TextDynamic .NET

Word processing is important for many applications, for example to edit marketing e-mails, to edit letters or to enter formatted text into a database memo field. Even more important is the ability to create formatted text under program control. For example to create contracts by combining different text blocks, to create invoices and mass mailing letters. To solve all these problems you can use our product TextDynamic as .NET and ActiveX control.

If you need to do mass mailing or to provide your customers with a customizable database view you will enjoy working with the powerful mail merge feature.

TextDynamic is a royalty free word processing and reporting control which can be embedded into applications to create text in code, to offer the end user WYSIWYG editing features and to convert document formats, such as RTF to HTML or RTF to PDF.

Where you can use TextDynamic™

MDI Application (VB.NET)

  • In .NET WinForm applications (as .NET assembly written in C# - DLL) - with Visual Studio 2005, 2008 and 2010
  • Also supports Framework 1: Delphi 2005, Delphi 2006, VisualStudio 2003
  • In Visual Basic™ 6 applications (as ActiveX™ - OCX)
  • In MS Access™ Forms to enter formatted field into databases, mail merge and reporting (as ActiveX™ - OCX)
  • In Visual FoxPRO™ to enter formatted field into databases, create mailings, print
  • in VS2008 or other C++ IDEs using a single function.
 

What you can do with TextDynamic™

  • Process RTF, ANSI, UNICODE and/or HTML texts
  • Edit data base memo fields with simple or formatted text
  • Prepare and send e-mails using the interface IWPMapi.
  • Use complete word processing with page layout view, 100% WYSIWYG, header&footer, cascading style sheets (CSS)
  • Use integrated spell check
  • Work with powerful mail merge work with fields to automatically insert and replace formatted text and images)
  • Create documents under program control
  • Use reporting (= mail merge with bands)
  • Use Memo.LabelDef to create, edit and print labels.
  • Convert RTF to PDF using the integrated PDF converter. The PDF exporter is now now also able to attach data.
  • Export HTML to PDF
  • With "premium" license: footnotes, text boxes (frames) and columns!
  • Note: If you need the TextDynamic features on your (web) server please check out our ASP product wRTF2PDF. It includes almost the complete TextDynamic API to create and manipulate text.

Key features of the word processing engine:

Basis  ::Reporting License::  ::Premium License::  ::PDF Export:: 
100% WYSIWYG word processing
Localized dialog boxes, rulers and toolbars
Zooming, Preview and Thumbnail Display
Different layout modes, incl. double page and multi column display.
All usual paragraph attributes such as indent, justified text, shading
All usual character attributes such as font, size, underline modes
Full paragraph style (CSS) support (property inheritance and overriding)
Sections (different page sizes in one document)
Header&Footer Texts (multiple in one document possible and WYSIWYG editing)
TextObjects - Page numbering, Date and custom texts
Merge Fields (implemented using field objects, not with simple text replacing)
Integrated label printing (editable preview!)
Images - handled as characters or relative to page or paragraph
Special HTML formatting mode
HTTP connections
MIME conversion
Convert pages to bitmaps or EMF
Open Word (*.DOC) files using the converter DLLs already installed on the system
Loads and saves ANSI, UNICODE, Rich Text Format (RTF) and its native WPT format
Imports and exports HTML (with CSS)
Royalty free distribution (Conditions see Order Page)

Benefits

All the text features you need:
While the "standard" version of other text components is restricted and hides the most important features from the developer, TextDynamic "Basis" already includes features not found in the most expensive edition of competing products. For example the split screen feature, text wrap around images, numbering, header+footer, the mail merge and also the HTML import/export can be used in the entry version as well.

Maximum performance when working with documents:
TextDynamic .NET assembly has been developed in C#. This allows a tight integration into .NET applications - it is not required to register any OCX. Since word processing requires the allocation of a large number of smal memory blocks plus fast array handling we implemented it into a native windows, highly optimized and so lightning fast DLL. The result shows that the extra effort was worthwhile, a 220 page RTF file (8MB) is loaded in about 5 seconds on a main stream notebook. (Pentium M1.6 Ghz)

Maximum flexibility for configuring the user interface:
Only TextDynamic comes with several tool panels arranged around the editor window. But the GUI can be completely configured, also the images can be changed. It is also possible to update and localize the hint messages and the texts used by the dialogs. Switching languages at runtime is possible as well. The user interface is configured using a XML script. That script, together with the images for the buttons, is loaded from a special package file - we also include an application to edit that file. The package file used by the GUI can of course be protected with a password.

Easy to use, almost impossible to outgrow
When you start with TextDynamic you will get impressive results in minutes. But if you need special features you will find out that it does so much more. Its mail merge method handles RTF and HTML texts and also images. You can add support for styles or footnotes to your application. High quality and fast PDF export is optionally available, no 3rdparty product or printer driver is required. Spellcheck is also optionally available - very fast and effective since implemented in the engine.

Powerful and easy to understand API
More than 10 years of experiece in text component design helped us to create the probably most powerful text control API. Using a set of interfaces you can create text in code, modify the GUI, create e-mails and PDF.

What our customers say ...

I have previously used a competitors word processing control and it was cheaper to buy yours outright then to buy the upgrade of the other. Yours also includes better features anyway. Value for money is what convinced me to change. - Rob

Thanks. You are doing some terrific development work on this version with a lot of useful new features. - GRS

In general I must say I am pretty impressed. I used to work with <...> component, like this one much better. - Chris

Features

TextDynamic as Popup Editor (wptextCreateDialog) TextDynamic can also be used in a "popup editor mode". Here You only have to call one method from the DLL to create an editor window. It will include the toolbar, ruler and even a seconday editor window for the display of thumbnails. This editor window can be displayed on your form. You do not need any COM to do this, just load the DLL dynamically. This makes it very easy to upgrade legacy applications significantly and provide Your customers with high end word processing capabilities right in Your application.

Create and Print Labels TextDynamic can be used to create, preview and print labels. Internally the formatting routine distributes the text on multiple label rectangles on a virtual label sheet - a manual page break let it start a new label. So it is possible to edit the text on the label sheet - for example remove some labels before everything is printed.

Interface to create e-mails Using the interface IWPMapi the parts of an e-mail (text, html attachment, images) can be automatically created and optionally also beeing send using the Mail API function.

Edit multiple documents in a single text contol TextDynamic is able to switch between many documents which are managed internally - quickly and flickerfree. Even a tab set can be added to switch beteen the documents. So you can work with multiple documents without the over head of the MDI framework.

Mail Merge (work with fields in text) MailMerge is used to replace texts fields with data. TextDynamic is very strong is this aspect. It is possible to insert formatted text (RTF, HTML) or images. Mailmerge with TextDynamic is not destructive, this means the merge process can be performed over and over again since the field markers are not overwritten.

Customizable User Interface The toolbar plays an important role in an application. With TextDynamic you can either use your own toolbar or customize the included toolbar.

Bullets, Numbering and Outlines Create bulleted lists, multi level outlines or simple numbering. The property dialog makes it easy to change every aspect of the bullet text, even the color can be customized.

Header and Footer are edited WYSIWYG TextDynamic (also BASIS edition) supports true header and footer texts. Such text are formatted texts placed on top or bottom of a range of pages. It is even possible to select certain texts for certain pages. Movable images can be part of a header text, if they are located outside the header area they serve as watermark.

Layout Modes (Page, Normal, Thumbnail...) TextDynamic has a multitude of different layout modes. All those modes are WYSIWYG. In the page layout modes it is possible to edit the header/footer texts on the virtual page. ...

Option: Create PDF with integrated engine TextDynamic can be licensed with a PDF creation option. This makes it possible to create a new PDF file from the current loaded text and also for a sequence of texts.

Option: Internal Spellchecker to support inline spellcheck or traditional spellcheck with a (non modal) spellcheck dialog.

Use splitscreen feature Unlike most other text controls TextDynamic supports a split screen mode. Here two editors are displayed which edit the same text.

Powerful Image Support Embedded image can be handled as a character or linked to paragraph or to a page with relative positioning. Text wrapping is possible on left or right side and also on both sides! Images can be used to create watermarks, simply place a large, page anchored image into the header text.

Powerful Tables (Nestable, repeated header/footer) With TextDynamic one table cell can contain multiple paragraphs and even other tables. The height of a row can exceed he length of a page since, unlike some competing products, TextDynamic supports page breaks in table rows.

Dialogs are included TextDynamic includes a set of dialogs, such as the property dialogs for paragraph indents and spacing, tabstops and borders. There is a dialog to change the page size, to define a numbering style or to create a paragraph style.

.NET Edition

With TextDynamic .NET you don't any longer need the RichTextBox or RichEdit DLL.

It is tightly integrated into the .NET (1.1, 2.0, new: 3.5) environment using an easy to use interface class developed in C#.
The licensed version contains the C# source for this assembly so you can adapt it and recompile it with future versions of VisualStudio.
The included ActiveX is not used for .NET applications.

Please download the demo version which does not only include the support for .NET but also for MS Access, Visual FoxPro or VB6.

We also posted the manual (more than 400 pages with multiple examples) which is included as PDF and CMH file as a special online version.

The demo will install the necessary DLLs. It will also register the OCX version. It will not modify the .NET assembly cache and allows complete de-installation. The Demo also includes an executable which let you try out the component, without having to integrate it into your development tool. (Demo License)

Optional Reporting

Band and Field "Repository"

Most reporting tools work with page layouts. This means you may place graphics at exact positions on a form and when the report is created it will exactly look as the designed forms.

This approach is often very good, but is some cases you want the text created by the reporter to be edit able. The mentioned approach has a problem with this - while it is sometimes possible to create RTF documents with the reporting tool, they are not really "edit able" - the text has been broken up into the tiniest pieces - just single text boxes. Usually the RTF export is optimized to be best viewed in MS Word only.

 

With the TextDynamic report a text file (RTF or WPT format) is created which allows full editing, including changing of the page size, and other operations which make the re-pagination of the text necessary.

We discuss an example developed in MS Access in the provided developing manual to demonstrate it. However, it is not limited to be used with Access. Since the data is provided through an event it can work with any database your development language supports, also custom made databases and calculated data.

Technical Notes

TextDynamic is a visual control. It can be used in WinForms application developed with .NET 1.1 or .NET 2.0 Windows development tools (Delphi 2006, VS2003, VS2005). Using the also provided OCX TextDynamic can be embedded into VB6 applications and used with MS Access® or Visual FoxPro® as editing, reporting or printing component.

TextDynamic is based upon a widely used and trusted word processing engine. The engine has been completely rewritten after 2004 to support modern text features, such as paragraph styles (CSS), layers and nestable tables. Internally it uses a hierarchical XML like memory structure with a consequent implementation of property inheritance. Unlike most other word processors TextDynamic supports a "undefined" setting for all attributes - a feature which is essential for propper CSS handling.

The programming API has been created from scratch based on the experiences from word processing development since 1996. The API used by the OCX and by the .NET editions are almost identical. We however took care that special features under each platform are used best.

TextDynamic is available in several editions. The support for hyper links, mail merge, header and footer, outlines and bullets, styles, tables and HTML loading and saving is already included in the "basis" editions. Optionally you can license spellcheck and PDF creation. With the "premium" license you get support for WYSIWYG footnotes and text boxes (also called text frames).

Optionally available is also an internal reporting engine. This feature makes it easy to create documents from a template mixed with external data, i.e. a database. So invoices, contracts or lists are created quickly. The reporting feature uses a system with two templates - the first template should be prepared by the developer, the second template can be adjusted by the enduser with the easy to understand template editor. After the report was created it can still be edited.

This page is related to "text control net", and "text component net".