Components
When you plan a Windows Forms application with TX Text Control, you choose from two kinds of components: controls that users see and work with, and components that process documents in code. Each has a page of its own with what it does, how you set it up and the members you use first, so you can decide which ones your application needs.
All of them work with the same document engine. A template a user designs in the editor is the document MailMerge fills, and a document ServerTextControl creates in the background looks the same when the editor shows it.
The Components at a Glance
| Component | What it does | Kind |
|---|---|---|
| TextControl | The word processing control in which users edit, format and print documents | Control on a form |
| Ribbon, Toolbars, Rulers, and Status Bar | The command interface around the editor: a ribbon with predefined tabs or a button bar, mini toolbars, rulers and a status bar | Controls on a form, connected to a TextControl |
| Sidebar | Panels beside the editor for find and replace, styles, comments, tracked changes and your own content | Control on a form, connected to a TextControl |
| MailMerge | Merges DataTables, business objects and JSON into templates | Component, connected to a TextControl or a ServerTextControl |
| ServerTextControl | Creates, converts and changes documents in code, without a user interface | Component, used in code |
Except for the mini toolbars, which the editor opens itself, they are all in the TX Text Control 34.0 tab of the Visual Studio toolbox. Product Architecture shows how they connect to each other.
Choose a Component
| If you want to | Read |
|---|---|
| Give users a document editor in a form | TextControl |
| Add a ribbon, a button bar, rulers or a status bar to the editor | Ribbon, Toolbars, Rulers, and Status Bar |
| Show search, styles, comments or your own panel beside the editor | Sidebar |
| Fill letters, invoices or reports with data | MailMerge |
| Create or convert documents without showing them | ServerTextControl |
Where to Start
Read TextControl first: the other components either surround it or share its programming interface. Then continue with the page for the part your application needs next. To build a working editor right away, follow Create Your First Windows Forms Application in Getting Started.