# Text editor alternative for non programmers?
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/text-editor-alternative-for-non-programmers/328921
**Category:** Support
**Created:** [October 1, 2024, 9:35pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/text-editor-alternative-for-non-programmers/328921 "2024-10-01T21:35:10Z")
**Posts on this page:** 8
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Renato\_Mendes](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Renato_Mendes)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2024, 9:35pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/text-editor-alternative-for-non-programmers/328921/1 "2024-10-01T21:35:10Z")
Heyhey
Is there a way to set the text editor only as _what you see is what you get_ and with every space in the back-end being ` `?
Use-case: poets community. No one cares about markdown and many of us need multiple spaces in sequence.
The other day, a user shared some poems and, instead of using \*\*\* to establish a division between them, she used -------- and didn’t hit the enter button neither before nor after this dividing line, which then turned the above poem into a title.
Thanks!
---
### Author:  [@Lilly](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Lilly)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2024, 9:58pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/text-editor-alternative-for-non-programmers/328921/2 "2024-10-01T21:58:15Z")
related:
> [@Rich Text Editor Plugin](https://meta.discourse.org/t/rich-text-editor-plugin/326070/3):
>
> I recommend strongly delaying this project Discourse are currently working in this area
TL/TD: rich text editor will be realized at some point. but not yet.
---
### Author:  [@Renato\_Mendes](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Renato_Mendes)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2024, 10:03pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/text-editor-alternative-for-non-programmers/328921/3 "2024-10-01T22:03:23Z")
Hey, Lilly! Thanks!
Do you have any idea how long it will take? Just so I know how long I’ll need to keep on dreaming haha
---
### Author:  [@nathank](https://meta.discourse.org/u/nathank)
#### Post date: [October 2, 2024, 12:10am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/text-editor-alternative-for-non-programmers/328921/4 "2024-10-02T00:10:56Z")
See this too:
> [@Current Projects - September 2024](https://meta.discourse.org/t/current-projects-september-2024/326204/30):
>
> We’re looking into Lexical as a potential option for us to integrate with in our updated composer — but we haven’t yet made our final decision there. We should have that decision made quite soon so I’ll plan to follow up here once we know more.
And this:
> [@Markdown syntax highlighting in post editor](https://meta.discourse.org/t/markdown-syntax-highlighting-in-post-editor/282665/18):
>
> Hey Angus — sorry for the delay here, we’ve been out at our company’s annual retreat in Tokyo! I can’t answer with too many specifics right now as we’re still nailing down implementation details. I think we should have that figured out in the coming weeks, at least well enough to answer these questions, so I’ll check back in once we know more.
---
### Author:  [@sam](https://meta.discourse.org/u/sam)
#### Post date: [October 2, 2024, 6:28am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/text-editor-alternative-for-non-programmers/328921/5 "2024-10-02T06:28:22Z")
Current work around would be:
```txt
In the beginning,
a blank page
waits.
The cursor blinks,
pulses,
beckons.
First word:
appears.
Grows.
Flows.
Lines indent,
intent
clear.
Tabs
create
structure,
Spaces
breathe
life.
Backspace whispers—
unspoken thoughts
erased.
Between the letters,
silent beats,
rhythms in
whitespace.
Lines break,
fragments fall,
forming shapes
of meaning.
End.
Save.
Close.
The page returns
to quietude.
A blank space
awaits
anew.
```
Which is entered via:
````plaintext
```txt
In the beginning,
a blank page
waits.
The cursor blinks,
pulses,
beckons.
First word:
appears.
Grows.
Flows.
Lines indent,
intent
clear.
Tabs
create
structure,
Spaces
breathe
life.
Backspace whispers—
unspoken thoughts
erased.
Between the letters,
silent beats,
rhythms in
whitespace.
Lines break,
fragments fall,
forming shapes
of meaning.
End.
Save.
Close.
The page returns
to quietude.
A blank space
awaits
anew.
```
````
This combined with some clever CSS could result in very pretty formatting on your forum.
---
### Author:  [@Jagster](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Jagster)
#### Post date: [October 2, 2024, 7:21am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/text-editor-alternative-for-non-programmers/328921/6 "2024-10-02T07:21:47Z")
And we are back to one feature request to get the tab key on the keyboard working as it should when writing 😏
---
### Author:  [@Renato\_Mendes](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Renato_Mendes)
#### Post date: [October 4, 2024, 10:32pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/text-editor-alternative-for-non-programmers/328921/7 "2024-10-04T22:32:20Z")
> [@nathank](#):
>
> See this too:
>
> > [@](#):
> >
> > We’re looking into Lexical as a potential option for us to integrate with in our updated composer — but we haven’t yet made our final decision there. We should have that decision made quite soon so I’ll plan to follow up here once we know more.
Wow! This Lexical editor seems amazingly simple to understand and very rich in formatting options.
> [@sam](#):
>
> Current work around would be:
Dude, this was the best answer I could get hahaha Loved it!
Thank you all for having answered me here. Things are clearer now, both for what we can do now and what we can expect from Discourse in the next year or so. 😉
---
### Author:  [@system](https://meta.discourse.org/u/system)
#### Post date: [November 3, 2024, 10:32pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/text-editor-alternative-for-non-programmers/328921/8 "2024-11-03T22:32:52Z")
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