jQuery Forum

    The code block appears nested only when you are in edit mode. Once you publish, the content gets formatted properly. We were wondering if this would be sufficiently better than a non-visual editor like MarkDown. Let us see if we can make this any better.

Regards

Dhan

Dhan, thanks for your message! Thats good to know about the code block. Another reason at least the option of straight text is nice, is because I use a tool called QuickCursor, but it only works with plain text blocks. Basically, it lets me edit my answer/comment/post in TextMate (my preferred editor) then save back to the live text field so I can save. This lets me work in the environment I am used to as a coder, with little things like *italic* or **bold** etc, vs having to find buttons and click. Another cool thing with the StackOverflow markdown (might be the same with all markdown) is I can surround a keyword with `backticks` and it automatically gets wrapped with <tt></tt> and a monospace font. It just makes it really clear to denote inline code blocks.

Finally, take everything I just said with a grain of salt. I am obviously going to like what I am used to better than something different. Do what works for you guys, and I can adapt :)

Dhan, have you seen MarkItUp before? Something like that would be ideal, I think, because it allows people to enter exactly what they want without having to remember the syntax.

The problem with using the wysiwyg editor on the jQuery forum is that the vast majority of users here know at least basic HTML and want to be able to edit their posts directly -- adding inline <code></code>, etc.

Even other wysiwyg editors have a button that lets you edit the raw HTML and paste it back into the RTE. If there is no way we can replace the current editor, maybe we could at least have a "raw" view?

One other thing: in a standard textarea (on a Mac), when I press Command+Left Arrow, my cursor goes to the beginning of the current line. But in this editor, it triggers the back button. I can't tell you how many times I've lost my posts already due to this unexpected behavior (old habits die hard). Is there any way this can be fixed?

Thanks!

--Karl

Well, Mr. Atwood sounds happy enough with it:

With a year and a half of real world Markdown experience under our belts on Stack Overflow, we've been quite happy. [...] I'd promote Markdown without hesitation as one of the best -- if not the best -- humane markup options out there.

--
Már