Implementing Syncfusion .NET MAUI Rich Text Editors

The Syncfusion .NET MAUI Rich Text Editor (SfRichTextEditor) provides a powerful WYSIWYG editing experience for creating richly formatted text content. It offers comprehensive formatting tools, customizable toolbar, image and table insertion, hyperlink management, and returns valid HTML markup. This skill guides you through implementing rich text editors for messaging apps, email composers, blog editors, note-taking applications, and any scenario requiring formatted text input.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when you need to:

• Implement WYSIWYG text editors in .NET MAUI applications with formatting capabilities
• Create email composers or messaging apps that support rich text formatting (bold, italic, lists, etc.)
• Build blog editors, CMS interfaces, or forum post editors with HTML output
• Add note-taking or document editing features with formatting toolbar
• Enable feedback forms, review sections, or comment areas with rich content support
• Implement text editors with images, tables, hyperlinks, and code blocks embedded in content
• Embed formatted code snippets in technical documentation, blog posts, or developer-focused apps
• Customize toolbar items and appearance for specific editing scenarios
• Group toolbar items into context-aware overlay menus for mobile-first editing experiences
• Apply text case transformations (UPPERCASE, lowercase) to user selections or programmatically via the Uppercase() and Lowercase() methods
• Bind the editor to a typed block-schema model (TValue="Schema") instead of HTML for structured document workflows
• Handle formatted text programmatically with methods for bold, italic, alignment, colors, etc.
• Manage user interactions through events (text changes, hyperlink clicks, format changes)
• Read plain text from the editor programmatically using the Task<string> GetText() method for character/word counts, search indexing, copy-to-clipboard, text-to-speech, SMS export, translation, and spell check
• Apply advanced features like auto-sizing or Liquid Glass Effect for modern UI

Component Overview

• WYSIWYG Editing - What-you-see-is-what-you-get interface for formatted text
• Comprehensive Formatting - Bold, italic, underline, strikethrough, fonts, colors, alignment, lists, indentation
• Customizable Toolbar - Rich, configurable toolbar with show/hide/custom items
• Images & Tables - Seamless insertion and formatting of images and tables
• Hyperlink Support - Insert, edit, and remove hyperlinks with click events
• Code Block Support - Insert formatted code snippets that preserve structure and readability
• Programmatic Control - Methods for applying formatting, managing content, and controlling editor state
• Events - FormatChanged, TextChanged, HyperlinkClicked, Focused/Unfocused for reactive UI
• HTML Output - Returns valid HTML markup for storage or transmission
• AutoSize - Dynamic height adjustment based on content
• Liquid Glass Effect - Modern Cupertino-style visual effects (iOS/macOS)

Public API Contract

• The Value property is the only public content surface. It is typed as object, so always cast it to the expected runtime type when reading:
  • HTML mode (TValue="HTML"): cast to string
  • Schema mode (TValue="Schema"): cast to ObservableCollection<BlockNode>
• For plain-text reads, use the public method Task<string> GetText() on SfRichTextEditor instead of stripping HTML yourself. It always returns the awaited plain-text content for both HTML and Schema modes.
• The legacy Text and HtmlText properties are internal and must not be used in application code.
• The legacy DefaultTextColor, DefaultFontSize, and DefaultFontFamily properties are obsolete; use per-paragraph or inline formatting instead.

Documentation and Navigation Guide

Getting Started

📄 Read: references/getting-started.md

• Installing the Syncfusion.Maui.RichTextEditor NuGet package
• Adding SfRichTextEditor to XAML and C#
• Namespace registration and basic setup
• Enabling the toolbar (ShowToolbar property)
• Customizing toolbar items with ToolbarItems collection
• First working example with formatted text

Toolbar Configuration

📄 Read: references/toolbar.md

• Positioning toolbar (top or bottom) with ToolbarPosition property
• Available toolbar items (Bold, Italic, FontFamily, FontSize, lists, images, tables, etc.)
• Adding or removing specific toolbar items
• Separator items for visual grouping
• Inline link tooltip functionality
• Customizing toolbar appearance with ToolbarSettings
• Background color, text color, separator styling
• Scroll button visibility and icon customization
• Platform-specific toolbar behaviors

Toolbar Grouping

📄 Read: references/toolbar-grouping.md

• Enabling the grouped (overlay) toolbar with the IsGrouped property
• Mapping each ToolbarItems entry to a context-aware overlay group
• Mobile-first UX for touch devices (Android, iOS)
• Choosing a focused set of items for grouped layouts
• Pairing IsGrouped with ToolbarPosition and ToolbarSettings
• Platform conditionals to switch between grouped and inline toolbars
• Troubleshooting empty or overly crowded overlay menus

Text Transformation

📄 Read: references/text-transformation.md

• Using the TextTransform toolbar item from RichTextToolbarOptions
• Selection-based case-change actions (UPPERCASE, lowercase, etc.)
• Adding TextTransform to a custom toolbar with Separator grouping
• Programmatic Uppercase() and Lowercase() methods for transforming the current selection
• Combining text transformation with bold, italic, underline, and other character formatting
• Using TextTransform with the grouped (overlay) toolbar
• Real-world use cases: messaging apps, comments, blog and CMS editors
• Troubleshooting and best practices for discoverability

Formatting and Customization

📄 Read: references/formatting-and-customization.md

• Customizing editor appearance (background, border, word wrap)
• Programmatic formatting methods (ToggleBold, ToggleItalic, ToggleUnderline, etc.)
• Character formatting (bold, italic, underline, strikethrough, subscript, superscript)
• List formatting (bullet and numbered lists)
• Text alignment (left, right, center, justify)
• Applying font family, font size, text color, and highlight color
• Paragraph formatting and heading styles
• Indentation control (increase/decrease)
• Default text styles for new content

Content Management

📄 Read: references/content-management.md

• Setting plain text through the Value property with TValue="HTML"
• Setting HTML formatted text through the Value property with TValue="HTML"
• Getting selected HTML content (GetSelectedText method)
• Configuring placeholder text and styling
• Programmatic cursor control (MoveCursorToStart, MoveCursorToEnd)
• Focus and unfocus methods
• Undo and redo functionality
• Content manipulation patterns and best practices

Schema Block

📄 Read: references/schema-block.md

• Switching the content model with TValue="Schema" and RichTextEditorValueType.Schema
• Binding an ObservableCollection<BlockNode> to the Value property
• Supported node types: ParagraphNode, HeadingNode, TextNode, BulletListNode, OrderedListNode, ListItemNode, ImageNode, CodeBlockNode, and LinkMark
• Two-way binding so editor edits update the bound collection
• Composing block nodes for headings, lists, links, images, and code blocks
• Loading and saving structured documents through the block schema
• Pairing the schema model with the toolbar and other editor features
• Troubleshooting empty editors, ignored edits, and migration from HTML

Images and Tables

📄 Read: references/images-and-tables.md

• Image insertion overview and ImageRequested event
• Inserting images from gallery, file picker, stream, or URI
• RichTextEditorImageSource configuration (format, size, source)
• Platform-specific permissions (MacCatalyst file access)
• Table insertion from toolbar with row/column dialog
• Programmatic table insertion with InsertTable method
• Specifying table dimensions
• Examples for both images and tables

Hyperlinks

📄 Read: references/hyperlinks.md

• Inserting hyperlinks with InsertHyperlink method
• Display text and URL parameters
• Editing existing hyperlinks with EditHyperlink method
• Removing hyperlinks while preserving text (RemoveHyperlink)
• Link quick tooltip behavior
• HyperlinkClicked event for handling link interactions
• Extracting link URL and display text from events
• Use cases and patterns for hyperlink management

Code Blocks

📄 Read: references/code-blocks.md

• Enabling code blocks using the CodeBlock toolbar item
• Customizing code block languages with CodeBlockLanguages property
• XAML and C# setup with RichTextToolbarItem and RichTextToolbarOptions.CodeBlock
• Configuring language dropdown (replacing or appending custom languages)
• Combining code blocks with other formatting tools using Separator items
• Use cases for technical documentation, blogging, and developer-centric tools
• Best practices for toolbar placement and HTML content round-tripping

Events and Interactions

📄 Read: references/events-and-interactions.md

• FormatChanged event for tracking formatting state
• TextChanged event with old and new HTML content
• HyperlinkClicked event with URL and display text
• Focused and Unfocused events for input state
• Event subscription patterns in XAML and C#
• Using events for contextual UI updates
• Combining events with programmatic formatting
• Real-world event handling scenarios
• Public Task<string> GetText() method for plain-text extraction (use it instead of stripping HTML from Value)

Advanced Features

📄 Read: references/advanced-features.md

• AutoSize functionality with EnableAutoSize property
• Dynamic height adjustment based on content
• Layout considerations for auto-sizing editors
• Liquid Glass Effect with EnableLiquidGlassEffect (iOS/macOS)
• Platform requirements (.NET 10, iOS/macOS 26+)
• Cupertino theme integration and transparent backgrounds
• Customizing toolbar and editor corner radius
• Theme keys for visual customization
• Combining advanced features for modern UI