Request for feedback: Minimal TinyMCE implementation

marty

Hello all,

We’re looking to solve formatting issues in the current HTML editor, and one of options is an editor with a reduced set of features. A first alpha version of the minimal editor is now available, removing the ability to set a font-size, font-family, indentation, text color and background. Default font-size and font-family can still be changed via WebApp settings. Powerpaste HTML and word import setting are now forced to ‘clean’ with this plugin enabled. More info on this setting here.

The HTML editor plugin is extendable and more editors can be added.

Installation instructions:

Clone the following plugins into the WebApp plugin repository (default: /usr/share/kopano-webapp/plugins)
git clone https://stash.kopano.io/scm/kwa/htmleditor.git (Not nessesary if you’re running Webapp >= 3.4.23)
git clone https://stash.kopano.io/scm/kwa/htmleditor-minimaltiny.git
Logout & login from WebApp/DeskApp
Go to settings -> Plugins
In the settings menu item ‘Plugins’, enable the ‘Html editor’ plugin (Not nessesary if you’re running Webapp >= 3.4.23)
Logout & login from WebApp/DeskApp
Go to settings -> Mail -> Editor
Select the ‘Minimal TinyMCE editor’ in the drop down

Feedback is much appreciated and can be send to feedback @ kopano .com or can be posted here on the forum.

klapau

@marty

Hello Marty,

we are using now Minimal TinyMCE in our production system and we are happy that the following reported issue seems to be solved in this version:
https://jira.kopano.io/browse/KW-2704

Another problem we reported, is sadly not fixed at the moment:
https://jira.kopano.io/browse/KW-2703

Should it be possible in the future to change some default settings for the “copy & paste” behaviour?
At the moment, it is realy a pain when you copy text snippets into a mail (with all the foreign format settings) and it would be much easier to copy only the text and use the default format settings from the editor (font, fontsize, etc.).

We are very happy that Kopano try to solve the formatting issues with the HTML editor, because this is a big problem for our customers to use Kopano in the future.

Best regards,
Klaus

mcdaniels

Just testing this with the latest Web/Deskapp. At the moment it is looking very good.
@marty: Will this be implemented in later version of Web/Deskapp?

Is there a possibility to set the standardeditor for all users (via the server)?

marty

@mcdaniels We will create a package for this plugin and release that with WebApp in the future.
I’ve created a ticket for the admin setting: https://jira.kopano.io/browse/KW-2854

mcdaniels

@marty
Just noticed one thing.

if you write a mail in deskapp and put a paragraph in it + return key (=ENTER KEY) it has got this additional return (white space) after the paragraph in the sent mail, if you open it in kopano.

Mail in Outlook:
If you open it in Outlook, this additional return is not there.
If you use Shift+RETURN in Kopano, this additional RETURN is visible in Outlook also.

Additional notes:
The Full-Editor (TinyMCE) behaves “correct”. Means that it is recognizing the extra return.

The Minimal-Editor recognizes it only, if you use SHIFT+Return. Would be nice if the Minimal-Editor behaves like the Full-Editor in this case.

Do you know why this is happening?

.

marty

@mcdaniels Thanks for the feedback, I’ve created ticket https://jira.kopano.io/browse/KW-2860 for this.

mcdaniels

@marty: I don’t want to be impatient, but can you give any timeline for resolving this? First there was some moaning because the tinymce modified the fonts and now the users moan about the removed lines ;-).

marty

@mcdaniels All I can say is that KW-2860 is currently in reviewing.

mcdaniels

@marty: just need some info concerning the fix: https://stash.kopano.io/projects/KW/repos/kopano-webapp/pull-requests/813/overview. So this is an WebApp “problem”. (and is fixed?)

marty

@mcdaniels Resolved in WebApp indeed.

mcdaniels

@marty: So, I will have to wait till it is available in the final DEB repository? (or is there a faster and secure way?)

marty

@mcdaniels Yes you have to wait for the new final if you don’t want to run master.

mcdaniels

@marty: is it possible to use the webapp-packages from master, although you are using final for the rest, or will it mess up things?
PS: Tried the latest nightly of the webapp yesterday (in my testlab) in combination with minimal tiny and the paragraphs worked as they should do. :-)

marty

@mcdaniels

Potentially it can break things.
For example, if some code in WebApp is modified and no backward compatibility is added.

Test it, and see if you’re comfortable to update.

mcdaniels

@marty: in my private environment it is no problem, but here (130 Users) I can’t test all things users do with it. ;-)

Is it possible to tell, how long it will take until the webapp with the fix will be in “final”?

@marty: so the fix was not a small one concerning the minimal tiny. Would have been nice, if there was some kind of “Hotfix”.

marty

@mcdaniels
The minimal tiny plugin is not yet in the stage to provide hotfixes for.
If you not comfortable running WebApp master and plugins from the final repo, then you shouldn’t do it.
That is totally fine, but in this case, you’ll have to wait for the next release.

mcdaniels

@marty: hm… I thought, that the problem was not the editor and that it was “in” the webapp. So I wished a hotfix for the webapp. :-)

marty

@mcdaniels Yes we’re not hot fixing WebApp for that plugin, yet

mcdaniels

@marty: Thats a pity, cause the minimal tiny solves a lot of our problems, but not in the state it is now, cause of the webapp problem (paragraphs). I wonder how other users are handling these problems, which use the Web/Deskapp and the tiny / minimal tiny editor.

marty

Keep an eye on the announcement topic. We’re currently wrapping up some tickets we would like to have in the next release.
So the next release is rather sooner than later.