Pirate's Cove

(I’ve been sitting on this damn post for almost a month, ’bout time to post it, now that I have had ample experience with Xihna)

See, I have been looking around for a plugin or plugins that would replace my existing WYSIWYG editor. I do not use the default WP one, as I like to have emoticons and the ability to easily change the color of text, rather then bolding it. Also, I want to be able to swtich to html formatting quickly, like you can with the default WP editor. And maybe a spell checker.

I have been using the one from Mudbomb, but, there is one issue: if I want to insert a video, you have to type the post first, save it, turn the plugin off, then go back and finish the post up. While not a huge deal, if you forget to turn it off and revisit that post, you will blow the video out, and have to go, turn plugin of, then re-edit.

So, I started looking. Came across a couple, like the ones at Labnotes, and multiple versions of fckeditors. Labnotes was good, but, it kept running off the screen, and I just do not have the patience to fix it. Too bad, it would have been worthy. The only fckeditor that worked well and easily was Dean’s fckeditor. Only problem with that one is that the spell checker, she no work, amigo(a).

However, I found one called Xinha, that is very similar, and the spell checker works. Can change the text colors, and comes with lots of emoticons. Furthermore, you can put it into html mode, and leave it in that mode, without shutting it off. You still might need to fix a video code, but, you can do it without shutting of the plugin, then going back, posting, then turning on again.

You can go and check out what it will all do, not point in boring you. I will mention that it does include underline, superscript, subscript, special characters, several versions for numbered lists, and the ability to include a table. Also, a horizontal ruler and the ability to put the editor into full screen mode. The only thing really missing is a "more" button. Oh well, I’ll keep using the manual html code.

You can also adjust the size of the editing box in the Options area, that way you do not have to do full screen thing a lot

You can even add funtionality though Tiny Mice, but, nothing I really need. You’re on your own

For emoticons, there is a plugin called Custom Smileys. Now, this is cool, because all you have to do is (after uploading it and turning it on, of course) upload emoticons you can get at MSN and/or Yahoo, or wherever. Then, you add the emoticon code, and good.

I moved the docking box all the way up above the categories box for easy access, which is a good idea, eh?

If you want some better functionality with WordPress, give ’em a try!

As far as the "anchor" tag goes, what that does is allow you to link from one part of a post to another part. For instance, say you want to write a review of a movie, and are about to give away some info. You can use the anchor tag to skip over it. Haven’t tried it yet.

Now, a couple other cool plugins I have been playing with.

Live: this one gives you a little Digg style scroll box in the admin panels, so you can see hits as they come in.

Stick Post: this one works well with WP 2.0 and higher. It does not cause the "go to next page" type tags on within the Main Index to malfunction.

Slim Stat Ex: this is a good replacement for Slim Stat, which WP 2.2 HATES. It gives you some nice stats from the admin module, rather then relying on Google Analytics or some other program. The relevant parts of the page for download are in English.

Content Show/Hide: this is a nice plugin that allows you to expand a post on the main page, then hide it, like you see on Moveable Type blogs, rather then having people go to a single post. If you have a real long post, post a bunch daily, or just want to say, hide something, then surprise readers, this one is great. Matter of fact, it was what was used in this post. And all you are doing is using the same "more" tag.

And, here is an important point, all the plugins are stable, easy to use, and, did I mention stable?

Update: I actually switched to a different plugin to do the show hide thing. It is called MoreLink2.0, and, while it requires a bit more doing then with Content Show/Hide, either Content Show/Hide or a javascript button crashed me with Google.

The thing to do is go into the collapsible_more_link file in the plugins, and open with a text editor. Change the "right" to "left," unless you want the text to be on the right. I didn’t. You can also change what it says for the click. Your choice.

Finally, do not wrap the code, which is !–inline-more– surrounded by < and >, between p tags or inside of a blockquote.

If you are using the standard WP WYSIWYG editor, a button will be added similar to the "more" tag button.

You can check out all the plugins I use at this Page.