Phitext is the first rich text editor library for iPhone OS developers who want more control over UITextView but don't want to resort to private API calls.

The library takes advantage of the UITextView protocol introduced in iPhone OS 3.2 (and available in 4.0) to accept input from the system (or custom) keyboard. Phitext overcomes the challenges of implementing the UITextView protocol in the face of sparse Apple documentation. Because Phitext is backed by an NSAttributedString and uses Core Text to render it's content the developer is free to add any style attributes supported by NSAttributedString and Core Text.

End users will find the user interface familiar, if they can tell the difference at all! Core Graphics is used to replicate the UI controls such as the text magnifier and selection handles or you can customize these classes to give your application it's own distinctive look. The library correctly implements the UITextInput protocol so that the Text Input System provides autocorrection prompts. Touch events to the PhiTextEditorView instance are handled by a gesture recognizer to replicate the behaviour of UITextView, including animated snap to word text selection. Cut, copy and paste is supported, so that users can manipulate the plain text between applications. The latest features of iPhone OS 3.2 are leveraged to give you smart menu controller positioning.

Phitext goes beyond UITextView with support for line wrapping switch and multithreaded applications. Phitext has been tested with large files (up to 4 million characters) to give you the best performance.

Download the developer preview to get a full functional, simulator only, version of the framework. You have access to all the functionality of Phitext and you can start your integration and test using the iPhone simulator. The paid version includes the entire source code and access to future updates.