What in your opinion is the best WYSIWYG html editor for websites or would you advise to keep away from them. If so, what alternative method would you use, thanks in advance
I usually use TinyMCE when I have to create a WYSIWYG editor.. Whether you need to use one or not depends on what your using it for.
I admit that WYSIWYG has lost its original meaning for me as it applies to web page production. I have written all of my web pages strictly by hand coding (no pre-defined elements/attributes/constructs) for many years now using the text editor of HTML-Kit -- checking the output (including validating the Markup) by toggling between the Preview window and Editor as I go -- isn't that WYSIWYG? James
Lawlz James, kinda. Indeed when I do this what I see is of course what I get— because I'm looking in a real browser instead of some editor's poor imitation of a real browser (and even if it gets it right, it's just one rendering engine, and you must test in as many browsers as possible). I wouldn't recommend anyone start using a WYSIWYG, but I know some companies use them for their other properties: ftp, versioning, etc. So some people are required to use a wysiwyg. I dunno if I could work for such a company. But if you have to use one, use code view only, and turn off all the "helpful" junk like code completion. Don't let the robot second-guess your choice of tags. Robots write code like they dance. Awkwardly.
Sorry, i think i posted my post incorrectly from the start. I am building a CMS for a friend who has no html experience. When they go to edit a page in the CMS i was going to integrate a WYSIWYG editor for the CMS What is the best plugin out there or would you advise on keeping away from CMS WYSIWYG editors thanks in advance
That is why I like implementations like HTML-Kit: you can designate your favorite Browser (I use Firefox 3.x) as the default for the viewing pane and as many other graphical Browsers you have installed on your computer (I use the latest iterations of Opera, MSIE 7, K-meleon, Chrome, Safari, Amaya) for as-you-go checking of total code or snippets. When you combine that with on-call W3C Markup (and CSS) Validation and syntax checking via "Tidy" you have a very powerful adjunct to your hand coding using the text editor. There really is no excuse for writing other than well-formed and valid code. Of course, there are other excellent implementations besides HTML-Kit. I like that, SP. James
I do not like to come across as prejudiced (but in this case I am) but I think that all "traditional WYSIWYG" code generators/editors are abominations -- spewing out sloppy code that is not well formed, and that is in many cases invalid & deprecated. Why not do it right from the start? Markup languages are very simple and easy to learn with only a small investment of time required. People take the time to learn how to text message with cell phones (and use GPS coding) as a matter of course -- remembering and applying HTML elements, attributes and constructs is just as easy in my opinion. When you hand code your web pages (and other web documents) you become true masters of them -- modifying, updating and changing them (all the while maintaining their validity and design) is a breeze! James
Ah, oo7ml this thing is like how Drupal comes with this admin panel with fcked editor or whatever it's called? If your end-user isn't a coder then they're kinda stuck with the WYSIWYG. When discussing Drupal on another forum I was like, what, am I stuck with this nasty thing if I use Drupal? And people said you could use other wysiwyg's and that you can do some training with the end-user and turn off things like font and colour tags (since those big bloaties appear easily and often). That might be your best bet, to teach the end-user as much as they can handle. I don't understand. This must to something else too? I have my browsers open, which sit as tabs at the bottom of my screen (Ubuntu and Virtual Box with Windows), and my editor open (just text, either gEdit or gVim), and via either editor I'm directly accessing the file via SSH/FTP (so I make a change, I click Save, I F5 all the browsers). Other than maybe grouping all this into one window (which still wouldn't be possible unless it could have VB inside it), what else does this do that a general text editor and loose browsers don't? I would guess it's good for off-line development... I use teh Interwebz for all my validation and checking (I don't even bother trying to test things locally, IE doesn't handle it well and I can't go check on another machine). I am assuming it does something else for you or makes something easier, because I know you know your stuff. It's goin' on.. 3 years now? I'm still learning HTML. Seriously, maybe I'm a moron, yeah there's only like 93 tags?? And I'm maybe using 20 or less? But I'm still learning it. It's as if it's tricking me into thinking it's easy when it isn't. Freaking onion or something, and I haven't gotten to the middle yet (will I ever?). How much learning can be invested by the end-user? I agree, you want to do as much as possible but sometimes, not much is possible. I mean, I've been tempted to show people "Here are the <p> tags, just type in what you want inside them and hit Save" but it doesn't seem to work very well : )
@ oo7ml: I am not a fan of letting the user/owner have any more privilege than absolutely required. That is where I disagree with jamesicus. I do not want the site owner, or anyone else using html as long as I'm the one having to follow with a shovel and bucket. You have not said what it is that the owner will be entering. If it is weblog type content, use your favorite blogging software and be content with the screwy markup it generates, but with the knowledge that nothing will get broken. Otherwise, write your own tightly restricted cms(s) apropos to the data being entered. cheers, gary
You path any Browser (including textual Browsers such as Lynx) you have installed on your computer to HTML-KIT (designating your prime use one as the default for the text editor view window) then -- working offline -- you call any one you chose to view editor output any time you wish to check the document you are working on. "Tidy" (plug-in) can be invoked the same way. The W3C and WDG Markup/CSS Validators can similarly be summoned at anytime (HTML-Kit goes online to grab them) to perform on-the-fly validation. BTW, I check page display/function in IE6 and Netscape 4.x on an old laptop I have saved for that use. Well, Sp, I still think it is easy to use (and master). Here I am an eighty year old guy that never took a class in Markup coding and I guarantee every page I write to validate and function as intended. James
Well, you are a pretty smart 80-year-old guy, so that makes sense. I also haven't done any schooling but you'd think a 30-year-old brain could do this too. Well, at least I am using an appropriate username : ) It means "stupid". I mean, nobody told Einstein he couldn't learn something simply because he was old.