Using the Rich Text Editor
In many places on the Network there are opportunities to enter formatted text with hyperlinks, pictures, and tables. Examples include new discussion board entries and replies, creating or editing wiki pages, and creating or editing announcements. In these situations the user is presented with a box to enter the text with this menu above it:
In general this menu works fairly intuitively if you're familiar with Microsoft Word or other Microsoft applications. However there are a few tips that might be helpful.
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Although cut, copy and pasting from other applications is supported by the first 3 buttons, the results can be somewhat unpredictable because what comes over is not always obvious. Here are some suggestions:
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The formatting often comes with the paste (like it or not). However, it may not be reproduced faithfully - don't count on it working perfectly even if it seems to paste properly. However, give it a try.
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Use clear format button (A with an eraser) to remove formatting then use the toolbar to format your text like you want it. The clear format tool doesn't seem to clear all formatting.
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If you enter and format the text directly with the rich text editor menu without cut/paste the formatting is robust and WYSIWYG (What you see is what you get).
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Creating Tables:
Example Table
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Place your cursor where you wish the new table to be inserted.
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The Insert New Table button opens a windows that allows you to specify how many rows and columns will be in the new table.
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Click OK and the new table will show as a group of cells containing nothing. As you enter text, pictures, etc. into the cells they will automatically expand to fit the content.
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The other table-related buttons function reasonably intuitively once the table has been created.
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Note that you may need to manually format the text inside the table because the Network may not display it appropriately.
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Clicking on the outer edge of the table will display size handles allowing you to manually size the table. It is somewhat difficult to click on the edge to display the handles (little squares at the corners and center edges). Only some of the size parameters are controllable without using the HTML editor (see below).
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I am not aware of a way to control the look of the borders of the table without using the HTML editor.
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Creating Links:
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Copy the link URL you want to use for your hyperlink.
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Type and then select the text you want to be displayed that the reader will click on or just click the Insert Link button.
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If you selected the text it will show in the text to display field. Paste the link URL into the Address field.
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Click OK. You'll notice that you cannot edit the link underlying a hyperlink once created. However, if you select the display text again you can replace the link using the last couple steps. (Actually, you can edit the link using the HTML editor - see below.)
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Adding Images to your Text:
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You must first upload the image to the Network or it must be available elsewhere on the Internet to put it into a rich text area. On our Network you can use the
Site Content library to upload an image.
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Copy the URL for the image to the Windows clipboard: If your using an image on the Network, click on the image in the picture gallery, then on the image again in the picture gallery item view. This will then show only the image (no other Network information - no buttons, tabs, menus, etc.) and the URL in the brower is the one you want to copy. (Yes, there are other ways to get this URL. If you know an easier way use it.) Don't use a URL to your computer, for exmple: file://C:/filename.jpg. This type of link may show correctly for you but will not be accessible to anyone else.
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Place your cursor where you want the picture to be displayed and click the insert image button.
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The Alternate Text field is for any text you want to show when the reader hovers their cursor over the image.
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Paste the URL link to the image in the address field.
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Click OK and the image should be displayed if the URL is correct.
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Editing the HTML directly:
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The text, formatting, and links (hyperlinks and picture links) are stored by the rich text editor as HTML code.
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Clicking on this button will show the source HTML code. You can edit or cut, copy, and paste using another
HTML editor into the HTML source editor window.
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When you click OK the entire contents of the rich text editor will be replaced with the contents of the HTML source editor.