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    Properties

    The WinFormHtmlEditor control exposes its design-time and run-time configuration through a set of public properties and a small set of host-helper methods. They cover the document body (HTML, style, color, font defaults), editor behavior (mode, scroll bars, word wrap), localization, licensing, and references to the underlying toolbar items, web-browser hosts, and service interfaces. Together they form the surface a host application uses to drive the editor from the Visual Studio Property Grid at design time and from C# or VB.NET at run time.

    Most value properties (those marked [Category("Value")]) round-trip through the live HTML document, so reading the property reflects the current state of the document and writing it mutates the document immediately. Behavior properties (marked [Category("Behavior")]) configure how the control reacts to user input and host events. Properties that return references to other objects (services, toolbar items, web-browser hosts) are read-only and are exposed primarily so a host application can customise the surrounding chrome or hook directly into the underlying engines.

    In every example below, htmlEditor1 is a WinFormHtmlEditor instance dropped onto a WinForms designer. The namespace is SpiceLogic.HtmlEditor.WinForms.

    BodyHtml

    Gets or sets the HTML markup contained in the document's <body> element. Reading returns the body markup (optionally as XHTML, depending on Options.EmitXHTML); writing replaces the body content with the supplied markup. This is the most commonly used property for binding the editor to a data field that stores HTML fragments rather than full HTML documents.

    Syntax
    public string BodyHtml { get; set; }
    Public Property BodyHtml As String
    Property value

    String - the HTML between the document's <body> open and close tags. Default is an empty string.

    Example
    // Load a fragment into the editor:
htmlEditor1.BodyHtml = "<p>Hello, <strong>world</strong></p>";
// Read it back (for example, before saving to your data store):
string fragment = htmlEditor1.BodyHtml;
    ' Load a fragment into the editor:
htmlEditor1.BodyHtml = "<p>Hello, <strong>world</strong></p>"
' Read it back (for example, before saving to your data store):
Dim fragment As String = htmlEditor1.BodyHtml

    DocumentHtml

    Gets or sets the complete HTML document, including the <!DOCTYPE> declaration, <html>, <head>, and <body> elements. Use this when the host application needs to round-trip a full HTML file rather than just a body fragment.

    Syntax
    public string DocumentHtml { get; set; }
    Public Property DocumentHtml As String
    Property value

    String - the complete HTML document text.

    Example
    // Save the full document the user has been editing:

System.IO.File.WriteAllText("page.html", htmlEditor1.DocumentHtml);



// Load a document from disk into the editor:

htmlEditor1.DocumentHtml = System.IO.File.ReadAllText("page.html");

    BodyText (via Content service)

    A plain-text representation of the body is not surfaced as a direct property on the control; it is available through the Content service. See the Content Services page for full documentation of GetBodyText and SetBodyText.

    Example
    // Pull the body as plain text for word-count or accessibility checks:
string plain = htmlEditor1.Content.GetBodyText();
// Replace the body with plain text (paragraphs are auto-wrapped):
htmlEditor1.Content.SetBodyText("Hello world");
    ' Pull the body as plain text for word-count or accessibility checks:
Dim plain As String = htmlEditor1.Content.GetBodyText()
' Replace the body with plain text (paragraphs are auto-wrapped):
htmlEditor1.Content.SetBodyText("Hello world")

    DocumentTitle

    Gets or sets the value of the document's <title> element. Setting this property while EditorMode is HtmlEdit is ignored; the editor must be in WYSIWYG or preview mode for the title to be applied.

    Syntax
    public string DocumentTitle { get; set; }
    Public Property DocumentTitle As String
    Property value

    String - the document title. Default is an empty string.

    Example
    htmlEditor1.DocumentTitle = "Customer Welcome Letter";
this.Text = htmlEditor1.DocumentTitle; // mirror to the form caption
    htmlEditor1.DocumentTitle = "Customer Welcome Letter"
Me.Text = htmlEditor1.DocumentTitle ' mirror to the form caption

    BodyStyle

    Gets or sets the value of the style attribute on the document's <body> element. Use this to apply a block of inline CSS to the body in a single assignment, instead of poking individual style properties.

    Syntax
    public string BodyStyle { get; set; }
    Public Property BodyStyle As String
    Property value

    String - an inline CSS declaration list (for example "margin:8px; background-color:#fefefe"). Default is empty.

    Example
    htmlEditor1.BodyStyle = "margin:8px; background-color:#fefefe; font-family:Calibri";

    BodyCSSClassName

    Gets or sets the class attribute on the document's <body> element. Useful when the document references an external stylesheet (via DocumentCSSFilePath) that defines body-level rules keyed by class name.

    Syntax
    public string BodyCSSClassName { get; set; }
    Public Property BodyCSSClassName As String
    Property value

    String - the CSS class name to attach to the <body> element. Default is null.

    Example
    // Attach an external stylesheet, then pick the matching body class:

htmlEditor1.DocumentCSSFilePath = "skins/site.css";

htmlEditor1.BodyCSSClassName    = "article-body";

    BodyStyleAsDOM

    Gets the IHTMLStyle object that wraps the body element's style. Use this when an algorithm needs to read or mutate individual style properties (color, margin, fontFamily, etc.) without parsing a CSS string. Returns null in source-edit mode.

    Syntax
    public IHTMLStyle BodyStyleAsDOM { get; }
    Public ReadOnly Property BodyStyleAsDOM As IHTMLStyle
    Property value

    mshtml.IHTMLStyle - the style DOM wrapper for the body element, or null when not in WYSIWYG or preview mode.

    Example
    var style = htmlEditor1.BodyStyleAsDOM;
if (style != null)
{
    style.marginLeft = "12px";
    style.marginRight = "12px";
}
    Dim style = htmlEditor1.BodyStyleAsDOM

If style IsNot Nothing Then
    style.marginLeft = "12px"
    style.marginRight = "12px"
End If

    BodyColor

    Gets or sets the background colour of the document body. Setting this property is ignored in source-edit mode.

    Syntax
    public Color BodyColor { get; set; }
    Public Property BodyColor As Color
    Property value

    System.Drawing.Color - the background colour. Default is Color.White.

    Example
    htmlEditor1.BodyColor = System.Drawing.Color.LightYellow;

    DefaultFontFamily

    Gets or sets the default font-family persisted in the style attribute of the body element. This is the font new text inherits when the user types into an unstyled region.

    Syntax
    public string DefaultFontFamily { get; set; }
    Public Property DefaultFontFamily As String
    Property value

    String - a CSS font-family name. Default is the value of ModuleConstants.DefaultFontName.

    Example
    htmlEditor1.DefaultFontFamily = "Calibri";

    DefaultFontSizeInPt

    Gets or sets the default body font size, in points. If the value is supplied without an explicit unit, it is interpreted as pixels and converted to points before being persisted. Use the pt suffix to set point sizes directly (for example "12pt").

    Syntax
    public string DefaultFontSizeInPt { get; set; }
    Public Property DefaultFontSizeInPt As String
    Property value

    String - the font size including its unit suffix. Default is the value of ModuleConstants.DefaultFontSizePtStr.

    Example
    htmlEditor1.DefaultFontSizeInPt = "14pt";

    DefaultForeColor

    Gets or sets the default foreground (text) colour of the editor. The value is persisted in the body element's style attribute. This member hides the base Control.ForeColor and operates on the HTML document, not on the WinForms control surface.

    Syntax
    public new Color DefaultForeColor { get; set; }
    Public Overloads Property DefaultForeColor As Color
    Property value

    System.Drawing.Color - the default text colour. Default is Color.Black.

    Example
    htmlEditor1.DefaultForeColor = System.Drawing.Color.FromArgb(0x22, 0x22, 0x22);

    BackgroundImagePath

    Gets or sets the URL or local path of the body background image. The value is written to the body's background-image CSS property as url(...). Returns an empty string when in source-edit mode.

    Syntax
    public string BackgroundImagePath { get; set; }
    Public Property BackgroundImagePath As String
    Property value

    String - image path or URL. Default is empty.

    Example
    htmlEditor1.BackgroundImagePath = "file:///C:/skins/paper.jpg";

    BaseUrl

    Gets or sets the document's base URL, written as the <base href="..."> element inside <head>. The base URL controls how relative resource references (image src, anchor href, stylesheet href) are resolved. A common usage is to set BaseUrl = Application.StartupPath + "\\images" when the host form loads, so relative resources work after the application is deployed.

    Syntax
    public string BaseUrl { get; set; }
    Public Property BaseUrl As String
    Property value

    String - a folder path or URL used as the base for relative resource references. Default is empty.

    Example
    private void Form1_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    htmlEditor1.BaseUrl = System.Windows.Forms.Application.StartupPath + "\\images";
    htmlEditor1.BodyHtml = "<img src='banner.png' />"; // resolves under images\banner.png
}
    Private Sub Form1_Load(sender As Object, e As EventArgs)
    htmlEditor1.BaseUrl = System.Windows.Forms.Application.StartupPath.ToString() & "\images"
    htmlEditor1.BodyHtml = "<img src='banner.png' />" ' resolves under images\banner.png
End Sub

    Charset

    Gets or sets the document's character set, persisted in the <meta charset> element. The getter returns the explicit charset declared in the source HTML; if no <meta charset> element is present, the getter returns an empty string (instead of MSHTML's default "unicode"). Setting the property in source-edit mode is ignored.

    Syntax
    public string Charset { get; set; }
    Public Property Charset As String
    Property value

    String - an IANA charset name (for example "utf-8") or an empty string when none is declared. Default is empty.

    Example
    htmlEditor1.Charset = "utf-8";

    DocumentCSSFilePath

    Gets or sets the href of the document's default external stylesheet. Setting the property writes a <link rel="stylesheet"> element into <head>; setting it to null or whitespace removes any existing <link> elements from <head>.

    Syntax
    public string DocumentCSSFilePath { get; set; }
    Public Property DocumentCSSFilePath As String
    Property value

    String - URL or local file path of a CSS stylesheet. Default is empty.

    Example
    htmlEditor1.DocumentCSSFilePath = "file:///C:/skins/article.css";

    HeaderStyleContentElementID

    Gets or sets the id attribute used by the HeaderStyleContent getter and setter to locate the <style> block inside <head>. When the id is changed to a new non-empty value at run time, any previously named <style> block is removed from <head> so the document does not accumulate stale style blocks (ALM bug #197).

    Syntax
    public string HeaderStyleContentElementID { get; set; }
    Public Property HeaderStyleContentElementID As String
    Property value

    String - the id of the managed <style> element inside <head>. Default is null.

    Example
    htmlEditor1.HeaderStyleContentElementID = "page_style";

    HeaderStyleContent

    Gets or sets the inner text of the <style> element identified by HeaderStyleContentElementID. If HeaderStyleContentElementID is null or empty, the getter returns null and the setter is a no-op. If the identified element does not yet exist, the setter inserts a new <style> block into <head>.

    Syntax
    public string HeaderStyleContent { get; set; }
    Public Property HeaderStyleContent As String
    Property value

    String - raw CSS text. Default is empty.

    Example
    htmlEditor1.HeaderStyleContentElementID = "page_style";

htmlEditor1.HeaderStyleContent = "p { line-height: 1.5; } a { color: #06c; }";

    EditorMode

    Gets or sets the editor mode. Switching mode at run time triggers a refresh of the underlying surface: WYSIWYG mode binds the WebBrowser editor host, source mode shows the raw HTML TextBox, and preview mode shows the read-only WebBrowser preview host.

    Syntax
    public EditorModes EditorMode { get; set; }
    Public Property EditorMode As EditorModes
    Property value

    EditorModes - one of WysiwygDesign, HtmlEdit, or ReadOnlyPreview. Default is EditorModes.WysiwygDesign.

    Example
    // Toggle to source mode so the user can hand-edit the HTML:

htmlEditor1.EditorMode = EditorModes.HtmlEdit;

    Language

    Gets or sets the UI language for the editor control. When changed, all toolbar tooltips, dialog labels, context-menu items, and messages are updated to the selected language. When SpellCheckOptions.SpellCheckLanguage is set to SameAsEditorLanguage (the default), the spell checker language is kept in sync automatically.

    Syntax
    public EditorLanguage Language { get; set; }
    Public Property Language As EditorLanguage
    Property value

    EditorLanguage - the active UI language. Default is EditorLanguage.EnglishUs.

    Example
    htmlEditor1.Language = EditorLanguage.German;

    ScrollBarSetting

    Gets or sets the scroll-bar visibility policy for the editor surface. The setting is ignored in HtmlEdit source mode (which has its own raw TextBox scroll bars) and applied to the WYSIWYG and preview hosts otherwise.

    Syntax
    public ScrollBarVisibility ScrollBarSetting { get; set; }
    Public Property ScrollBarSetting As ScrollBarVisibility
    Property value

    ScrollBarVisibility - one of Default, Auto, Hidden, etc. Default is ScrollBarVisibility.Default.

    Example
    htmlEditor1.ScrollBarSetting = ScrollBarVisibility.Auto;

    WordWrap

    Indicates whether lines are automatically word-wrapped. When false, the body's white-space CSS property is set to nowrap, which suppresses line breaks inside text except those generated explicitly by <br> elements.

    Syntax
    public bool WordWrap { get; set; }
    Public Property WordWrap As Boolean
    Property value

    Boolean - true to wrap; false to disable wrapping. Default is true.

    Example
    // Long lines should scroll horizontally instead of wrapping:
htmlEditor1.WordWrap = false;
    ' Long lines should scroll horizontally instead of wrapping:
htmlEditor1.WordWrap = False

    ScrollRectangle

    Gets the scrollable region of the body element as a Rectangle. Returns an empty rectangle in source-edit mode.

    Syntax
    public Rectangle ScrollRectangle { get; }
    Public ReadOnly Property ScrollRectangle As Rectangle
    Property value

    System.Drawing.Rectangle - the scrollable region of the document body.

    Example
    var rect = htmlEditor1.ScrollRectangle;
Debug.WriteLine($"Document body is {rect.Width} x {rect.Height} pixels");
    Dim rect = htmlEditor1.ScrollRectangle
Debug.WriteLine($"Document body is {rect.Width} x {rect.Height} pixels")

    VerticalScrollPosition

    Gets the current vertical scroll position of the editor surface. Always returns 0 when in source-edit mode.

    Syntax
    public int VerticalScrollPosition { get; }
    Public ReadOnly Property VerticalScrollPosition As Integer
    Property value

    Int32 - scroll offset in pixels.

    Example
    int y = htmlEditor1.VerticalScrollPosition;
lblStatus.Text = $"Scrolled {y}px from the top";
    Dim y As Integer = htmlEditor1.VerticalScrollPosition
lblStatus.Text = $"Scrolled {y}px from the top"

    HorizontalScrollPosition

    Gets the current horizontal scroll position of the editor surface. Always returns 0 when in source-edit mode.

    Syntax
    public int HorizontalScrollPosition { get; }
    Public ReadOnly Property HorizontalScrollPosition As Integer
    Property value

    Int32 - scroll offset in pixels.

    Example
    int x = htmlEditor1.HorizontalScrollPosition;
if (x > 0)
    Trace.WriteLine("Document is wider than the viewport.");
    Dim x As Integer = htmlEditor1.HorizontalScrollPosition
If x > 0 Then Trace.WriteLine("Document is wider than the viewport.")

    Options

    Gets or sets the UserOption instance that holds the editor's behavior settings: paste handling, image storage, hyperlink encoding, footer tag navigator, Enter-key response, doctype overrides, and more. The Property Grid renders this as an expandable node.

    Syntax
    public UserOption Options { get; set; }
    Public Property Options As UserOption
    Property value

    UserOption - the bag of behavior options. The control creates a default instance on first access.

    Example
    htmlEditor1.Options.AutoDetectWordPaste = true;
htmlEditor1.Options.AutoResizeLargeImages = true;
htmlEditor1.Options.MaxPastedImageWidth = 720;
htmlEditor1.Options.EnterKeyResponse = EnterKeyResponses.NewParagraph;
    htmlEditor1.Options.AutoDetectWordPaste = True
htmlEditor1.Options.AutoResizeLargeImages = True
htmlEditor1.Options.MaxPastedImageWidth = 720
htmlEditor1.Options.EnterKeyResponse = EnterKeyResponses.NewParagraph

    SpellCheckOptions

    Gets or sets the spell-checker configuration: dictionary language, ignore-digits flag, custom dictionary path, and so on. The instance is created lazily on first access if not provided.

    Syntax
    public SpellCheckerOption SpellCheckOptions { get; set; }
    Public Property SpellCheckOptions As SpellCheckerOption
    Property value

    SpellCheckerOption - the spell-checker settings.

    Example
    htmlEditor1.SpellCheckOptions.SpellCheckLanguage = SpellCheckLanguages.SameAsEditorLanguage;
htmlEditor1.SpellCheckOptions.IgnoreDigits = true;
    htmlEditor1.SpellCheckOptions.SpellCheckLanguage = SpellCheckLanguages.SameAsEditorLanguage
htmlEditor1.SpellCheckOptions.IgnoreDigits = True

    KeyBindings

    Gets the customer-facing API for binding, rebinding, overriding, and disabling keyboard shortcuts on the editor. Parallel to ToolbarItemOverrider: where the toolbar overrider intercepts clicks on built-in toolbar items, this manager intercepts presses of the keyboard combinations assigned to built-in editor actions. (ALM bug #797.)

    Syntax
    public KeyBindingsManager KeyBindings { get; }
    Public ReadOnly Property KeyBindings As KeyBindingsManager
    Property value

    KeyBindingsManager - the keyboard-shortcut manager.

    Example
    // Redirect Ctrl+S to a host-app save handler:

htmlEditor1.KeyBindings.Override(EditorActionId.Save, () => SaveDocument());



// Disable the built-in Ctrl+P print shortcut:

htmlEditor1.KeyBindings.Disable(EditorActionId.Print);

    ToolbarItemOverrider

    Holds the events used to override the factory toolbar-item click behavior. Subscribe to entries on this object to substitute custom logic for the built-in handlers (for example, show a custom file-open dialog).

    Syntax
    public ToolbarItemOverrideHelper ToolbarItemOverrider { get; }
    Public ReadOnly Property ToolbarItemOverrider As ToolbarItemOverrideHelper
    Property value

    ToolbarItemOverrideHelper - the toolbar override helper.

    Example
    // Replace the built-in Save handler with a host-app implementation:
htmlEditor1.ToolbarItemOverrider.OnSaveButtonClick += (s, e) =>
{
    e.Handled = true;
    MyDocumentRepository.Save(htmlEditor1.DocumentHtml);
};
    ' Replace the built-in Save handler with a host-app implementation:
htmlEditor1.ToolbarItemOverrider.OnSaveButtonClick += Sub(s, e)
                                                          e.Handled = True
                                                          MyDocumentRepository.Save(htmlEditor1.DocumentHtml)

    LicenseKey (static)

    Gets or sets the license key that applies to all instances of WinFormHtmlEditor in the current process. Set this once at application startup (for example in Program.cs) before creating any editor instance.

    Syntax
    public static string LicenseKey { get; set; }
    Public Shared Property LicenseKey As String
    Property value

    String - the product license key.

    Example
    // In Program.cs, before Application.Run(...):

WinFormHtmlEditor.LicenseKey = "your-license-key-here";

    ProductVersion

    Gets the product version, which equals the assembly version. This member hides the base Control.ProductVersion.

    Syntax
    public new string ProductVersion { get; }
    Public Overloads ReadOnly Property ProductVersion As String
    Property value

    String - the version string, for example "9.0.14".

    Example
    lblAbout.Text = $"SpiceLogic HTML Editor v{htmlEditor1.ProductVersion}";

    EditorContextMenuStrip

    Gets or sets the context-menu strip shown when the user right-clicks inside the editing surface. Set this property to provide a custom context menu in place of the built-in one.

    Syntax
    public ContextMenuStrip EditorContextMenuStrip { get; set; }
    Public Property EditorContextMenuStrip As ContextMenuStrip
    Property value

    System.Windows.Forms.ContextMenuStrip - the custom context-menu strip, or null to keep the built-in menu.

    Example
    var menu = new ContextMenuStrip();
menu.Items.Add("Insert Customer Name", null, (s, e) => htmlEditor1.Content.InsertHtml("{{customer}}"));
htmlEditor1.EditorContextMenuStrip = menu;
    Dim menu = New ContextMenuStrip()
menu.Items.Add("Insert Customer Name", Nothing, Function(s, e) htmlEditor1.Content.InsertHtml("{{customer}}"))
htmlEditor1.EditorContextMenuStrip = menu

    ToolbarContextMenuStrip

    Gets or sets the context-menu strip shown when the user right-clicks the toolbar. To customise the editor's context menu instead, set EditorContextMenuStrip.

    Syntax
    public ContextMenuStrip ToolbarContextMenuStrip { get; set; }
    Public Property ToolbarContextMenuStrip As ContextMenuStrip
    Property value

    System.Windows.Forms.ContextMenuStrip - the custom toolbar context-menu strip.

    Example
    var menu = new ContextMenuStrip();
menu.Items.Add("Hide Toolbar", null, (s, e) => htmlEditor1.Toolbar1.Visible = false);
htmlEditor1.ToolbarContextMenuStrip = menu;
    Dim menu = New ContextMenuStrip()
menu.Items.Add("Hide Toolbar", Nothing, Function(s, e) CSharpImpl.__Assign(htmlEditor1.Toolbar1.Visible, False))
htmlEditor1.ToolbarContextMenuStrip = menu

    Focused

    Gets a value indicating whether the editor control currently has input focus. The implementation accounts for the active mode: it checks the raw TextBox in source mode, returns false in read-only preview mode, and queries the underlying HtmlDocument in WYSIWYG mode.

    Syntax
    public override bool Focused { get; }
    Public Overrides ReadOnly Property Focused As Boolean
    Property value

    Boolean - true if the editor has focus; otherwise false.

    Example
    // Only auto-save when the user is actually typing into the editor:
if (htmlEditor1.Focused)
    AutoSave(htmlEditor1.DocumentHtml);
    ' Only auto-save when the user is actually typing into the editor:
If htmlEditor1.Focused Then AutoSave(htmlEditor1.DocumentHtml)

    Content

    Gets or sets the content service. This is the primary entry point for programmatically manipulating the document: inserting HTML, reading the body, embedding images, loading and saving files, and so on. See the Content Services page for the full member documentation.

    Syntax
    public IContentService Content { get; set; }
    Public Property Content As IContentService
    Property value

    IContentService - the content-manipulation service.

    Example
    // Insert a hyperlink at the caret position:

htmlEditor1.Content.InsertHtml("<a href='https://spicelogic.com'>SpiceLogic</a>");

    Selection

    Gets or sets the selection service, which exposes the user's current text/element selection inside the editor.

    Syntax
    public ISelectionService Selection { get; set; }
    Public Property Selection As ISelectionService
    Property value

    ISelectionService - the selection service.

    Example
    string selected = htmlEditor1.Selection.GetSelectedHtml();
if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(selected))
    MessageBox.Show(selected);
    Dim selected As String = htmlEditor1.Selection.GetSelectedHtml()
If Not String.IsNullOrEmpty(selected) Then MessageBox.Show(selected)

    Caret

    Gets or sets the caret service, which lets the host inspect or move the editor caret programmatically.

    Syntax
    public ICaretService Caret { get; set; }
    Public Property Caret As ICaretService
    Property value

    ICaretService - the caret service.

    Example
    // Move the caret to the end of the body, then insert text:

htmlEditor1.Caret.MoveCaretToEnd();

htmlEditor1.Content.InsertHtml("<p>Appended paragraph</p>");

    Editor

    Gets or sets the editor service, which surfaces lower-level editor commands such as undo, redo, scrollbar configuration, and editing-host queries.

    Syntax
    public IEditorService Editor { get; set; }
    Public Property Editor As IEditorService
    Property value

    IEditorService - the editor service.

    Example
    // Wire a host-app Undo button to the editor:

btnUndo.Click += (s, e) => htmlEditor1.Editor.Undo();

    Formatting

    Gets or sets the formatting service, which applies inline and block-level formatting: bold, italic, alignment, lists, indentation, fonts, colours, etc.

    Syntax
    public IFormattingService Formatting { get; set; }
    Public Property Formatting As IFormattingService
    Property value

    IFormattingService - the formatting service.

    Example
    // Bold the current selection from a custom toolbar button:

btnBold.Click += (s, e) => htmlEditor1.Formatting.ToggleBold();

    StateQuery

    Gets or sets the state-query service, which answers questions about the current document state (font size at element, selected element type, etc.).

    Syntax
    public IStateQueryService StateQuery { get; set; }
    Public Property StateQuery As IStateQueryService
    Property value

    IStateQueryService - the state-query service.

    Example
    // Sync a host toolbar button's checked state with the editor:

btnBold.Checked = htmlEditor1.StateQuery.IsBold();

    Dialog

    Gets or sets the dialog service, which the editor uses to display the built-in image-properties, link-properties, table-properties, and similar modal dialogs.

    Syntax
    public IDialogService Dialog { get; set; }
    Public Property Dialog As IDialogService
    Property value

    IDialogService - the dialog service.

    Example
    // Open the built-in Insert Image dialog from a custom button:

btnInsertImage.Click += (s, e) => htmlEditor1.Dialog.ShowInsertImageDialog();

    Toolbar1

    Gets the top toolbar (file / clipboard / format / undo / spell-check / search). Use this reference to add, remove, or reorder toolbar items, or to apply custom styling. Not browsable in the Property Grid.

    Syntax
    public ToolStrip Toolbar1 { get; }
    Public ReadOnly Property Toolbar1 As ToolStrip
    Property value

    System.Windows.Forms.ToolStrip - the top toolbar.

    Example
    // Add a custom button to the right end of the top toolbar:
var btn = new ToolStripButton("Insert Date");
btn.Click += (s, e) => htmlEditor1.Content.InsertHtml(DateTime.Today.ToShortDateString());
htmlEditor1.Toolbar1.Items.Add(btn);
    ' Add a custom button to the right end of the top toolbar:
Dim btn = New ToolStripButton("Insert Date")
btn.Click += Function(s, e) htmlEditor1.Content.InsertHtml(DateTime.Today.ToShortDateString())
htmlEditor1.Toolbar1.Items.Add(btn)

    Toolbar2

    Gets the second toolbar row (heading / colour / insert / list / alignment / indent / sub-super-script / body-style).

    Syntax
    public ToolStrip Toolbar2 { get; }
    Public ReadOnly Property Toolbar2 As ToolStrip
    Property value

    System.Windows.Forms.ToolStrip - the second toolbar.

    Example
    // Hide the second toolbar row entirely:
htmlEditor1.Toolbar2.Visible = false;
    ' Hide the second toolbar row entirely:
htmlEditor1.Toolbar2.Visible = False

    ToolbarFooter

    Gets the footer toolbar that hosts the WYSIWYG / source / preview mode-switch buttons.

    Syntax
    public ToolStrip ToolbarFooter { get; }
    Public ReadOnly Property ToolbarFooter As ToolStrip
    Property value

    System.Windows.Forms.ToolStrip - the footer toolbar.

    Example
    // Force-hide the footer for a kiosk-mode form:
htmlEditor1.ToolbarFooter.Visible = false;
    ' Force-hide the footer for a kiosk-mode form:
htmlEditor1.ToolbarFooter.Visible = False

    Toolbar1 Item Properties

    The control exposes each individual toolbar item on Toolbar1 as a read-only public property. These are typed as ToolStripButton (or ToolStripSeparator / ToolStripComboBox where appropriate), and are not browsable in the Property Grid. Use them to hide, disable, retag, or relocate built-in commands.

    PropertyTypePurpose
    BtnNewToolStripButtonNew file
    BtnOpenToolStripButtonOpen file
    BtnSaveToolStripButtonSave file
    TlstrpSeparator1ToolStripSeparatorSeparator
    CmbFontNameSpiceFontComboFont-name combo box
    CmbFontSizeToolStripComboBoxFont-size combo box
    TlstrpSeparator2ToolStripSeparatorSeparator
    BtnCutToolStripButtonCut
    BtnCopyToolStripButtonCopy
    BtnPasteToolStripButtonPaste from clipboard
    BtnPasteFromMsWordToolStripButtonPaste from MS Word
    TlstrpSeparator3ToolStripSeparatorSeparator
    BtnBoldToolStripButtonBold
    BtnItalicToolStripButtonItalic
    BtnUnderlineToolStripButtonUnderline
    TlstrpSeparator4ToolStripSeparatorSeparator
    BtnFormatResetToolStripButtonReset formatting
    BtnFormatUndoToolStripButtonUndo
    BtnFormatRedoToolStripButtonRedo
    BtnPrintToolStripButtonPrint
    BtnSpellCheckToolStripButtonSpell check
    BtnSearchToolStripButtonSearch
    Example
    // Hide the Print and Spell-check buttons in a lite edition of the host app:
htmlEditor1.BtnPrint.Visible = false;
htmlEditor1.BtnSpellCheck.Visible = false;
// Disable Open while a long-running save is in progress:
htmlEditor1.BtnOpen.Enabled = false;
    ' Hide the Print and Spell-check buttons in a lite edition of the host app:
htmlEditor1.BtnPrint.Visible = False
htmlEditor1.BtnSpellCheck.Visible = False
' Disable Open while a long-running save is in progress:
htmlEditor1.BtnOpen.Enabled = False

    Toolbar2 Item Properties

    Each item on Toolbar2 is exposed as a read-only public property as well.

    PropertyTypePurpose
    CmbTitleInsertToolStripComboBoxHeading style picker
    BtnHighlightColorToolStripButtonHighlight colour
    BtnFontColorToolStripButtonFont colour
    TlstrpSeparator5ToolStripSeparatorSeparator
    BtnHyperlinkToolStripButtonInsert hyperlink
    BtnImageToolStripButtonInsert image
    BtnInsertYouTubeVideoToolStripButtonInsert YouTube video
    BtnTableToolStripButtonInsert table
    BtnSymbolToolStripButtonInsert symbol
    BtnHorizontalRuleToolStripButtonInsert horizontal rule
    TlstrpSeparator6ToolStripSeparatorSeparator
    BtnOrderedListToolStripButtonOrdered list
    BtnUnOrderedListToolStripButtonUnordered list
    TlstrpSeparator7ToolStripSeparatorSeparator
    BtnAlignLeftToolStripButtonAlign left
    BtnAlignCenterToolStripButtonAlign centre
    BtnAlignRightToolStripButtonAlign right
    TlstrpSeparator8ToolStripSeparatorSeparator
    BtnOutdentToolStripButtonOutdent
    BtnIndentToolStripButtonIndent
    TlstrpSeparator9ToolStripSeparatorSeparator
    BtnStrikeThroughToolStripButtonStrike-through
    BtnSuperScriptToolStripButtonSuperscript
    BtnSubscriptToolStripButtonSubscript
    BtnBodyStyleToolStripButtonBody-style dialog
    Example
    // Remove the YouTube-insert button (host app does not permit external embeds):

htmlEditor1.Toolbar2.Items.Remove(htmlEditor1.BtnInsertYouTubeVideo);



// Re-tint the highlight button:

htmlEditor1.BtnHighlightColor.ToolTipText = "Apply highlight (Ctrl+Shift+H)";

    GetTheWebBrowser Method

    Returns the underlying WYSIWYG WebBrowser control. Use this only when an algorithm absolutely requires direct access to the browser host. Most use cases are served by the service-layer APIs (Content, Selection, Caret, etc.).

    Syntax
    public WebBrowser GetTheWebBrowser()
    Public Function GetTheWebBrowser() As WebBrowser
    Returns

    System.Windows.Forms.WebBrowser - the WYSIWYG editor host.

    Example
    var webBrowser = htmlEditor1.GetTheWebBrowser();
webBrowser.ScriptErrorsSuppressed = true;
    Dim webBrowser = htmlEditor1.GetTheWebBrowser()
webBrowser.ScriptErrorsSuppressed = True

    GetTheRawHtmlTextEditor Method

    Returns the raw TextBox used in source-edit mode for direct HTML editing.

    Syntax
    public TextBox GetTheRawHtmlTextEditor()
    Public Function GetTheRawHtmlTextEditor() As TextBox
    Returns

    System.Windows.Forms.TextBox - the source-mode text box.

    Example
    // Switch to source mode then tweak the underlying TextBox:
htmlEditor1.EditorMode = EditorModes.HtmlEdit;
var tb = htmlEditor1.GetTheRawHtmlTextEditor();
tb.Font = new Font("Consolas", 10F);
    ' Switch to source mode then tweak the underlying TextBox:
htmlEditor1.EditorMode = EditorModes.HtmlEdit
Dim tb = htmlEditor1.GetTheRawHtmlTextEditor()
tb.Font = New Font("Consolas", 10F)

    GetThePreviewWebBrowser Method

    Returns the read-only preview WebBrowser control used in preview mode.

    Syntax
    public WebBrowser GetThePreviewWebBrowser()
    Public Function GetThePreviewWebBrowser() As WebBrowser
    Returns

    System.Windows.Forms.WebBrowser - the preview-mode host.

    Example
    htmlEditor1.EditorMode = EditorModes.ReadOnlyPreview;
var preview = htmlEditor1.GetThePreviewWebBrowser();
preview.Print();
    htmlEditor1.EditorMode = EditorModes.ReadOnlyPreview
Dim preview = htmlEditor1.GetThePreviewWebBrowser()
preview.Print()

    GetMshtmlDoc2 Method

    Returns the underlying mshtml.IHTMLDocument2 for the active surface (WYSIWYG or preview). Returns null in source-edit mode. Useful when an algorithm needs to call MSHTML APIs not surfaced by the service layer.

    Syntax
    public IHTMLDocument2 GetMshtmlDoc2()
    Public Function GetMshtmlDoc2() As IHTMLDocument2
    Returns

    mshtml.IHTMLDocument2 - the MSHTML document, or null when not in a browser-hosted mode.

    Example
    var doc = htmlEditor1.GetMshtmlDoc2();
if (doc != null)
{
    var imgs = doc.images;
    Trace.WriteLine($"Document has {imgs.length} image(s).");
}
    Dim doc = htmlEditor1.GetMshtmlDoc2()

If doc IsNot Nothing Then
    Dim imgs = doc.images
    Trace.WriteLine($"Document has {imgs.length} image(s).")
End If

    Focus Method

    Sets input focus to the active editing surface. In source mode this focuses the underlying TextBox; in WYSIWYG mode it focuses the document body.

    Syntax
    public new void Focus()
    Public Overloads Sub Focus()
    Example
    // After loading a document, put the caret in the editor:

htmlEditor1.DocumentHtml = template;

htmlEditor1.Focus();

    UnFocus Method

    Removes input focus from the body of the WYSIWYG editor (no-op in source mode).

    Syntax
    public void UnFocus()
    Public Sub UnFocus()
    Example
    // Take focus away from the editor before showing a modal validation dialog:

htmlEditor1.UnFocus();

MessageBox.Show("Please correct the highlighted errors.");

    ForceInlineSpellCheck Method

    Forces an inline spell-check pass over the current document. Only meaningful in WYSIWYG mode; in other modes the call is queued (or ignored) until WYSIWYG is active.

    Syntax
    public void ForceInlineSpellCheck()
    Public Sub ForceInlineSpellCheck()
    Example
    // After loading content programmatically, re-run spell-check immediately:

htmlEditor1.BodyHtml = importedHtml;

htmlEditor1.ForceInlineSpellCheck();

    CleanUpInlineSpellCheckMarkers Method

    Removes the inline spell-check marker spans the editor inserts to highlight misspellings. Call this before reading DocumentHtml if the consumer expects clean HTML without spell-check decoration.

    Syntax
    public void CleanUpInlineSpellCheckMarkers()
    Public Sub CleanUpInlineSpellCheckMarkers()
    Example
    // Save clean HTML to disk:

htmlEditor1.CleanUpInlineSpellCheckMarkers();

System.IO.File.WriteAllText("clean.html", htmlEditor1.DocumentHtml);

    Remarks

    The WinFormHtmlEditor class also inherits the full set of members from System.Windows.Forms.UserControl. The members documented above are the ones added (or overridden / hidden) by the SpiceLogic editor on top of the base WinForms control surface.

    Last updated on May 14, 2026