.NET API
The namespace of a class says a lot about what it is for. In TX Text Control .NET for Windows Forms, the editor control, its bars and dialog boxes and the whole document model are in TXTextControl; the ribbon has a namespace of its own, TXTextControl.Windows.Forms.Ribbon; and mail merge and PDF processing are in TXTextControl.DocumentServer and the namespaces below it.
The table below lists every namespace the class library reference documents, with what it holds and the classes to open first. A namespace's page lists its classes, interfaces and enumerations, and a class's page lists its members.
Namespaces
| Namespace | What it holds | Start with |
|---|---|---|
| TXTextControl | The editor control and the engine without a user interface, the button bar, ruler bar and status bar, the mini toolbars, dialog boxes such as the bookmark and hyperlink dialogs, and the document model: text, selection, paragraphs, tables, images, fields, sections, headers and footers and the settings for loading and saving | TextControl, ServerTextControl, Selection |
| TXTextControl.Windows.Forms | The sidebar beside the editor, and the resource provider that returns the images and strings of the built-in ribbon items by their identifiers | Sidebar, ResourceProvider |
| TXTextControl.Windows.Forms.Ribbon | The ribbon, the form that hosts it, its predefined tabs, contextual tab groups and the buttons, combo boxes and other items of custom tabs | Ribbon, RibbonForm, RibbonFormattingTab |
| TXTextControl.DocumentServer | Mail merge: the class that merges templates with data, and the arguments of its events | MailMerge |
| TXTextControl.DocumentServer.DataSources | Information about the tables, columns and relations of a data source, and the settings of a merge and its merge blocks | DataSourceManager, MergeSettings |
| TXTextControl.DocumentServer.DataShaping | Instructions that filter and sort the data of merge blocks | FilterInstruction, SortingInstruction |
| TXTextControl.DocumentServer.Fields | Field adapters for typed access to merge fields, IF fields, legacy form fields and content controls | MergeField, IfField, FormText |
| TXTextControl.DocumentServer.Json | The exceptions thrown for JSON data that can't be parsed | ParserException |
| TXTextControl.DocumentServer.PDF | Methods that read the form fields and embedded files of a PDF document | Forms, Attachments |
| TXTextControl.DocumentServer.PDF.AcroForms | The AcroForm fields read from a PDF document: text fields, check boxes, radio buttons, list and combo boxes and buttons | FormField |
| TXTextControl.DocumentServer.PDF.Contents | The lines of text found in a PDF document, with their page and position | Lines |
| TXTextControl.DocumentServer.Windows.Forms | The Windows Forms dialog boxes of the reporting features: insert and edit merge blocks, filter and sort, data relations, database connections, chart data and data source extraction | InsertMergeBlockDialog, DatabaseConnectionDialog |
| TXTextControl.DataVisualization | The frames that position a chart, a barcode or a drawing in a document, their collections and events | ChartFrame, BarcodeFrame, DrawingFrame |
| TXTextControl.Barcode | The Windows Forms barcode control and the type and format of a barcode, rendered as SVG | TXBarcodeControl, TXBarcodeCore |
| TXTextControl.Drawing | The Windows Forms drawing control, its context menu, and the shapes of a drawing with their fill and outline, rendered as SVG | TXDrawingControl, TXDrawingCore |
The navigation on the left links six of these namespaces directly; open the other nine from the table above.
TextControl, ButtonBar, RulerBar and StatusBar are in TXTextControl, not in TXTextControl.Windows.Forms. The classes of the document model are the same as in TX Text Control .NET for WPF and TX Text Control .NET Server, so code that works with a Selection or a TableCollection reads the same in all three products.
Find the Right Namespace
| If you want to | Start in |
|---|---|
| Control the editor on a form: load, save, format, print | TXTextControl, with TextControl |
| Create or convert a document without a visible editor | TXTextControl, with ServerTextControl |
| Add the ribbon, change its tabs or build a custom tab | TXTextControl.Windows.Forms.Ribbon |
| Merge a template with JSON data, objects or a database | TXTextControl.DocumentServer, with MailMerge |
| Read the merge fields or form fields of a template | TXTextControl.DocumentServer.Fields |
| Open a reporting dialog box from your own button | TXTextControl.DocumentServer.Windows.Forms |
| Read AcroForm fields, embedded files or text lines from a PDF | TXTextControl.DocumentServer.PDF and the namespaces below it |
The pages of Document Editor, Document Processing, Mail Merge and Reporting and PDF Processing show these classes at work. Package Overview lists the assemblies the classes ship in.
Classes by Task sorts the classes the other way round: by the task they solve, from character formatting and tables to toolbars, ribbons, mail merge and PDF forms, with the entry point on TextControl and the base classes they share.
Where to Start
- Open TextControl and skim its properties and methods: most of what the editor does starts there.
- Follow its Selection property into the document model, where text is formatted.
- Open the namespace of the feature you work on from the table above.