The rich text format (RTF) editor is a simple text editor that you use to format the text in fields. It provides commonly used functions, such as formatting text, creating tables, inserting links, and creating and linking bookmarks. The RTF editor reduces the efforts of formatting the text by providing a What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get (WYSIWYG) interface. You can use the RTF editor in fields that have the RTF icon next to them.
For information on RTF editors for Progressive Web Applications (PWA), see Adding RTF fields in Progressive Web Applications.
Features of the RTF editor
The RTF editor has the following features:
- Supports all use cases for rich-text fields in BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management applications.
- When the article content uses standard HTML markup, this RTF editor renders the article without any loss of formatting.
- Helps you edit the existing articles.
- Supports rich-text field editing capabilities.
- Maintains formatting when you copy content from Microsoft Word, Microsoft Outlook, or HTML and paste it into an RTF-enabled field.
- To maintain the look and feel of forms, global styling of the content pasted from other sources such as Microsoft Word, Microsoft Outlook, or HTML is removed. However, the inline styling continues to work.
Functions available in the RTF editor
| Function | Description | Type of editor |
|---|---|---|
| Sets paragraph formatting style such as headings and address. | Pop-up editor | |
| Selects the font type and point size from the list. | Inline editor and Pop-up editor | |
| Selects the text color and text background from the list. | Inline editor and Pop-up editor | |
| Makes the selected text bold, italicized, underlined, or strikethrough. | Inline editor and Pop-up editor | |
| Makes the selected text subscript or superscript, and clears formatting. | Pop-up editor | |
| Finds and replaces text. | Pop-up editor | |
| Increases or decreases the selected text's distance from the left margin. | Pop-up editor | |
| Sets the paragraph so that it aligns evenly on the left, center, or right; or justifies the text. | Pop-up editor | |
| Creates an ordered or unordered list. | Pop-up editor | |
| Inserts a link to any URL, to a bookmark, or to an email. The unlink icon removes the created link. For more information, see Adding and removing links below. | Pop-up editor | |
| Creates a bookmark in a document that is referred through a URL. For more information, see To create a bookmark below. | Pop-up editor | |
| Inserts an image into the RTF field. For more information, see Adding an image below. | Pop-up editor | |
| Inserts a table into the RTF field. For more information, see Adding a table below . | Inline editor and Pop-up editor | |
| Adds an expandable section to provide additional information. | Pop-up editor | |
| Adds special formatting features, such as a horizontal rule, smiley, and special characters. | Pop-up editor | |
| (Microsoft Internet Explorer 11 only) Removes, copies, and pastes selected text to and from the clipboard. | Pop-up editor | |
| Removes the last 30 changes made in the RTF editor or reverses the undo action. | Pop-up editor |
Adding and removing links
You can perform following actions with the Link icon.
To create a bookmark
- Select the text in the pop-up editor for which you want to create a bookmark.
- Click the bookmark
icon.
- In the Bookmark Properties dialog, provide a name for the bookmark.
- Click OK.
The following screenshot illustrates the bookmarked text displayed in blue color with a blue dashed border.
To edit the bookmark name or remove the bookmark, right-click and select the appropriate option.
To add an image to a character field
- Click the Image icon
.
- Specify the URL to access the image.
You can also define alternative text for the image. - (Optional) Set the options for height, width, border, Hspace, Vspace, and alignment.
- Click OK .
You can preview the image in the Preview pane before adding it to the field.
Adding a table
You can use the Table icon to insert a table in an RTF field or to modify the properties of a selected table. The Table Properties dialog box allows you to design a table with advanced options.
In the RTF editor, when you right-click the table, you can perform following operations:
- Paste contents in the table.
- Insert cells, rows, and columns (before or after).
- Merge cells (right or down).
- Split cells (horizontal and vertical).
- Set cells properties.
- Set table properties.
- Delete cells, rows, and columns.
- Edit and remove division.
- Delete the table.
Shortcut keys in the RTF editor
Shortcut keys provide a quick and easy method of navigating and executing operations. The following tables list the shortcut keys available in the RTF editor provided by Mid Tier .
General RTF shortcut keys
| Shortcut key | Description |
|---|---|
| Esc | Closes an RTF dialog box, drop-down list, or context menu. Equivalent to the Cancel button in a dialog box. |
| ENTER | Selects a RTF function from the toolbar, drop-down list, or context menu. Equivalent to the OK button in a dialog box. |
| SHIFT+F10, Menu Application | Opens the element's context menu. |
| HOME | Moves the cursor to the beginning of the line. |
| CTRL+HOME | Moves the cursor to the beginning of the document. |
| END | Moves the cursor to the end of the line. |
| CTRL+END | Moves the cursor to the end of the document. |
| PgDn | Scrolls down the document. |
| PgUp | Scrolls up the document. |
| CTRL+Z | Performs an undo operation. |
| CTRL+Y or SHIFT+CTRL+Z | Performs a redo operation. |
| CTRL+X or SHIFT+DEL | Cuts a text fragment. |
| CTRL+C | Copies a text fragment. |
| CTRL+V or SHIFT+INSERT | Pastes a text fragment from the clipboard. |
RTF shortcut keys for writing
| Shortcut Key | Description |
|---|---|
| ENTER (RETURN) | Ends a paragraph and starts a new one. |
| SHIFT+ENTER | Adds a line break. |
| SHIFT+CTRL+3 | Enables entering content (by adding a new paragraph) before a problematic element, such as an image, table, or <div> element. |
| SHIFT+CTRL+4 | Enables entering content (by adding a new paragraph) after a problematic element, such as an image, table or, <div> element. |
| BACKSPACE or DEL | Deletes a character. |
| CTRL+BACKSPACE or CTRL+DEL | Deletes a word. |
RTF shortcut keys for text selection and styling
| Shortcut key | Description |
|---|---|
| CTRL+A | Selects all document content. |
| SHIFT+ARROW | Selects a text fragment by letters. |
| CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW | Selects a text fragment by words. |
| SHIFT+HOME | Selects a text fragment from the cursor to the beginning of the line. |
| SHIFT+END | Selects a text fragment from the cursor to the end of the line. |
| CTRL+SHIFT+HOME | Selects a text fragment from the cursor to the beginning of the document. |
| CTRL+SHIFT+END | Selects a text fragment from the cursor to the end of the document. |
| SHIFT+PgDn | Selects a text fragment starting from the cursor and going down. |
| SHIFT+PgUp | Selects a text fragment starting from the cursor and going up. |
| CTRL+B | Applies bold formatting to a text fragment. |
| CTRL+I | Applies italics formatting to a text fragment. |
| CTRL+U | Applies underline formatting to a text fragment. |
RTF shortcut keys for copy formatting
| Shortcut key | Description |
|---|---|
| CTRL+SHIFT+C | Copies the inline formatting from a text fragment and enables the sticky mode. |
| CTRL+SHIFT+V | Applies the previously copied inline formatting to a text fragment. |
| ESC | Disables the sticky mode. |
CTRL + Right click | Enables the spell check option in the browser. |
RTF shortcut keys for Rich text
| Shortcut key | Description |
|---|---|
| CTRL+L | Opens the Link dialog box. |
| TAB | Indents a list. |
| SHIFT+TAB | Outdents a list. |
RTF shortcut keys for keyboard support
| Shortcut key | Description |
|---|---|
| ALT+F10 | Opens the editor toolbar. Use the TAB and SHIFT+TAB to move between toolbar groups. Use ARROW keys to move between the buttons within a toolbar group. |
Troubleshooting
In some cases, the resize handle arrow on the bottom of the RTF editor dialog box disappears. Solution: Close and re-open the RTF editor. The resize handle appears.
