WYSIWYG Editor in PHPBB3

[Krupski Roger]

Thanks Roger,

This weekend I will try and lett you know how things are going

EDIT: Demo is up and working.

[stef775]

How is this mod going on?

[Krupski Roger]

How is this mod going on?

Working on it still... I am writing PHP code to automatically add custom BBCodes to the editor's toolbar. I also (finished) a PHP module to dynamically generate the HTML popup for smilies. It can either simply read all the smilies in the directory and display them all, or it can read a SMILIES.PAK file and display only the ones desired.

Right now I'm wrestling with paragraphs! The editor (correctly) makes each line a paragraph. That is, if you type this:

Hello there(enter)
This is a test(enter)

The editor generates:
<p>Hello there</p>
<p>This is a test</p>

It should preview and post as:

Hello there
This is a test

But instead it does this:

Hello there
(extra line here)
This is a test
(extra line here)

I'm wondering if PHPBB adds a <br /> after each paragraph? I looked all through the PHPBB code, but I can't find anywhere obvious where it may be getting done... and those darn REGEX lines confuse the heck out of me.

I tried to change the "root block" from <p> to <div> but that messes up a whole bunch of things (such as the [code] bbcode) because the closing </div> of the highlighted text (to place inside the BBCode) shuts off the CSS style for the codebox!

If I use a blank root path, everything works as it should EXCEPT that now things like "center" and "indent" don't work because the editor can't find an element block to work with!

Currently I'm also working on a PHP module to clean up the <p> tags from the editor output BEFORE it gets to PHPBB. I'm taking each "paragraph" (as defined by <p>.......</p>) and converting it to (..........<br />). Of course, I have to find the proper (matching) <p> and </p> pieces so I don't screw it all up!

It's probably 90% there... I'm now in the tweaking phase... trying to test all possible situations. It's kinda difficult since I don't have any beta testers! <crying>

Oh well, it's fun and it keeps me off the streets!

-- Roger

[stef775]

HAha didn't we beta test enough?

But it looks good, are you going to publish it as a mod?

[Krupski Roger]

HAha didn't we beta test enough?

But it looks good, are you going to publish it as a mod?

I'm not sure. There's an awful lot of editing to do. For example, "posting_buttons.html" gets totally redone. Instead of being html, it's now all one huge Javascript string that is inserted into the editor's status bar to generate the old fashioned BBCode buttons (as well as custom buttons) for people who want to keep doing it the "old way". And, I don't like doing it that way, so I'm going to RE-do it in PHP... but for now (mostly to see if it works), it's Javascript.

The file "editor.js" is almost completely re-done... and several PHP files are changed, as well as at least two added.

It's almost going to be easier to release it as a simple ZIP or TAR.GZ file that can overwrite the old files with the new.

Of course, if a user has any mods installed, this method could break the mods (or break the whole board) which of course I don't want to do.

At this point, I just don't know how to release it as a foolproof mod that anyone could install.

Really, I don't even know how many people would be interested in it. It seems like most people are happy with the old way...

[heredia21]

I would like a WYSIWYG editor. Just all the ones out right now contain a lot of bugs.

[stef775]

Don't you think it comes from the phpbb3 team which is only yelling security, security instead of giving tips or help.

More and more boards are using wysiwyg editors, this behaviour will cost a lot of customers for phpbb3

[Krupski Roger]

Don't you think it comes from the phpbb3 team which is only yelling security, security instead of giving tips or help.

More and more boards are using wysiwyg editors, this behaviour will cost a lot of customers for phpbb3

Well, I hate to gripe... but I have seen a general "arrogant" attitude from quite a few people associated with the development of PHPBB. I've seen a lot of people ask for help only to be sarcastically referred to a "fill in the form" page or referred to the original author of a mod who may not see the question for a long time (if ever).

This is sad since I personally have seen several questions about a problem with a mod (modification, not moderator) that I myself ran into and KNEW THE ANSWER, but the OP was rudely redirected to ask in the "proper place" and the thread locked.

I could have (and would gladly have) helped out the person.

Oh well... anyway........ the reason I'm here right now is to ask you... if you have some time, please try out the editor setup as it is currently configured.

I've integrated the BBCode system into the statusbar of the editor. Existing BBCodes that are redundant (such as bold, italic, size, URL, etc...) are removed while non-redundant ones are available. Also, any admin created BBCodes automatically show up as new buttons and work as BBCodes always have.

Here's a shot of the editor:



What I'm interested in is... are the BBCode buttons in a "good" location? I put them in the status bar because the status bar is virtually wasted space anyway... who needs a word count or to know what elements are active?

Try it out if you get a chance... be very critical. Test it hard and tell me anything you think is wrong or that you don't like.

The link is the little "globe" icon in my profile box on the right.

Log in with:

Username: tester
Password: tester

Thanks!

-- Roger

[Krupski Roger]

Update: I moved the BBCodes out of the status bar and put them into a drop-down menu. The menu displays all the default built in BBCodes, as well as any new ones that the user may install.

The drop down also honors the ACP settings for allow or disallow URL, IMG, FLASH, etc... and if BBCodes are disabled in the ACP, the menu option does not even appear in the editor.

Here's the latest screenshot:





I'm gonna make PHPBB modern if it kills me! LOL!

-- Roger

[stef775]

That's a way better then using the statusbar.
Great move Roger.

I'm looking out to use it on my own site