This training document provides detailed information about the two modes of the document Classic editor: Design (What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get, or WYSIWYG) and HTML. It also includes training exercises that demonstrate how to switch between these two modes. For detailed information about other aspects of the document editor, please continue with this training series or return to the KB Author Training - Overview.
In this document:
The Knowledgebase features two editor versions at this time: the Classic editor and the TinyMCE editor. Each version is unique from the other, and it is easy to differentiate between the two.
The Body field is where the majority of a document's content is stored. The body should contain the information you wish to convey to your audience. As you prepare to edit the body of your document, you should be aware of the options available to you through the document editor.
The image below displays the Classic Editor's buttons and tools as well as the main body field.
The image below displays the TinyMCE Editor's buttons and tools as well as the main body field.
The KB document editor allows you to write and edit documents in two different modes, the first of which is called Design or WYSIWYG.
'WYSIWYG' is an acronym that stands for 'What You See Is What You Get'.
In the context of the KB, when you make changes to your document's formatting in the WYSIWYG editor, those changes appear instantly in the Body field Moreover, what you see in the editor is what shows up in the document itself. For instance, text that appears formatted in the WYSIWYG editor (as in the below screenshot) will appear formatted in the final version of the document.
The WYSIWYG editor functions much like a traditional word processing application. Additionally, many of the editor's formatting buttons are familiar looking icons. Because of the immediate visual feedback it provides, the WYSIWYG editor is generally considered to be the easier of the two methods of editing KB content. The WYSIWYG editor is enabled by default for new users.
The second mode of editing documents is available through the HTML editor. In contrast to the WYSIWYG editor, the HTML editor requires you to format the body of your document in a markup language called 'XHTML'. You can use the Classic HTML editor even if you are not proficient in XHTML because it includes 'Quick Code' buttons that insert snippets of XHTML for common formatting tasks. However, because documents appear in the editor as XHTML markup, updates you make will not be immediately apparent; you must click Preview button to see changes rendered in your web browser. The screenshot below is a document in the HTML editor that produces the same output as displayed in the above screenshot of the WYSIWYG editor.
Although you will have the opportunity to use the Quick Code buttons in the Classic editor in a subsequent training document, the broader topic of document design using XHTML falls outside the scope of this series of training documents. If you wish to learn more about XHTML and other web technologies, please see the Resources section of the final document in the training series.
Also be aware that the Quick Code buttons do not appear in the Tiny MCE editor.
It is not necessary to remain in a single mode in the document editor. In fact, it can be helpful to switch back and forth between modes depending on what you're trying to accomplish. For instance, you could use the WYSIWYG editor to quickly publish a document. You could then use the HTML editor to add custom formatting to that document.
If you begin a document in the WYSIWYG editor and switch to the HTML editor, you can interact with the XHTML markup generated by the editor. Conversely, if you begin a document in the HTML editor and switch to the WYSIWYG editor, you can see and manipulate the design. You can switch back and forth between the two editors using the button at the lower left corner of the main editor window, pictured below:
In the image above, a user would press the Design button to switch to the WYSIWYG editor.
In the image above, a user would press the HTML button to switch to the HTML editor.
Use the Source code button to switch to the TinyMCE HTML editor. Within the HTML editor, you can click Save or Cancel to return to the WYSIWYG editor.
If you use one editor more often than the other, or if you use one editor exclusively, it is possible to set that editor as the default for your account. In order to set the default editor for your account: