Adding Colored Text To RichTextBox

[Cooi]

Hi guys,

please help me with the thing I'm stuck.
I'm stuck because I don't know how to add colored text to a richtextbox.

To make already existing text colored, I have tried things like:

RichTextBox1.SelectionStart = RichTextBox1.Find("colored word")
RichTextBox1.SelectionColor = Color.Blue
RichTextBox1.SelectionLength = 0

..so it will change the color of the found word.

The problem is, when the "colored word" exists multiple times in the textbox, it will never change theirs color. It only searches for the first "colored word" and it wont affect the others.

It would be even better when someone knows how to directly add colored text instead of changing it when it's added.

Any help available?

[cicatrix]

I'm afraid that you only control the color of the text with the selection object.
You can iterate through each occurrence and change the color of the text unless you want to control your text directly with RTF tags.

[computerman]

To add coloured text as you are typing use:

Private Sub btnColours_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles btnColours.Click

    If ColorDialog1.ShowDialog = Windows.Forms.DialogResult.OK Then
        TextEditor.SelectionColor = ColorDialog1.Color
    End If

End Sub

Computerman

[Cooi]

You misunderstood me.

Without any color dialog, without any color source. Just add colored text.
I know perfectly how to allow people to change the color in text,
but it's not my question.

It's how to do automatically, not manually.

[cicatrix]

You picked the wrong container. You should probably stick to html instead.
Either you use Selection.SelectionColor or read this:
http://www.biblioscape.com/rtf15_spec.htm#Heading16

[Cooi]

I know I should use SelectionColor,
but my question is:
How do I find the wanted words and select them ALL? (not at once)

[cicatrix]

I know I should use SelectionColor,
but my question is:
How do I find the wanted words and select them ALL? (not at once)

With the existing control you can't do that. Implement your own search then. Gather the contents of your richtextbox to a string buffer and perform the search through the string variable. Remember the positions of the matches and apply your colors one by one. I'm afraid there's no other option unless you want to develop your implementation of a rich text box.

[Cooi]

You're right, that's what I want.

Now, the only problem is...

I don't know how to search for all words I want to be colored.

The RichTextBox1.Find("the colored string") doesn't work.

It only searches for the first "the colored string" and doesn't affect the others.

[ForumAccount]

The RichTextBox's Find method has an overload where you specify the starting index to find the word. You have to increase the start index by the previous found word's index so that it can find the next word. The Find method also tells you the index at which it found the found, so you increase the start index by the return value of the Find function.

[cicatrix]

Use this overload declaration of the Find method:

Find( str As String, Start As Integer, options As System.Windows.Forms.RichTextBoxFinds)

You need the Start parameter to specify where to start your search again.

Dim Pos As Integer = rtf.Find("mymatch", 0, RichTextBoxFinds.WholeWord)
' You may use different find options instead of WholeWord
 
Pos+=1
 
Dim NewPos As Integer = rtf.Find("mymatch", Pos, RichTextBoxFinds.WholeWord)
' etc
' got it?

[Cooi]

Thanks, I found it.
I didn't see this overload yet, because I thought all overloads after the string were for RichTextBoxFinds options.