# Format Painter

The Format Painter feature in **RadRichTextEditor** enables you to copy the formatting of a document element and apply it to other elements. the functionality can be used programmatically through the methods of the [RadDocumentEditor](https://www.telerik.com/products/winforms/documentation/controls/richtexteditor/features/raddocumenteditor) class or you can use the UI.

* [UI and Commands](https://www.telerik.com/products/winforms/documentation/controls/richtexteditor/features/format-painter#ui-and-commands)
* [Using Format Painter Programmatically](https://www.telerik.com/products/winforms/documentation/controls/richtexteditor/features/format-painter#using-format-painter-programmatically)

## UI and Commands

The Format Painter functionality can be used through the button inside the Home tab of [Ribbon UI](https://www.telerik.com/products/winforms/documentation/controls/richtexteditor/ui-for-applying-rich-text-formatting/ribbon-ui).

> caption Figure 1: Format Painter

![WinForms RadRichTextEditor Format Painter](https://www.telerik.com/products/winforms/documentation/assets/a7e7aac46daf769256a54b22206d3e61/richtexteditorfeatures-format-painter001.png)

The following commands related to the copying of formatting are available in the **Commands** property of **RadRichTextEditor**:

* **CopyFormatting**: Copies the formatting of the current selection.
* **PasteFormatting**: Pastes the currently copied formatting on the current selection.
* **CancelFormatPainter**: Untoggles the UI button and stops pasting of the formatting by using the selection. Still, pasting is possible through the Ctrl+Shift+V shortcut and through the **PasteFormatting** command.
* **ChangeFormatPainterState**: The Execute method of this command accepts a parameter of type *ChangeFormatPainterStateCommandParameter*. Depending on the parameter passed to this command, it can perform one of the following actions:
  * **CopyForSinglePaste**: The format painter copies the current formatting and prepares to paste it once.
  * **CopyForMultiplePaste**: The format painter copies the current formatting and prepares to paste it in multiple places.
  * **Cancel**: The format painter cancels pasting.

> tip In order to learn more about commands and how to use them refer to the [Commands](https://www.telerik.com/products/winforms/documentation/controls/richtexteditor/features/commands) topic.

> There are also shortcuts implemented for easier usage:
>
> * *Ctrl+Shift+C* copies the formatting.
> * *Ctrl+Shift+V* pastes the formatting to the current selection.
> * *Esc* untoggles the UI button and stops pasting of the formatting by using the selection.

## Using Format Painter Programmatically

The format painting functionality can be programmatically used through the following methods of RadRichTextEditor.**RichTextBoxElement** object:

* **CopyFormatting**: Copies the formatting of the current selection.
* **PasteFormatting**: Pastes the currently copied formatting on the current selection.

Note, that these methods work with the current position and selection in the document.

#### Copying and Pasting Formatting

```C#
this.radRichTextEditor1.RichTextBoxElement.CopyFormatting();

DocumentPosition start = new DocumentPosition(this.radRichTextEditor1.Document.CaretPosition);
DocumentPosition end = new DocumentPosition(start);

start.MoveToFirstPositionInDocument();
end.MoveToEndOfDocumentElement(start.GetCurrentParagraphBox().AssociatedParagraph);

this.radRichTextEditor1.Document.Selection.SetSelectionStart(start);
this.radRichTextEditor1.Document.Selection.AddSelectionEnd(end);

this.radRichTextEditor1.RichTextBoxElement.PasteFormatting();
```

```VB.NET
Me.radRichTextEditor1.RichTextBoxElement.CopyFormatting()
Dim start As DocumentPosition = New DocumentPosition(Me.radRichTextEditor1.Document.CaretPosition)
Dim [end] As DocumentPosition = New DocumentPosition(start)
start.MoveToFirstPositionInDocument()
[end].MoveToEndOfDocumentElement(start.GetCurrentParagraphBox().AssociatedParagraph)
Me.radRichTextEditor1.Document.Selection.SetSelectionStart(start)
Me.radRichTextEditor1.Document.Selection.AddSelectionEnd([end])
Me.radRichTextEditor1.RichTextBoxElement.PasteFormatting()

```

The example uses the **DocumentPosition** and **DocumentSelection** APIs to create different positions and select content. More information about these APIs is available in the [Positioning](https://www.telerik.com/products/winforms/documentation/controls/richtexteditor/features/positioning) and [Selection](https://www.telerik.com/products/winforms/documentation/controls/richtexteditor/features/selection) topics.

## See Also

* [RadDocumentEditor](https://www.telerik.com/products/winforms/documentation/controls/richtexteditor/features/raddocumenteditor)
* [Ribbon UI](https://www.telerik.com/products/winforms/documentation/controls/richtexteditor/ui-for-applying-rich-text-formatting/ribbon-ui)
* [Styles](https://www.telerik.com/products/winforms/documentation/controls/richtexteditor/features/styles/styles)