# Feature Comparison: TX Text Control Vs. Microsoft RichTextBox > A feature-by-feature comparison of TX Text Control and the standard .NET RichTextBox spans word processing, advanced programming, and file format categories. TX Text Control provides tables, headers, sections, images, spell checking, PDF, DOCX, HTML, and XML capabilities. - **Author:** Bjoern Meyer - **Published:** 2010-07-12 - **Modified:** 2026-07-17 - **Description:** A feature-by-feature comparison of TX Text Control and the standard .NET RichTextBox spans word processing, advanced programming, and file format categories. TX Text Control provides tables, headers, sections, images, spell checking, PDF, DOCX, HTML, and XML capabilities. - **10 min read** (1948 words) - **Tags:** - RichTextBox - **Web URL:** https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2010/07/12/feature-comparison-tx-text-control-vs-microsoft-richtextbox/ - **LLMs URL:** https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2010/07/12/feature-comparison-tx-text-control-vs-microsoft-richtextbox/llms.txt - **LLMs-Full URL:** https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2010/07/12/feature-comparison-tx-text-control-vs-microsoft-richtextbox/llms-full.txt --- The *RichTextBox* that comes with Microsoft .NET provides more advanced formatting options than the standard *TextBox* control. The *RichTextBox* provides basic functionality, much like the functionality Microsoft WordPad offers. The *RichTextBox* is a very nice little control and can be used for simple rich text entry fields or similar applications. But as soon as you need a more powerful editor, the RichTextBox is reaching it's limits. Many new users are requesting a list of features that shows the advantages of **TX Text Control** over the RichTextBox. It is important to make clear that we are not comparing products here. It is just the feature list of TX Text Control compared to the standard rich text control that comes with Visual Studio. Common Word Processing Features ------------------------------- | Feature | TX Text Control® | RichTextBox | |---|---|---| | True WYSIWYG | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/supported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/notsupported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | | Print and Print Preview | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/supported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/notsupported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | | Document Sections | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/supported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/notsupported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | | Hypertext Links | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/supported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/partly.webp "Feature is fully supported") | | Numbered Lists | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/supported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/notsupported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | | Bulleted Lists | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/supported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/partly.webp "Feature is fully supported") | | Multi-Level Undo/Redo | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/supported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/supported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | | Page Columns | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/supported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/notsupported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | | Zoom | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/supported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/supported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | | Stylesheet Formatting | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/supported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/notsupported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | | Spell Checking | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/supported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/notsupported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | | Tables | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/supported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/notsupported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | | Text Frames | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/supported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/notsupported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | | Headers and Footers | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/supported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/notsupported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | | Page and Document Settings | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/supported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/partly.webp "Feature is fully supported") | | Images | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/supported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/notsupported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | | Loading from and saving to databases | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/supported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/partly.webp "Feature is fully supported") | | Integrated Dialog Boxes | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/supported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/notsupported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | | Clipboard Operations | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/supported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/supported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | | Search and Replace | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/supported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/supported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | Advanced Programming Capabilities --------------------------------- | Feature | TX Text Control® | RichTextBox | |---|---|---| | Toolbars | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/supported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/notsupported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | | XML Programming | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/supported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/notsupported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | | Text Selections and Character Input | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/supported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/supported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | | Microsoft Word Merge Fields | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/supported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/notsupported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | | Control Settings | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/supported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/partly.webp "Feature is fully supported") | | Page Rendering Engine | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/supported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/notsupported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | | Marked Text Fields | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/supported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/notsupported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | | 64 bit Version | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/supported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/supported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | | Programming Paragraphs | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/supported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/notsupported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | | Line and Character Operations | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/supported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/notsupported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | | Stylesheet Programming | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/supported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/notsupported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | Supported File Formats ---------------------- | Feature | TX Text Control® | RichTextBox | |---|---|---| | Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/supported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/notsupported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | | Adobe Portable Document Format Archive (PDF/A) Export | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/supported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/notsupported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | | Microsoft Word (DOC) | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/supported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/notsupported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | | Extensible Markup Language (XML) | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/supported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/notsupported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | | Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) Import | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/supported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/notsupported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | | Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) Export | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/supported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/notsupported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | | Microsoft Office Open XML (DOCX) | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/supported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/notsupported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | | Rich Text Format (RTF) | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/supported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/supported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | | Plain Text (TXT) | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/supported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/supported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | | Fully supported | ![Feature is fully supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/supported.webp "Feature is fully supported") | |---|---| | Partly supported | ![Feature is partly supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/partly.webp "Feature is partly supported") | | Not supported | ![Feature is not supported](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/12/a/assets/notsupported.webp "Feature is not supported") | --- ## About Bjoern Meyer As CEO, Bjoern is the visionary behind our strategic direction and business development, bridging the gap between our customers and engineering teams. His deep passion for coding and web technologies drives the creation of innovative products. If you're at a tech conference, be sure to stop by our booth - you'll most likely meet Bjoern in person. With an advanced graduate degree (Dipl. Inf.) in Computer Science, specializing in AI, from the University of Bremen, Bjoern brings significant expertise to his role. In his spare time, Bjoern enjoys running, paragliding, mountain biking, and playing the piano. - [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/bjoernmeyer/) - [X](https://x.com/txbjoern) - [GitHub](https://github.com/bjoerntx)