WordPress TinyMCE
With the update of WordPress 3.9, there has been a lot of confusion over the buttons available in the free WP Edit plugin hosted on WordPress.org. This post is meant to serve as an introduction into the WordPress content editor we call TinyMCE.
Introduction
WordPress is fabulous. Create your pages, publish your posts, and be seen by millions! But, what is it you are actually using to create your content? Is it a rich text editor developed by WordPress? Is it part of WordPress at all? Who is responsible for the buttons available? Read on to learn more…
WordPress and TinyMCE
The editor used by WordPress is not developed by WordPress. In fact, it is developed by a 3rd party named TinyMCE (Tiny MoxieCodeEditor). They are the ones who have developed the editor we are accustomed to seeing in WordPress. There are many other rich text editors like TinyMCE… but WordPress choose TinyMCE for various reasons. It’s easy to hook into.. adding additional functionality. It’s stable, tested, and has been around for quite a while.
TinyMCE Versions and Buttons
TinyMCE had been using version 3 of their software for quite some time (3 years running). During this time, dozens of developers in the open source community created buttons for this editor. This includes the ever-popular buttons like “Advanced Link”, “YouTube”, “Attributes”, and more. These were freely available for TinyMCE version 3; and with some tweaking, I was able to get them working in the WordPress editor. So, I added them to Ultimate Tinymce.
Now, TinyMCE has updated to version 4. This update has introduced a completely new framework.. causing most, if not all, of the older buttons to become obsolete. They were written using the old coding practices.. and simply can’t be easily converted to the new framework. They must be re-coded from the beginning. I have taken on the very laborious task of re-coding as many of these as I can. I’ve already completed about a dozen (available in Pro); with still over a dozen left to complete.
A Presentation of the new TinyMCE version 4 is also available.
WordPress Default Editor
The default WordPress editor has also undergone many changes. This is partly due to updating their core files to include the updated TinyMCE version 4. This is what is causing so many plugins and themes to experience difficulties when attempting to be run on the new WordPress version 3.9.
Before installing WP Edit or WP Edit Pro, I STRONGLY urge everyone to use the default WordPress editor first. Become familiar with the new changes before attempting to use WP Edit or WP Edit Pro. This will clarify many of the support questions I’ve been answering.
So much functionality has changed.. it’s important to see how the basic editor works. THEN, activate WP Edit or WP Edit Pro.. and see how it ‘picks up’ where WordPress stopped.
Now Try WP Edit (Pro)
Once you have become familiar with the base changes of the editor; then you can begin to see where WP Edit and WP Edit Pro have their advantages. Only after fully experimenting with the basic default WordPress editor will you become familiar with it’s new features and nuances.
You can see how it allows you to add new buttons; move old buttons around; and modify other areas of the editor.
Why is only 1 Row of Buttons Available?
If you have configured multiple rows of editor buttons; yet when you go to create/edit a new post or page, you are only seeing one row of editor buttons.. then this is because of the “Toggle Toolbar” editor button. The toggle toolbar editor button is not available in the drag and drop interface.. because moving it to any other row will cause the buttons to disappear completely.
Instead, this button will always be added to the end of the top row of the editor; to the very right of the custom button arrangement.
Hover over each button in the top row of the editor, looking at each tooltip. When you see the tooltip that says “Toggle Toolbars”, click that button. You will immediately see that the functionality of this button is to expand/collapse all other editor rows of buttons.
Closing
Again, many themes and plugins have been affected by this update. If your content editor is still not displaying properly, then please take the time to read the post I created over on the WordPress Forums titled How to Troubleshoot Visual Editor Issues. It contains all the information on how to properly troubleshoot visual editor issues.
Please feel free to comment below.. and share your experiences.
A newer article for troubleshooting a blank/broken WordPress content editor can be found Here on the Knowledge Base.
Hi Josh, Fantastic plugin! Thanks so much!
Is there a way to add fonts to the available font list? We use fonts that aren’t in the supplied list.
Thanks in advance!
Oli
Another query is, is there a way to force all text to CAPS? Also, is there any way to adjust tracking? I’m assuming not but if there is and i’ve missed it it’s worth asking!
Thanks again!
Oli
Currently no way to force all text to caps; but I’ll consider adding an option. I’m not too sure if this is something that many users will desire. I’m not sure what you mean by “adjusting tracking”, but please feel free to elaborate.
Thank you. Yes, you can upload custom fonts via the “Fonts” tab of WP Edit Pro. Just follow the directions, and the stylesheets will be created automatically, and the font names will appear in the “Font Family” dropdown button.
Tnx
i can’t see the visual button and the text button in the edit ?? any one help please ! 🙁
I apologize for my delay.
Did you get things working properly. If not, please let me know. Thanks.
I’ve installed and activated WP-Edit pro and now I have only a white screen on my visual editor.
Hello, I certainly apologize for the inconvenience.
First, please take a look at this article:
http://learn.wpeditpro.com/troubleshoot-blank-wordpress-editor/
If that does not work; please create a support topic over on our free forum (where we can discuss details more easily):
http://learn.wpeditpro.com/troubleshoot-blank-wordpress-editor/
Thank you.
I have installed and activated WP Edit on my wp but but i am still have the same default editor, why is it so?
Hello,
Are you aware of the Toolbar Toggle button?
Please create a topic on our Support Forum; so we can ask for screenshots.
Thanks.
In global I checked to hise tips, but they still cover the top of my editor rows and I cannot dismiss them.
The setting to disable the “fancy tooltips” only affects the tooltips on the WP Edit Pro settings page (Buttons tab). It does not do anything to the tooltips displayed in the content editor.
I installed WP Edit but I do not see the option to edit the font size and family. Please let me know if that is included in this versionas well. This is the most important to my needs now.
Hello,
Yes, the font size and family buttons are included in both the free and pro versions of WP Edit. Make sure you enable the buttons by moving them into an active row (Buttons tab of WP Edit).
If you still do not see the buttons; make sure you are aware of the “toggle toolbar” button:
http://learn.wpeditpro.com/wordpress-tinymce-editor/#ipt_kb_toc_73_6
Josh, I must have set up the buttons correctly WP Edit because I can use the font family pull down menu whilst in page editor mode but I still cannot see where to change the default font. Every time I go to a new paragraph I have to change the font to my preferred font because it reverts back each time.
Hey Chris, sorry for my delay.
Well, the font dropdown selector is just that… a selector. It allows you to “select” a different font for highlighted text. It does not let you set a default font for the entire editor. In order to do this, you would need to set a css rule in the “editor stylesheet”. Something like “body {font-family: …..;}” should work. (replace …. with the proper declaration).
Let me know if you get stuck.
I have a problem with the text editor of wordpress:
I have no editor which appears even if I install multiple plugin
I’m not sure I fully understand. Can you please create a detailed ticked on our support forum?
http://forum.wpeditpro.com
Hi I have the very latest version of WordPress, I think it’s like 3.9.1or something and I’ve tried everything but I just cannot get my comment section to change, I’ve used all the plugins I can think of but to no avail :/ Is there anyway I can either change back to an old version of wordress or is there a way to override the new wordpress 🙁 please help….btw I have the WP Edit plugin aswell. Thanks 🙂
Hi,
I’m not sure what you mean by the “comment section”.
At this time, WP Edit Pro does not alter the comment area at all.
I’d suggest creating a support topic on our free Support Forum.
Thanks.
Unrelated comment… I LOVE the widget to the right of this post. Very wiki-ish 😉
Thanks. I love it too! Credits go to This Man.
Josh, just reading through your posts on the WP editors before I go upgrade to WP 3.9. Great info! Thanks for the tips so we can prevent headaches and panic calls 😉
You’re the best! /ka
Thanks Kathy, I think I feel the dust starting to clear from support… so hopefully I can get back into development soon, and begin expanding my team! We’ll talk more again soon, personally.
I for one appreciate all your hard work. If I could afford it I would upgrade to the pro version just because, or I would at least donate some to you. Maybe I will succeed and one of my sites will start producing. Until then, All I can offer is my deepest gratitude. -RDub
And gratitude is greatly appreciated! Thank you, kindly, and I do wish you much success!