TRichEdit finding protected text

Question

I am working on a TRichEdit (Delphi XE2).

Is there any way i can check whether the richedit textbox contains protected text or not? Also the starting position of that protected text without iterating through the complete text.

Currently i am using the code below

source.SelStart := charNo; //source is richedit name and charno is the                     
                        //iterating loop 
source.SelLength := 1;
if (source.SelAttributes.Protected) then

The above code takes a lot of time for execution when the text is large.

This used to work fine in delphi 4

Can someone please tell why is the same code talking more time in delphi XE2 and less time in Delphi 4 also the proper way to do this in Delphi XE2?

Answer 1

There is no way to search for text attributes. Iterating the individual characters and querying their attributes is the only option.

To speed up the code, you can:

1. use the EM_SETSEL or EM_EXSETSEL window message instead of setting the SelStart and SelLength properties individually.

2. Use the EM_SETEVENTMASK window message to turn off the RichEdit's internal notifications (such as EN_HSCROLL, EN_VSCROLL, and EN_SELCHANGE) while you are iterating.

3. You might also consider using the WM_SETREDRAW window message to disable the RichEdit from repainting while you are iterating.