Member Avatar for gamebits

I'm presently using nicEdit, small simple and inadequate for what I need, I aware of tinyMCE FCKEditor and such my problem is I need to make it a one time switch, I do not want to get my users through a series of trial and error, my demographic is older people doing genealogy research.

I'm using php and mysql so I need to be able to pull the data and make it available for read or edit.

The problems I have with niceEdit are mostly related to people doing a copy and paste from a msword document or trying to copy and paste a table seen somewhere else.

I don't care if I have to spend money to get one that will handle most of the requirement.

Would like recommendation from the pros of what system works best for what I'm trying to achieve.

There might be one out there that I'm not aware of.

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by moneeshot

Dani AI

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As described, the core problems are Word‑pasted HTML (lots of inline styles and odd MS classes), pasted tables, and a need for a single, low‑friction editor for older genealogy users. and already pointed to mature editors; the practical win comes from how the editor is configured and what happens to content on the server.

Follow a three‑part approach: 1) pick a mature editor with a configurable "Paste from Word" and a simple image dialog, 2) add server‑side cleaning and a robust image upload endpoint, 3) simplify the UI for the audience and pilot before flipping the switch. For Word paste cleanup, keep the raw submission (backup), then remove Word‑specific attributes and inline styles server‑side with a sanitizer (strip mso‑ classes, disallow dangerous tags, canonicalize lists/tables). For uploaded .doc/.docx files, convert server‑side to HTML (server converter or a PHP library) then sanitize the result before saving.

Image upload best practices: validate the MIME by inspecting the file signature, limit dimensions and file size, store files outside the web root with randomized filenames, create thumbnails and optimized web versions, and return a JSON payload the editor can insert. Scan uploads for malware and deny execution on the upload directory. Keep an images table with owner, caption/alt, and filesize so editing and cleanup are easy.

Small rollout checklist: audit current DB HTML, create a conversion/cleanup script for existing entries, configure the editor to show only essential buttons (big, labeled icons), add a clear "Paste from Word" help note, run a pilot with real user documents, and keep a rollback plan. Troubleshooting notes: if pasted tables break, wrap them with a responsive container and normalize column widths; if inline styles persist, reprocess with the sanitizer and log failures for manual review.

Example upload snippet (conceptual):

if ($_FILES['image']) {
  $mime = finfo_file(finfo_open(FILEINFO_MIME_TYPE), $_FILES['image']['tmp_name']);
  if (in_array($mime,['image/jpeg','image/png'])) {
    $name = bin2hex(random_bytes(12)).'.jpg';
    move_uploaded_file($_FILES['image']['tmp_name'], "/safe/path/$name");
    echo json_encode(['url'=>"/images/$name"]);
  }
}

This combination—editor configuration + server cleanup + simple UI—gives the most reliable, low‑surprise experience for older users while keeping data safe and editable.

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Member Avatar for Member #949455

Base on your situation.

I would used CKEditor since you will spend little money pay for certain features like uploading images.

I don't know about MS Word in the text editor. I'm not sure about that one.

Edited by Member #949455 because: grammer
Member Avatar for SeanOBrian

The problems I have with niceEdit are mostly related to people doing a copy and paste from a msword document

What we don't have here are the actual problems you are having with the exisiting rich text editor. If you could provide teh ctual issues, we could help you much more effectively.

Edited by SeanOBrian because: I can't spell
Member Avatar for moneeshot

tinyMCE handles copy paste from word, it has a plugin that comes packaged with tiny. they have a real nice image loader that you can buy

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