox.Click += new EventHandler(listBox_Click);
//test => no affect on listbox
this.Controls.Add(listBox);
listBox.Visible = false;
}
}
}
and the following method makes the listbox visible. Both SetchildIndex (commented and not commented) throw an error
private void makeListBoxVisible()
{
Form parentForm = (this.FindForm() as Form);
//parentForm.Controls.SetChildIndex(listBox, 0);
this.Controls.SetChildIndex(listBox, 0);
listBox.Visible = true;
listBox.BringToFront();
}
What is the best approach for handling something like this?
My environment is VS2010 and WinForms.

Now when the listox becomes visible, it stays inside the group box,
and can't see the full height. I wan't it float on top so that i can
see the full height.
Simply put it directly on the Form.

How to restore Caret position or Change color of text without making a selection in RichTextBox

This has been an issue with many of my applications and I don't know why Windows doesn't have an elegant solution for this.
I am working with Winforms in .Net 4.5 in VS2013
For example, I would like to change the color of one line of text in a multiline RichTextBox.
For this I am required to set the selection using something like
rtb.Select(rtb.GetFirstCharIndexFromLine(r), str.Length);
Then, I would set the color using
rtb.SelectionColor = Color.Red;
And presumably, cancel the selection with
rtb.DeselectAll();
Now the problem is the cursor/caret has moved back to the beginning of the line,
I try to fix it by saving the previous Caret Position,
rtb.CaretPosition
However, CaretPosition is not a method of RichTextBox, and everywhere online this is the primary method everyone uses.
I tried adding PresentationFramework to my References and to my code I added
using System.Windows.Framework;
As suggested here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.windows.controls.richtextbox.caretposition(v=vs.110).aspx
but I still do not see the CaretPosition property, only the ScrollToCaret() method.
My 2 questions are:
How do I get the CaretPosition property in my RichTextBox?
How can I change the text color without using selections and affecting the caret position, having to write complex logic to restore it for the user.
My application checks serial numbers, one per line, and highlights them red if they do not match the format, as shown below.
private void rtb_TextChanged(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
string pattern = #"[A-Z]{2}[A-Z, 0-9]{2}\d{4}";
Regex rgx = new Regex(pattern, RegexOptions.IgnoreCase);
TextReader read = new System.IO.StringReader(rtb.Text);
SerialNumbers.Clear();
int selectStart = 0;
for (int r = 0; r < rtb.Lines.Length; r++)
{
string str = read.ReadLine();
if (str != null)
{
selectStart += str.Length;
MatchCollection matches = rgx.Matches(str);
if (matches.Count == 1)
{
SerialNumbers.Add(str);
}
else
{
rtb.Select(rtb.GetFirstCharIndexFromLine(r), str.Length);
rtb.SelectionColor = Color.Red;
rtb.DeselectAll();
}
}
}
}

You should be using SelectionCaret (as #Mangist mentioned in a comment) because you're using WinForms and not WPF. The MSDN article you referenced only applies to WPF, which is very different from WinForms.
As an example, I use the following to easily log to a rich text box from anywhere in a WinForms app:
public static void Log(string text, ref RichTextBox rtbLogBox) {
//
if (text == null) return;
var timestamp = DateTime.Now.ToLongTimeString();
var logtext = string.Format("{0} - {1}\r\n\r\n", timestamp, text);
if (rtbLogBox.InvokeRequired) {
var logBox = rtbLogBox;
logBox.Invoke(new MethodInvoker(delegate {
logBox.AppendText(logtext);
logBox.Update();
logBox.SelectionStart = logBox.Text.Length;
logBox.ScrollToCaret();
}));
} else {
rtbLogBox.AppendText(logtext);
rtbLogBox.Update();
rtbLogBox.SelectionStart = rtbLogBox.Text.Length;
rtbLogBox.ScrollToCaret();
}
}
Notice how the ScrollToCaret() is called after setting SelectionStart to the length of text in the rich text box. This solves the 'issue' of AppendText not scrolling to the bottom after adding text.
In your case you will simply want to save the SelectionStart value before you format your text with the highlighting, and then restore it once you've finished.

Fixed it by saving SelectionStart position
int selectionStart = SNbox.SelectionStart;
SNbox.Select(SNbox.GetFirstCharIndexFromLine(r), str.Length);
SNbox.SelectionColor = Color.Red;
SNbox.DeselectAll();
SNbox.SelectionStart = selectionStart;
SNbox.SelectionLength = 0;

Does AvalonEdit :TextEditor have quick search/replace functionality?

I use AvalonEdit:TextEditor. Can i enable quick search dialog (on Ctrl-F for example) for this control? Or maybe someone has code for search words into AvalonEdit:TextEditor text?

There isn't much documentation about it, but AvalonEdit does have a built in SearchPanel class that sounds exactly like what you want. There is even a SearchInputHandler class that makes it trivial to get it hooked up to your editor, responding to keyboard shortcuts, etc. Here is some sample code that attached the standard search logic to an editor:
myEditor.TextArea.DefaultInputHandler.NestedInputHandlers.Add(new SearchInputHandler(myEditor.TextArea));
Here is a screenshot of what it will look like (this is taken from ILSpy which uses AvalonEdit). You can see the search control in the top right, the search options it supports, and the automatic highlighting it does of matching results.
There isn't any support for replace...but if you just need searching, this can be a great solution.

For Avalon Edit Version 5.0.1.0 and up, just do this:
SearchPanel.Install(XTBAvalonEditor);
Where XTBAvalonEditor is the WPF AvalonEdit control name.
Make sure to add this using statement:
using ICSharpCode.AvalonEdit.Search;
Then when the editor has focus, press CTL-F: You'll see the find control pop up in upper right hand corner.

In the TextEditor constructor in the ICSharpCode.AvalonEdit project, add SearchPanel.Install(this.TextArea); and voila, using ctrl+f opens the search window.
(using the line from Stephen McDaniel's post (replace myEditor with this) also works, but the support for SearchInputHandler is being removed)
(works well with AvalonEdit inside AvalonDock with MVVM)
From:
public TextEditor() : this(new TextArea())
{
}
To:
public TextEditor() : this(new TextArea())
{
SearchPanel.Install(this.TextArea);
}

The last time I checked it was a "No". You will have to implement your own search/replace functionality.
http://community.icsharpcode.net/forums/p/11536/31542.aspx#31542
You can quickly add find/replace from here - http://www.codeproject.com/Articles/173509/A-Universal-WPF-Find-Replace-Dialog

ICSharpCode.AvalonEdit 4.3.1.9429
Search and highlight item.
private int lastUsedIndex = 0;
public void Find(string searchQuery)
{
if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(searchQuery))
{
lastUsedIndex = 0;
return;
}
string editorText = this.textEditor.Text;
if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(editorText))
{
lastUsedIndex = 0;
return;
}
if (lastUsedIndex >= searchQuery.Count())
{
lastUsedIndex = 0;
}
int nIndex = editorText.IndexOf(searchQuery, lastUsedIndex);
if (nIndex != -1)
{
var area = this.textEditor.TextArea;
this.textEditor.Select(nIndex, searchQuery.Length);
lastUsedIndex=nIndex+searchQuery.Length;
}
else
{
lastUsedIndex=0;
}
}
Replace operation:
public void Replace(string s, string replacement, bool selectedonly)
{
int nIndex = -1;
if(selectedonly)
{
nIndex = textEditor.Text.IndexOf(s, this.textEditor.SelectionStart, this.textEditor.SelectionLength);
}
else
{
nIndex = textEditor.Text.IndexOf(s);
}
if (nIndex != -1)
{
this.textEditor.Document.Replace(nIndex, s.Length, replacement);
this.textEditor.Select(nIndex, replacement.Length);
}
else
{
lastSearchIndex = 0;
MessageBox.Show(Locale.ReplaceEndReached);
}
}

In my case, I couldn't find the Search.Install(...) method so I used the below code to add the search functionality.
textEditor.TextArea.DefaultInputHandler.NestedInputHandlers.Add(new SearchInputHandler(textEditor.TextArea));
The search box can be activated by pressing Ctrl + F on your keyboard.

Why can't I leave a TextBox using tab?

I have this code:
public static void AddDefaultTextFromTag(params TextBox[] textBoxes)
{
foreach (TextBox oTextBox in textBoxes)
{
bool isPasswordChar = oTextBox.UseSystemPasswordChar;
oTextBox.Enter += (sndr, evnt) =>
{
if (((TextBox)sndr).Text == ((TextBox)sndr).Tag.ToString())
{
((TextBox)sndr).Text = "";
((TextBox)sndr).UseSystemPasswordChar = isPasswordChar;
((TextBox)sndr).ForeColor = SystemColors.WindowText;
}
};
oTextBox.Leave += (sndr, evnt) =>
{
if (((TextBox)sndr).Text.Trim().Count() == 0)
{
((TextBox)sndr).UseSystemPasswordChar = false;
((TextBox)sndr).CharacterCasing = CharacterCasing.Normal;
((TextBox)sndr).Text = ((TextBox)sndr).Tag.ToString();
((TextBox)sndr).ForeColor = SystemColors.GrayText;
}
};
if (oTextBox.Text.Trim().Count() == 0)
{
oTextBox.UseSystemPasswordChar = false;
oTextBox.CharacterCasing = CharacterCasing.Normal;
oTextBox.Text = oTextBox.Tag.ToString();
oTextBox.ForeColor = SystemColors.GrayText;
}
}
}
But when the TextBox.UseSystemPasswordChar I input in this method's parameter is true and it's TextBox.Text property is empty, the TextBox can't leave using a Tab button on the keyboard, only a MouseClick can be used to lose the focus of that TextBox.
Why is this happening?
My code is in C#, framework 4, build in VS2010 Pro, project is in WinForms.
I use a TextBox from the VS ToolBox.
Please help. Thanks in advance.

The reason you can't leave the textbox is because you are changing the CharacterCasing property in the textbox.
Not sure why it works like this, but it has happened to me before, what I ended up doing was capture the keypress event, and if it was a letter I'd switch it to it's uppercase value. It's not optimal, but it works
I did something similar to this (writing it from the top of my head, but it should work):
void YourTextbox_KeyPress(object sender, KeyPressEventArgs e)
{
if (char.IsLetter(e.KeyChar))
{
if (this.CharacterCasing == CharacterCasing.Upper && char.IsLower(e.KeyChar))
{
this.Text = this.Text.Insert(this.SelectionStart, char.ToUpper(e.KeyChar) + string.Empty);
this.SelectionStart++;
e.Handled = true;
}
else if (this.CharacterCasing == System.Windows.Forms.CharacterCasing.Lower && char.IsUpper(e.KeyChar))
{
this.Text = this.Text.Insert(this.SelectionStart, char.ToLower(e.KeyChar) + string.Empty);
this.SelectionStart++;
e.Handled = true;
}
}
}
You also should use the new keyword to "override" (I know that's not the right term here) the Character casing, so it doesn't do it's own thing
public new CharacterCasing CharacterCasing { get; set; }
The code basically checks if the pressed key is a letter, then, if it's marked as Upper, and the char is lower, replaces it with it's upper version (in the position of the cursor) then moves the cursor to the next part, and Viceversa (toLower)
NOTE:
This code will have may (should) have some trouble if the user has more than one character selected (SelectionLenght > 0), if you want to keep the normal Textbox functionality, you should delete all the selected characters

So I set up a WinForms app, drew two textboxes, set one to UseSystemPasswordChar=true then set it up like so:
private void Form1_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
textBox2.Tag = "test2";
textBox1.Tag = "test1";
TextBox[] tb = { textBox1, textBox2 };
AddDefaultTextFromTag(tb);
}
Your function works fine and I have no problems tabbing through the controls on the form no matter what the textboxes contain. (added a button also that does nothing for tabbing test) so... no repro unless my test setup is not valid

What I found in the answer of this post was the solution for me. Instead of setting UseSystemPasswordChar to true and then to false, you can set PasswordChar to '●' and then to '\0' to have normal text. You should not set the UseSystemPasswordChar because it has precedence over PasswordChar.