Many Catalyst Web Tools, such as WebQ, GoPost, and Collect It, provide a rich text editor that allows you to author and format content just as you would in a word processing program. In addition to applying common formatting, such as text size, color, weight, and alignment, or creating numbered and bulleted lists, the text editor allows you add links and images to your content. The text editor also provides tools to help you paste content authored in other software and retain or discard the formatting of the text. Note: The text editor is compatible with most Internet browsers, including IE 5.5+ (Windows), Firefox 1.0+, Mozilla 1.3+ and Netscape 7.1+. It runs under Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems.

To use the text editor, type or paste your content. Then, click and drag to select text, and use the toolbar to apply formatting.

Use these links to jump to step-by-step instructions for the less common features of the text editor:

Paste from Word | Paste as plain text | Insert a link | Add an image
Add a table | Add special characters | Use LaTeX | View HTML code

Paste Content from Word

You can use the "Paste from Word" feature of the text editor to preserve the formatting of content you have authored in Microsoft Word. Because the markup necessary to format Word documents is different than HTML markup, the layout and formatting of your content won't convert well if pasted directly into the text editor. The paste tool will convert Word formatting into HTML for you.

To paste content from Word, you will need to have two windows open on your computer. In a Web browser, you will log in to the Catalyst tools and find the page where you want to add content using the text editor. In another window, you will open your Word document from which you want to copy and paste the content.

To paste content from Word, follow these steps:

1. In Word, select and copy the content that you want to paste into a Catalyst tool (such as a WebQ survey question).
2. Locate the Web browser in which you have accessed the Catalyst tools.
3. On the text editor, click Paste from Word. The "Paste from Word" dialog box will appear.
4. Click inside the text box, and then press Ctrl+V to paste your content.
5. Click OK .The dialog box will close, and your formatted text will appear in the text editor.

Paste Content as Plain Text

If you want to paste content from another source, but do not want to retain the formatting, you can use the "Paste as Plain Text" feature of the text editor. This will allow you to start fresh and format your content using the tools available on the formatting toolbar of the text editor.

To paste content, you will need to have two windows open on your computer. In a Web browser, you will log in to the Catalyst tools and find the page where you want to add content using the text editor. In another window, you will open the document from which you want to copy and paste the content.

To paste content as plain text, follow these steps.

1. In your document, select and copy the content that you want to paste into a Catalyst tool (such as a WebQ survey question).
2. Locate the Web browser in which you have accessed the Catalyst tools.
3. On the text editor, click Paste as Plain Text. The "Paste as Plain Text" dialog box will appear.
4. Click inside the text box, and then press Ctrl+V to paste your content.
5. Click OK .The dialog box will close, and your text will appear in the text editor.
6. If you want, you can click and drag to highlight text, and then use the formatting toolbar to format your text.

Insert a Link

You can create a link to another Web page. You can also create a link to any file or picture that is already stored on a Web server.

To create a link, follow these steps:

1. Type or copy and paste some text into the text area.
2. Click and drag to highlight the text you want to become the link.
3. Click Insert link. The "Link" dialog box will appear.
4. Select the type of link you want to create from the "Link Type" drop-down menu. You can choose URL (standard), anchor, or email links.
5. Type the URL of the Web site to which you want to link.
6. If you want your link to open in a new browser window or specific frame, click the "Target" tab and then select the appropriate option from the "Target" drop-down menu.
7. Click OK. You will return to the text area with your link created. You will need to preview your content in order to test your link.

Add an Image

You can add an image to your content with the text editor. To add an image, follow these steps:

1. Position the cursor where you would like the image to appear.
2. Click Upload images. The "Upload Images" dialog box will appear.
3. Click Browse... . A dialog box will appear.
4. Locate and select the image that you want to upload on your local computer.
5. Enter "Alt text" for accessibility purposes in the space provided. Alternate text for images is pronounced by screen readers used by the visually impaired.
6. Select the desired alignment for the image relative to text from the "Alignment" drop-down menu.
7. Click OK. The dialog box will close, and your image will appear in the text editor.

Add a Table

You insert a table into your content, follow these steps

1. Position the cursor to where you would like the table to appear.
2. Click Insert Table. The " Table Properties" dialog box will appear.
3. Enter the number of rows and columns for your table in the space provided. You can also choose the width, height, border size, cell spacing, cell padding and alignment. properties of your table
4. If you would like a caption to appear at the top of the table, enter text in the space provided.
5. Click OK. The dialog box will close, and your table will appear in the text editor.
6. Click in a table cell to position your cursor, and then type your data. You can also click and drag the handles around the table (once selected) to change its dimensions.

Insert Special Characters

You can insert special characters such as symbols, fractions, or accents in to your content. To insert special characters, follow these steps:

1. Position the cursor where you would like the special character to appear.
2. Click Insert Special Character. The "Insert Special Character" dialog box will appear.
3. with a table of special characters you can select from.
4. Roll your cursor over a character in the table. The selected character will be displayed in the box on the right.
5. Click to insert the selected character.
6. To exit without selecting a special character, click Cancel.

Use LaTeX Typesetting

The text editor allows you to use the LaTeX typesetting system to create content that includes technical or scientific content. You enter the LaTeX markup, and then the text editor will convert it into an image and insert the image into your content. To modify your technical or scientific content, you can select the image and click the LaTeX icon again to modify the LaTeX markup and re-insert the modified image. To learn more about authoring with LaTeX, visit the LaTeX project Web site.

Follow these steps to add LaTeX to your text:

1. Position your cursor in the text area where you want the LaTeX content to appear.
2. Click Add LaTeX. The "Insert LaTeX Image" dialog box will appear.
3. Type or copy and paste LaTeX markup into the text area provided.
4. Enter alternate text for the resulting image for accessibility purposes. Alternate text for images is pronounced by screen readers used by the visually impaired and displayed by text-only browsers.
5. Select the desired alignment for the image relative to text from the "Alignment" drop-down menu.
6. If you would like a border (black) around your image, enter the thickness of the border in number of pixels in the "Border" field.
7. Click Preview to see what your LaTex image will look like.
8. Click OK to create and insert your LaTeX image.

To edit your LaTeX image, click once to select the image in the text area, and then click Add LaTeX. Follow steps 3 - 8 above.

To delete the LaTeX image, click once to select the image in the text area, and the press the Delete key.

View the HTML Source Code

The text editor automatically creates the HTML necessary to format your text. If you know HTML, you can directly enter or edit the HTML source code in the text editor.

To view or edit the HTML code that is being created behind the scenes, click Toggle HTML source. Click the source toggle again to return to the WYSIWYG view of your content.