diff --git a/Project/Src/Gui/TextArea.cs b/Project/Src/Gui/TextArea.cs
index efa9a41..327ab6a 100644
--- a/Project/Src/Gui/TextArea.cs
+++ b/Project/Src/Gui/TextArea.cs
@@ -802,7 +802,7 @@ namespace ICSharpCode.TextEditor
                 return true;
 
             // if not (or the process was 'silent', use the standard edit actions
-            var action = MotherTextEditorControl.GetEditAction(keyData);
+            var action = MotherTextEditorControl?.GetEditAction(keyData);
             AutoClearSelection = true;
             if (action != null)
             {