The What You See is What You Get (WYSIWYG – pronounced “Wuzzy Wig”) editor is a collection of tools that make it easy to create attractive, interesting pages with pictures, formatted text, and even smilies. Note: At this time, only administrators can create content.

When you create an event, a blog, a page, or a story, this editor will open automatically. You can see the description of each function by letting your mouse hover over the buttons. If you are familiar with Microsoft Word, basic formatting should be no problem. Some of the functions may not be familiar to you, such as using anchors and linking text. That training is beyond the scope of this handbook, but would be covered in a basic word processing class.

Keep in mind that writing for the web is somewhat different that writing for the printed page. For example, the underline command is not available in the above toolbar because underlining is associated with hyperlinks and might confuse the reader.[1] If you want text to stand out, consider bolding the text or using a different color. The main rule, however, is being consistent. Do not us more than a couple of colors to draw attention; otherwise, you get the rainbow effect where everything stands out and nothing becomes important.

It is easy to include a picture in your article and always a good idea because it will draw the reader’s attention. Always use a JPEG or other web-ready format with small file and image sizes. The file size should ideally be no more than 50 k and the size no more than 400 pixels in width and height. You can always make the image smaller after inserting it.

To insert a picture, click the picture icon in the WYSIWYG toolbar. This will open the Image Properties dialog box. Then click on Browse Server to choose or upload a picture.

If the picture you want to use is not in the list, left click on Upload | Choose File | Open to select a web-ready picture from your computer.

Now select the new upload button at the right (as shown below).

Once the picture has uploaded, left click on it in the list to select it. (By default, it is already selected. You may need to click another picture and then click on your selection again.) With your picture selected, click on Send to ckeditor. This will return you to the Image Properties dialog box. Enter a brief description in the Alternative Text, then enter the remaining options and click OK to insert the picture. If you are not happy with the settings, right-click on the picture to reopen the Image Properties dialog box and make changes.