Searching for a WYSIWYG HTML Editor - See My Requirements before commenting.

T

TJ

I need a special kind of WYSIWYG html editor, and would like to see if
anyone in this newsgroup has seen one that will do simple tasks.

I would love to type in content in simple word processing type format,
and have it converted to simple html code.

Right now, I type into Word my content, like:

This is a test

Had it been an actual alert…

I spell check it and correct any grammar. Then I rework it to the
point it makes sense. Once I like the content, I then cut and paste
it into Notepad and add all of the html code, like <p>, </p>, <ul>,
etc.

(I do use CSS to save on typing the code for fonts and colors.)

I then save the text file and ftp it to my php directory on the web
site.

If I want to make a change, I have to type any changes into Word for
spell checking, and re-add html code.

It is time consuming.

Here is what I am trying to do.

I build a fair number of simple web sites that use php code to include
text files with the "guts of a page". I build a generic looking page
and then "include" text files, using php, for left border links, top
links, bottom links, footnotes to the web page, a copyright section,
and most importantly the contents of a page.

I need a way to create these text files with the proper html coding
minus any of the header or footer stuff most editor add.

Another way to say this is that every editor I have looked at, which
is only a few, every time I create soemthing, the editor wants to
generate a whole page of code. I don't need the code for a whole
page, only for my typed section.

For Example, here is the output from FrontPage for a simple set of
content:

<html>

<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Language" content="en-us">
<meta name="GENERATOR" content="Microsoft FrontPage 5.0">
<meta name="ProgId" content="FrontPage.Editor.Document">
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;
charset=windows-1252">
<title>New Page 2</title>
</head>

<body>

<p>This is a test.&nbsp; </p>
<p>Had it been an actual alert...</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>

</body>

</html>

I only need the part that reads:

<p>This is a test.&nbsp; </p>
<p>Had it been an actual alert...</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>

Not only that, but I would love to be able to edit this part, spell
check, etc, and still get back only the code I need, notthe code for
a whole web page.

Is there such an editor?

Thanks for any tips or help.


Here is another example in case I did not expalin this well. Below is
the contents, abbreviated for brevity, of a links section for one of
my pages:

<hr color="#7C2929" size="1">
<h3>
<font size="2"><a
href="http://www.americanbestmortgages.com/mortgage-articles/mortgage-application.html">Mortgage
& Home Loan Information</a></font><br>
</h3><ul>
<li><a
href="http://www.americanbestmortgages.com/mortgage-articles/mortgage_application_download.html">Download
a Mortgage Application</a></li>
<li><a
href="http://www.americanbestmortgages.com/mortgage-articles/qualifying_mortgage.html">Two
Key Factors in Qualifying for a Home Loan</a></li>
....
</ul>
<p>&nbsp;</p>

<hr color="#7C2929" size="1">

(By the way, this site is no longer active, so I am not trolling for
traffic.)

Notice that this code is complete in this file, ie no <ul> without the
closing </ul>. Also the code can easily go inside of a cell. I use
it like this:

<td>

<?php

include "filename.txt";

?>

</td>

(assuming I made no typos.)

So What I would love to be able to do is load filename.txt or
whatever, have it display in a wysiwyg format and let me do simple
editing. When I save, it would not generate the whole page of code,
only the code for what I have typed, ie add the <p>'s where necessary,
or the <ul>'s and <li>'s, but no header info etc.

Again thanks.
 
C

Chris F.A. Johnson

I need a special kind of WYSIWYG html editor, and would like to see if
anyone in this newsgroup has seen one that will do simple tasks.

I would love to type in content in simple word processing type format,
and have it converted to simple html code.

Right now, I type into Word my content, like:

This is a test

Had it been an actual alert…

That character, …, will cause problems for some people. Use the
entity, &hellip;.
I spell check it and correct any grammar. Then I rework it to the
point it makes sense. Once I like the content, I then cut and paste
it into Notepad and add all of the html code, like <p>, </p>, <ul>,
etc.

(I do use CSS to save on typing the code for fonts and colors.)

I then save the text file and ftp it to my php directory on the web
site.

If I want to make a change, I have to type any changes into Word for
spell checking, and re-add html code.

It is time consuming.

Then why not enter the codes in the Word document and save it as
text?

Better still would be a real text editor, such as emacs. There are
many free text editors available.

WYSIWIG HTML editors generally do a poor job of things.
 
T

TJ

On 2006-08-06, TJ wrote:

That character, …, will cause problems for some people. Use the
entity, &hellip;.

The "..." was only intended to show I cut material. It is not in the
content and not pertinent to this discussion.
Then why not enter the codes in the Word document and save it as
text?

I have done this, but if I make significant changes to the content, I
still have to spend time adding too much code.

And if I do any lists or links, I also end up with a lot of typing of
the <ul>, <li>, etc.

So I was hoping to find a simple wyswig html editor to modify my text
files.

Thanks for your post.
Best regards,

TJ
http://www.bscinc.net
http://www.affordablefloridainsurance.com
http://www.americanltci.com
 
A

Adrienne Boswell

I have done this, but if I make significant changes to the content, I
still have to spend time adding too much code.

And if I do any lists or links, I also end up with a lot of typing of
the <ul>, <li>, etc.

So I was hoping to find a simple wyswig html editor to modify my text
files.

How about forgetting WYSIWYG altogether? Why not get a good plain text
editor. I like HTML-Kit because it has a lot of great plugins,eg. you
have a bunch of text that should be a list, highlight it, and presto! -
list markup is added. It has spell check, thesaurus, HTML-Tidy,
intregrates with TopStyle Lite for CSS, and there's even a plugin to make
it act like a WYSIWYG. And...... it's free. <http://www.chami.com/html-
kit/>
 
T

Travis Newbury

TJ said:
I need a special kind of WYSIWYG html editor, and would like to see if
anyone in this newsgroup has seen one that will do simple tasks.

Create a Word macro that deletes everything you don't need and saves it
as a text file.
 
T

TJ

Thanks for all of the suggestions, but what I need is this:

I want to type:

This is a test

Had it been an actual alert.


And have the editor generate a text file with this:

<p>This is a test.&nbsp; </p>

<p>Had it been an actual alert...</p>


Notice that there is no header code, or any other code for a Web Page.

I later when I need to change the text, which happens in almost all of
the cases, I can load the text file that looks like this:

<p>This is a test.&nbsp; </p>

<p>Had it been an actual alert.</p>

and see this for editing purposes:

This is a test

Had it been an actual alert.


If I change this to read

This is a test

Had it been an actual alert. This is a test.

List
- item 1
- item 2
- item 3

the editor would generate this for me

<p>This is a test

<p>Had it been an actual alert.&nbsp; This is a test.</p>

<p>List</p>
<ul>
<li>- item 1</li>
<li>- item 2</li>
<li>- item 3</li>
</ul>

Notice I added a space after the period and the editor added the
&nbsp; I also need simple html codes for lists, colors, headers,
links and sometimes small tables. (By the way some of my code above
may not be right. I just added it by way of illustration.)

In other words what I need is a simple wysiwg editor that let's me
concentrate on word processing or typing, and adds the code as I need
it but does not try to generate code for a whole page.

I know I can use NotePad and add the code by hand. It is just very
tedious when I have 20 or so pages to add a night and have to update 5
or 10 more. Typing 20 pages is bad enough without also doing the html
code. I am hoping to find a way to automate this.

Any thoughts?
Best regards,


http://www.bscinc.net
http://www.affordablefloridainsurance.com
http://www.americanltci.com
 
D

David Segall

TJ said:
Thanks for all of the suggestions, but what I need is this:

I want to type:

This is a test

Had it been an actual alert.


And have the editor generate a text file with this:

<p>This is a test.&nbsp; </p>

<p>Had it been an actual alert...</p>


Notice that there is no header code, or any other code for a Web Page.

I later when I need to change the text, which happens in almost all of
the cases, I can load the text file that looks like this:

<p>This is a test.&nbsp; </p>

<p>Had it been an actual alert.</p>

and see this for editing purposes:

This is a test

Had it been an actual alert.


If I change this to read

This is a test

Had it been an actual alert. This is a test.

List
- item 1
- item 2
- item 3

the editor would generate this for me

<p>This is a test

<p>Had it been an actual alert.&nbsp; This is a test.</p>

<p>List</p>
<ul>
<li>- item 1</li>
<li>- item 2</li>
<li>- item 3</li>
</ul>

Notice I added a space after the period and the editor added the
&nbsp; I also need simple html codes for lists, colors, headers,
links and sometimes small tables. (By the way some of my code above
may not be right. I just added it by way of illustration.)

In other words what I need is a simple wysiwg editor that let's me
concentrate on word processing or typing, and adds the code as I need
it but does not try to generate code for a whole page.

I know I can use NotePad and add the code by hand. It is just very
tedious when I have 20 or so pages to add a night and have to update 5
or 10 more. Typing 20 pages is bad enough without also doing the html
code. I am hoping to find a way to automate this.

Any thoughts?
Best regards,


http://www.bscinc.net
http://www.affordablefloridainsurance.com
http://www.americanltci.com
 
D

David Segall

TJ said:
Thanks for all of the suggestions, but what I need is this:

I want to type:

This is a test

Had it been an actual alert.


And have the editor generate a text file with this:

<p>This is a test.&nbsp; </p>

<p>Had it been an actual alert...</p>
The editor you want does not exist. You will need to write it by
adding a couple of (complicated) macros to an existing editor that
read and write your files. I suspect that even specifying those macros
will be extremely difficult because I cannot discern any rules that
are embodied in your text. Try recording a macro in Word to see if
that makes your life any easier. If it does then you can add Visual
Basic code to handle some more difficult cases. The macro should save
your file as text.
 

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