Live previews for posting entries and comments
Title
Live previews for posting entries and comments
Short, concise description of the idea
On JavaScript enabled browsers, show users a live preview of their entry or comment, as they type and add HTML codes.
Full description of the idea
For users who post entries using the HTML editor or when users are posting comments, there should be a setting that allows the user to see a live preview of how their text will appear.
Ideally, I imagine this as a setting similar to choosing between the HTML Editor and the Rich Text Editor - users can choose their default, or they can choose to have their last selected choice always the default, and they can also turn the preview on or off on their JavaScript enabled browser.
The actual implementation can get tricky - there can be a lot of text to scroll and preview. But I think after testing, rolling it out on comments, and then using feedback to determine how to do it on entries, it could really enhance the HTML editor to make it more approachable.
An ordered list of benefits
- Allows users who are less-confident about their HTML skills to more easily preview their text without relying on the Rich Text Editor or reloading the preview page.
- Allow users who are confident in their HTML skills to check them out of the corner of their eye, anyway.
- Be fun and pretty!
- JavaScript programming is never fun, especially for cross-browser compliance.
- If it's written in all JavaScript, as opposed to AJAX, then it won't work exactly like the server-side filtering, and therefore people will be confused when (as will happen at least once) more complicated HTML codes don't work exactly as shown in the preview.
- Ditto to it being one more thing that could go wrong :)