Registered users have access to the TinyMCE HTML Editor to markup posts to the website. If you know how to use Microsoft Word, you should be able to figure out how to use this editor too. Unfortunately, like Microsoft Word, it has a few quirks too. With that in mind, we recommend that you don't try to get extremely creative with the formatting powers that the HTML Editor will provide you with. Keep it simple and you should have no problem creating enhanced posts on Social Wave.

To use the HTML Editor, you must turn it on when you're making a post. By default the HTML Editor is turned off. To activate it, click on the "Enable HTML Editor Mode" link at the bottom of the post box. Once the HTML Editor is activated, it will replace the plain text post box.

General usage of the HTML Editor should be self explanatory, but a few tips on using a few special features are provided below.

Usage Tips

Drag and Drop Directly into the HTML Editor

In compliant browsers, you can copy and paste directly from another web page into the HTML Editor. The content including the HTML formatting and image links will all be preserved. Please copy and paste carefully. Content copied directly from other web pages has a tendency to behave unusually in the editor because a lot of hidden code is also copied along with it.

HTML Editor Buttons

Inserting Images

Click on the insert image button to add an image into your post. You can provide the URL to the image you want to show or you can upload an image from your computer to display. To upload an image, click on the upload image icon next to the Image URL field.

You can also insert images by dragging and dropping images from another webpage into the HTML editor on most browsers. Drag and drop features work best in Firefox and other Mozilla compliant browsers.

Pasting from a Microsoft Word Doc

We highly suggest that you do not ever post directly from a MS Word doc into an HTML editor, but if you must, click on the MS Word Translate button to bring up a window where you can paste your Microsoft Word Document contents. The HTML Editor will then attempt to translate your Word doc into sensible HTML, but any images, colors, and layout formatting may not be fully preserved.

A better idea for inserting content stored in a Microsoft Word Document is to save that document as plain text first and then posting the plain text version into the HTML Editor. Then redo any coloring, layout edits, and other formatting in the online version.

Erasing All Markups

If you didn't follow our advice to keep things simple and you find that the HTML Editor is indeed aspiring to be as infuriating as Microsoft Word, do not despair. You can simplify your text and wipe off any formatting you applied by using the eraser tool. Simply highlight the block of text you wish to restore to plain text and click the eraser button.

Cleaning Up Markup Formatting

If you're not ready to give up on the nice formatting your attempting to apply and you want to let the HTML Editor attempt to repair your text, highlight the text you want to clean up and click on the cleanup button (the brush). The HTML Editor will then attempt to remove any extra HTML tags that may be causing your text to appear wacky. If you copied any content directly from another web page by copy and pasting, you'll want to apply the cleanup tool on your text to root out any bad HTML that may have also been inadvertently been copied

Enter Full Screen Mode

If you need more screen space to make edits to your post, click on the full screen mode to pop open a new window containing only the HTML Editor in it. When you are done editing, be sure to click on the full screen button again to return to the normal editor screen before you submit your post.

Preview Your Post

This button will open a new window with just your post with all formatting applied to it. It may not be exactly how it'll look when your ultimately save your post, but it'll let you know if you're on the right track.

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