Design-time configuration: the Properties window and XAML

The design-time experience in one minute (WPF)

You configure WpfHtmlEditor at design time through the Visual Studio Properties window, directly in XAML (with IntelliSense), and through a Quick Setup panel that appears next to the control when you select it on the WPF design surface. This is not a WinForms-style Smart Tag - WPF's design-time extensibility model is built differently - but it serves the same purpose: one-click access to the properties in the table below, plus Documentation, Support, Updates, and About links. The Quick Setup panel is only available when your host targets .NET Framework; see the note below on modern .NET.

Adding toolbar items is a separate, code/XAML/binding task (the toolbars are factory-built); see Adding New Items to the WPF Editor Toolbar in the Toolbar Customization section.

There is no Smart Tag on WPF -- use the Properties window and XAML

The Smart Tag is a WinForms designer concept. On WPF you set the same kinds of settings either in the Properties window or straight in XAML. The commonly-configured properties are:

Property	Purpose
`Language`	UI language of the editor.
`EditorMode`	Start-up editor mode.
`Options.DefaultHtmlType`	Default HTML type.
`Options.EnterKeyResponse`	Paragraph vs line break on Enter.
`SpellCheckOptions.FireInlineSpellCheckingOnKeyStroke`	Inline spell-check on keystroke.
`Options.ShowZeroBorderGuideline`	Zero-border table guideline.
`Options.EnableTableCellMerge`	Table cell merge feature.
`BodyStyle` / `BaseUrl` / `Charset`	Document body style, base URL, charset.

The WPF design-time assembly is .NET Framework only -- behavior on modern .NET

Design-time support for the WPF control (its separate design-time assembly) is built for .NET Framework (net45 / net472 / net48) only, so the richest design-time tooling appears when your host targets .NET Framework. On modern .NET (.NET 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10) you still set every property at design time through the Properties window and XAML IntelliSense, and at runtime in code. Because the Quick Setup panel's design-time assembly targets .NET Framework only, that panel does not appear on modern .NET -- but every property is still set through the Properties window and XAML IntelliSense there, so nothing functional is missing on modern .NET, only a design-time convenience.

Configuring the control at design time

Set properties as XAML attributes (with IntelliSense) or in the Properties window; the same things are settable in code:

<wpfeditor:WpfHtmlEditor x:Name="Editor"
                         Language="German"
                         EditorMode="WysiwygDesign" />

Adding toolbar items is a code/XAML/binding task -- see Adding New Items to the WPF Editor Toolbar in the Toolbar Customization section.

Quick answers

Question	Answer
Is there a Smart Tag on the WPF editor?	Not a WinForms-style Smart Tag, but a Quick Setup panel appears next to the selected control on the WPF design surface (.NET Framework hosts only), giving one-click access to the same commonly-configured properties.
How do I configure the control at design time?	The Properties window and XAML attributes (with IntelliSense).
Anything different on modern .NET vs .NET Framework?	Only design-time tooling richness. Properties stay fully editable; runtime is identical.
How do I add toolbar items?	In code, XAML, or via data binding. See the Toolbar Customization section.

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Using the SpiceLogic WPF HTML Editor already referenced in my project, configure a WpfHtmlEditor instance named "Editor" directly in XAML instead of in code-behind: set Language to German, EditorMode to WysiwygDesign, and Options.EnterKeyResponse so pressing Enter inserts a paragraph break the way it does in Word. Also decide whether Options.EnableTableCellMerge and SpellCheckOptions.FireInlineSpellCheckingOnKeyStroke should be on by default for this instance, and set them as XAML attributes with IntelliSense rather than in a constructor. Look up the real property names and their accepted values with the SpiceLogic MCP tools before writing any XAML.