Table Authoring Service

The Content.TableAuthoringService property on WpfHtmlEditor returns an ITableAuthoringService instance. It exposes every table-level command -- insert and delete rows and columns, merge selected cells, manage the zero-border guideline overlay, and access the lower-level ITableManipulator. Drive the service from a custom ribbon, a key binding, or an automation routine.

Namespace: SpiceLogic.HtmlEditor.Abstractions.Services.ElementAuthoring
Assembly: SpiceLogic.HtmlEditor.Abstractions.dll
Accessor: MyEditor.Content.TableAuthoringService

The service implements IDisposable; the editor owns its lifetime, so customer code never needs to call Dispose directly.

InsertColumn(InsertPositions position)

Inserts a new empty column adjacent to the column that currently contains the caret.

Syntax

void InsertColumn(InsertPositions position);

Parameters

Remarks

Silently does nothing unless the editor is in EditorModes.WysiwygDesign mode and the caret is inside a table cell.

Example

using SpiceLogic.HtmlEditor.Abstractions;
using SpiceLogic.HtmlEditor.Abstractions.Services.ElementAuthoring;

ITableAuthoringService tables = MyEditor.Content.TableAuthoringService;
tables.InsertColumn(InsertPositions.Before);

Imports SpiceLogic.HtmlEditor.Abstractions
Imports SpiceLogic.HtmlEditor.Abstractions.Services.ElementAuthoring

Dim tables As ITableAuthoringService = MyEditor.Content.TableAuthoringService
tables.InsertColumn(InsertPositions.Before)

DeleteColumn()

Removes the column that currently contains the caret. If the deleted column was the last column in the table, the table itself is removed.

Syntax

void DeleteColumn();

Remarks

Silently does nothing unless the editor is in EditorModes.WysiwygDesign mode and the caret is inside a table cell.

Example

private void DeleteColumn_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
    MyEditor.Content.TableAuthoringService.DeleteColumn();
}

Private Sub DeleteColumn_Click(sender As Object, e As RoutedEventArgs)
    MyEditor.Content.TableAuthoringService.DeleteColumn()
End Sub

InsertRow(InsertPositions position)

Inserts a new empty row adjacent to the row that currently contains the caret.

Syntax

void InsertRow(InsertPositions position);

Parameters

Remarks

Silently does nothing unless the editor is in EditorModes.WysiwygDesign mode and the caret is inside a table cell.

Example

MyEditor.Content.TableAuthoringService.InsertRow(InsertPositions.After);

DeleteRow()

Removes the row that currently contains the caret. If the deleted row was the last row, the table itself is removed.

Syntax

void DeleteRow();

Remarks

Silently does nothing unless the editor is in EditorModes.WysiwygDesign mode and the caret is inside a table cell.

Example

if (MessageBox.Show("Delete current row?", "Confirm", MessageBoxButton.YesNo) == MessageBoxResult.Yes)
{
    MyEditor.Content.TableAuthoringService.DeleteRow();
}

If MessageBox.Show("Delete current row?", "Confirm", MessageBoxButton.YesNo) = MessageBoxResult.Yes Then
    MyEditor.Content.TableAuthoringService.DeleteRow()
End If

MergeSelectedCells()

Merges the cells in the current selection into a single cell. The merge uses colspan / rowspan attributes on the surviving cell and discards the others.

Syntax

void MergeSelectedCells();

Remarks

Call CanMergeCells() first. The merge is disabled when EnableTableCellMerging is false. Unlike the row and column operations above, this runs regardless of editor mode.

Example

var tables = MyEditor.Content.TableAuthoringService;
if (tables.CanMergeCells())
{
    tables.MergeSelectedCells();
}

Dim tables = MyEditor.Content.TableAuthoringService

If tables.CanMergeCells() Then
    tables.MergeSelectedCells()
End If

ShowGuidelinesForTablesWithZeroBorder(bool inBackground = false)

Applies a dotted CSS outline to every table whose border attribute is 0 so authors can still see cell boundaries while editing. The outline is visual only and is stripped before the HTML is returned to the customer.

Syntax

void ShowGuidelinesForTablesWithZeroBorder(bool inBackground = false);

Parameters

Remarks

Silently does nothing unless the editor is in EditorModes.WysiwygDesign mode.

Example

private void ToggleGuides_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
    MyEditor.Content.TableAuthoringService.ShowGuidelinesForTablesWithZeroBorder();
}

Private Sub ToggleGuides_Click(sender As Object, e As RoutedEventArgs)
    MyEditor.Content.TableAuthoringService.ShowGuidelinesForTablesWithZeroBorder()
End Sub

HideGuidelinesOfTablesWithZeroBorder(bool inBackground = false)

Removes the dotted overlay added by ShowGuidelinesForTablesWithZeroBorder.

Syntax

void HideGuidelinesOfTablesWithZeroBorder(bool inBackground = false);

Parameters

Remarks

Silently does nothing unless the editor is in EditorModes.WysiwygDesign mode.

Example

MyEditor.Content.TableAuthoringService
    .HideGuidelinesOfTablesWithZeroBorder();

IsTableBorderZero(IHTMLElement tableElement)

Returns true when the supplied table element has no visible border -- via the border="0" attribute or via CSS that resolves to zero border width (and is therefore a candidate for the zero-border guideline overlay).

Syntax

bool IsTableBorderZero(IHTMLElement tableElement);

Parameters

Returns

true when the table has no visible border, whether set via the border attribute or via CSS; otherwise false.

Example

using mshtml;

var tables = MyEditor.Content.TableAuthoringService;
IHTMLElement table = MyEditor.StateQuery.GetActiveHtmlElement();
if (table?.tagName == "TABLE" && tables.IsTableBorderZero(table))
{
    tables.ShowGuidelinesForTablesWithZeroBorder();
}

Imports mshtml

Dim tables = MyEditor.Content.TableAuthoringService
Dim table As IHTMLElement = MyEditor.StateQuery.GetActiveHtmlElement()

If table?.tagName = "TABLE" AndAlso tables.IsTableBorderZero(table) Then
    tables.ShowGuidelinesForTablesWithZeroBorder()
End If

CanMergeCells()

Reports whether the current cell selection can be merged.

Syntax

bool CanMergeCells();

Returns

true if at least two adjacent table cells are selected and cell merging is enabled; otherwise false. Use this to drive the enabled state of a custom Merge-Cells command.

Example

MyEditor.SelectionChanged += (s, e) =>
{
    MergeCellsButton.IsEnabled =
        MyEditor.Content.TableAuthoringService.CanMergeCells();
};

GetTableManipulator()

Returns the underlying ITableManipulator instance, created once per document the first time it is requested and cached from then on -- it is not re-created per call or scoped to the caret. Its public surface is a single member, CanMerge(), which CanMergeCells forwards to; use the dedicated methods on this interface for row/column operations rather than reaching through this.

Syntax

ITableManipulator GetTableManipulator();

Returns

The current ITableManipulator instance. It is never null, regardless of caret position; call ResetTableManipulator to force a fresh instance.

Example

var manip = MyEditor.Content.TableAuthoringService.GetTableManipulator();
if (manip.CanMerge())
{
    Debug.WriteLine("Selection can be merged.");
}

Dim manip = MyEditor.Content.TableAuthoringService.GetTableManipulator()

If manip.CanMerge() Then
    Debug.WriteLine("Selection can be merged.")
End If

ResetTableManipulator()

Immediately disposes the cached ITableManipulator and creates a fresh one against the current document, rather than deferring the re-creation to the next GetTableManipulator call. Call this after replacing the document HTML wholesale, so table operations do not keep operating through MSHTML references left over from the previous document.

Syntax

void ResetTableManipulator();

Remarks

This also re-derives EnableTableCellMerging from Options.EnableTableCellMerge, discarding any value set directly on the property beforehand.

Example

MyEditor.Content.SetBodyHtml("<table><tr><td>Z</td></tr></table>");
MyEditor.Content.TableAuthoringService.ResetTableManipulator();

SelectedCellBackgroundColor Property

Gets or sets the background color used to highlight cells that are part of the current multi-cell selection (the visual feedback the editor draws while the user drags across cells).

Syntax

Color SelectedCellBackgroundColor { get; set; }

Property Value

A System.Drawing.Color. The default is a light blue chosen for legibility on most page backgrounds.

Example

using System.Drawing;

MyEditor.Content.TableAuthoringService.SelectedCellBackgroundColor = Color.FromArgb(120, 0, 122, 204); // brand-blue overlay

Imports System.Drawing

MyEditor.Content.TableAuthoringService.SelectedCellBackgroundColor = Color.FromArgb(120, 0, 122, 204) ' brand-blue overlay

EnableTableCellMerging Property

Gets or sets whether the service permits cell merging. When false, MergeSelectedCells and CanMergeCells are inert.

Syntax

bool EnableTableCellMerging { get; set; }

Property Value

true to allow cell merging; false to forbid it. The editor mirrors this from Options.EnableTableCellMerge at startup, and again every time ResetTableManipulator runs.

Example

// Make cell-merging available only in expert mode.
MyEditor.Content.TableAuthoringService.EnableTableCellMerging = appPrefs.ExpertMode;

Ask your AI to do this

Using the SpiceLogic WPF HTML Editor already referenced in my project, drive table editing from my own ribbon instead of the built-in context menu, through Content.TableAuthoringService: call InsertColumn with InsertPositions.Before or After to add a column next to the caret, and DeleteColumn to remove the current one, wiring both to buttons labeled "Insert Column" and "Delete Column" in a custom "Table tools" panel. Also expose a toggle for TableAuthoringService.EnableTableCellMerging so an administrator role can turn cell merging on or off per document. Look up the exact ITableAuthoringService members and their signatures with the SpiceLogic MCP tools before wiring the buttons.