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Help / Developing an application or website / Controls, windows and pages / Controls: Available types / Word Processing control
  • Overview
  • "Home" tab
  • Find/Replace
  • Using bulleted lists
  • Using numbered lists
  • "Insert" tab
  • Inserting a blank page or a page break
  • Inserting a page header and/or footer
  • Inserting an image
  • Inserting a table
  • Inserting a formula
  • Inserting a text area
  • Inserting a shape
  • Inserting a link
  • Inserting a bookmark
  • Inserting a table of contents
  • Encryption of docx files using a password
  • "Layout" tab
  • "Table" tab
  • "Image" tab
  • "Text area" tab
  • "View" tab
  • Using tab stops
  • Special case: Read-only file
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Stored procedures
Word Processing control ribbon
Overview
The Word Processing control ribbon allows you to use a wide range of features and settings.
The following are the available tabs:
  • "Home" tab: Allows you to perform basic operations on a ".docx" document.
  • "Insert" tab: Allows you to insert elements into the current document (page, page break, header and footer, table, image, predefined controls, etc.).
  • "Layout" tab: Allows you to set the layout of the document and its paragraphs.
  • "Table" tab: Allows you to set the characteristics of a table.
  • "Image" tab: Allows you to set the characteristics of an image.
  • "Text area" tab: Allows you to set the characteristics of text areas.
  • "View" tab: Allows you to configure how the docx document is displayed on the screen.
"Home" tab
The "Home" tab allows you to perform the most common operations on a ".docx" document.
This tab contains the following groups:
  • Document: Open, create and save docx documents.
    You can:
    • Create a new document.
    • Open an existing docx document.
    • Open an existing RTF document.
      Note: You can open RTF documents. The RTF document is saved as a docx file.
    • Save (or save as) a docx document.
  • Export: Contains the document export options.
    You can:
    • Print a document. The document preview is displayed.
    • Export a document. You can:
      • export the document to PDF.
        New in version 2025
        Note: Links included in the document are preserved in the resulting PDF file.
      • export the document to HTML.
  • Clipboard: Contains the common clipboard actions.
    You can:
    • Cut, copy and paste text and elements.
    • New in version 2025
      Copy the formatting of the selected paragraph or section of text. To do so, simply:
      • Select the text with the desired formatting,
      • Click the format painter icon .
      • Drag the cursor over the text on which you want to apply the formatting. This text will then use the formatting of the initially selected text.
  • Font: Contains the font formatting options for the current text.
    You can:
    • set the font and font size.
    • set the font formatting options: Bold, Italic, Underline, Strikethrough, Superscript, Subscript.
    • set the text and highlight colors.
  • Paragraph: Contains the paragraph formatting options, including background color, spacing, alignment, non-printable characters, etc.

    If the current keyboard uses a right-to-left language, two additional icons are displayed to manage the writing direction.
  • Style: Allows you to manage styles. The list of styles is displayed (with the style preview).
    Styles in the ribbon
    Click the double arrow icon to open a list with all the available styles.
    List of styles
    To apply a style to the current text, simply select the desired style.
    • The "more styles" link lists all available styles.
    • New in version 2025
      The "Remove formatting" link resets the selected text to the default formatting. Style options (bold, italic, color, etc.) are removed.
    Note: You cannot create styles. Styles must be present in the document, or be imported from an existing document.
  • Editing: Allows you to find, replace and check the spelling of text.
    For more details on the spelling checker, see Check spelling based on Hunspell dictionaries.
Note: Use the arrows at the top of the ribbon to undo or redo the desired actions in the Word Processing control.

Find/Replace

To search for text in a document:
  1. On the "Home" tab, in the "Editing" group, click "Find" (or press Ctrl + F).
  2. In the window that appears, indicate:
    • the word or phrase to be found,
    • the search options: case-sensitive, whole word.
  3. Start the search.
  4. The list of results is displayed in the search window.
    Results in the search window
    • When you select one of the occurrences in the search window, it is also selected in the document.
    • The arrow buttons can be used to navigate between the different occurrences. The search words are highlighted in the text.
Note: To replace text in the search results, simply click "Replace" at the top of the window.
To find and replace text in a document:
  1. On the "Home" tab, in the "Editing" group, click "Replace" (or press Ctrl + H).
  2. In the window that appears, indicate:
    • the word or phrase to be found,
    • the search options: case-sensitive, whole word,
    • the new text.
  3. Start the search.
  4. The list of results is displayed in the search window.
    Results in the search window
    • When you select one of the occurrences in the search window, it is also selected in the document.
    • The arrow buttons can be used to navigate between the different occurrences. The search words are highlighted in the text.
  5. Click "Replace" to replace only the selected occurrence.
  6. Click "Replace all" to replace all occurrences.

Using bulleted lists

To insert a bulleted list into a document:
  1. Position the cursor on the first line of the bulleted list.
  2. On the "Home" tab, in the "Paragraph" group, click the bulleted list icon (Bulleted list). The window containing the bullet library opens.
    Bullet library
  3. Choose the type of bullet you want to use. The bullet is automatically added on the current line.
  4. To create the following element, press Enter at the end of the line.
  5. To change levels in the bulleted list, press Tab.
  6. To end the list:
    • Press Enter twice.
    • Press Backspace to remove the last bullet.
Remarks:
  • You cannot configure:
    • the bullet chosen in the editor.
    • the spacing between the bullet and the text (tabulation).
    • the bullet indents.
  • Bullets use the style options applied to the current paragraph, including the font color, background color, font size, etc.

Using numbered lists

To insert a numbered list into a document:
  1. Position the cursor on the first line of the numbered list.
  2. On the "Home" tab, in the "Paragraph" group, click the numbered list icon (Numbered list). The window containing the numbering library opens.
    Numbering library

    Note: Hovering over an option opens a list preview.
    Numbering preview
  3. Choose the type of numbering to use. The number is automatically added on the current line.
  4. To create the following element, press Enter at the end of the line.
  5. To change levels in the numbered list, press Tab.
  6. To end the list:
    • Press Enter twice.
    • Press Backspace to delete the last number.
Remarks:
  • You cannot configure:
    • the type of numbering chosen in the editor.
    • the spacing between the number and the text (tabulation).
    • the indent of numbers.
  • Numbers use the style options applied to the current paragraph, including the font color, background color, font size, etc.
"Insert" tab
The "Insert" tab lets you insert elements into the current document (page, page break, header and footer, table, image, preset controls, etc.).
The element is inserted at the position of the cursor.

Inserting a blank page or a page break

New pages appear automatically as the user types.
The "Insert" tab allows you to force a new blank page.
You can:
  • Insert a blank page. The blank page is inserted at the end of the current document.
  • Insert a page break. A new page is inserted at the cursor position. The caret is automatically positioned on the new page.

Inserting a page header and/or footer

All new documents contain a page header and footer by default.
You can modify and/or delete the page header and footer in the "Insert" tab.
To modify a page header or footer:
  1. On the "Insert" tab, in the "Page header and footer" group:
    • Expand "Header" and select "Modify header".
    • Expand "Footer" and select "Modify footer".
  2. The header (or footer) switches to edit mode.
    The cursor is positioned in the header (or footer).
  3. The "Insert" tab of the Word Processing control includes the header and footer options.
The available header/footer options are:
  • Different first page: Allows you to define a different header and footer for the first page of the document.
  • Different even and odd pages: Indicates whether odd-numbered pages should have a different header and footer from even-numbered pages.
  • Link to previous: Specifies whether the header or footer is the same as in the previous section.
  • Header from top: Sets the space between the top of the page and the top of the header.
  • Footer from bottom: Sets the space between the bottom of the page and the bottom of the footer.

Inserting an image

You can insert the image:
  • directly ("Insert image"). In this case, the image is inserted into and saved with the document. If the original image is modified, the image in the document will not reflect those changes. The document is larger because it includes the image.
  • via a link to the image ("Link to image"). In this case, the image is not inserted in the document. The size of the document does not include the size of the image.
The file explorer opens to allow you to insert the desired image.
Only JPEG, GIF, BMP and PNG images are available.
Text wrapping options and the image size can be set in the "Image" tab.
Note: The context menu of the inserted image allows you to:
  • Set the wrapping options and Z-order of the image,
  • Change the associated image file,
  • Edit the image.

Inserting a table

To insert a table:
  1. Click "Table".
  2. In the window that appears, select the dimensions of the table to be created:
    Creating a table
You can then edit the table in the "Table" tab.

Inserting a formula

To insert a formula (or a preset control):
  1. Click "Formula".
  2. In the window that appears, select the desired formula and its options:
    Choosing the formula
    The available options are as follows:
    • Preserve formatting between updates: This option preserves the style characteristics defined for the various elements of the formula.
    • Add path to file name: This option is available for the file name formula. It adds the path of the docx file.
  3. Confirm. The formula is inserted and calculated.
    Inserted formula
Note: If the information expected by the formula is not available, the Word Processing control can:
  • Insert a tag (that will be replaced when the information becomes available).
  • Insert an invisible text (that will be replaced when the information becomes available).

Inserting a text area

To insert a text area:
  1. Click "Text area".
  2. A text area is inserted. You can:
    • enter the content of the text area.
    • move the text area.
    • resize the text area.
The characteristics of the text area (border, fill, etc.) can be modified in the "Text area" tab.

Inserting a shape

To insert a shape:
  1. Click "Shape". The list of available shapes is displayed.
  2. Click on the desired shape. The shape is automatically inserted at the current position. If necessary, you can resize the shape with the mouse.

Inserting a link

To insert a link:
  1. Select the text to be displayed as a link.
  2. Click "Link".
  3. In the window that appears, indicate:
    • The text to be displayed as a link. By default, this applies to the selected text.
    • The link target. The link can:
      • Open an existing web page. In this case, you need to specify the page address.
      • Go to a bookmark in the document. In this case, you need to select the desired bookmark.
  4. Confirm. The link is automatically created.

Inserting a bookmark

To insert a bookmark:
  1. Click at the position where you want to insert the bookmark.
  2. Click "Bookmark".
  3. In the window that appears specify the name of the bookmark and click "Add".
Note: The "Bookmark" option opens the bookmark management window. This window allows you to:
  • Add a bookmark.
  • List the different bookmarks (in alphabetical order or according to their order in the document).
  • Go to an existing bookmark.
  • Delete an existing bookmark.

Inserting a table of contents

To insert a table of contents:
  1. Click where you want to insert the table of contents.
  2. Click "Table of contents".
  3. The table of contents is automatically created in the document.
This table of contents is based on the "Heading x" styles.
Different options are available on a table of contents:
  1. Click one of the lines of the table of contents to enable the "Table of contents" tab in the ribbon.
  2. On the "Table of contents" tab, you can:
    • Customize the table of contents.
    • Update the page numbers
    • Update the entire table.
To customize the table of contents:
  1. Click one of the lines of the table of contents to enable the "Table of contents" tab in the ribbon.
  2. On the "Table of contents" tab, click "Customize".
  3. In the window that appears:
    • The different levels of the current table of contents are displayed. For each level, the style used is displayed (e.g., for level 1, the style "Heading 1" is used).
    • To add or replace a level in the table of contents:
      1. Choose the desired style in the list of available styles to generate a level.
      2. In the "Use" list, select the desired level of the table of contents.
    • To show or hide the page number, check or uncheck "Show page number".
  4. Click OK to confirm changes.

Encryption of docx files using a password

It is possible to encrypt a docx file with a password.
To encrypt a docx file using a password:
  1. Click "Password".
  2. In the window that appears, enter and confirm the password.
  3. Confirm. The password will be used the next time the file is saved.
Note: When opening the docx file, the password will be automatically requested before the file is displayed.
"Layout" tab
The "Layout" tab allows you to set the layout of the document and its paragraphs.
This tab contains the following groups:
  • Layout: Allows you to set margins, document orientation, page size and page breaks.
    • The "Margins" option includes:
      • different common margins that can be directly applied to the current document (or to the current section).
      • custom margins. in this case, you can define the margins in the window that appears.
    • The "Orientation" option allows you to set the "Portrait" or "Landscape" mode in the current section or document.
    • The "Size" option allows you to choose the paper size for the entire document or the current section. If you don't find the desired size, you can set a custom size.
    • The "Columns" option allows you to create columns in the current document.
    • The "Breaks" option allows you to insert a specific break:
      • Page breaks: Line break, Paragraph break, Column break (only in multicolumn text), Page break.
      • Section breaks: Next page, Continuous, Even page, Odd page.
  • Paragraph: Allows you to set:
    • the paragraph indents,
    • the spacing before and after a paragraph.
  • Background: Allows you to select the page background color using a color picker.
"Table" tab
The "Table" tab allows you to manage the tables present in the document.
The "Table" tab allows you to:
  • Insert a table into an existing table cell.
  • Delete the current table, row or column.
  • Insert a row above or below the current row.
  • Insert a table above or below the current row.
"Image" tab
The "Image" tab is displayed when an image is selected in the document.
This tab allows you to set:
  • the image wrapping options.
  • the image size.
  • the image z-order. You can bring the image to the front, send it to the back or send it to an intermediate level.
"Text area" tab
The "Text area" tab is displayed when a text area is selected in the document.
This tab allows you to set:
  • the text wrapping options.
  • the text area size.
  • the text area z-order. You can bring the text area to the front, send it to the back or send it to an intermediate level.
"View" tab
The "View" tab allows you to set the document display options.
"Zoom" group:
The options in the "Zoom" group allows you to set the zoom level:
  • 100%: Zooms the document to 100%.
  • Page width: Sets the width of the page to match the width of the control.
  • Entire page: Shows the entire page in the control.
You can also directly adjust the zoom level of the document:
  • by using the slider.
  • by specifying the desired zoom value.
  • by clicking the magnifiers (the increment/decrement step is set to 10%).
To adjust the zoom level with the keyboard, you can:
  • hold down Ctrl and use the mouse wheel to zoom in and out.
  • press Ctrl + 0 to reset zoom to 100%.
"Display mode" group
The options in this group allow you to define how the document will be displayed in the editor. The available options are as follows:
  • Print layout: This mode displays pages one by one, as in a preview of the final printout. Document size and margin characteristics are taken into account.
  • Two page view: This mode displays two pages side by side, as in a preview of the final printout. Document size and margin characteristics are taken into account.
  • Continuous view: This mode displays pages without margins.
  • Web layout: This display mode allows you to view the document without taking into account the layout options (page size, margins, etc.).
"Rulers" group
The options in this group allow you to manage rulers and bookmarks.
  • The "Show rulers" option allows you to show or hide the rulers of the document. These rulers simplify the use of tab stops in the Word Processing control. For more details, see Using tab stops.
    Example of horizontal ruler:
  • The "Show bookmarks" option shows invisible characters in the text to quickly identify the bookmarks. Bookmarks are enclosed in colorized brackets.

Using tab stops

When creating a blank document, no tab stop marker appears on the ruler. However, there is a default tab stop set at 1.25 cm.
There are different types of tab stops:
  • Left tab stop (): Text is aligned to the right of the tab stop.
  • Center tab stop (): Text is centered as the user types.
  • Right tab stop (): Text is aligned to the right and extends to the left.
  • Decimal tab stop (): Numbers are aligned to the left of the decimal separator.
  • Bar tab stop: Inserts a vertical bar at the tab stop position.
  • First-line indent (): Indents the text on the first line of a paragraph. To indent the first line, simply move the rectangle that represents the first line.
  • Hanging indent (): Indents the text of the second line and all subsequent lines of the paragraph. To set a hanging indent, simply move the triangle that represents the paragraph lines.
To add a left tab stop, simply click the ruler at the desired position.
To add any type of tab stop:
  1. Right-click the position where the tab stop will be added.
  2. In the context menu that is displayed, select the type of tabulation to create.
  3. The selected tab stop automatically appears in the ruler.
To delete a tab stop:
  1. Right-click on the tab stop to be deleted.
  2. From the context menu, select "Delete tab".
Note: In the context menu you can also change the type of the current tab stop.
Special case: Read-only file
When a document is open in read-only mode, a "Read-only" banner is displayed instead of the undo/redo icons.
Read-only
In this case, only some operations are available on the document (e.g. search). The document cannot be edited.
Related Examples:
The Word Processing control Unit examples (WINDEV): The Word Processing control
[ + ] This example explains how to handle a Word Processing control by programming. You have the ability to add text and to format it by programming.
Minimum version required
  • Version 22
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Last update: 02/15/2025

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