The first release of the new cross-platform Content Editor has been implemented

First release of new Content Editor

The ICT Web Team are pleased to inform you that the first release of the new Content Editor for CMS editing happened today. When site editors go into Content editor from now on, they will see the new version of the Content editor.

This first phase of development has focussed on providing a better solution for Mac and Linux users who need to edit sites or PWPs held in the College CMS (Content Management System). Development work is continuing, and other improved features will be introduced in the near future.

Benefits of the new Content Editor:

• It is browser and operating system independent. This means you can use it with any browser - for example Internet Explorer, Firefox and Safari - and from any operating system - PC, Mac or Linux.
• It does not need to install any plug-ins on your PC, so does not require editors to have Administrator rights on their PCs.
• It is based on the TinyMCE editor which is one of the most widely-used content editors and is highly regarded by users.

What are the main differences Site Developers will notice?

• A slightly different presentation of the toolbar in the editor window.
• Some formatting icons have been removed because they generate code which does not comply with the standard College style.
• The document upload process via the ‘File Upload' icon has been discontinued.
  All sites have a workspace in Oracle Content Services and documents should be loaded and linked there. Existing links to documents loaded via the old process will continue to function correctly. Note that it is not possible to load documents using Safari as Oracle have not written an interface for it.
• In this first release, there is no image preview, and you cannot select an existing image to edit its properties. To change something about an existing image, you either need to delete it and re-insert it, or edit the source code if you are confident about working with HTML. This will be addressed in the next phase of development.
• The spell checker has been disabled at present because it is not compatible with all browsers.
  ‘Copy' and ‘Paste' icons or shortcuts do not work in Safari or Firefox. The ‘Paste Plain Text' icon, which is the main method for copying text into a content item, works for all browsers.

The Editor Quick Start page will give you a summary of how to use the new editor.

What is being worked on for the next release?

• A greatly improved image wizard giving the user the ability to resize, crop and optimise the image
• A redesign of the entire Content Editor window which will remove the double scroll-bar feature, simplify the operation of the editor form and include a ‘Hints and Tips' feature.

We hope that you will soon get accustomed to the new Content Editor and enjoy using it. If you have problems or need help to use it, please raise a call with the Service Desk as usual.

If you have any comments about the new Content Editor, or suggestions for further changes, please pass these to Stuart Croghan, Marion Brady or Theresa Nichols.

PLEASE PASS THIS INFORMATION TO ANY MEMBERS OF YOUR SECTION WHO ARE MAC OR LINUX USERS AND WHO NEED TO EDIT CMS PAGES.