XF 1.2 A New Editor and Much Much More

I've never hidden my frustrations with XF 1.1's editor (which is based on TinyMCE). In 1.2, we have entirely removed the existing editor and replaced it with a new one based on Redactor:
ss-2013-05-17_12-21-49.webp


So obviously this looks quite a bit different--and I know plenty of people didn't like the 1.1 editor look--but the functionality is there. So what advantages do we have? Well there are various ones:
  • Much lighter code and faster to load. Redactor depends on jQuery and benefits from that.
  • When pasting, most formatting is removed (though some is kept). However, if you're pasting from one XenForo editor to another (or within the same one), all formatting is maintained.
  • White space is maintained for code tags when pasting from Webkit. This was an annoyance for a number of people here, myself included. :)
  • The overlays are now consistent with overlays elsewhere in XF.
  • Generally, from my perspective, the code is much more adaptable to our needs.
  • A bunch of other things I'm going to detail below...
For the most part, the editor simply shouldn't get in your way so in a sense, you shouldn't actually see much different for the average post.

How about some other bigger changes?

Pasting images
If you use Chrome or Firefox and have an image in your clipboard, you can simply paste it into the editor. It will automatically be uploaded as an attachment if possible. If the upload is successful, this works exactly like uploading an image and then clicking the "full image" button.

Note that in Chrome, the image data must be in your clipboard (such as from pressing print screen). In Firefox, you can either have image data or you can copy a file that's an image and paste that.

Drag and drop uploading
Provided your browser supports it, you can now drag files into the editor to upload them:
ss-2013-05-17_12-37-47.webp


@User tagging
While not directly related to the editor change, this is probably the best time to mention it. You can use @Mike style syntax to tag users in a post:
ss-2013-05-17_12-39-42.webp

Tagged users will receive an alert when they're tagged.

You can obviously turn off tag alerts, but as an admin, you can also limit the maximum users that can be tagged per message as a permission. (So you could disable it for registered members and only allow premium members to tag, for example.)

Alternative smilie inserting approach
The smilie dropdown really didn't work well with a lot of smilies. Clicking the :) button will now do this:
ss-2013-05-17_12-42-10.webp

This is now making a call to get the smilies and lays them out with a template. This opens up the possibility for more organization options (though nothing has changed as of this message).

Auto save drafts
While you are typing a message, every X seconds (currently 60), a draft of your message will be saved. If you reload the page later, your message will be automatically re-shown. Drafts will be automatically pruned over time.
Each draft is associated with a particular piece of content, such as a thread, forum, or conversations. A draft reply that you start working on in thread 1 will not be shown to thread 2 and so forth.

Display if messages have been posted since you started your message
Tied into the auto-saving, when you're writing a reply to a thread, we will check to see if any new messages and display a note if there are. You can then display those new posts without reloading the page.




Oh yeah, one more thing on the editor, it's fully responsive:
ss-2013-05-17_12-49-20.webp

That should be a hint... :)



So, when are we going to see this all? Well, we're hoping to have 1.2 running here on XenForo.com in early June. The initial beta release will follow, based on how well the time on 1.2 goes. The final release of 1.2 would be wholly dependent on how the beta process goes.
 
Woot Woot !!!! :eek::D:cool:
I'm am so thankful that you selected the editor which was suggest here earlier. And I'm so looking forward to this in so many ways. (y)

The only downside, which technically isn't your problem, is that anyone who had a custom add-on for the current editor is going to need to update it. But that is going to be expected.

The hint....

There will be a responsive design made by XenForo. ;)
 
Why is the button styling different on there editor? http://imperavi.com/redactor/

Be nice to get rid of small bugs in this thing :)
I didn't notice this before....

@Mike I really hope you include the full editor & not what most forum software developers do, which is stripped down from the core.

It's my only pet peeve when it comes to forum software. X options and functions are standard in an editor, but forum development removes them. I'd love to see everything left in. Every button on the default editor should match here.
 
As I've tried to told you several times Adam, that's not possible, please read this.
I don't accept that answer.... I'm sure everything can be coded if not integrated exactly, but simulated.

I'm sure it would require a fair amount of code changes, but if you're adding a new editor, which they're doing in 1.2 .... Why not reach for the stars and not settle for less?!
 
That's not going to happen as it would require new BB Code for missing stuff like tables, horizontal rule, etc.
So im assuming img float wont be included either ?
Code:
<img src="/img/woman.jpg" alt="Autumn" style="float: left; margin-right: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
 
I think to start with its going to be a like for like replacement of what we already have plus some extra features minus some of the bugs and annoyances we had with TinyMCE.

Anyone who can complain about what we're getting in 1.2 is just absolutely mad. Most people don't even want or need tables in a discussion forum so arguably it's not a core necessary feature anyway. Not to say it shouldn't ever be included but I'm not going to lose sleep over it.
 
I think to start with its going to be a like for like replacement of what we already have plus some extra features minus some of the bugs and annoyances we had with TinyMCE.

Anyone who can complain about what we're getting in 1.2 is just absolutely mad. Most people don't even want or need tables in a discussion forum so arguably it's not a core necessary feature anyway. Not to say it shouldn't ever be included but I'm not going to lose sleep over it.
Got that straight.. TinyMCE was a huge pest and i for one will be happy to see it gone.. Im just happy i didnt get drastic and hire someone to replace it now.. Its been a huge consideration of mine for a long time now and i really never expected XF would switch something so fundamental. So this is a huge bonus and a nice welcome surprise.

As beast as i can tell it looks to be far more customizable then TinyMCE anyways.
 
I think to start with its going to be a like for like replacement of what we already have plus some extra features minus some of the bugs and annoyances we had with TinyMCE.

Anyone who can complain about what we're getting in 1.2 is just absolutely mad. Most people don't even want or need tables in a discussion forum so arguably it's not a core necessary feature anyway. Not to say it shouldn't ever be included but I'm not going to lose sleep over it.
Don't think I'm not happy with what I'm seeing in 1.2 .... I am indeed thrilled at the growing improvement.

I'm critical and maybe a little demanding when it comes to XenForo, but only because I care & I'm invested.

I see the opportunity to take what is there & make it even greater. This new editor is indeed a step in the right direction. And it offers some wonderful improvement. Why not include all of them?

And just because you don't see the need for tables, doesn't mean there isn't one. XenForo should be as universal possible.
 
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