The Path to Richer Text (DrupalCon DC 2009 notes)

The Path to Richer Text: Input Format Improvements in Drupal 7
David Rothstein

Adding input formats to main permissions lists -- this role can use this input format. Not quite in D7 core yet.

Warnings on permissions page for allowing unsafe formats? New patch needed.

Must get rid of allowing setting of site-wide default text format.

Weights on input formats

• User's default input format is her lowest-weight (highest on list) allowed format
• Plain text becomes site-wide lowest-common denominator text format

Long standing issue with patch (PCNR -- please review!) for this: #11218: Allow default input formats per role, and integrate input format permissions.

Also be easy to reliably (in code) override the default format, and user experience improvements.

Text format widget - adds list menu of available formats below text field (instead of

A particulary WYSIWYG included in core is not the right question to focus on now. Better WYSIWYG support is. Check out sun's WYSIWYG module and g.d.o./wysiwyg.

Can D7 text formats give WYSIWYGs enough info to disable buttons on their own?

Can we get D7 core/contrib modules to include text formats attached to them?

With Fields in Core! (patch posted yesterday: #391924: Use Fields to store variables that require text format support )

• Fields have text format support built in, and you can attach a field to any kind of "object"
• ..Was relatively easy, then to create an API that uses fields to automatically store formatted text

(see also: Cutting through the input format clutter)