QTextCursor Class

Member Function Documentation

QTextCursor::QTextCursor(const QTextCursor &cursor)

Constructs a new cursor that is a copy of cursor.

QTextCursor::QTextCursor(const QTextBlock &block)

Constructs a cursor pointing to the beginning of the block.

QTextCursor::QTextCursor(QTextFrame *frame)

Constructs a cursor pointing to the beginning of the frame.

QTextCursor::QTextCursor(QTextDocument *document)

Constructs a cursor pointing to the beginning of the document.

QTextCursor::QTextCursor()

Constructs a null cursor.

QTextCursor &QTextCursor::operator=(const QTextCursor &cursor)

Makes a copy of cursor and assigns it to this QTextCursor. Note that QTextCursor is an implicitly shared class.

QTextCursor::~QTextCursor()

Destroys the QTextCursor.

int QTextCursor::anchor() const

Returns the anchor position; this is the same as position() unless there is a selection in which case position() marks one end of the selection and anchor() marks the other end. Just like the cursor position, the anchor position is between characters.

See also position(), setPosition(), movePosition(), selectionStart(), and selectionEnd().

bool QTextCursor::atBlockEnd() const

Returns true if the cursor is at the end of a block; otherwise returns false.

See also atBlockStart() and atEnd().

bool QTextCursor::atBlockStart() const

Returns true if the cursor is at the start of a block; otherwise returns false.

See also atBlockEnd() and atStart().

bool QTextCursor::atEnd() const

Returns true if the cursor is at the end of the document; otherwise returns false.

See also atStart() and atBlockEnd().

bool QTextCursor::atStart() const

Returns true if the cursor is at the start of the document; otherwise returns false.

See also atBlockStart() and atEnd().

void QTextCursor::beginEditBlock()

Indicates the start of a block of editing operations on the document that should appear as a single operation from an undo/redo point of view.

For example:

QTextCursor cursor(textDocument);
cursor.beginEditBlock();
cursor.insertText("Hello");
cursor.insertText("World");
cursor.endEditBlock();

textDocument->undo();

The call to undo() will cause both insertions to be undone, causing both "World" and "Hello" to be removed.

It is possible to nest calls to beginEditBlock and endEditBlock. The top-most pair will determine the scope of the undo/redo operation.

See also endEditBlock().

QTextBlock QTextCursor::block() const

Returns the block that contains the cursor.

QTextCharFormat QTextCursor::blockCharFormat() const

Returns the block character format of the block the cursor is in.

The block char format is the format used when inserting text at the beginning of an empty block.

See also setBlockCharFormat().

QTextBlockFormat QTextCursor::blockFormat() const

Returns the block format of the block the cursor is in.

See also setBlockFormat() and charFormat().

int QTextCursor::blockNumber() const

Returns the number of the block the cursor is in, or 0 if the cursor is invalid.

Note that this function only makes sense in documents without complex objects such as tables or frames.

QTextCharFormat QTextCursor::charFormat() const

Returns the format of the character immediately before the cursor position(). If the cursor is positioned at the beginning of a text block that is not empty then the format of the character immediately after the cursor is returned.

See also setCharFormat(), insertText(), and blockFormat().

void QTextCursor::clearSelection()

Clears the current selection by setting the anchor to the cursor position.

Note that it does not delete the text of the selection.

See also removeSelectedText() and hasSelection().

int QTextCursor::columnNumber() const

Returns the position of the cursor within its containing line.

Note that this is the column number relative to a wrapped line, not relative to the block (i.e. the paragraph).

You probably want to call positionInBlock() instead.

See also positionInBlock().

QTextList *QTextCursor::createList(const QTextListFormat &format)

Creates and returns a new list with the given format, and makes the current paragraph the cursor is in the first list item.

See also insertList() and currentList().

QTextList *QTextCursor::createList(QTextListFormat::Style style)

This is an overloaded function.

Creates and returns a new list with the given style, making the cursor's current paragraph the first list item.

The style to be used is defined by the QTextListFormat::Style enum.

See also insertList() and currentList().

QTextFrame *QTextCursor::currentFrame() const

Returns a pointer to the current frame. Returns nullptr if the cursor is invalid.

See also insertFrame().

QTextList *QTextCursor::currentList() const

Returns the current list if the cursor position() is inside a block that is part of a list; otherwise returns nullptr.

See also insertList() and createList().

QTextTable *QTextCursor::currentTable() const

Returns a pointer to the current table if the cursor position() is inside a block that is part of a table; otherwise returns nullptr.

See also insertTable().

void QTextCursor::deleteChar()

If there is no selected text, deletes the character at the current cursor position; otherwise deletes the selected text.

See also deletePreviousChar(), hasSelection(), and clearSelection().

void QTextCursor::deletePreviousChar()

If there is no selected text, deletes the character before the current cursor position; otherwise deletes the selected text.

See also deleteChar(), hasSelection(), and clearSelection().

QTextDocument *QTextCursor::document() const

Returns the document this cursor is associated with.

void QTextCursor::endEditBlock()

Indicates the end of a block of editing operations on the document that should appear as a single operation from an undo/redo point of view.

See also beginEditBlock().

bool QTextCursor::hasComplexSelection() const

Returns true if the cursor contains a selection that is not simply a range from selectionStart() to selectionEnd(); otherwise returns false.

Complex selections are ones that span at least two cells in a table; their extent is specified by selectedTableCells().

bool QTextCursor::hasSelection() const

Returns true if the cursor contains a selection; otherwise returns false.

void QTextCursor::insertBlock()

Inserts a new empty block at the cursor position() with the current blockFormat() and charFormat().

See also setBlockFormat().

void QTextCursor::insertBlock(const QTextBlockFormat &format)

This is an overloaded function.

Inserts a new empty block at the cursor position() with block format format and the current charFormat() as block char format.

See also setBlockFormat().

void QTextCursor::insertBlock(const QTextBlockFormat &format, const QTextCharFormat &charFormat)

This is an overloaded function.

Inserts a new empty block at the cursor position() with block format format and charFormat as block char format.

See also setBlockFormat().

void QTextCursor::insertFragment(const QTextDocumentFragment &fragment)

Inserts the text fragment at the current position().

QTextFrame *QTextCursor::insertFrame(const QTextFrameFormat &format)

Inserts a frame with the given format at the current cursor position(), moves the cursor position() inside the frame, and returns the frame.

If the cursor holds a selection, the whole selection is moved inside the frame.

See also hasSelection().

void QTextCursor::insertHtml(const QString &html)

Inserts the text html at the current position(). The text is interpreted as HTML.

void QTextCursor::insertImage(const QTextImageFormat &format)

Inserts the image defined by format at the current position().

void QTextCursor::insertImage(const QTextImageFormat &format, QTextFrameFormat::Position alignment)

This is an overloaded function.

Inserts the image defined by the given format at the cursor's current position with the specified alignment.

See also position().

void QTextCursor::insertImage(const QString &name)

This is an overloaded function.

Convenience method for inserting the image with the given name at the current position().

QImage img;
textDocument->addResource(QTextDocument::ImageResource, QUrl("myimage"), img);
cursor.insertImage("myimage");

void QTextCursor::insertImage(const QImage &image, const QString &name = QString())

This is an overloaded function.

Convenience function for inserting the given image with an optional name at the current position().

QTextList *QTextCursor::insertList(const QTextListFormat &format)

Inserts a new block at the current position and makes it the first list item of a newly created list with the given format. Returns the created list.

See also currentList(), createList(), and insertBlock().

QTextList *QTextCursor::insertList(QTextListFormat::Style style)

This is an overloaded function.

Inserts a new block at the current position and makes it the first list item of a newly created list with the given style. Returns the created list.

See also currentList(), createList(), and insertBlock().

[since 6.4] void QTextCursor::insertMarkdown(const QString &markdown, QTextDocument::MarkdownFeatures features = QTextDocument::MarkdownDialectGitHub)

Inserts the markdown text at the current position(), with the specified Markdown features. The default is GitHub dialect.

This function was introduced in Qt 6.4.

QTextTable *QTextCursor::insertTable(int rows, int columns, const QTextTableFormat &format)

Creates a new table with the given number of rows and columns in the specified format, inserts it at the current cursor position() in the document, and returns the table object. The cursor is moved to the beginning of the first cell.

There must be at least one row and one column in the table.

See also currentTable().

QTextTable *QTextCursor::insertTable(int rows, int columns)

This is an overloaded function.

Creates a new table with the given number of rows and columns, inserts it at the current cursor position() in the document, and returns the table object. The cursor is moved to the beginning of the first cell.

There must be at least one row and one column in the table.

See also currentTable().

void QTextCursor::insertText(const QString &text)

Inserts text at the current position, using the current character format.

If there is a selection, the selection is deleted and replaced by text, for example:

cursor.clearSelection();
cursor.movePosition(QTextCursor::NextWord, QTextCursor::KeepAnchor);
cursor.insertText("Hello World");

This clears any existing selection, selects the word at the cursor (i.e. from position() forward), and replaces the selection with the phrase "Hello World".

Any ASCII linefeed characters (\n) in the inserted text are transformed into unicode block separators, corresponding to insertBlock() calls.

See also charFormat() and hasSelection().

void QTextCursor::insertText(const QString &text, const QTextCharFormat &format)

This is an overloaded function.

Inserts text at the current position with the given format.

bool QTextCursor::isCopyOf(const QTextCursor &other) const

Returns true if this cursor and other are copies of each other, i.e. one of them was created as a copy of the other and neither has moved since. This is much stricter than equality.

See also operator=() and operator==().

bool QTextCursor::isNull() const

Returns true if the cursor is null; otherwise returns false. A null cursor is created by the default constructor.

void QTextCursor::joinPreviousEditBlock()

Like beginEditBlock() indicates the start of a block of editing operations that should appear as a single operation for undo/redo. However unlike beginEditBlock() it does not start a new block but reverses the previous call to endEditBlock() and therefore makes following operations part of the previous edit block created.

For example:

QTextCursor cursor(textDocument);
cursor.beginEditBlock();
cursor.insertText("Hello");
cursor.insertText("World");
cursor.endEditBlock();

// ...

cursor.joinPreviousEditBlock();
cursor.insertText("Hey");
cursor.endEditBlock();

textDocument->undo();

The call to undo() will cause all three insertions to be undone.

See also beginEditBlock() and endEditBlock().

bool QTextCursor::keepPositionOnInsert() const

Returns whether the cursor should keep its current position when text gets inserted at the position of the cursor.

The default is false;

See also setKeepPositionOnInsert().

void QTextCursor::mergeBlockCharFormat(const QTextCharFormat &modifier)

Modifies the block char format of the current block (or all blocks that are contained in the selection) with the block format specified by modifier.

See also setBlockCharFormat().

void QTextCursor::mergeBlockFormat(const QTextBlockFormat &modifier)

Modifies the block format of the current block (or all blocks that are contained in the selection) with the block format specified by modifier.

See also setBlockFormat() and blockFormat().

void QTextCursor::mergeCharFormat(const QTextCharFormat &modifier)

Merges the cursor's current character format with the properties described by format modifier. If the cursor has a selection, this function applies all the properties set in modifier to all the character formats that are part of the selection.

See also hasSelection() and setCharFormat().

bool QTextCursor::movePosition(QTextCursor::MoveOperation operation, QTextCursor::MoveMode mode = MoveAnchor, int n = 1)

Moves the cursor by performing the given operation n times, using the specified mode, and returns true if all operations were completed successfully; otherwise returns false.

For example, if this function is repeatedly used to seek to the end of the next word, it will eventually fail when the end of the document is reached.

By default, the move operation is performed once (n = 1).

If mode is KeepAnchor, the cursor selects the text it moves over. This is the same effect that the user achieves when they hold down the Shift key and move the cursor with the cursor keys.

See also setVisualNavigation().

int QTextCursor::position() const

Returns the absolute position of the cursor within the document. The cursor is positioned between characters.

See also setPosition(), movePosition(), anchor(), and positionInBlock().

int QTextCursor::positionInBlock() const

Returns the relative position of the cursor within the block. The cursor is positioned between characters.

This is equivalent to position() - block().position().

See also position().

void QTextCursor::removeSelectedText()

If there is a selection, its content is deleted; otherwise does nothing.

See also hasSelection().

void QTextCursor::select(QTextCursor::SelectionType selection)

Selects text in the document according to the given selection.

void QTextCursor::selectedTableCells(int *firstRow, int *numRows, int *firstColumn, int *numColumns) const

If the selection spans over table cells, firstRow is populated with the number of the first row in the selection, firstColumn with the number of the first column in the selection, and numRows and numColumns with the number of rows and columns in the selection. If the selection does not span any table cells the results are harmless but undefined.

QString QTextCursor::selectedText() const

Returns the current selection's text (which may be empty). This only returns the text, with no rich text formatting information. If you want a document fragment (i.e. formatted rich text) use selection() instead.

QTextDocumentFragment QTextCursor::selection() const

Returns the current selection (which may be empty) with all its formatting information. If you just want the selected text (i.e. plain text) use selectedText() instead.

See also QTextDocumentFragment::toPlainText().

int QTextCursor::selectionEnd() const

Returns the end of the selection or position() if the cursor doesn't have a selection.

See also selectionStart(), position(), and anchor().

int QTextCursor::selectionStart() const

Returns the start of the selection or position() if the cursor doesn't have a selection.

See also selectionEnd(), position(), and anchor().

void QTextCursor::setBlockCharFormat(const QTextCharFormat &format)

Sets the block char format of the current block (or all blocks that are contained in the selection) to format.

See also blockCharFormat().

void QTextCursor::setBlockFormat(const QTextBlockFormat &format)

Sets the block format of the current block (or all blocks that are contained in the selection) to format.

See also blockFormat() and mergeBlockFormat().

void QTextCursor::setCharFormat(const QTextCharFormat &format)

Sets the cursor's current character format to the given format. If the cursor has a selection, the given format is applied to the current selection.

See also charFormat(), hasSelection(), and mergeCharFormat().

void QTextCursor::setKeepPositionOnInsert(bool b)

Defines whether the cursor should keep its current position when text gets inserted at the current position of the cursor.

If b is true, the cursor keeps its current position when text gets inserted at the positing of the cursor. If b is false, the cursor moves along with the inserted text.

The default is false.

Note that a cursor always moves when text is inserted before the current position of the cursor, and it always keeps its position when text is inserted after the current position of the cursor.

See also keepPositionOnInsert().

void QTextCursor::setPosition(int pos, QTextCursor::MoveMode m = MoveAnchor)

Moves the cursor to the absolute position in the document specified by pos using a MoveMode specified by m. The cursor is positioned between characters.

See also position(), movePosition(), and anchor().

void QTextCursor::setVerticalMovementX(int x)

Sets the visual x position for vertical cursor movements to x.

The vertical movement x position is cleared automatically when the cursor moves horizontally, and kept unchanged when the cursor moves vertically. The mechanism allows the cursor to move up and down on a visually straight line with proportional fonts, and to gently "jump" over short lines.

A value of -1 indicates no predefined x position. It will then be set automatically the next time the cursor moves up or down.

See also verticalMovementX().

void QTextCursor::setVisualNavigation(bool b)

Sets visual navigation to b.

Visual navigation means skipping over hidden text paragraphs. The default is false.

See also visualNavigation() and movePosition().

[since 5.0] void QTextCursor::swap(QTextCursor &other)

Swaps this text cursor instance with other. This function is very fast and never fails.

This function was introduced in Qt 5.0.

int QTextCursor::verticalMovementX() const

Returns the visual x position for vertical cursor movements.

A value of -1 indicates no predefined x position. It will then be set automatically the next time the cursor moves up or down.

See also setVerticalMovementX().

bool QTextCursor::visualNavigation() const

Returns true if the cursor does visual navigation; otherwise returns false.

Visual navigation means skipping over hidden text paragraphs. The default is false.

See also setVisualNavigation() and movePosition().

bool QTextCursor::operator!=(const QTextCursor &other) const

Returns true if the other cursor is at a different position in the document as this cursor; otherwise returns false.

bool QTextCursor::operator<(const QTextCursor &other) const

Returns true if the other cursor is positioned later in the document than this cursor; otherwise returns false.

bool QTextCursor::operator<=(const QTextCursor &other) const

Returns true if the other cursor is positioned later or at the same position in the document as this cursor; otherwise returns false.

bool QTextCursor::operator==(const QTextCursor &other) const

Returns true if the other cursor is at the same position in the document as this cursor; otherwise returns false.

bool QTextCursor::operator>(const QTextCursor &other) const

Returns true if the other cursor is positioned earlier in the document than this cursor; otherwise returns false.

bool QTextCursor::operator>=(const QTextCursor &other) const

Returns true if the other cursor is positioned earlier or at the same position in the document as this cursor; otherwise returns false.