Rich Text Component

Rich Text Format

RTF (Rich Text Format) is a file format that allows exchanging formatted text and graphics between different word processors and different operating systems.

It's a widely recognized format supported by many applications, including WordPad and Microsoft Word.
RTF can store complex formatting information, images, tables, hyperlinks, Unicode text, footnotes, endnotes, text boxes.

Problems With Delphi RichEdit

RTF evolves together with Microsoft Word. Each new version of Microsoft Word adds new keywords to RTF.
Other applications support subsets of RTF keywords. The standard Delphi TRichEdit component (based on the richedit DLL) supports a relatively small subset of RTF keywords: no images, no hyperlinks, no tables, no advanced formatting.
There are third-party wrappers for the newer version of the richedit DLL available, but they are still limited: images only in basic formats, very primitive and buggy tables, no advanced formatting.
For obvious reasons, Microsoft's richedit will never be even nearly as powerful as Microsoft Word.

Some changes during RTF evolution were more radical: for example, since MS Word 97, the representation of bullets and numbering in RTF has changed completely. Many other RTF readers (including the standard rich edit control) understand only the old format of bullets and numbering. When you paste bulleted paragraphs from the new version of Microsoft Word into the standard richedit control, you can see that although the pasted bullets look like bullets they no longer work like bullets. This is because the richedit control does not understand the new RTF format of bullets, and simply pastes them as plain text.

Our Rich Text Component

If you are looking for an advanced rich text editing component, you have come to the right place.

Of course, we are unable to reproduce 100% of Microsoft Word, but we offer an editor component with one of the best RTF engines available for Delphi developers. And this is a native VCL/LCL component, it is not based on any DLL or ActiveX.

Our rich text edit control can read RTF (as well as DocX) files with:

• tables (including nested tables and tables with columns widths defined in percents),
• embedded images (formats: metafiles (both 16-bit and 32-bit), bitmaps (both DIB and DDB), Jpegs, Png
• images in external files,
• multilevel bullets and numbering (both in old and new formats)
• hyperlinks,
• footnotes and endnotes,
• text boxes above and below text,
• headers and footers (including special headers and footers for the first page and odd/even pages,
• fields (counters, page numbers, page counts),
• document properties (authors, title, description),
• page properties (page format, page orientation, margins),
• many advanced text and paragraph attributes.

Quick links

• Detailed information about the components
• Download trial versions and demos
• Download compiled demos
• Prices, ordering
• Additional resources for our components

You do not need to be an expert in programming to create a powerful word processor with our components.
RichViewActions (free addon) includes a set of components and actions allowing you to create a stunning user interface in the Delphi form designer, with almost no programming at all.

Want to see real world applications that were built with our components? We have created a list of software built by satisfied customers using our component. Of course this is not a complete list, but it will give you an impression of the power and flexibility of our component.

Have a question? Visit our support forums or write us an e-mail.