Getting Started with Windows Forms Syntax Editor

18 Nov 20189 minutes to read

This section explains how to use the EditControl to build a code editor similar to the Visual Studio Editor.

Assembly deployment

Refer to the Control Dependencies section for the list of assemblies or the NuGet package details that must be referenced to use the control in any application.

Refer to NuGet Packages to learn how to install NuGet packages in a Windows Forms application.

To install via the NuGet Package Manager Console, run:

Install-Package Syncfusion.Edit.Windows

Adding EditControl via designer

1. Create a new Windows Forms project in Visual Studio.

2. Add the EditControl to the application by dragging it from the toolbox to the designer surface. The following dependent assemblies are added automatically:

   • Syncfusion.Edit.Windows
   • Syncfusion.Tools.Windows
   • Syncfusion.Shared.Base

Adding EditControl via code

To add the control manually, follow these steps:

1. Create a C# or VB.NET application in Visual Studio.

2. Add the following assembly references to the project:

   • Syncfusion.Edit.Windows
   • Syncfusion.Tools.Windows
   • Syncfusion.Shared.Base

3. Create an instance of the EditControl and add it to the form.

   C#

   using System.Drawing;
   using System.Windows.Forms;
   using Syncfusion.Windows.Forms.Edit;
      
   namespace Winforms_Sample_Framework
   {
       public partial class Form1 : Form
       {
           private EditControl editControl1;
           public Form1()
           {
               InitializeComponent();
               editControl1 = new EditControl();
               editControl1.Size = new Size(50, 50);
               editControl1.Dock = DockStyle.Fill;
               editControl1.BorderStyle = BorderStyle.Fixed3D;
               this.Controls.Add(editControl1);
           }
       }
   }

   VB.NET

   Imports System.Windows.Forms
   Imports Syncfusion.Windows.Forms.Edit
      
   Public Class Form1
       Inherits Form
      
       Private editControl1 As EditControl
       Public Sub New()
           InitializeComponent()
           editControl1 = New Syncfusion.Windows.Forms.Edit.EditControl()
           editControl1.Size = New Size(50, 50)
           editControl1.Dock = DockStyle.Fill
           editControl1.BorderStyle = BorderStyle.Fixed3D
           Me.Controls.Add(editControl1)
       End Sub
   End Class

Loading a file into the document

This section explains how to load a file into the EditControl.

C#

// Load the file into the EditControl by passing the file path to the LoadFile method.

this.editControl1.LoadFile(Path.GetDirectoryName(Application.ExecutablePath) + @"\..\..\FileName.cs");

VB.NET

' Load the file into the EditControl by passing the file path to the LoadFile function.

Me.editControl1.LoadFile(Path.GetDirectoryName(Application.ExecutablePath) + "\..\..\FileName.cs")

Syntax highlighting

The EditControl offers built-in syntax highlighting for the most commonly used languages and also provides support for configuring a new custom language.

The EditControl has built-in syntax highlighting support for the following languages:

• C#
• VB.NET
• XML
• HTML
• Java
• SQL
• PowerShell
• C
• JavaScript
• VBScript
• Delphi

C#

// Apply the built-in configuration for a known language.

this.editControl1.ApplyConfiguration(KnownLanguages.CSharp);

VB.NET

'Apply the built-in configuration for a known language.

Me.editControl1.ApplyConfiguration(KnownLanguages.CSharp)

Custom language configuration

The EditControl supports custom language configuration. You can plug in an external XML file that defines the new language and then apply it with the Configurator.Open and ApplyConfiguration methods.

1. Create a configuration file (for example, config.xml) and set its Copy to Output Directory property to Copy if newer.

2. XAML

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<ArrayOfConfigLanguage>
	<ConfigLanguage name="LISP">
		<formats>
			<format name="Text" Font="Courier New, 10pt" FontColor="Salmon" />
			<format name="KeyWord" Font="Courier New, 10pt" FontColor="Blue" />
			<format name="String" Font="Courier New, 10pt, style=Bold" FontColor="Red" />
			<format name="Operator" Font="Courier New, 10pt" FontColor="DarkCyan" />
		</formats>
		<extensions>
			<extension>lsp</extension>
		</extensions>
		<lexems>
			<lexem BeginBlock="(" Type="Operator" />
			<lexem BeginBlock=")" Type="Operator" />
			<lexem BeginBlock="'" Type="Operator" />
			<lexem BeginBlock="car" Type="KeyWord" />
			<lexem BeginBlock="cdr" Type="KeyWord" />
			<lexem BeginBlock="cons" Type="KeyWord" />
		</lexems>
		<splits>
			<split>#Region</split>
			<split>#End Region</split>
		</splits>
	</ConfigLanguage>
</ArrayOfConfigLanguage>

3. Add a sample file Sample.lsp to the project root and set its Copy to Output Directory property to Copy if newer.

4. LISP

#Region "Collapsible Region"
   
(car '(rose violet daisy buttercup))
(cdr '(rose violet daisy buttercup))
(cons 'pine '(fir oak maple))
   
#End Region

5. Apply the configuration file to the EditControl.

   C#

   using Syncfusion.Windows.Forms.Edit;
   using System.Drawing;
   using System.IO;
   using System.Windows.Forms;
      
   namespace Winforms_Sample_Framework
   {
       public partial class Form1 : Form
       {
           private EditControl editControl1;
           private string configFile = Path.GetDirectoryName(Application.ExecutablePath) + @"\..\..\config.xml";
           public Form1()
           {
               InitializeComponent();
               editControl1 = new EditControl();
               editControl1.Size = new Size(50, 50);
               editControl1.Dock = DockStyle.Fill;
               editControl1.BorderStyle = BorderStyle.Fixed3D;
               this.editControl1.Configurator.Open(configFile);
               this.editControl1.ApplyConfiguration("LISP");
               this.editControl1.LoadFile("Sample.lsp");
               this.Controls.Add(editControl1);
           }
       }
   }

   VB.NET

   Imports System.IO
   Imports Syncfusion.Windows.Forms.Edit
      
   Public Class Form1
       Inherits Form
      
       Private editControl1 As EditControl
       Private configFile As String = Path.GetDirectoryName(Application.ExecutablePath) + "\..\..\config.xml"
       Public Sub New()
           InitializeComponent()
           editControl1 = New EditControl()
           editControl1.Size = New Size(50, 50)
           editControl1.Dock = DockStyle.Fill
           editControl1.BorderStyle = BorderStyle.Fixed3D
           Me.editControl1.Configurator.Open(configFile)
           Me.editControl1.ApplyConfiguration("LISP")
           Me.editControl1.LoadFile("Sample.lsp")
           Me.Controls.Add(editControl1)
       End Sub
   End Class

You can refer to our WinForms Syntax Editor feature tour page for its unique feature set. You can also explore our WinForms Syntax Editor example that shows how to create interactive code-editor applications with syntax highlighting, text indentation, IntelliSense, and more.