I want to be able to create templates in the UI, and then export PDFs using mailmerge. Are there any good examples?

[Pavel]

I want to give application admins to create new templates. Something like

Hello <LastName>, <FirstName>. You owe us <AmountOwed>. Please mail a check to <Address>. 

I spend some time research, and it appears that it's doable using RichTextEditor and MailMerge. However, I can't seem to find an ability for the user to actually create a template through a GUI. What am I missing?

[Pavel]

Looks like my google fu got stronger, and I found exactly what I needed http://docs.telerik.com/devtools/winforms/richtexteditor/features/mail-merge

However, it's spitting out a single document. Is there a way to get it to generate multiple documents without just setting a source to a list with a single item? I feel like there's gotta be a flag that can do this. I'd also prefer to have more control over a process. I want to give the application a folder path, and then using the data source, create multiple documents with unique names.

[Pavel]

Well, I managed to figure it out, and it turns out to be quite simple. If there's a better way of doing this, I'd love to hear it, but my code is below.

radRichTextEditor1.Document.MailMergeDataSource.MoveToFirst();
using (var folderDialog = new FolderBrowserDialog())
{
    folderDialog.ShowNewFolderButton = true;
    if (folderDialog.ShowDialog() == DialogResult.OK)
    {
        var provider = new DocxFormatProvider();

        do
        {
            var item = (Employee) radRichTextEditor1.Document.MailMergeDataSource.CurrentItem;

            var d = this.radRichTextEditor1.Document.MailMergeCurrentRecord();
            using (Stream output = File.Create(folderDialog.SelectedPath + "\\" + item.FirstName + ".docx"))
            {
                provider.Export(d, output);
            }

        } while (radRichTextEditor1.Document.MailMergeDataSource.MoveToNext());
    }
}

[Hristo]

Hi Pavel,

Thank you for writing.

I confirm that the approach you are employing is valid. I can only add that if you need to update the control and its UI while performing the operation you can call the UpdateAllFields method of the editor with a FieldDisplayMode.Result flag or use preview the results as shown here: http://docs.telerik.com/devtools/winforms/richtexteditor/features/mail-merge#previewing-the-results-of-mail-merge.

I hope this helps. Should you have further questions please do not hesitate to write back.

Regards,
Hristo Merdjanov
Telerik by Progress

[Pavel]

Thank you. I do have an additonal question. Is there a way to override the "Save" button behavior?

I want to be able to save the document to SQL database, and then be able to load it.

[Pavel]

I think I am close. I used the code found in the Remove Controls from Rich Text Editor Ribbon Bar thread and I can get get my custom even to fire. However, the save dialog still comes up. How do I suppress it?

public partial class Letters : RadRibbonForm
{
    public Letters()
    {
        InitializeComponent();
        var ribbonUI = new CustomRichTextEditorRibbonBar();
        ribbonUI.AssociatedRichTextEditor = radRichTextEditor1;
        this.Controls.Add(ribbonUI);
    }
}
public class CustomRichTextEditorRibbonBar : RichTextEditorRibbonBar
{
    protected override void Initialize()
    {
        base.Initialize();
        this.buttonSave.Click += ButtonSave_Click1;
    }

    private void ButtonSave_Click1(object sender, EventArgs e)
    {
        throw new NotImplementedException();
    }
}

[Hristo]

Hello Pavel,

Thank you for writing.

Using the suggested approach is valid, however, as you have already observed this will not prevent executing the built-in logic handling the save operation.

The method responsible for performing the save command is also virtual and you can override it. This way you will not need to create a new event handler and the default behavior will be overridden as well: 

public class CustomRichTextEditorRibbonBar : RichTextEditorRibbonBar
{
    protected override void BackstageButtonSave_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
    {
        if (this.IsDesignMode || this.AssociatedRichTextEditor == null)
        {
            return;
        }

        //Your custom logic...
    }
}

I hope this helps. Please let me know if you need further assistance.

Regards,
Hristo Merdjanov
Telerik by Progress

[Pavel]

Thank you, that did it. Well, almost, I needed to override the small save icon in the top right corner, so I just had to use a different method

protected override void ButtonSave_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    SaveClicked?.Invoke(this, EventArgs.Empty);
}

[Hristo]

Hello Pavel,

Thank you for writing back.

I am glad that you have managed to achieve the desired result.

Please let me know if you need further assistance.

Regards,
Hristo Merdjanov
Telerik by Progress