MailMerge uses the new SubTextParts to mark repeating blocks in a reporting template. But this new TX Text Control document element can be used for other applications as well. Basically, a SubTextPart is a range of text defined through a start character index and a length. This element can itself contain all other elements including text fields, tables and images. A SubTextPart can be programmatically identified through a name or an ID and it can be highlighted on screen either permanently or only when it contains the current text input position.
Using the name property, it is possible to store additional information. In the following animated screenshot, a sample application is shown that implements a comments system where a serialized comment object is stored in a SubTextPart.
The comment properties such as author, date and the formatted RTF string is stored as XML in the Name property of the SubTextPart.
Stay tuned for more features of TX Text Control X13!
