An Instructor's Guide to Sakai: Course Essentials

Site Info	Adding Course Tools
Rich Text Editor	Add Attachments

Rich Text Editor

Many screens in Sakai contain large text-entry boxes along with many icons and pulldown lists (located above the actual text entry area). These icons and pulldown lists make up what is known as a rich text editor. Most of the tools in Sakai use a widely available rich text editor that is displayed on your screen as shown here:

In some tools, you have the option of showing or hiding the rich text editor. If this option is available, a Show/Hide Rich-Text Editor link is displayed above the box. To show or hide the icons and pulldown lists, click the link.

Note that some of the buttons (and their functions) in the editor are not available in all tools in the Sakai. If you see a button, you can use it.

Text formatting

To do this:	Use this icon or field:	Notes
Select all (that is, select everything in the white box)
Remove formatting from selected text
Undo the last operation		Undoes typing, color changes, and alignment; does not undo such functions as replace, apply style, and insert image; cannot be used repetitively.
Redo the last operation		Cannot be used repetitively.
Use a template to create this material		The editor displays a window from which you select the template you want to use. Three pre-defined templates are available to choose from.
Apply bold formatting		Text will look like this.
Apply italic formatting		Text will look like this.
Underline text		Text will look like this.
Apply strikethrough formatting		~~Text will look like this.~~
Make text subscript		Text will look like this: x2
Make text superscript		Text will look like this: x2
Insert numbered list
Insert bulleted list
Move margin left
Move margin right
Align text at left margin
Align text at right margin
Center text
Align text at both left and right margins
Change text color		If you choose red, text will look like this.
Change background color		If you choose green, text will look like this.
Apply one of five formatting styles
Apply one of six formats to text
Change the font
Change the type size

Adding and removing text, non-text items, and special characters

To do this:	Use this icon or field:	Notes
Cut selected text
Copy selected text
Paste selected text
Paste selected text as plain text
Paste selected text from Word.		Opens a window in which you paste text from a Word document, indicate whether to remove style definitions and/or remove fonts, and click OK to insert the text into the editor; inserts text and tables only; does not insert images from the Word source.
Insert or change a link		The editor allows you to link to a URL or FTP site, an anchor in the text, or an email address. Display text for the link will look like this: click here. For more information, see “Working with Links.”
Remove selected link
Insert an anchor		When you are entering a large amount of information, you can use an anchor to link to a location in another part of the current page. For more information, see “Inserting a Link to an Anchor.”
Insert or edit an image		For more information, see “Inserting an Image or Flash Movie.”
Insert or edit a flash movie		For more information, see “Inserting an Image or Flash Movie.”
Insert or edit a table
Insert a horizontal line
Insert a smiley face
Insert a special character

Miscellaneous

To do this:	Use this icon or field:	Notes
View or enter HTML source		Displays the HTML code generated by the editor to produce the actual screen display. If you are familiar with HTML, you may view or enter it directly in the window after clicking this icon. To return to the regular display, click the icon again. Do not paste HTML code created in Word into this editor. HTML code from Word may cause errors.
Undo the last operation		Undoes text entry, color changes, alignment, etc.; does not undo replace, apply style, insert image, etc.; cannot be used repetitively.
Redo the last operation		Cannot be used repetitively.
Find the next instance of text you specify		Searches forward from the cursor.
Replace specified text with other text you specify		Starts at the beginning of the text entry in the box, regardless of the location of the cursor.
View information about this rich text editor software
Display document properties		This feature seems to be inactive.

Working with Links

The rich text editor allows you to create a link to a URL or other location such as an FTP site, an anchor you have created in the text, or an email address.

To link to an item stored in Resources, to an external URL (a link outside of the CLE), such as www.google.com or an FTP site, follow these steps:

Step 1: If you are linking to an external link and do not know the URL, find it and copy it.
Step 2: In the rich text editor, choose the display text you want to use for the link.
Step 3: Click the Insert/Edit Link icon ( ). The system displays the Link window.

Step 1: Select the Link Info tab, near the top of the window.
Step 2: Select URL in the Link Type pulldown list.
• Use the Protocol pulldown list to select the appropriate protocol (usually http:// or https :// ).
Step 3: Choose one of these options:
• To link to an external URL (one not in the Sakai), type or paste the URL into the URL box.
• To link to an item stored in Resources, click Browse Server and click the item you want.

Note: In the Browse Server window, you may select another site to which you belong in the left window pane in order to access items stored in that site. You may also add a new folder and upload a new item to Resources by using the fields at the bottom of the screen.

Step 4: Click OK. Or, to exit without linking, click Cancel. If you clicked OK, the editor displays the text for the link (that is, either text you selected in step 2 or the URL itself) in the text box.

Inserting a Link to an Anchor

Linking to an anchor allows you to link to another area in the page you are creating with the editor. This is handy if you are using the text editor to enter a large amount of material and want the viewer to be able to quickly navigate from one place to another.

To link to an anchor, follow these steps:

Step 1: Position the cursor where you want the anchor (that is, at the place you want the link to take the viewer to).
Step 2: Click the Insert Anchor icon ( ).The editor displays the Anchor Properties window.

Step 3: Enter a descriptive name for this location in the Anchor Name box.

• Click OK to create the anchor . Otherwise, click Cancel.

Step 4: Scroll to the point where you want to insert the link text.

Step 5: Click the Insert/Edit Link icon ( ). The editor displays the Link window.
Step 6: In the Link Type pulldown list, select Link to anchor in the text.

• Use the By Anchor Name pulldown list to select the name of the anchor you want to use as the destination for the link.

Step 7: Click OK to complete the selection. Or, to exit without linking, click Cancel.

Inserting a Link to an Email Address

Linking to an email allows viewers to click the link in order to send you an email. To link to an email address, follow these steps:

Step 1: Scroll to the point where you want to insert the link text .
Step 2: Click the Insert/Edit Link icon ( ). The editor displays the Link window .
Step 3: In the Link Type pulldown list, select Email.
Step 4: Click OK to complete the selection. Or, to exit without linking, click Cancel.

Inserting an Image

You may insert an image and/or a flash movie directly into the material you are creating.
To insert an image, follow these steps:

Step 1: Position the cursor where you want the image to be displayed.
Step 2: Click the Insert Image icon ( ). The editor displays the Image Properties window.

Step 3: Choose one of these options:
• To link to an external URL (one not in the Sakai), type or paste the URL into the URL box.
• To link to an item stored in Resources, click Browse Server and click the item you want.

Note : In the Browse Server window, you may select another site to which you belong in the left window pane in order to access images stored in that site. You may also add a new folder and upload a new image to Resources by using the fields at the bottom of the screen.

Step 4: Check the appearance of the image in the Preview box.
Step 5: To change the size of the image, enter numbers in the Width and Height boxes.
Step 6: To restore the size, click the Reset icon (). To lock this size, click the Lock icon ().
Step 7: To add a black border around the image, enter a number in the Border box.
Step 8: To add blank space on both sides of the image, enter a number in the HSpace box.
Step 9: To add blank space above and below the image, enter a number in the VSpace box.
Step 10: To complete the selection, click OK . Or, to exit without linking, click Cancel.

Inserting a Flash Movie

To insert a flash movie, follow the same steps as above, but choose the Insert Flash icon ( ) and expect the editor to display the Flash Properties window. This window offers fewer choices for changing the display than does the Image Properties window.

TOP