eBoard: FAQ Rich Text Editing

FAQ: Rich Text Editing

What is rich text editing?
Which browsers support rich text editing?
What are the options for selecting a Rich Text Editor for my eBoard?
I copied some information from a web page or Microsoft Word document into the rich text editor using "cut and paste", and it doesn't look right. What can I do?
When I click the "left", "center", "right", or "justify" buttons, it affects the entire contents of my note instead of just the text I've selected. Why does this happen and how do I fix it?
Can I use the rich text editor to mix images or clip art with text?

What is rich text editing?

Rich text editing is a feature which allows you to edit text that you wish to post on your eBoard in much the same way that you would do so using a word processing program. For example, it allows you to change the font, size, and color of your text; use boldface, underlining, and italics; center or justify text; or create links, all using a graphical interface that makes editing as simple as selecting the text you want to format and clicking the operation you want to perform.

Which browsers support rich text editing?

Rich text editing is supported by all modern web browsers including Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, Chrome, etc.

What are the options for selecting a Rich Text Editor for my eBoard?

There are 3 options that may be available for editing your eBoard depending on what your district has selected. If any of these are not available, contact your eBoard Administrator.

The following options may be listed in your select menu in the Control Panel:

Disabled - this will turn off the Rich Text Editors and only plain text editing will be available. You can still manually enter HTML formatted content. (see What is rich text editing?).
CK Editor* - eBoard's newest supported and recommended editor that brings to the web common editing features found on desktop editing applications.
Tiny MCE Editor - the current eBoard editor that brings to the web common editing features found on desktop editing applications.

*Recommended Editor

Directions to select a Rich Text Editor for your eBoard:

Enter admin mode (see What is admin mode?).
Click on the link for the control panel above the Title Banner on the top of your eBoard.
In the allow rich text editor field select one of the Rich Text Editing options above from the drop down menu.
Click Save and Exit to return to your eBoard.

I copied some information from a web page or Microsoft Word document into the rich text editor using "cut and paste", and it doesn't look right. What can I do?

Web pages and Microsoft Word documents often contain large amounts of complex formatting information, even if they appear on the surface to be very simple documents. When you copy and paste into the rich text editor, this formatting information is transferred along with the actual text. Even though the original document may have looked great, the formatting information may not work properly when copied into another document, such as your eBoard note.

There are several solutions to this problem.

Use the paste as text option in the text editing tool bar to strip out all of this formatting information. Paste your text into the paste as text window using control+V and select submit to enter the text into your Note. We recommend using this option for content copied from a web site.
Use the paste as word option in the text editing tool bar to strip out some formatting information. Paste your text into the paste as word window using control+V and select submit to enter the text into your Note. We recommend using this option for content copied from a word processing document.
Other Options
If you are copying and pasting from a web page, you may want to consider posting a link to the web page rather than copying it. You can do this by copying and pasting the web address (URL) of the document into your note.
If you are copying and pasting from a Microsoft Word document, you may want to consider uploading the document as an attachment rather than copying it directly into your note (see How do I attach a picture or document to a note?).

When I click the "left", "center", "right", or "justify" buttons, it affects the entire contents of my note instead of just the text I've selected. Why does this happen and how do I fix it?

This problem is the result of a bug in Internet Explorer. You can work around this problem as follows:

Position the cursor at the end of the line above the text you wish to center or justify. Press shift-enter.
Position the cursor at the end of the last line of the text you wish to center or justify. Press shift-enter.
Position the cursor anywhere in the block of text you wish to center or justify and click the appropriate button.

Pressing shift-enter sometimes produces an extra blank line that you don't want. If you have this problem, the instead of placing the cursor at the end of a line and pressing shift-enter, try placing it at the beginning of the next line. Press backspace to join the two lines together and then shift-enter to separate them again.

Another solution to this problem is to use a different browser that does not have this bug. We recommend Mozilla Firefox, which is available for free and also offers a number of other great features, including tabbed browsing and an excellent pop-up blocker.

Can I use the rich text editor to mix images or clip art with text?

You may be able to cut and paste text which contains images into the rich text editor. When your note is viewed, the user's web browser will try to load the image from the web site from which you originally copied it. If the image has been changed or removed, users will see the new image or a broken image icon. Image files can also be added to your eBoard as attachments. (see How do I attach a picture or document to a note?).