JavaScript/jQuery HtmlEditor Methods

The component's default device options.

Object structure:

Name	Type	Description
device	Device \| Array<Device> \| Function	Device parameters. When specifying a function, get information about the current device from the argument. Return true if the options should be applied to the device.
options	Object	Options to be applied.

Name

Type

Description

device

Device

|

Array<Device>

|

Device parameters.
When specifying a function, get information about the current device from the argument. Return true if the options should be applied to the device.

options

Options to be applied.

defaultOptions is a static method that the widget class supports. The following code demonstrates how to specify default options for all instances of the HtmlEditor widget in an application executed on the desktop.

jQuery

JavaScript

DevExpress.ui.dxHtmlEditor.defaultOptions({ 
    device: { deviceType: "desktop" },
    options: {
        // Here go the HtmlEditor options
    }
});

Angular

TypeScript

import HtmlEditor from "devextreme/ui/html_editor";
// ...
export class AppComponent {
    constructor () {
        HtmlEditor.defaultOptions({
            device: { deviceType: "desktop" },
            options: {
                // Here go the HtmlEditor options
            }
        });
    }
}

Vue

<template>
    <div>
        <DxHtmlEditor id="htmlEditor1" />
        <DxHtmlEditor id="htmlEditor2" />
    </div>
</template>
<script>
import DxHtmlEditor from "devextreme-vue/html-editor";
import HtmlEditor from "devextreme/ui/html_editor";

HtmlEditor.defaultOptions({
    device: { deviceType: "desktop" },
    options: {
        // Here go the HtmlEditor options
    }
});

export default {
    components: {
        DxHtmlEditor
    }
}
</script>

React

import React from "react";
import dxHtmlEditor from "devextreme/ui/html_editor";
import HtmlEditor from "devextreme-react/html-editor";

class App extends React.Component {
    render () {
        dxHtmlEditor.defaultOptions({
            device: { deviceType: "desktop" },
            options: {
                // Here go the HtmlEditor options
            }
        })
        return (
            <div>
                <HtmlEditor id="htmlEditor1" />
                <HtmlEditor id="htmlEditor2" />
            </div>
        )
    }
}

export default App;

delete(index, length)

Deletes content from the given range.

Parameters:

index:

A zero-based index at which to begin deleting.

length:

The length of the content to be deleted.
Embedded items have a length of 1.

dispose()

Disposes of all the resources allocated to the HtmlEditor instance.

After calling this method, remove the DOM element associated with the widget:

JavaScript

$("#myHtmlEditor").dxHtmlEditor("dispose");
$("#myHtmlEditor").remove();

Use this method only if the widget was created with jQuery or pure JavaScript. In Angular, Vue, and React, use conditional rendering:

Angular

app.component.html

<dx-html-editor ...
    *ngIf="condition">
</dx-html-editor>

Vue

App.vue

<template>
    <DxHtmlEditor ...
        v-if="condition">
    </DxHtmlEditor>
</template>

<script>
import DxHtmlEditor from 'devextreme-vue/html-editor';

export default {
    components: {
        DxHtmlEditor
    }
}
</script>

React

App.js

import React from 'react';

import HtmlEditor from 'devextreme-react/html-editor';

function DxHtmlEditor(props) {
    if (!props.shouldRender) {
        return null;
    }

    return (
        <HtmlEditor ... >    
        </HtmlEditor>
    );
}

class App extends React.Component {
    render() {
        return (
            <DxHtmlEditor shouldRender="condition" />
        );
    }
}
export default App;

element()

Gets the root widget element.

Return Value:

HTMLElement | jQuery

An HTML element or a jQuery element when you use jQuery.

endUpdate()

Refreshes the widget after a call of the beginUpdate() method.

Main article: beginUpdate()

focus()

Sets focus on the widget.

format(formatName, formatValue)

Applies a format to the selected content. Cannot be used with embedded formats.

Parameters:

formatName:

A format name.

formatValue: any

A format value.

If no content is selected, the format applies to the character typed next.

jQuery

JavaScript

var htmlEditorInstance = $("#htmlEditorContainer").dxHtmlEditor("instance");
// Makes text bold
htmlEditorInstance.format("bold", true); 
// Inserts a link
htmlEditorInstance.format("link", { 
    href: "https://www.google.com/", 
    text: "Google", 
    title: "Go to Google" 
});

Angular

TypeScript

import { ..., ViewChild } from "@angular/core";
import { DxHtmlEditorModule, DxHtmlEditorComponent } from "devextreme-angular";
// ...
export class AppComponent {
    @ViewChild(DxHtmlEditorComponent, { static: false }) htmlEditor: DxHtmlEditorComponent;
    // Prior to Angular 8
    // @ViewChild(DxHtmlEditorComponent) htmlEditor: DxHtmlEditorComponent;
    makeTextBold() {
        this.htmlEditor.instance.format("bold", true);
    }
    insertGoogleLink(){
        this.htmlEditor.instance.format("link", { 
            href: "https://www.google.com/", 
            text: "Google", 
            title: "Go to Google" 
        });
    }
}
@NgModule({
    imports: [
        // ...
       DxHtmlEditorModule
    ],
    // ...
})

formatLine(index, length, formatName, formatValue)

Applies a single block format to all lines in the given range.

Parameters:

index:

A zero-based index at which to begin formatting.

length:

The length of the content to be formatted.
Embedded items have a length of 1.

formatName:

A format name.

formatValue: any

A format value.

NOTE

The entire line will be formatted even if only a single character from it falls within the given range.

jQuery

JavaScript

// Aligns the first line to the right
$("#htmlEditorContainer").dxHtmlEditor("instance").formatLine(0, 1, "align", "right");

Angular

TypeScript

import { ..., ViewChild } from "@angular/core";
import { DxHtmlEditorModule, DxHtmlEditorComponent } from "devextreme-angular";
// ...
export class AppComponent {
    @ViewChild(DxHtmlEditorComponent, { static: false }) htmlEditor: DxHtmlEditorComponent;
    // Prior to Angular 8
    // @ViewChild(DxHtmlEditorComponent) htmlEditor: DxHtmlEditorComponent;
    alignFirstLineToRight() {
        this.htmlEditor.instance.formatLine(0, 1, "align", "right");
    }
}
@NgModule({
    imports: [
        // ...
       DxHtmlEditorModule
    ],
    // ...
})

formatLine(index, length, formats)

Applies several block formats to all lines in the given range.

Parameters:

index:

A zero-based index at which to begin formatting.

length:

The length of the content to be formatted.
Embedded items have a length of 1.

formats:

Formats to be applied.
This object should have the following structure:
{ "formatName1": "formatValue1", ... }

NOTE

The entire line will be formatted even if only a single character from it falls within the given range.

jQuery

JavaScript

// Aligns the first line to the right and turns it into an ordered list's item.
$("#htmlEditorContainer").dxHtmlEditor("instance").formatLine(0, 2, { "align": "right", "list": "ordered" });

Angular

TypeScript

import { ..., ViewChild } from "@angular/core";
import { DxHtmlEditorModule, DxHtmlEditorComponent } from "devextreme-angular";
// ...
export class AppComponent {
    @ViewChild(DxHtmlEditorComponent, { static: false }) htmlEditor: DxHtmlEditorComponent;
    // Prior to Angular 8
    // @ViewChild(DxHtmlEditorComponent) htmlEditor: DxHtmlEditorComponent;
    applyLineFormats() {
        // Aligns the first line to the right and turns it into an ordered list's item.
        this.htmlEditor.instance.formatLine(0, 1, { "align": "right", "list": "ordered" });
    }
}
@NgModule({
    imports: [
        // ...
       DxHtmlEditorModule
    ],
    // ...
})

formatText(index, length, formatName, formatValue)

Applies a single text format to all characters in the given range.

Parameters:

index:

A zero-based index at which to begin formatting.

length:

The length of the content to be formatted.
Embedded items have a length of 1.

formatName:

A format name.

formatValue: any

A format value.

jQuery

JavaScript

// Makes the first five characters bold
$("#htmlEditorContainer").dxHtmlEditor("instance").formatText(0, 5, "bold", true);

Angular

TypeScript

import { ..., ViewChild } from "@angular/core";
import { DxHtmlEditorModule, DxHtmlEditorComponent } from "devextreme-angular";
// ...
export class AppComponent {
    @ViewChild(DxHtmlEditorComponent, { static: false }) htmlEditor: DxHtmlEditorComponent;
    // Prior to Angular 8
    // @ViewChild(DxHtmlEditorComponent) htmlEditor: DxHtmlEditorComponent;
    makeTextBold() {
        // Makes the first five characters bold
        this.htmlEditor.instance.formatText(0, 5, "bold", true);
    }
}
@NgModule({
    imports: [
        // ...
       DxHtmlEditorModule
    ],
    // ...
})

formatText(index, length, formats)

Applies several text formats to all characters in the given range.

Parameters:

index:

A zero-based index at which to begin formatting.

length:

The length of the content to be formatted.
Embedded items have a length of 1.

formats:

Formats to be applied.
This object should have the following structure:
{ "formatName1": "formatValue1", ... }

jQuery

JavaScript

// Makes the first five characters bold and underlined
$("#htmlEditorContainer").dxHtmlEditor("instance").formatText(0, 5, { "bold": "true", "underline": "true" });

Angular

TypeScript

import { ..., ViewChild } from "@angular/core";
import { DxHtmlEditorModule, DxHtmlEditorComponent } from "devextreme-angular";
// ...
export class AppComponent {
    @ViewChild(DxHtmlEditorComponent, { static: false }) htmlEditor: DxHtmlEditorComponent;
    // Prior to Angular 8
    // @ViewChild(DxHtmlEditorComponent) htmlEditor: DxHtmlEditorComponent;
    applyLineFormats() {
        // Makes the first five characters bold and underlined
        this.htmlEditor.instance.formatText(0, 5, { "bold": "true", "underline": "true" });
    }
}
@NgModule({
    imports: [
        // ...
       DxHtmlEditorModule
    ],
    // ...
})

get(componentPath)

Gets a format, module, or Parchment.

Parameters:

componentPath:

A path to a format ("formats/[formatName]"), module ("modules/[moduleName]"), or Parchment ("parchment").

Return Value:

A format, module, or Parchment content.

You can perform the following tasks after getting a format, module, or Parchment:

Modify the format
You can change the markup tag associated with the format and allowed format values, as shown in the code example after this list.
Extend the format or module
You can extend HtmlEditor's formats and modules and also Quill's formats and modules. See the Extend Built-In Formats and Modules topic for the code example.
Create a custom format based on the Parchment
Refer to the Parchment documentation for more information.

In the following code, the bold format is associated with the <b> tag instead of the default <strong> tag. After the modification, the format is registered.

jQuery

index.js

$(function() {
    // ...
    var htmlEditor = $("#htmlEditorContainer").dxHtmlEditor("instance");

    var Bold = htmlEditor.get("formats/bold");
    Bold.tagName = "b";

    htmlEditor.register({ "formats/bold": Bold });
});

Angular

app.component.html

<dx-html-editor ... >
</dx-html-editor>

app.component.ts

app.module.ts

import { Component, ViewChild, AfterViewInit } from '@angular/core';
import { DxHtmlEditorComponent } from 'devextreme-angular';

@Component({
    selector: 'app-root',
    templateUrl: './app.component.html',
    styleUrls: ['./app.component.css']
})
export class AppComponent {
    @ViewChild(DxHtmlEditorComponent, { static: false }) htmlEditor: DxHtmlEditorComponent;
    // Prior to Angular 8
    // @ViewChild(DxHtmlEditorComponent) htmlEditor: DxHtmlEditorComponent;

    ngAfterViewInit() {
        let htmlEditor = this.htmlEditor.instance;

        let Bold = htmlEditor.get("formats/bold");
        Bold.tagName = "b";

        htmlEditor.register({ "formats/bold": Bold });
    }
}

import { BrowserModule } from '@angular/platform-browser';
import { NgModule } from '@angular/core';
import { AppComponent } from './app.component';

import { DxHtmlEditorModule } from 'devextreme-angular';

@NgModule({
    declarations: [
        AppComponent
    ],
    imports: [
        BrowserModule,
        DxHtmlEditorModule
    ],
    providers: [ ],
    bootstrap: [AppComponent]
})
export class AppModule { }

Vue

App.vue

<template>
    <DxHtmlEditor ...
        :ref="htmlEditorRefName">
    </DxHtmlEditor>
</template>

<script>
import 'devextreme/dist/css/dx.common.css';
import 'devextreme/dist/css/dx.light.css';

import DxHtmlEditor from 'devextreme-vue/html-editor';

const htmlEditorRefName = "myHtmlEditor";

export default {
    components: {
        DxHtmlEditor
    },
    data() {
        return {
            htmlEditorRefName
        }
    },
    computed: {
        htmlEditor: function() {
            return this.$refs[htmlEditorRefName].instance;
        }
    },
    mounted: function() {
        this.$nextTick(function() {
            let Bold = this.htmlEditor.get("formats/bold");
            Bold.tagName = "b";

            this.htmlEditor.register({ "formats/bold": Bold });
        })
    }
}
</script>

React

App.js

import React from 'react';

import 'devextreme/dist/css/dx.common.css';
import 'devextreme/dist/css/dx.light.css';

import HtmlEditor from 'devextreme-react/html-editor';

class App extends React.Component {
    constructor(props) {
        super(props);
        this.htmlEditorRef = React.createRef();
    }

    get htmlEditor() {
        return this.htmlEditorRef.current.instance;
    }

    render() {
        return (
            <HtmlEditor ...
                ref={this.htmlEditorRef}>
            </HtmlEditor>
        );
    }

    componentDidMount() {
        let Bold = this.htmlEditor.get("formats/bold");
        Bold.tagName = "b";

        this.htmlEditor.register({ "formats/bold": Bold });
    }
}
export default App;

getFormat(index, length)

Gets formats applied to the content in the specified range.

Parameters:

index:

A zero-based index indicating the range's start.

length:

The range's length.
Embedded items have a length of 1.

Return Value:

The applied formats.
This object has the following structure:
{ "formatName1": "formatValue1", ... }

getInstance(element)

Gets the instance of a widget found using its DOM node.

Parameters:

element:

Element

|

jQuery

The widget's container.

Return Value:

The widget's instance.

getInstance is a static method that the widget class supports. The following code demonstrates how to get the HtmlEditor instance found in an element with the myHtmlEditor ID:

// Modular approach
import HtmlEditor from "devextreme/ui/html_editor";
...
let element = document.getElementById("myHtmlEditor");
let instance = HtmlEditor.getInstance(element) as HtmlEditor;

// Non-modular approach
let element = document.getElementById("myHtmlEditor");
let instance = DevExpress.ui.dxHtmlEditor.getInstance(element);

getLength()

Gets the entire content's length.

Return Value:

The content's length.

Embedded items have a length of 1.

NOTE

Even if the HtmlEditor is empty, this method returns 1, because the widget always contains an empty line ("\n").

getQuillInstance()

Gets Quill's instance.

Return Value:

Quill's instance.

getSelection()

Gets the selected content's position and length.

Return Value:

The selected content's range. Has the following structure:

index
A zero-based index at which the selection starts.
length
The selected content's length.
Embedded items have a length of 1.

insertEmbed(index, type, config)

Inserts an embedded content at the specified position.

Parameters:

index:

A zero-based index at which to insert an embedded content.

type:

An embedded format's name.

config: any

An embedded format's value.

jQuery

JavaScript

// Adds an image at the beginning of the content
$("#htmlEditorContainer").dxHtmlEditor("instance").insertEmbed(0, "extendedImage", {
    src: "https://js.devexpress.com/Content/images/doc/19_2/PhoneJS/person1.png",
    alt: "Photo",
    width: "100px"
});

Angular

TypeScript

import { ..., ViewChild } from "@angular/core";
import { DxHtmlEditorModule, DxHtmlEditorComponent } from "devextreme-angular";
// ...
export class AppComponent {
    @ViewChild(DxHtmlEditorComponent, { static: false }) htmlEditor: DxHtmlEditorComponent;
    // Prior to Angular 8
    // @ViewChild(DxHtmlEditorComponent) htmlEditor: DxHtmlEditorComponent;
    insertImageAtTheBeginning() {
        this.htmlEditor.instance.insertEmbed(0, "extendedImage", {
            src: "https://js.devexpress.com/Content/images/doc/19_2/PhoneJS/person1.png",
            alt: "Photo",
            width: "100px"
        });
    }
}
@NgModule({
    imports: [
        // ...
       DxHtmlEditorModule
    ],
    // ...
})

insertText(index, text, formats)

Inserts formatted text at the specified position. Used with all formats except embedded.

Parameters:

index:

A zero-based index at which to insert text.

text:

The text to be inserted.

formats:

The formats to be applied.
This object should have the following structure:
{ "formatName1": "formatValue1", ... }

jQuery

JavaScript

// Inserts bold, green text at the beginning of the content
$("#htmlEditorContainer").dxHtmlEditor("instance").insertText(0, "I will be the first", { 
    bold: true, 
    color: "green" 
});

Angular

TypeScript

import { ..., ViewChild } from "@angular/core";
import { DxHtmlEditorModule, DxHtmlEditorComponent } from "devextreme-angular";
// ...
export class AppComponent {
    @ViewChild(DxHtmlEditorComponent, { static: false }) htmlEditor: DxHtmlEditorComponent;
    // Prior to Angular 8
    // @ViewChild(DxHtmlEditorComponent) htmlEditor: DxHtmlEditorComponent;
    insertTextAtTheBeginning() {
        // Inserts bold, green text at the beginning of the content
        this.htmlEditor.instance.insertText(0, "I will be the first", { 
            bold: true, 
            color: "green" 
        });
    }
}
@NgModule({
    imports: [
        // ...
       DxHtmlEditorModule
    ],
    // ...
})

instance()

Gets the widget's instance. Use it to access other methods of the widget.

Return Value:

This widget's instance.

off(eventName)

Detaches all event handlers from a single event.

Parameters:

eventName:

The event's name.

Return Value:

The object for which this method is called.

off(eventName, eventHandler)

Detaches a particular event handler from a single event.

Parameters:

eventName:

The event's name.

eventHandler:

The event's handler.

Return Value:

The object for which this method is called.

on(eventName, eventHandler)

Subscribes to an event.

Parameters:

eventName:

The event's name.

eventHandler:

The event's handler.

Return Value:

The object for which this method is called.

Use this method to subscribe to one of the events listed in the Events section.

on(events)

Subscribes to events.

Parameters:

events:

Events with their handlers: { "eventName1": handler1, "eventName2": handler2, ...}

Return Value:

The object for which this method is called.

Use this method to subscribe to several events with one method call. Available events are listed in the Events section.

option()

Gets all widget options.

Return Value:

The widget's options.

option(optionName)

Gets the value of a single option.

Parameters:

optionName:

The option's name or full path.

Return Value: any

This option's value.

option(optionName, optionValue)

Updates the value of a single option.

Parameters:

optionName:

The option's name or full path.

optionValue: any

This option's new value.

option(options)

Updates the values of several options.

Parameters:

options:

Options with their new values.

redo()

Reapplies the most recent undone change. Repeated calls reapply preceding undone changes.

register(components)

Registers custom formats and modules.

Parameters:

modules:

Formats and modules to be registered.
This object should have the following structure:
{ "path1": "object1", ... }
where path1 is formats/[formatName] for formats or modules/[moduleName] for modules.

jQuery

index.js

$(function() {
    // ...
    var htmlEditor = $("#htmlEditorContainer").dxHtmlEditor("instance");
    htmlEditor.register({ "modules/myModule": moduleObject });
});

Angular

app.component.ts

import { Component, ViewChild, AfterViewInit } from '@angular/core';
import { DxHtmlEditorComponent } from 'devextreme-angular';
// ...
export class AppComponent {
    @ViewChild(DxHtmlEditorComponent, { static: false }) htmlEditor: DxHtmlEditorComponent;
    // Prior to Angular 8
    // @ViewChild(DxHtmlEditorComponent) htmlEditor: DxHtmlEditorComponent;

    ngAfterViewInit() {
        let htmlEditor = this.htmlEditor.instance;
        htmlEditor.register({ "modules/myModule": moduleObject });
    }
}

Vue

App.vue

<template>
    <DxHtmlEditor ...
        :ref="htmlEditorRefName">
    </DxHtmlEditor>
</template>

<script>
import 'devextreme/dist/css/dx.common.css';
import 'devextreme/dist/css/dx.light.css';

import DxHtmlEditor from 'devextreme-vue/html-editor';

const htmlEditorRefName = "myHtmlEditor";

export default {
    components: {
        DxHtmlEditor
    },
    data() {
        return {
            htmlEditorRefName
        }
    },
    computed: {
        htmlEditor: function() {
            return this.$refs[htmlEditorRefName].instance;
        }
    },
    mounted: function() {
        this.$nextTick(function() {
            this.htmlEditor.registerModules({ "modules/myModule": moduleObject });
        })
    }
}
</script>

React

App.js

import React from 'react';

import 'devextreme/dist/css/dx.common.css';
import 'devextreme/dist/css/dx.light.css';

import HtmlEditor from 'devextreme-react/html-editor';

class App extends React.Component {
    constructor(props) {
        super(props);
        this.htmlEditorRef = React.createRef();
    }

    get htmlEditor() {
        return this.htmlEditorRef.current.instance;
    }

    render() {
        return (
            <HtmlEditor ...
                ref={this.htmlEditorRef}>
            </HtmlEditor>
        );
    }

    componentDidMount() {
        this.htmlEditor.register({ "modules/myModule": moduleObject });
    }
}
export default App;

registerKeyHandler(key, handler)

Registers a handler to be executed when a user presses a specific key.

Parameters:

key:

A key.

handler:

A handler. Accepts the keydown event as the argument. It is a dxEvent or a jQuery.Event when you use jQuery.

The key argument accepts one of the following values:

"backspace"
"tab"
"enter"
"escape"
"pageUp"
"pageDown"
"end"
"home"
"leftArrow"
"upArrow"
"rightArrow"
"downArrow"
"del"
"space"
"F"
"A"
"asterisk"
"minus"

A custom handler for a key cancels the default handler for this key.

removeFormat(index, length)

Removes all formatting and embedded content from the specified range.

Parameters:

index:

A zero-based index at which to begin removing.

length:

The length of the content to be removed.
Embedded items have a length of 1.

repaint()

Repaints the widget without reloading data. Call it to update the widget's markup.

reset()

Resets the value option to the default value.

resetOption(optionName)

Resets an option to its default value.

Parameters:

optionName:

An option's name.

setSelection(index, length)

Selects and highlights content in the specified range.

Parameters:

index:

A zero-based index at which to begin selecting.

length: