Getting started in EJ2 TypeScript Rich Text Editor control

25 Jul 202420 minutes to read

This section explains the steps to create a simple Rich Text Editor and demonstrates the basic usage of the Rich Text Editor control using the Essential JS 2 quickstart seed repository. This seed repository is pre-configured with the Essential JS 2 package.

This application is integrated with the webpack.config.js configuration and uses the latest version of the webpack-cli. It requires node v14.15.0 or higher. For more information about webpack and its features, refer to the webpack documentation.

Dependencies

The following minimum dependencies are required to use the Rich Text Editor.

|-- @syncfusion/ej2-richtexteditor
    |-- @syncfusion/ej2-base
    |-- @syncfusion/ej2-buttons
    |-- @syncfusion/ej2-data
    |-- @syncfusion/ej2-inputs
    |-- @syncfusion/ej2-lists
    |-- @syncfusion/ej2-navigations
    |-- @syncfusion/ej2-popups
    |-- @syncfusion/ej2-splitbuttons
    |-- @syncfusion/ej2-filemanager

Set up development environment

Open the command prompt from the required directory, and run the following command to clone the Syncfusion JavaScript (Essential JS 2) quickstart project from GitHub.

git clone https://github.com/SyncfusionExamples/ej2-quickstart-webpack- ej2-quickstart

After cloning the application in the ej2-quickstart folder, run the following command line to navigate to the ej2-quickstart folder.

cd ej2-quickstart

Add Syncfusion JavaScript packages

Syncfusion JavaScript (Essential JS 2) packages are available on the npmjs.com public registry. You can install all Syncfusion JavaScript (Essential JS 2) controls in a single @syncfusion/ej2 package or individual packages for each control.

The quickstart application is preconfigured with the dependent @syncfusion/ej2 package in the ~/package.json file. Use the following command to install the dependent npm packages from the command prompt.

npm install

Import the Syncfusion CSS styles

Syncfusion JavaScript controls come with built-in themes, which are available in the installed packages. It’s easy to adapt the Syncfusion JavaScript controls to match the style of your application by referring to one of the built-in themes.

The quickstart application is preconfigured to use the Material theme in the ~/src/styles/styles.css file, as shown below:

style.css
@import '../../node_modules/@syncfusion/ej2-base/styles/material.css';
@import '../../node_modules/@syncfusion/ej2-buttons/styles/material.css';
@import '../../node_modules/@syncfusion/ej2-inputs/styles/material.css';
@import '../../node_modules/@syncfusion/ej2-lists/styles/material.css';
@import '../../node_modules/@syncfusion/ej2-navigations/styles/material.css';
@import '../../node_modules/@syncfusion/ej2-popups/styles/material.css';
@import '../../node_modules/@syncfusion/ej2-splitbuttons/styles/material.css';
@import '../../node_modules/@syncfusion/ej2-richtexteditor/styles/material.css';;

You can check out the themes section to know more about built-in themes and CSS reference for individual controls.

Module Injection

To create Rich Text Editor with additional features, inject the required modules. The following modules are used to extend Rich Text Editor’s basic functionality.

Toolbar - Inject this module to use Toolbar feature.
Link - Inject this module to use link feature in Rich Text Editor.
Image- Inject this module to use image feature in Rich Text Editor.
HtmlEditor - Inject this module to use Rich Text Editor as html editor.
QuickToolbar - Inject this module to use quick toolbar feature for the target element.

These modules should be injected into the Rich Text Editor using the RichTextEditor.Inject method.

Additional feature modules are available here

Adding Rich Text Editor control

To get started, add the Rich Text Editor control in app.ts and index.html files. Rich Text Editor can be initialized through div element or textarea element.

Place the following Rich Text Editor code in the app.ts file.

app.ts
import { RichTextEditor, Toolbar, Link, Image, HtmlEditor, QuickToolbar } from '@syncfusion/ej2-richtexteditor';
RichTextEditor.Inject(Toolbar, Link, Image, HtmlEditor, QuickToolbar);

let editor: RichTextEditor = new RichTextEditor({ });
editor.appendTo('#editor');

Rich Text Editor can be initialized on div element as shown below

[src/index.html]

index.html
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">

<head>
    <title>Essential JS 2 Rich Text Editor</title>
    <meta charset="utf-8" />
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0, user-scalable=no" />
    <meta name="description" content="Essential JS 2" />
    <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion" />
    <link rel="shortcut icon" href="resources/favicon.ico" />
    <link href="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.3.7/css/bootstrap.min.css" rel="stylesheet" />
</head>

<body>
    <!--Element which will render as RTE-->
     <div id="editor">
     </div>
</body>
</html>

Now import the Rich Text Editor control to your app.ts and initialize it to the element #editor as shown below.

[src/app/app.ts]

app.ts
import { RichTextEditor, Toolbar, Link, Image, HtmlEditor, QuickToolbar } from '@syncfusion/ej2-richtexteditor';
RichTextEditor.Inject(Toolbar, Link, Image, HtmlEditor, QuickToolbar);

// initialize Rich Text Editor control
let editor: RichTextEditor = new RichTextEditor({
    value: '<p>The Rich Text Editor control is WYSIWYG ("what you see is what you get" ) editor that provides the best user experience to create and update the content.Users can format their content using standard toolbar commands.</p><p>< b > Key features: </b></p ><ul><li><p>Provides IFRAME and DIV modes < /p></li ><li><p>Capable of handling markdown editing.< /p></li ><li><p>Contains a modular library to load the necessary functionality on demand.< /p></li ><li><p>Provides a fully customizable toolbar.< /p></li ><li><p>Provides HTML view to edit the source directly for developers.< /p></li ><li><p>Supports third - party library integration.< /p></li ><li><p>Allows preview of modified content before saving it.< /p></li ><li><p>Handles images, hyperlinks, video, hyperlinks, uploads, etc.< /p></li ></ul>'
 });
// render initialized Rich Text Editor
editor.appendTo('#editor');

Output will be displayed as follows

index.ts
index.html
import { RichTextEditor, Toolbar, Link, Image, HtmlEditor, QuickToolbar } from '@syncfusion/ej2-richtexteditor';
RichTextEditor.Inject(Toolbar, Link, Image, HtmlEditor, QuickToolbar);

// initialize Rich Text Editor component
let editor: RichTextEditor = new RichTextEditor({ 
    value: '<p>The Rich Text Editor control is WYSIWYG ("what you see is what you get" ) editor that provides the best user experience to create and update the content.Users can format their content using standard toolbar commands.</p><p>< b > Key features: </b></p ><ul><li><p>Provides IFRAME and DIV modes < /p></li ><li><p>Capable of handling markdown editing.< /p></li ><li><p>Contains a modular library to load the necessary functionality on demand.< /p></li ><li><p>Provides a fully customizable toolbar.< /p></li ><li><p>Provides HTML view to edit the source directly for developers.< /p></li ><li><p>Supports third - party library integration.< /p></li ><li><p>Allows preview of modified content before saving it.< /p></li ><li><p>Handles images, hyperlinks, video, hyperlinks, uploads, etc.< /p></li ></ul>'
});
// render initialized Rich Text Editor
editor.appendTo('#editor');
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">

<head>
    <title>Essential JS 2 Rich Text Editor</title>
    <meta charset="utf-8" />
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" />
    <meta name="description" content="Typescript UI Controls" />
    <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion" />
    <link href="index.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/28.1.33/ej2-base/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/28.1.33/ej2-richtexteditor/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/28.1.33/ej2-inputs/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/28.1.33/ej2-lists/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/28.1.33/ej2-navigations/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/28.1.33/ej2-popups/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
     <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/28.1.33/ej2-buttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/28.1.33/ej2-splitbuttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/systemjs/0.19.38/system.js"></script>
    <script src="systemjs.config.js"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/syncfusion-helper.js" type ="text/javascript"></script>
</head>

<body>
    <div id='loader'>Loading....</div>
    <div id='container'>
        <div id='editor'></div>
    </div>
</body>

</html>

Configure the toolbar with the tools using items field of the toolbarSettings property as your application requires.

index.ts
index.html
import { RichTextEditor, Toolbar, HtmlEditor } from '@syncfusion/ej2-richtexteditor';

RichTextEditor.Inject(Toolbar, HtmlEditor);

let defaultRTE: RichTextEditor = new RichTextEditor({
  toolbarSettings: {
      items: ['Bold', 'Italic', 'Underline', 'StrikeThrough',
        'FontName', 'FontSize', 'FontColor', 'BackgroundColor',
        'LowerCase', 'UpperCase', '|',
        'Formats', 'Alignments', 'OrderedList', 'UnorderedList',
        'Outdent', 'Indent', '|',
        'CreateLink', 'Image', '|', 'ClearFormat', 'Print',
        'SourceCode', 'FullScreen', '|', 'Undo', 'Redo']
    }});
defaultRTE.appendTo('#defaultRTE');
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">

<head>
    <title>Essential JS 2 Rich Text Editor</title>
    <meta charset="utf-8" />
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" />
    <meta name="description" content="Typescript UI Controls" />
    <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion" />
    <link href="index.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/28.1.33/ej2-base/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/28.1.33/ej2-richtexteditor/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/28.1.33/ej2-inputs/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/28.1.33/ej2-lists/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/28.1.33/ej2-navigations/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/28.1.33/ej2-popups/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
     <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/28.1.33/ej2-buttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/28.1.33/ej2-splitbuttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/systemjs/0.19.38/system.js"></script>
    <script src="systemjs.config.js"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/syncfusion-helper.js" type ="text/javascript"></script>
</head>

<body>
    <div id='loader'>Loading....</div>
    <div id='container'>
        <div id='defaultRTE'>
            <p>The Rich Text Editor is WYSIWYG ("what you see is what you get") editor useful to create and edit content, and return the valid <a href="https://ej2.syncfusion.com/home/" target="_blank">HTML markup</a> or <a href="https://ej2.syncfusion.com/home/" target="_blank">markdown</a> of the content</p>                
            <p><b>Key features:</b></p>
              <ul><li><p>Provides &lt;IFRAME&gt; and &lt;DIV&gt; modes</p></li>
              <li><p>Capable of handling markdown editing.</p></li>
              <li><p>Contains a modular library to load the necessary functionality on demand.</p></li>
              <li><p>Provides a fully customizable toolbar.</p></li>
              <li><p>Provides HTML view to edit the source directly for developers.</p></li>
              <li><p>Supports third-party library integration.</p></li>
              <li><p>Allows preview of modified content before saving it.</p></li>
              <li><p>Handles images, hyperlinks, video, hyperlinks, uploads, etc.</p></li>
              </ul>
        </div>
    </div>
    <style>
        .e-rte-quick-popup .e-rte-quick-toolbar .e-rotate-left::before {
            content: "\e76e";
        }
    
        .e-rte-quick-popup .e-rte-quick-toolbar .e-rotate-right::before {
            content: "\e726";
        }
    </style>
</body>

</html>

| and - can insert a vertical and horizontal separator lines in the toolbar.

Run the application

The quickstart project is configured to compile and run the application in the browser. Use the following command to run the application.

npm start