When a user uploads an image in the editor for a new topic, the editor creates a bunch of string of characters in the middle of where they are typing. This is very confusing for most non-technical people (and even was confusing for me at first). A sample screenshot is below. Most users don’t know what these characters are, and end up deleting them or editing them in some way and losing the image. Yes, they can see the image in the preview, but the editor screen doesn’t make sense to them. Is there a way to prevent this type of functionality and just show the image as opposed to the image tag characters in the editor? Sort of how it works on Twitter, FB etc. You upload an image and it just shows in the editor.
AI-generated summary
The discussion revolves around Image Uploads in the Editor. sfoster finds the current image upload functionality confusing, as it generates a string of characters in the editor, which can be deleted or edited accidentally, causing image loss. They suggest hiding the image tag and only showing the image, similar to how it works on Twitter and Facebook.
sfoster argues that the current editor is already a WYSIWYG editor, just with a preview screen on the side, and questions the necessity of showing the image tag. They propose hiding the image tag in the editor and only showing the image in the preview screen.
However, Falco points out that there are no plans to introduce a true WYSIWYG editor, and codinghorror responds that the current functionality is intentional, expecting users to be comfortable with minor tags and CommonMark. They suggest choosing different software if a different experience is needed.
There are no plans to add a WYSIWYG editor for posts:
Thanks, but, not sure I understand. The current editor is a WYSIWYG basically. You can upload images, bold text etc. It’s quite good. The only difference between other WYSIWYGs is just that the preview of the WYSIWYG is on the right side of the screen, instead of in the actual editor where you type. So, I’m not sure how this is fantasy. It’s being done already. I just question the necessity of having confusing long strings of text when you upload an image. Most regular folks have no idea what this string is. Maybe the image tag can be hidden in the editor and just have the image shown in the Preview screen? If it can’t be fixed, so be it. I just think it would be an improvement if you can somehow not show the actual image string.
If you can show the image in the preview screen or hide it, clearly you can hide the string of characters in the editor. I don’t see what the point of showing this string is anyway. Who does it help? Even a technical user has no reason to see the image tag, because if you edit it, by accident, you lose the image.
That is the way it is. We expect users to be OK with other minor tags and commonmark as well. If you need a different experience, you will want to choose different free software.