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Mac editing problems

  1. neilbowers
    Member

    At some point recently visual editing support seems to have been added for the Mac.

    It looks like a bug was introduced at the same time. If I edit a page, and put multiple P elements inside a TD inside a TR inside a TABLE, then after saving it, the paragraph tags have been lost, and the text has all merged into a single paragraph.

    I had two tables in the same page, and there seemed to be some circumstances in which paragraphs would be retained in one of the tables but not the other.

    I tried using the visual editor, but it has the same problem. As I'm on a Mac (using Safari), I don't know if this is a Mac issue, or possibly even a Safari issue.

    Finally, any chance of a config option so I can specify that I want the Code editor view as the default, not Visual. That would save me a mouse click for every post :-)

  2. neilbowers
    Member

    Also, I forgot to add: after editing in the Code view, and then Saving. All layout I've put in is lost; in particular newlines seem to be getting stripped. Which is a tad frustrating when you're using the Code editor :-)

  3. judyb12
    Member

    http://faq.wordpress.com/2006/05/20/im-using-safari-and-i-have-problems/

    If you use Safari, you probably want to stick with the code editor for now.

  4. thesacredpath
    Member

    For editing and writing pages and posts, I've found FireFox for the Mac much more usable. Safari has some issues. FireFox is not perfect, I run into little problems quite often, but it's better than Safari. The Safari Beta 3.0.3 seems pretty good though and I have hopes it will work with wordpress.com although I haven't checked out all the problem areas yet.

  5. trent
    Member

    It wasn't until upgrading to Safari 3.0.x beta that the editor started to work correctly. It is not a download from the 'software upgrade' so you have to go to Apple directly to download it until it becomes a commercial release. Firefox is the only one that works right now with the visual editor for Mac right now out of the box. Something that is changing quickly, but needed for everyone's attention on a mac ;)

    Trent

  6. turtlebutt
    Member

    Ugh, I like Safari so much better than Firefox. I hope they resolve the issue so I don't have to switch browsers just to post a blog.

  7. trent
    Member

    You can head over to http://www.apple.com/safari/ if you are adventurous!

    Trent

  8. thesacredpath
    Member

    @turtlebutt

    Get the Safari 3.03 Beta browser, it is very stable in my experience.

  9. neilbowers
    Member

    I'm using Safari 3.0.3, and getting these problems. So it wasn't that visual editing support was recently added, just that I started using a browser which resulted in Visual editing being available.

    I edit the following post:

    http://felixbowers.wordpress.com/2007/09/23/a-walk-in-burnham-beeches/

    I get put into the Visual editor, and switch into Code. I put two paragraph elements in each of the two tables - you can see the breaks in the text next to the 1st and 3rd images. If I save, the structure is saved fine.

    But if I now edit the post, going into the Visual editor (which happens automatically) seems to screw up the HTML, losing the paragraph tags. If I switch into Code, I've still lost those tags, and if I save without putting them back in, they're lost.

    I've also tried using Firefox (2.0.0.7 -- the current release), but can't edit posts at all with that. I don't get any editing area, either for Visual or Code. Happy to provide a screenshot if it's not clear what I'm saying, and isn't reproducible.

  10. timethief
    Member

    (1) If you are using the Adblock extension in Firefox, open it, click Preferences, click Exception Rules and add this as a filter:
    @@|http://*.wordpress.com

    (2) Stab in the dark, if that doesn't work - Have you tried using Camino?

  11. thesacredpath
    Member

    @neil
    I've seen this behavior with the visual editor as well (even in FireFox), which is why I switched to a desktop blog client for my posts. If I put in two paragraph breaks (to double-space between paragraphs) the visual editor will strip one of them out, and I'm not sure why that is. I haven't yet tried double-spacing in Safari 3.0.3 Beta yet, but from what you are saying, the problem is there as well. It would be nice if we could choose which editor we wanted to use.

    {waving to timethief}

  12. timethief
    Member

    You can shut off the visual rich text editor Tiny MCE.
    I do it all the time. -> Users -> Your Profile
    (find the checkbox and remove the indicator) then click "Update Profile".
    Now you can use the standard editor.

  13. neilbowers
    Member

    Thanks timethief -- turning off the visual editor did the trick for me. I didn't look hard enough through all the menus to find that option.

    Now I've turned off the visual editor I'm not losing markup.

    And your first firefox suggestion also did the trick, though now I can use my preferred browser, I'll stick with Safari.

    Thanks for your timely help.

  14. timethief
    Member

    YAY! Another happy camper. I'm so glad I was help to help you. :)

  15. terraflora
    Member

    I am probably sorely under-proficient in this arena, but I'm really hoping I can understand what I need to do to get my tabs/indents to stay.

    After following this thread (VERY helpful in realizing that Safari 2.0+ is the reason I am not getting the rich editor) and switching to Firefox (also sad about that like neils), I don't understand what I can do to maintain indents.

    I've pasted the content from Word using the "paste from Word" icon; I've free entered; I've tried using the indent icon (but dang, it adds an extra height line!)

    What can I do?? Any suggestion would be very appreciated.
    Thanks!!

  16. thistimethisspace
    Member

    @terraflora
    Here are some alternatives.

    (1) Have you tried shutting off the text rich editor and using the standard editor instead?
    -> Users -> Your Profile
    uncheck the checkbox for "use the text rich editor" then click "Update Profile" to save the change.

    (2) A second alternative is to use an off-line blog editor.

    (3) A third alternative is to ditch Word with all it's extra microsoft stuff in it cluttering up the html and use a plain text editor like notepad instead.

    P.S. It's also recommended that you upgrade your safari and firefox browsers to the new versions.

  17. thesacredpath
    Member

    Safari 3.0.3 Beta works nicely (as long as your running OS X 10.4.8 or higher). Doesn't work with earlier versions of the OS.

  18. terraflora
    Member

    @sacraedpath: Yes, I'm 10.4.10, So I guess I can check. I was a little skittish since its still beta. But maybe I'll give it a go. Many thx!!

    @thistime...: Yes, I did turn the checkbox on and off... Oh, well, wait. I did that while still trying to get Safarie (earlier version) to work. I didn't again! try to toggle on/off in Firefox.

    I did read on the horrors of word. Darn. SO: ANY suggestions on off-line blog editors??

    Thanks so much!

  19. thesacredpath
    Member

    Safari 3.0.3 Beta is steady as a rock. I've had no problems whatsoever.

    I use Ecto http://infinite-sushi.com/software/ecto/ as an off-line editor and have been reasonably happy with it. Once in a while I will somehow get formatting kinked up in a post, but I just pop into the code mode and delete the offender and all is back to normal. There is also another one I've downloaded to try, but haven't yet called MarsEdit http://www.red-sweater.com/marsedit/ . Both cost money, but less than $30. For a free editor you might check out one of the following:

    QTM: http://qtm.blogistan.co.uk/
    Lycos-Qumana: http://lycos.qumana.com/download.htm

  20. terraflora
    Member

    Thanks so much for all of the info! I've already download and activated Safari 303! I do tend to trust Apple!!

    I have so much to learn about in blogging. I haven't even (or maybe have only just) found where I want my focus... but I realize that the look of some of y'alls blogs is SO much better. Well, I will continue to play and tweak... until I really hit my stride and then want to upgrade to paid.

    Thanks again!

  21. thesacredpath
    Member

    @terraflora
    You're welcome and happy blogging!

  22. brotheryancy
    Member

    What visual editing support for Mac? I only see code.

  23. mark
    Staff

    Safari sees only code.
    Safari beta is not supported yet.

    We recommend Firefox on the mac, though Camino also works.

  24. boles
    Member

    FYI --

    Leopard was officially released on the 26th -- so Safari on the Mac is no longer in beta. The released version of Safari is 3.0.4 and it is much improved over the previous version.

    Safari is faster than Firefox now so a lot of Mac users will be moving back to Safari as their default browser -- at least until Firefox 3.0 comes out -- to gain the incredible speed and interface benefits.

  25. mark
    Staff

    http://www.apple.com/safari/

    I was going by that.

    Either way, just as Opera users have problems with the editor we have, Safari users will have to wait until we get those fixes.

  26. boles
    Member

    Hi Mark --

    That URL is sort of misleading and confusing on Apple's part because it applies to the Tiger version of Safari and the Windows version of Safari which are both in perpetual beta much like Gmail... I'm sure they'll clear up the confusion soon...

    I mentioned Leopard in my comment -- and this URL makes the narrow distinction between the various versions a little more clearer:

    http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/safari.html

    So Safari on Tiger and Windows is in beta, but if you're using Leopard, you have the released version.

    I wonder if it's just better to say "We don't support Safari" instead of drawing the line at being in beta or not?

    EDITED TO ADD:
    I just finished writing my Mac OSX Leopard book -- so I understand the difficulty in making these issues clear and drawing fine lines between features and problems and workarounds...

  27. mark
    Staff

    Right now if you want to have the full features we have then using Safari is not the way to go.
    The reasons for that are beyond the scope of the forum.

    As I said though, other browsers have issues and we await any fixes. If Safari has some "unique features" that sit uncomfortably with what we use then the potential wait is longer. I'm sure the people at moxiecode - who create the editor - have a long list of things that people want.
    This is not some switch that we can magically flip and we aren't doing - most of the devs here use macs and have Leopard (I'm waiting to see if a mini will handle it - which I doubt) - so it's not anti-apple :)

  28. boles
    Member

    Here are the tech specs for Leopard:
    http://www.apple.com/macosx/techspecs/

    Here's an Apple discussion on running Leopard on an original mini:
    http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=5613432

    You should be able to do it.

    Running Windows via Boot Camp is an incredible experience.

    I understand the technical problems you mention -- I'm just trying to put myself in the mind of someone here seeking help and being overwhelmed with the differences between browsers and betas and wondering why their favorite won't do what they wish. I can imagine that as a tech support nightmare and why it is preferred to point people to use a particular browser that is proven to work.

  29. mark
    Staff

    If I say we don't support Safari, I get the indignant supports.
    If I say we do and we wait for a fix, I get the same supports.

    Given that Apple actually use WordPress it's not like they don't know.

    There are other ways people..... :)

  30. boles
    Member

    That's a rotten position to be in, Mark, and I agree Apple could go a long way to helping pick the orchard.

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