htmlArea - Turn any <textarea> into a WYSIWYG editor

htmlArea is a WYSIWYG editor replacement for any <textarea> field. Instead of teaching your software users how to code basic HTML to format their content, they can use htmlArea to do it instead.

The interface provides for:

• Format text to be bold, italicized, or underlined.



• Change the face, size and colour.



• Left, centre, or right-justify paragraphs.



• Make bulleted or numbered lists.



• Indent or un-indent paragraphs



• Insert a horizontal line.



• Insert hyperlinks and images.



• Insert tables



• View the raw HTML source of what they're editing.

You can also create your own buttons to insert custom blocks of HTML code and images. Currently version 2.03 is available for IE 5.5+ browsers. Version 3.0 (beta) adds support for Mozilla 1.3 (all OS) cross platform functionality.



See interactivetools for more details.



Cross-Browser Rich Text Editor



Another editor of note is the cross-browser rich-text editor by Kevin Roth. This editor implements the Mozilla Rich Text Editing API included with Mozilla 1.3+.



The editor supports IE5+/Mozilla 1.3+/Mozilla Firebird/Firefox 0.6.1+ for all rich-text features to function properly. If browser does not support rich-text, it should display a standard textarea box in it's place. Included in the archive package are HTML, ASP, and PHP demos.



TTW WYSIWYG Editors



htmlArea is one in a line of what is referred to as a through the Web (TTW) WYSIWYG editor. In order for it to be classified as a TTW, it must function within a browser. Some editors allow you to toggle between the view and source modes.



The University of Bristol's Information Services has compiled a list of known TTW editors. The list is heavily commented on supported browser, XML support, scripting language, spell checking, and other notes of interest. Also the list is grouped into three areas Open Source, Commercial, and Web Based Services.