Keyboard support in EJ2 JavaScript Rich text editor control

14 Oct 202424 minutes to read

The editor has full keyboard accessibility that includes shortcuts to open and other actions with toolbar items, drop-down lists, and dialogs.

HTML formation shortcut key

You can use the following key shortcuts when the Rich Text Editor renders with HTML editMode.

Actions Keyboard shortcuts
Toolbar focus Alt + f10
Insert link Ctrl + k
Insert image Ctrl + Shift + i
Insert audio Ctrl + Shift + a
Insert video Ctrl + Alt + v
Insert table Ctrl + Shift + e
Undo Ctrl + z
Redo Ctrl + y
Copy Ctrl + c
Cut Ctrl + x
Paste Ctrl + v
Bold Ctrl + b
Italic Ctrl + i
Underline Ctrl + u
Strikethrough Ctrl + Shift + s
Inline Code Ctrl + `
Uppercase Ctrl + Shift + u
Lowercase Ctrl + Shift + l
Superscript Ctrl + Shift + =
Subscript Ctrl + =
Indents Ctrl + ]
Outdents Ctrl + [
HTML source Ctrl + Shift + h
Fullscreen Ctrl + Shift + f
Exit Fullscreen Esc
Justify center Ctrl + e
Justify full Ctrl + j
Justify left Ctrl + l
Justify right Ctrl + r
Clear format Ctrl + Shift + r
Ordered list Ctrl + Shift + o
Unordered list Ctrl + Alt + o
Format Painter Copy Alt + Shift + c
Format Painter Paste Alt + Shift + v
Format Painter Escape Esc 
var defaultRTE = new ej.richtexteditor.RichTextEditor({
    toolbarSettings: {
        items: ['Bold', 'Italic', 'Underline', 'StrikeThrough',
            'FontName', 'FontSize', 'FontColor', 'BackgroundColor',
            'LowerCase', 'UpperCase', '|',
            'Formats', 'Alignments', 'OrderedList', 'UnorderedList',
            'Outdent', 'Indent', '|',
            'CreateLink', 'Image', '|', 'FormatPainter', 'ClearFormat', 'Print',
            'SourceCode', 'FullScreen', '|', 'Undo', 'Redo']
    }
});
defaultRTE.appendTo('#defaultRTE');
document.onkeyup = function (e) {
    if (e.altKey && e.keyCode === 84 /* t */) {
        // press alt+t to focus the component.
        defaultRTE.focusIn();
    }
};
<!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/ej2-base/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/ej2-richtexteditor/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/ej2-inputs/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/ej2-lists/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/ej2-navigations/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/ej2-popups/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/ej2-buttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/ej2-splitbuttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    
    
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/dist/ej2.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/syncfusion-helper.js" type ="text/javascript"></script>
</head>

<body>
    
    <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>


<script>
var ele = document.getElementById('container');
if(ele) {
  ele.style.visibility = "visible";
}   
      </script>
<script src="index.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</body></html>

Markdown formation shortcut key

You can use the following key shortcuts when the Rich Text Editor renders with Markdown editMode.

Actions Keyboard shortcuts
Toolbar focus Alt + f10
Insert link Ctrl + k
Insert image Ctrl + Shift + i
Insert table Ctrl + Shift + e
Undo Ctrl + z
Redo Ctrl + y
Copy Ctrl + c
Cut Ctrl + x
Paste Ctrl + v
Bold Ctrl + b
Italic Ctrl + i
Strikethrough Ctrl + Shift + s
Uppercase Ctrl + Shift + u
Lowercase Ctrl + Shift + l
Superscript Ctrl + Shift + =
Subscript Ctrl + =
Fullscreen Ctrl + Shift + f
Ordered list Ctrl + Shift + o
Unordered list Ctrl + Alt + o 
var defaultRTE = new ej.richtexteditor.RichTextEditor({
    editorMode: 'Markdown',
    toolbarSettings: {
        items: ['Bold', 'Italic', 'StrikeThrough', '|',
            'Formats', 'OrderedList', 'UnorderedList', '|',
            'CreateLink', 'Image', '|', 'Undo', 'Redo']
    }
});
defaultRTE.appendTo('#defaultRTE');
document.onkeyup = function (e) {
    if (e.altKey && e.keyCode === 84 /* t */) {
        // press alt+t to focus the component.
        defaultRTE.focusIn();
    }
};
<!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/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-base/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-richtexteditor/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-inputs/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-lists/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-navigations/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-popups/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
     <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-buttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-splitbuttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    
    
   
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/dist/ej2.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/syncfusion-helper.js" type ="text/javascript"></script>
</head>

<body>
    
    <div id="container">
        <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/marked/marked.min.js"></script>
        <div id="defaultRTE">
In Rich Text Editor , you click the toolbar buttons to format the words and the changes are visible immediately. 
Markdown is not like that. When you format the word in Markdown format, you need to add Markdown syntax to the word to indicate which words 
and phrases should look different from each other

Rich Text Editor supports markdown editing when the editorMode set as **markdown** and using both *keyboard interaction* and *toolbar action*, you can apply the formatting to text.

We can add our own custom formation syntax for the Markdown formation, [sample link](https://ej2.syncfusion.com/home/).

The third-party library <b>Marked</b> is used in this sample to convert markdown into HTML content            
        </div>
    </div>
    <style>
        .e-richtexteditor textarea.e-content {
            float: left;
            border-right: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.12);
        }
        .e-richtexteditor .e-rte-content .e-content{
            min-height: 150px;
        }
    
        .e-richtexteditor .e-rte-content {
            overflow: hidden;
        }
    
        .e-icon-btn.e-active .e-md-preview::before {
            content: '\e350';
        }
    
        .e-icon-btn .e-md-preview::before {
            content: '\e345';
        }
    
        .e-rte-content .e-content {
            float: right;
            width: 50%;
            overflow: auto;
            height: inherit;
            padding: 8px;
            height: 100%;
        }
    
        .e-rte-content .e-content.e-pre-source {
            width: 100%;
        }
    
        .highcontrast .e-richtexteditor textarea.e-content {
            border-right: 1px solid #fff;
        }
    
        .sb-header {
            z-index: 100;
        }
    </style>


<script>
var ele = document.getElementById('container');
if(ele) {
  ele.style.visibility = "visible";
}   
      </script>
<script src="index.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</body></html>

Custom key config

Customize the key config for the keyboard interaction of Rich Text Editor, using the keyConfig property.

In the following sample, customize the cut, copy, and paste toolbar action with Ctrl+1, Ctrl+2, and Ctrl+3, respectively.

var defaultRTE = new ej.richtexteditor.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']
    },
    keyConfig: {
        'copy': 'ctrl+1',
        'cut': 'ctrl+2',
        'paste': 'ctrl+3'
    }
});
defaultRTE.appendTo('#defaultRTE');

document.onkeyup = function (e) {
    if (e.altKey && e.keyCode === 84 /* t */) {
        // press alt+t to focus the component.
        defaultRTE.focusIn();
    }
};
<!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/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-base/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-richtexteditor/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-inputs/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-lists/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-navigations/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-popups/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
     <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-buttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-splitbuttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    
    
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/dist/ej2.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/syncfusion-helper.js" type ="text/javascript"></script>
</head>

<body>
    
    <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>


<script>
var ele = document.getElementById('container');
if(ele) {
  ele.style.visibility = "visible";
}   
      </script>
<script src="index.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</body></html>

See Also