WYSIWYG HTML Editor

Introduction

I have found different code samples showing how to create a visual HTML editor in ASP using a text area. However, I needed a good editor for my WinForms application, but I couldn’t find a good example. Eventually, I wrote one from scratch after I converted some MFC code I found on the net. Based on the IE Browser control, you can create a powerful editor that allows you to manipulate HTMLtags visually and add any tags you want.

Using the code

The code is a simple form, and very easy to understand. In order to make it work, you first need to include two COM libraries:

1. The Microsoft Web Control found in: c:\windows\system32\shdocvw.dll (add as a COM control).
2. MSHTML: c:\windows\system32\MSHTML.tlb (add as a COM reference).

The reason for the tlb is that the mshtml.dll is used by the Windows system, and therefore is not accessible.

You don't need to worry about deployment: all Windows users will have these DLLs in their systemdirectory.