BLACKBOARD 9.1: Text Editor

Transcription

1 BLACKBOARD 9.1: Text Editor The text editor in Blackboard is a feature that appears in many different areas, but generally has the same look and feel no matter where it appears. The text editor has changed in the upgrade from Bb 9.1 Service Pack 8 to Bb 9.1 Service Pack 11. This document will attempt to explain the new text editor features. TEXT EDITOR The text editor is divided into three major widget bars, a text-entry area, and a bottom descriptive bar that shows the HTML tag path associated with snippets of content, as well as providing a word count for the content in the text editor box. Widget Bars Text-Entry Area TOP WIDGET BAR The top widget bar consists of the following tools: Bold text. Italics text. Underline text. Strikethrough text. Descriptive Bar Paragraph styles Several options are available. A Heading is the highest (largest) level with up to two subheading styles. Paragraph is the default setting, corresponding to the <p></p> tags in HTML. Educational Missouri S&T BLACKBOARD 9.1: Text Editor -- 1

2 Font style Several options available. Font size Several options available. NOTE: The number in front of the parentheses is the relative size in HTML for that typeface. The number inside the parentheses is the font size in points. The absolute size of a point for a font will vary from font to font, so 12 pt. Arial is slightly larger horizontally and vertically than 12 pt. Times New Roman. And 12 pt. Times New Roman is slightly larger than 12 pt. Monotype Corsiva. Bullet List Several options available. Default type is Disc. Number List Several options available. Default type is Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, etc.). Lower alpha includes a, b, c, etc. Lower Greek includes the letters from the Greek alphabet such as α, β, γ, δ, and so forth. Lower Roman includes the lower roman numerals (i, ii, iii, iv, etc.). Upper Alpha (A, B, C, etc.) and Upper Roman (I, II, III, IV, etc.) are also available options. Text Color Choose from the basic palette of colors or click More Colors to have additional options. Virtually any color can be selected. Highlight Text can also be highlighted in a basic palette of colors. Or click More Colors to choose from a virtually unlimited selection. Remove Formatting Highlight the formatted text and click this button to remove all formatting for that text. Educational Missouri S&T BLACKBOARD 9.1: Text Editor -- 2

3 / Preview Opens a new window and shows the content in the text editor in its currently formatted state. Help Opens a new window that explains each of the icons on the Widget Bars. NOTE: The icons listed may not match the actual icons displayed. For some reason, Blackboard forgot to align the icons on the Help page with the actual icons in the Widget Bars. Full screen switches the text editor to a full-screen mode that occupies the full Blackboard frame. Click this button again to collapse the text editor to its normal size. Show Less / Show More Collapses the Widget Bars to a single Widget Bar that shows only a very few icons. Click the Show More button to expand the Widget Bars again. Educational Missouri S&T BLACKBOARD 9.1: Text Editor -- 3

4 MIDDLE WIDGET BAR The middle widget bar consists of the following tools: Cut selected text to the clipboard. Copy selected text to the clipboard. Paste text from the clipboard to the text-entry area. / / / / / / Find / Replace text Opens up a window that allows for search and replace options, similar to the same feature in Microsoft Word. Undo / Redo changes to text-entry area. Right / Center / Left / Full justify paragraphs. Indent / Outdent paragraph text or bullet points. Superscript / Subscript text. Insert / Edit link Opens a window that allows you to link to URLs on the Internet, files that you have uploaded, or places within your course. Unlink an already existing hyperlink in the selected text. Enter text to the left of the current cursor location (default). Enter text to the right of the current cursor location. Insert simple horizontal line at the cursor location. Horizontal rule Opens a window allowing you to define some parameters for the horizontal rule such as width and thickness. Non-breaking space In some instances, it is useful to insert a nonbreaking space into the text. The HTML behind the text editor will discard extraneous spaces unless told otherwise (this is standard for most browsers). The non-breaking space forces the browser to insert the space when the page is displayed in the browser window. Spell Checker Allows for spellchecking in Spanish, US English (default) and UK English. Educational Missouri S&T BLACKBOARD 9.1: Text Editor -- 4

5 BOTTOM WIDGET BAR The bottom widget bar consists of the following tools: Record from Webcam Requires a YouTube account in order to function. Insert File Attach files to the content inside the text-entry area. Insert / Edit Image Opens a window that allows you to search for images to embed in the text-entry area. Insert / Edit Embedded Media Opens a window that allows you to browse for media files to be embedded in the text-entry area. NOTE: This is different from the Mashups option, which has additional features. Launch Math Editor Opens a window that allows you to create complex mathematical equations and formulas. Requires Java to function. Contact the Help Desk at HELP if this function is not working properly on your machine. You may need to have the right version of Java installed. Insert Mashup Mashups are embeddable versions of Web 2.0 technologies such as Flickr, SlideShare, Kaltura, and YouTube. Selecting a Mashup will open up a window with many different features and options to choose from. Kaltura even allows for webcam recordings to be created and embedded as streaming video clips. Show Nonprinting Characters Does not seem to have any effect. Blockquote Blockquotes are an easy way of indenting text. The paragraph indent button does something similar. Symbol Opens a window that allows you choose a wide variety of symbols to insert into the text-entry area. Emoticons Spice up a post with one of sixteen colorful emoticons Anchor Create an anchor tag in your post. For lengthy posts, you can use anchor tags to create anchors, and then use links to link to those anchors. It is a useful way of navigating within a web page. Insert / Edit Table Opens a window that lets you define table parameters such as number of rows and columns, border widths, cell spacing, etc. Table Row Properties Opens a window that lets you define parameters for one or more table rows (however many rows are selected). Parameters include vertical alignment, horizontal alignment, and row height. Cell Properties Opens a window that lest you define parameters for one or more table cells (however many are selected). Parameters include vertical and horizontal alignments, cell width and cell height, and scope. Insert Row Before Adds a row just above the currently selected row. Insert Row After Adds a row just above the currently selected row. Delete Row Removes the currently selected row(s). Educational Missouri S&T BLACKBOARD 9.1: Text Editor -- 5

6 Insert Column Before Adds a column to the left of the currently selected column. Insert Column After Adds a column to the right of the currently selected column. Delete Column Removes the currently selected column(s). Merge Table Cells Combines all currently selected cells into a single cell. Split Merged Table Cells Splits any merged table cells into the previous arrangement. HTML Code View Opens a window that allows you to directly the HTML code behind the text-entry area. This is useful for making direct modifications to the HTML that the regular widgets do not allow you to do. Edit CSS Style Opens a window that allows you to modify the cascading style sheet (CSS) behavior for elements within the text-entry area. NOTE: This should only be used by experienced users of CSS and HTML. Educational Missouri S&T BLACKBOARD 9.1: Text Editor -- 6