JavaScript/jQuery HtmlEditor Methods

This section describes methods that control the HtmlEditor widget.

beginUpdate()

Prevents the widget from refreshing until the endUpdate() method is called.

The beginUpdate() and endUpdate() methods prevent the widget from excessive updates when you are changing multiple widget settings at once. After the beginUpdate() method is called, the widget does not update its UI until the endUpdate() method is called.

See Also

clearHistory()

Clears the history of changes.

See Also

defaultOptions(rule)

Specifies the device-dependent default configuration options for this component.

Parameters:
rule:

Object

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.

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>
        <dx-html-editor id="htmlEditor1" />
        <dx-html-editor 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:

Number

A zero-based index at which to begin deleting.

length:

Number

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.

The following code disposes of an HtmlEditor instance that corresponds to the element ID (or reference variable in Angular) and removes the element from the DOM:

jQuery
JavaScript
$("#myHtmlEditor").dxHtmlEditor("dispose");
$("#myHtmlEditor").remove();
Angular
HTML
<dx-html-editor #htmlEditorVar id="myHtmlEditor"></dx-html-editor>
TypeScript
import { ..., ViewChild } from "@angular/core";
import { DxHtmlEditorComponent } from "devextreme-angular";
// ...
export class AppComponent {
    @ViewChild("htmlEditorVar") htmlEditor: DxHtmlEditorComponent;

    removeHtmlEditor (e) {
        this.htmlEditor.instance.dispose();
        document.getElementById("myHtmlEditor").remove();
    }
}

element()

Gets the root widget element.

Return Value:

HTMLElement | jQuery

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

See Also

endUpdate()

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

Main article: beginUpdate()

See Also

focus()

Sets focus on the widget.

See Also

format(formatName, formatValue)

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

Parameters:
formatName:

String

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) 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
    ],
    // ...
})
See Also

formatLine(index, length, formatName, formatValue)

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

Parameters:
index:

Number

A zero-based index at which to begin formatting.

length:

Number

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

formatName:

String

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) htmlEditor: DxHtmlEditorComponent;
    alignFirstLineToRight() {
        this.htmlEditor.instance.formatLine(0, 1, "align", "right");
    }
}
@NgModule({
    imports: [
        // ...
       DxHtmlEditorModule
    ],
    // ...
})
See Also

formatLine(index, length, formats)

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

Parameters:
index:

Number

A zero-based index at which to begin formatting.

length:

Number

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

formats:

Object

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) 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
    ],
    // ...
})
See Also

formatText(index, length, formatName, formatValue)

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

Parameters:
index:

Number

A zero-based index at which to begin formatting.

length:

Number

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

formatName:

String

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) htmlEditor: DxHtmlEditorComponent;
    makeTextBold() {
        // Makes the first five characters bold
        this.htmlEditor.instance.formatText(0, 5, "bold", true);
    }
}
@NgModule({
    imports: [
        // ...
       DxHtmlEditorModule
    ],
    // ...
})
See Also

formatText(index, length, formats)

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

Parameters:
index:

Number

A zero-based index at which to begin formatting.

length:

Number

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

formats:

Object

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) htmlEditor: DxHtmlEditorComponent;
    applyLineFormats() {
        // Makes the first five characters bold and underlined
        this.htmlEditor.instance.formatText(0, 5, { "bold": "true", "underline": "true" });
    }
}
@NgModule({
    imports: [
        // ...
       DxHtmlEditorModule
    ],
    // ...
})
See Also

getFormat(index, length)

Gets formats applied to the content in the specified range.

Parameters:
index:

Number

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

length:

Number

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

Return Value:

Object

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:

DOM Node

|

jQuery

The widget's container.

Return Value:

Object

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);
See Also

getLength()

Gets the entire content's length.

Return Value:

Number

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").

getModule(modulePath)

Gets a format, module, or Parchment.

Parameters:
modulePath:

String

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

Return Value:

Object

A format, module, or Parchment content.

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

In the following code, the allowed font sizes are limited in the size format and the bold format is associated with the <b> tag instead of the default <strong> tag. After the modifications are made, the formats are registered.

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

    var Size = htmlEditor.getModule("formats/size");
    Size.whitelist = ["11px", "12px", "14px"]; 

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

    htmlEditor.registerModules({ "formats/size": Size, "formats/bold": Bold });
});
Angular
TypeScript
import { ..., ViewChild, AfterViewInit } from "@angular/core";
import { DxHtmlEditorModule, DxHtmlEditorComponent } from "devextreme-angular";
// ...
export class AppComponent implements AfterViewInit {
    @ViewChild(DxHtmlEditorComponent) htmlEditor: DxHtmlEditorComponent;
    ngAfterViewInit () {
        let htmlEditor = this.htmlEditor.instance;

        let Size = htmlEditor.getModule("formats/size");
        Size.whitelist = ["11px", "12px", "14px"]; 

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

        htmlEditor.registerModules({ "formats/size": Size, "formats/bold": Bold });
    }
}
@NgModule({
    imports: [
        // ...
       DxHtmlEditorModule
    ],
    // ...
})

getQuillInstance()

Gets Quill's instance.

Return Value:

Object

Quill's instance.

getSelection()

Gets the selected content's position and length.

Return Value:

Object

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:

Number

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

type:

String

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/18_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) htmlEditor: DxHtmlEditorComponent;
    insertImageAtTheBeginning() {
        this.htmlEditor.instance.insertEmbed(0, "extendedImage", {
            src: "https://js.devexpress.com/Content/images/doc/18_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:

Number

A zero-based index at which to insert text.

text:

String

The text to be inserted.

formats:

Object

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) 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:

HtmlEditor

This widget's instance.

See Also

off(eventName)

Detaches all event handlers from a single event.

Parameters:
eventName:

String

The event's name.

Return Value:

HtmlEditor

The object for which this method is called.

See Also

off(eventName, eventHandler)

Detaches a particular event handler from a single event.

Parameters:
eventName:

String

The event's name.

eventHandler:

Function

The event's handler.

Return Value:

HtmlEditor

The object for which this method is called.

See Also

on(eventName, eventHandler)

Subscribes to an event.

Parameters:
eventName:

String

The event's name.

eventHandler:

Function

The event's handler.

Return Value:

HtmlEditor

The object for which this method is called.

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

See Also

on(events)

Subscribes to events.

Parameters:
events:

Object

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

Return Value:

HtmlEditor

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.

See Also

option()

Gets all widget options.

Return Value:

Object

The widget's options.

option(optionName)

Gets the value of a single option.

Parameters:
optionName:

String

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:

String

The option's name or full path.

optionValue: any

This option's new value.

option(options)

Updates the values of several options.

Parameters:
options:

Object

Options with their new values.

redo()

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

See Also

registerKeyHandler(key, handler)

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

Parameters:
key:

String

A key.

handler:

Function

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.

See Also

registerModules(modules)

Registers formats and modules.

Parameters:
modules:

Object

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
JavaScript
$(function() {
    // ...
    var htmlEditor = $("#htmlEditor").dxHtmlEditor("instance");
    htmlEditor.registerModules({ "modules/myModule": moduleObject });
});
Angular
TypeScript
import { ..., ViewChild, AfterViewInit } from "@angular/core";
import { DxHtmlEditorModule, DxHtmlEditorComponent } from "devextreme-angular";
// ...
export class AppComponent implements AfterViewInit {
    @ViewChild(DxHtmlEditorComponent) htmlEditor: DxHtmlEditorComponent;
    ngAfterViewInit () {
        this.htmlEditor.instance.registerModules({ "modules/myModule": moduleObject });
    }
}
@NgModule({
    imports: [
        // ...
       DxHtmlEditorModule
    ],
    // ...
})
See Also

removeFormat(index, length)

Removes all formatting and embedded content from the specified range.

Parameters:
index:

Number

A zero-based index at which to begin removing.

length:

Number

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.

See Also

reset()

Resets the value option to the default value.

See Also

setSelection(index, length)

Selects and highlights content in the specified range.

Parameters:
index:

Number

A zero-based index at which to begin selecting.

length:

Number

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

undo()

Reverses the most recent change. Repeated calls reverse preceding changes.

See Also