HTML Editor Configuration

The HTML Editor allows you to enter text and add formatting and layout visually, much like you would using Microsoft® Word. When you use the HTML Editor to edit text, the editor will automatically convert the visual formatting you apply into HTML. You can even create tables, add images, and include links using the toolbar at the top of the editor.

Before you can use the HTML Editor, you must enable and configure it. If you aren't sure what a certain configuration option does, just leave it alone; the default settings will meet most merchant's needs. You can also view the effect of your configuration changes by using the example editor field at the bottom of this screen.

HTML Editor feature

Select the On radio button to enable the HTML Editor feature. This allows you to launch the HTML Editor to edit specific store fields. To disable the HTML editor, select the Off radio button.

Editor Behavior

Paste as plain text

Check this box if you want the Paste function to remove any text formatting before inserting the text. If you leave this box unchecked, text formatting will be preserved when you insert text using the standard paste feature.

Note:

How and if formatting is preserved in copied text depends on the program the text is copied from. The HTML Editor can only preserve formatting if the original text was copied from a program that included compatible formatting.

Undo levels

Enter the number of Undo steps the HTML Editor will remember. Each remembered undo step uses up memory, so if the HTML Editor is being unresponsive or slow, you may want to try reducing the number of undo steps to save.

HTML Output

Select how the HTML Editor will interpret different keystrokes.

Enter key

Select what HTML tag to insert when you hit Enter.

<br> — The Enter key will start a new line, but will not end the current paragraph. If you select this option, the SHIFT + Enter key option will be disabled.
<p> (default) — The Enter key will end the current paragraph and begin the next one.
<div> — The Enter key will end the current paragraph and begin the next one, but the HTML Editor will use <div> tags to enclose paragraphs instead of the normal <p> tag.

SHIFT + Enter key

Select what HTML tag to insert when you hold down the Shift key when you press Enter. This option is disabled if you select <br> for the Enter key output.

<br> (default) — Shift-Enter will start a new line, but will not end the current paragraph.
<p> — Shift-Enter will end the current paragraph and begin the next one.
<div> — Shift-Enter will end the current paragraph and begin the next one, but the HTML Editor will use <div> tags to enclose paragraphs instead of the normal <p> tag.

Format source

Check this box to have the HTML Editor display the HTML source in a reader-friendly format when you are in Source view. This will not alter the actual source, only the way it is displayed.

Format output

Check this box to have the HTML Editor save the HTML source in a reader-friendly format. This will modify the way the source is saved and displayed, but will not alter the way the HTML output appears.

Encode HTML output

Check this box to have the HTML Editor replace reserved HTML characters (such as &, >, <, etc.) with HTML Entities. This will replace any of your HTML markup (including anything generated by the HTML Editor) with characters that will be displayed instead of interpreted by a browser. Most merchants will want to leave this box unchecked.

Tab spaces

Enter the number of non-breaking spaces ( ) to insert when you hit the Tab key. HTML normally treats any number of spaces, tabs, and line-feeds in the source as a single blank space when displaying it in a browser. The   tag can be used to insert a single non-breaking space, or it can be used repeatedly to insert several spaces in a row.

User Interface

Show Borders

Check this box to have the HTML Editor display table borders when editing a table, even if the borders will not be displayed in the final output.

Expand Toolbar

Check this box to have the HTML Editor start with the toolbar expanded. If your toolbar is collapsible, un-checking this box will cause the HTML Editor to start with the toolbar collapsed.

Textarea with Editor

Try it out

Use this sample textarea to test the HTML Editor with your saved settings. See the HTML Editor help for a guide to using the HTML Editor.

When you launch the HTML Editor, you will see a [Toolbar] link above the editor. When you click the Toolbar link, you will see an Edit link, which will launch the toolbar editor to let you edit that toolbar. There is also a refresh link which will reload the editor and text field contents.

When you have finished configuring the HTML Editor, click Save to save your changes and return to the Utilities screen, or click Cancel to abandon your changes.