xinha for file manager html files editing?

Submitted by midol on Thu, 04/13/2017 - 20:33

using the non-java file manager in VM Pro and clicking on the pencil icon beside an html file gives me a text file display with very limited editing. Xinha or tinyMCE would be better and xinha is already there in VM Pro, doesn't seem like it would be very hard to connect the dots. I often have a need to edit simple html files and this would be very handy.

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Joe's picture
Submitted by Joe on Fri, 04/14/2017 - 01:55 Pro Licensee

We've talked about adding an HTML editor to the file manager; it got put on the back burner due to more pressing issues.

I think I'd rather see a switch to a newer HTML editor as Xinha hasn't been updated in years, and is seemingly abandoned, but I haven't done research on the current state of the art in a while.

TinyMCE is actively maintained, but is also an old, very large, codebase. Editors that make use of modern JavaScript features can be much smaller, and ones that use more modern CSS techniques are easier to fit into our themes. But, TinyMCE is definitely among the most powerful options. Has tons of features and tons of plugins and such.

Submitted by midol on Fri, 04/14/2017 - 19:51

something I like about xinha is that the developers had a clear goal and when it started to work they stopped fixing it. my kinda devs.

Joe's picture
Submitted by Joe on Fri, 04/14/2017 - 23:27 Pro Licensee

Xinha feels pretty clunky these days, IMHO. It was my favorite back when we chose it (obviously, or we would have chosen something else). But, it's showing its age, but in terms of the code and the visible GUI.

Anyway, I'll talk to Ilia next time we chat, about seeing if it could be integrated nicely (Ilia and Jamie kind of co-maintain the File Manager, since it relies so much on UI interaction).

Submitted by JamieCameron on Sat, 04/15/2017 - 21:55

Interestingly, xinha is used elsewhere in Webmin as the HTML editor - however, for the file manager when using the authentic theme, another HTML editor is used. I do agree that it's kind of clunky though ..

Submitted by midol on Sat, 04/15/2017 - 22:58

yes it's because I saw it in use elsewhere that I thought it would be easy to add. I agree something better might be desirable, but as the photo folks say, the best camera is the one you've got with you.