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Toolbars Overview

Updated on Nov 2, 2026

RadEditor Toolbars are containers that accommodate the buttons and dropdown lists of the various tools. Developers can group buttons in a number of toolbars according to the specific purpose of the RadEditor implementation. The figure below shows an editor with its full set of tools, distributed in five toolbars. You can configure a toolbar with as few or as many tools as your application requires.

RadEditor screenshot showing editor-fullsetoftoolsq12010.png

You can learn how to add standard or custom tools to a toolbar in the following Help articles:

You can also configure the toolbar using an XML ToolsFile, which defines:

the number of toolbars and system modules
the collection of buttons in each toolbar and their order
the specific options (if any) for the respective tools (i.e., Fonts collections, Colors collection, etc.)
the dockability of each toolbar
the default docking zone for each toolbar

You can group tools with similar logic in ToolStrips. You can find more information in the following article: How to create a ToolStrip.

As of Q2 2015, new phone-optimized UI is introduced in RadEditor—Phone Layout of RadEditor. You can find more details about the toolbar-related optimizations in the Phone Layout Elements Structure article.

RadEditor Toolset Reference

The lists below show the icon image, the name of the tool, a description of what the tool does, and the tag format used to declare that tool in the ToolsFile.xml file.

General Buttons

Tool Name	Description	ToolsFile Declaration
ConvertToUpper	Convert the text of the current selection to upper case, preserving the non-text elements such as images and tables.	`<tool name="ConvertToUpper" />`
ConvertToLower	Convert the text of the current selection to lower case, preserving the non-text elements such as images and tables.	`<tool name="ConvertToLower" />`
RealFontSize	Allows the user to apply to the current selection, the font size measured in pixels (px) or points (pt), rather than a fixed-size 1 to 7 (as does the FontSize tool).	`<tool name="RealFontSize" shortcut="CTRL+SHIFT+P / CMD+SHIFT+P"/>`
ToggleScreenMode	Toggle Screen Mode - Switches Telerik RadEditor into full screen mode.	`<tool name="ToggleScreenMode" shortcut="F11 / CMD+F11"/>`
ToggleTableBorder	Show/Hide Border - Shows or hides borders around tables in the content area.	`<tool name="ToggleTableBorder" />`
Zoom	Zoom - Changes the level of text magnification.	`<tool name="Zoom" />`
ModuleManager	Module Manager - Activates /Deactivates modules from a drop-down list of available modules.	`<tool name="ModuleManager" />`
ToggleDocking	Toggle Docking - Docks all floating toolbars to their respective docking areas.	`<tool name="ToggleDocking" />`
FindAndReplace	Find and Replace - Find (and replaces) text in the editor's content area.	`<tool name="FindAndReplace" shortcut="CTRL+F / CMD+F"/>`
Print	Print - Prints the contents of the Telerik RadEditor or the whole web page.	`<tool name="Print" shortcut="CTRL+P / CMD+P"/>`
AjaxSpellCheck	Spell - Launches the spell checker.	`<tool name="AjaxSpellCheck"/>`
Cut	Cut - Cuts the selected content and copies it to the clipboard.	`<tool name="Cut" shortcut="CTRL+X / CMD+X"/>`
Copy	Copy - Copies the selected content to the clipboard.	`<tool name="Copy" shortcut="CTRL+C / CMD+X"/>`
Paste	Paste - Pastes the copied content from the clipboard into the editor.	`<tool name="Paste" shortcut="CTRL+V / CMD+V"/>`
PasteStrip	PasteStrip dropdown - Contains advanced paste options (Paste, PasteFromWord, PasteFromWordNoFontsNoSizes, PastePlainText, PasteAsHtml, PasteHtml)	`<tool name="PasteStrip" />`
PasteFromWord	Paste from Word - Pastes content copied from Word and removes the web-unfriendly tags.	`<tool name="PasteFromWord" />`
PasteFromWordNoFontsNoSizes	Paste from Word cleaning fonts and sizes - Cleans all Word-specific tags and removes font names and text sizes.	`<tool name="PasteFromWordNoFontsNoSizes" />`
PastePlainText	Paste Plain Text - Pastes plain text (no formatting) into the editor.	`<tool name="PastePlainText" />`
PasteHtml	Paste HTML - Pastes HTML code in to the current selection and renders it. It is helpful when needed to enter predefined HTML code such as media embed source.	`<tool name="PasteHtml" />`
PasteAsHtml	Paste as HTML - Pastes HTML code in the content area and keeps all the HTML tags.	`<tool name="PasteAsHtml"/>`
Undo	Undo - Undoes the last action.	`<tool name="Undo" shortcut="CTRL+Z / CMD+Z"/>`
Redo	Redo - Redoes/repeats the last action, which has been undone.	`<tool name="Redo" shortcut="CTRL+Y / CMD+Y"/>`
FormatStripper	Format Stripper - Removes custom or all formatting from selected text.	`<tool name="FormatStripper"/>`
Help	Quick Help - Launches the Quick Help you are currently viewing.	`<tool name="Help" shortcut="F1"/>`
AboutDialog	About Dialog - Shows the current version and credentials of Telerik RadEditor .	`<tool name="AboutDialog" />`
XhtmlValidator	XhtmlValidator - Uses the W3C XHTML Validator Page to perform validation of the current editor content.	`<tool name="XhtmlValidator" />`
StyleBuilder	StyleBuilder - Provides options to define cascading style sheet (CSS) style attributes.	`<tool name="StyleBuilder" />`
Toggle ToolZone (this button is Phone-Layout-related)	Toggles the ToolZone in RadEditor with Phone Layout	`<tool name="MobileEdit" />`
Toggle Edit Mode (this button is Phone-Layout-related)	Switches between Design and HTML mode in RadEditor with Phone Layout.	`<tool name="ToggleEditMode" />`
Toggle Screen Mode (this button is Phone-Layout-related)	Exits the full screen mode in RadEditor with Phone layout.	`<tool name="ToggleScreenMode" />`

Insert and Manage Links, Tables, Special Characters, Images and Media

Tool Name	Description	ToolsFile Declaration
ImageManager	Image Manager - Inserts an image from a predefined image folder(s).	`<tool name="ImageManager" shortcut="CTRL+G / CMD+G"/>`
InsertImage	Insert Image - A lite version of the Set Image Properties (Properties...) dialog.	`<tool name="InsertImage"/>`
ImageMapDialog	Image Map - Allows users to define clickable areas within an image.	`<tool name="ImageMapDialog"/>`
AbsolutePosition	Absolute Object Position - Sets an absolute position of an object (free move).	`<tool name="AbsolutePosition" />`
InsertTable	Insert Table - Inserts a table in the Telerik RadEditor .	`<tool name="InsertTable" />`
ToggleTableBorder	Toggle Table Borders - Toggles borders of all tables within the editor.	`<tool name="ToggleTableBorder" />`
InsertSnippet	Insert Snippet - Inserts pre-defined code snippets.	`<tool name="InsertSnippet" />`
InsertFormElement	Insert Form Element - Inserts a form element from a drop-down list with available elements.	`<tool name="InsertFormElement" />`
InsertDate	Insert Date - Inserts current date.	`<tool name="InsertDate" />`
InsertTime	Insert Time - Inserts current time.	`<tool name="InsertTime" />`
InsertExternalVideo	Insert Video - Inserts YouTube or Vimeo video providing just the URL. Additional options for video customization are available as well.	`<tool name="InsertExternalVideo" />`
FlashManager	Flash Manager - Inserts a Flash animation and lets you set its properties.	`<tool name="FlashManager" />`
MediaManager	Windows Media Manager - Inserts a Windows media object (AVI, MPEG, WAV, etc.) and lets you set its properties.	`<tool name="MediaManager" />`
DocumentManager	Document Manager - Inserts a link to a document on the server (PDF, DOC, etc.)	`<tool name="DocumentManager" />`
LinkManager	Hyperlink Manager - Makes the selected text or image a hyperlink.	`<tool name="LinkManager" shortcut="CTRL+K / CMD+K"/>`
InsertLink	Insert Link - A lite version of the Hyperlink Manager , which makes the selected text or image a hyperlink.	`<tool name="InsertLink" />`
Unlink	Remove Hyperlink - Removes the hyperlink from the selected text or image.	`<tool name="Unlink" shortcut="CTRL+SHIFT+K / CMD+SHIFT+K"/>`
InsertSymbol	Insert Special Character - Inserts a special character (€, ®, ©, ±, etc.)	`<tool name="InsertSymbol" />`
InsertCustomLink	Insert Custom Link - Inserts an internal or external link from a predefined list.	`<tool name="InsertCustomLink" shortcut="CTRL+ALT+K / CMD+ALT+K"/>`
TemplateManager	Choose HTML Template - Applies an HTML template from a predefined list of templates.	`<tool name="TemplateManager" />`

Create, Format, Edit: Paragraphs and Lines

Tool Name	Description	ToolsFile Declaration
InsertParagraph	Insert New Paragraph - Inserts a new paragraph.	`<tool name="InsertParagraph" />`
FormatBlock	Paragraph Style dropdown button - Applies standard text styles to selected text.	`<tool name="FormatBlock"/>`
Indent	Indent - Indents paragraphs to the right.	`<tool name="Indent" />`
Outdent	Outdent - Indents paragraphs to the left.	`<tool name="Outdent" />`
JustifyLeft	Align Left - Aligns the selected paragraph to the left.	`<tool name="JustifyLeft" />`
JustifyCenter	Center - Aligns the selected paragraph to the center.	`<tool name="JustifyCenter" />`
JustifyRight	Align Right - Aligns the selected paragraph to the right.	`<tool name="JustifyRight" />`
JustifyFull	Justify - Justifies the selected paragraph.	`<tool name="JustifyFull" />`
JustifyNone	Justify None - Removes the alignment.	`<tool name="JustifyNone" />`
InsertUnorderedList	Bulleted List - Creates a bulleted list from the selection.	`<tool name="InsertUnorderedList" />`
InsertOrderedList	Numbered List - Creates a numbered list from the selection.	`<tool name="InsertOrderedList" />`
InsertHorizontalRule	Insert Horizontal Line (e.g. Horizontal Ruler) - Inserts a horizontal line at the cursor position.	`<tool name="InsertHorizontalRule" />`

Create, Format, Edit: Text, Font and Lists

Tool Name	Description	ToolsFile Declaration
Bold	Bold - Applies bold formatting to the selected text.	`<tool name="Bold" shortcut="CTRL+B / CMD+B"/>`
Italic	Italic - Applies italic formatting to the selected text.	`<tool name="Italic" shortcut="CTRL+I / CMD+I"/>`
Underline	Underline - Applies underline formatting to the selected text.	`<tool name="Underline" shortcut="CTRL+U / CMD+U"/>`
StrikeThrough	Strikethrough - Applies strikethrough formatting to the selected text.	`<tool name="StrikeThrough" />`
Superscript	Superscript - Makes the selected text superscript.	`<tool name="Superscript" />`
Subscript	Subscript - Makes the selected text subscript.	`<tool name="Subscript" />`
FontName	Font Select - Sets the font typeface.	`<tool name="FontName" shortcut="CTRL+SHIFT+F / CMD+SHIFT+F"/>`
FontSize	Font Size - Sets the font size.	`<tool name="FontSize"/>`
ForeColor	Text Color (foreground) - Changes the foreground color of the selected text.	`<tool name="ForeColor"/>`
BackColor	Text Color (background) - Changes the background color of the selected text.	`<tool name="BackColor"/>`
FormatCodeBlock	Formats the selected text as a code block.	`<tool name="FormatCodeBlock" />`
ApplyClass	Custom Styles - Applies custom, predefined styles to the selected text.	`<tool name="ApplyClass"/>`
EditorSeparator	Separate the tools icons on the toolbar.	`<tool separator="true" />`

Track Changes and Comments

To have the Track Changes tools you should set the EnableTrackChanges property to true. You can refer to Track Changes article. And for Comment tools, set the EnableComments property to true. You can refer to Comments article

Tool Name	Description	ToolsFile Declaration
AcceptTrackChange	AcceptTrackChange - Accepts the selected change.	`<tool name="AcceptTrackChange" />`
RejectTrackChange	RejectTrackChange - Rejects the selected change.	`<tool name="RejectTrackChange" />`
AcceptAllTrackChanges	AcceptAllTrackChanges - Accepts all changes in the document.	`<tool name="AcceptAllTrackChanges" />`
RejectAllTrackChanges	RejectAllTrackChanges - Rejects all changes in the document.	`<tool name="RejectAllTrackChanges" />`
EnableTrackChangesOverride	EnableTrackChangesOverride - Toggles the Track Changes feature.	`<tool name="EnableTrackChangesOverride" />`
AddComment	AddComment - Adds comment on the highlighted text.	`<tool name="AddComment" />`
RemoveComment	RemoveComment - Removes the comment under the selected text.	`<tool name="RemoveComment"/>`
RemoveAllComments	RemoveAllComments - Removes all comments in the document.	`<tool name="RemoveAllComments"/>`

ToolsFile Example

Below is an example of a ToolsFile:

XML

<root>
	<tools name="MainToolbar" enabled="true">
		<tool name="AjaxSpellCheck" />
		<tool name="Print" />
		<tool name="FindAndReplace" />
		<tool separator="true"/>
		<tool name="Cut" />
		<tool name="Copy" />
		<tool name="Paste" />
		<tool name="PasteFromWord" />
		<tool name="PastePlainText" />
		<tool name="PasteAsHtml"  />
		<tool separator="true"/>
		<tool name="Undo" />
		<tool name="Redo" />
	</tools>
</root>

Full Set of Tools Setup

ASP.NET

        <telerik:RadEditor ID="RadEditor1" runat="server">
            <Tools>
                <telerik:EditorToolGroup>
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="XhtmlValidator" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="PageProperties" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="StyleBuilder" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="TrackChangesDialog" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="FormatCodeBlock" />
                    <telerik:EditorSeparator></telerik:EditorSeparator>
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="InsertImage" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="InsertLink" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="InsertTableLight" />
                    <telerik:EditorSeparator></telerik:EditorSeparator>
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="InsertFormElement" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="InsertFormForm" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="InsertFormButton" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="InsertFormCheckbox" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="InsertFormHidden" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="InsertFormPassword" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="InsertFormRadio" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="InsertFormReset" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="InsertFormSelect" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="InsertFormSubmit" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="InsertFormTextarea" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="InsertFormText" />
                    <telerik:EditorSeparator></telerik:EditorSeparator>
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="StripAll" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="StripCss" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="StripFont" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="StripSpan" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="StripWord" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="FormatStripper" />
                </telerik:EditorToolGroup>
                <telerik:EditorToolGroup>
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="AjaxSpellCheck" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="ImageManager" ShortCut="CTRL+M" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="SetImageProperties" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="ImageMapDialog" />
                    <telerik:EditorSeparator></telerik:EditorSeparator>
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="FlashManager" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="MediaManager" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="InsertExternalVideo" />
                    <telerik:EditorSeparator></telerik:EditorSeparator>
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="DocumentManager" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="TemplateManager" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="SilverlightManager" />
                    <telerik:EditorSeparator></telerik:EditorSeparator>
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="InsertTable" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="InsertRowAbove" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="InsertRowBelow" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="DeleteRow" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="InsertColumnLeft" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="InsertColumnRight" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="DeleteColumn" />
                    <telerik:EditorSeparator></telerik:EditorSeparator>
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="MergeColumns" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="MergeRows" />
                    <telerik:EditorSeparator></telerik:EditorSeparator>
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="SplitCell" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="SplitCellHorizontal" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="DeleteCell" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="SetCellProperties" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="SetTableProperties" />
                    <telerik:EditorSeparator></telerik:EditorSeparator>
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="InsertSymbol" />
                </telerik:EditorToolGroup>
                <telerik:EditorToolGroup>
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="Undo" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="Redo" />
                    <telerik:EditorSeparator></telerik:EditorSeparator>
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="Cut" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="Copy" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="Paste" ShortCut="CTRL+!" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="PasteMarkdown" />
                    <telerik:EditorSeparator></telerik:EditorSeparator>
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="PasteFromWord" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="PasteFromWordNoFontsNoSizes" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="PastePlainText" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="PasteAsHtml" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="PasteHtml" />
                    <telerik:EditorSeparator></telerik:EditorSeparator>
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="Print" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="FindAndReplace" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="SelectAll" />
                    <telerik:EditorSeparator></telerik:EditorSeparator>
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="InsertGroupbox" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="InsertParagraph" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="InsertHorizontalRule" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="InsertSnippet" />
                    <telerik:EditorSeparator></telerik:EditorSeparator>
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="InsertDate" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="InsertTime" />
                    <telerik:EditorSeparator></telerik:EditorSeparator>
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="AboutDialog" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="Help" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="ToggleScreenMode" />
                </telerik:EditorToolGroup>
                <telerik:EditorToolGroup>
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="Bold" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="Italic" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="Underline" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="StrikeThrough" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="ForeColor" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="BackColor" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="FormatPainter" />
                    <telerik:EditorSeparator></telerik:EditorSeparator>
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="JustifyLeft" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="JustifyCenter" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="JustifyRight" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="JustifyFull" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="JustifyNone" />
                    <telerik:EditorSeparator></telerik:EditorSeparator>
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="Superscript" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="Subscript" />
                    <telerik:EditorSeparator></telerik:EditorSeparator>
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="ConvertToLower" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="ConvertToUpper" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="Indent" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="Outdent" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="InsertOrderedList" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="InsertUnorderedList" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="AbsolutePosition" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="LinkManager" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="Unlink" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="SetLinkProperties" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="ToggleTableBorder" />
                </telerik:EditorToolGroup>
                <telerik:EditorToolGroup>
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="FontName" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="FontSize" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="RealFontSize" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="ApplyClass" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="InsertCustomLink" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="FormatBlock" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="FormatSets" />
                    <telerik:EditorTool Name="Zoom" />
                </telerik:EditorToolGroup>
            </Tools>
        </telerik:RadEditor>