Adding and Customizing Tables in React Quill

Tables are essential for structuring information in content editors. While React Quill, a React wrapper for QuillJS, is robust and extensible, it lacks built-in table support. This guide will show you how to integrate and customize table functionality in React Quill using third-party modules and configurations.

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Why Use Tables in a Rich Text Editor?

Tables allow users to present data clearly and visually within content. They are particularly useful for:

• Organizing and comparing information.
• Structuring layouts for reports, blogs, or technical documentation.
• Enhancing overall content readability.

Integrating table support into React Quill extends its utility for users managing structured data.

Setting Up React Quill

Begin by installing React Quill into your project:

npm install react-quill

Import and configure React Quill in your component:

import React, { useState } from 'react';
import ReactQuill from 'react-quill';
import 'react-quill/dist/quill.snow.css';

const Editor = () => {
  const [value, setValue] = useState('');

  return (
    <ReactQuill theme="snow" value={value} onChange={setValue} />
  );
};

export default Editor;

Adding Table Support with quill-table

To add table functionality, use the quill-table module.

Install the Module

npm install quill-table

Configure the Table Module

Import and register the table module with Quill:

import ReactQuill, { Quill } from 'react-quill';
import 'react-quill/dist/quill.snow.css';
import Table from 'quill-table';
import 'quill-table/dist/quill.table.css';

Quill.register({
  'modules/table': Table,
});

const EditorWithTable = () => {
  const [value, setValue] = useState('');

  const modules = {
    toolbar: [
      [{ table: [] }],
      ['bold', 'italic', 'underline'],
      [{ list: 'ordered' }, { list: 'bullet' }],
    ],
    table: true,
  };

  return (
    <ReactQuill theme="snow" value={value} onChange={setValue} modules={modules} />
  );
};

export default EditorWithTable;

Add Toolbar Buttons

The toolbar configuration includes a table button, enabling users to insert and edit tables directly.

Customizing Table Styles

Use CSS to style tables:

.ql-table td {
  border: 1px solid #ddd;
  padding: 8px;
}

.ql-table th {
  background-color: #f4f4f4;
  text-align: left;
}

Extracting and Managing Table Data

React Quill outputs HTML content. To extract and manage table data, parse the editor's value:

const extractTablesFromHTML = (html) => {
  const parser = new DOMParser();
  const doc = parser.parseFromString(html, 'text/html');
  const tables = doc.querySelectorAll('table');
  return Array.from(tables).map((table) => table.outerHTML);
};

const handleSave = () => {
  const tableData = extractTablesFromHTML(value);
  console.log('Extracted Tables:', tableData);
};

Conclusion

Adding table support to React Quill enhances its functionality, making it more versatile for users who need structured content. The quill-table module provides tools for inserting and managing tables, while custom CSS and event handling enable further customization. With these steps, you can create a rich text editor tailored to your application's needs.

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References

1. React Quill Documentation
2. QuillJS Documentation
3. Quill Table Module
4. React Quill

Comments

[Iam Justin]

What would you recommend for lists