Configuring system properties for TinyMCE HTML editor

  • Release version: Xanadu
  • Updated August 1, 2024
  • 3 minutes to read
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    Summary of Configuring system properties for TinyMCE HTML editor

    This documentation explains the system properties available for configuring the TinyMCE HTML editor in ServiceNow. These properties control plugins, toolbar buttons, paste behavior, font collections, URL handling, and context menus in the rich text editor fields.

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    Key Features

    • Plugin Management:
      • glide.ui.html.editor.validplugins defines which client-side plugins can be used.
      • glide.ui.html.editor.enabledplugins specifies which valid plugins are enabled on the editor widget.
    • Toolbar Configuration:
      • glide.ui.html.editor.toolbar.validbuttons limits the buttons that can be added to the toolbar.
      • glide.ui.html.editor.toolbar sets the actual toolbar buttons (space-separated) shown in HTML fields, constrained by valid buttons.
      • glide.ui.html.editor.toolbar.on.focus (optional) controls whether the toolbar hides when focus moves away from the editor.
    • Paste Behavior:
      • glide.ui.html.editor.paste.htmlimport controls how pasted HTML (non-Word sources) is filtered: options include Clean (simplified styling), Merge (preserves formatting), or Prompt (user choice).
      • glide.ui.html.editor.paste.wordimport configures paste filtering specifically for Microsoft Word content with similar options.
      • glide.ui.html.editor.paste.filteredinlineelements lists inline elements (comma-separated) removed when formatting is cleared after pasting from Word; default is strong, b.
    • Font Collection:
      • glide.ui.html.editor.font.collection lets you define which fonts are selectable in the editor, using a semicolon-separated list with font name mappings.
    • URL Handling:
      • glide.ui.html.editor.converturls (true/false) controls TinyMCE’s conversion of URLs; defaults to false.
      • glide.ui.html.editor.relativeurls (true/false) sets whether URLs are relative; default is true, using the instance base URL.
    • HTML Validation and Context Menu:
      • glide.ui.html.editor.extendedvalidelements allows defining additional valid HTML elements; defaults to empty.
      • glide.ui.html.editor.contextmenu configures the editor’s custom context menu options (default: "link image table") or disables it by setting to "false". Ctrl+right-click shows the native browser menu regardless.
    • Link Target:
      • glide.ui.html.editor.defaultlinktarget sets the default target attribute for links created in the editor.

    Practical Use for ServiceNow Customers

    By configuring these properties, administrators can tailor the TinyMCE HTML editor to fit organizational needs, control user experience, maintain content consistency, enforce security and formatting standards, and streamline content editing workflows within ServiceNow forms and widgets.

    Adjusting paste behavior ensures clean or merged formatting from various sources, while toolbar and plugin controls allow limiting or extending editor capabilities. Font collections can be customized to match branding guidelines. URL and context menu settings improve content linking and user interaction.

    There are multiple system properties that are used to configure the behaviour of the HTML editor field type. Learn about the system properties available in the TinyMCE rich text editor.

    Table 1. HTML system properties in TinyMCE
    System properties for TinyMCE HTML editor Type Description
    glide.ui.html.editor.valid_plugins​ String
    Client-side HTML editor plugins that CAN BE added/or used (spaced delimited).
    Important:
    Removing plugins could cause undesirable side-effects.
    glide.ui.html.editor.enabled_plugins​ String

    Client-side HTML editor plugins that should be added (spaced delimited) in order for them to get enabled on the widget.

    Only plugins added in glide.ui.html.editor.valid_plugins​ can be added. Removing plugins could cause undesirable side-effects.
    glide.ui.html.editor.toolbar.valid_buttons​ String

    A valid (supported) button list for html fields. Use this to limit what buttons CAN BE added to the toolbar.
    glide.ui.html.editor.toolbar ​ String

    Configures the editing toolbar for HTML fields. This is a space-separated list without commas. Only valid buttons added in glide.ui.html.editor.toolbar.valid_buttons​​ can be added.
    glide.ui.html.editor.paste.html_import​ Choice list
    Paste formatting behavior for HTML. This setting controls how content from sources other than Microsoft Word is filtered when being pasted on html-editor. Note that this includes content copied from TinyMCE itself. The supported values are:
    • Clean: Preserves the structure of the content such as headings, tables, and lists but remove inline styles and classes. This results in simple content that uses the site's CSS stylesheet while retaining the semantic structure from the original document.
    • Merge: Preserves the inline formatting and structure of the original document. Invalid and proprietary styles, tags and attributes are still removed ensuring that the HTML is valid while more closely matching the original document formatting.
    • Prompt: Prompts the user to choose between the clean and merge options after attempting to paste HTML content.
    glide.ui.html.editor.paste.word_import​ Choice list
    Paste formatting behavior for word. This setting controls how content from Microsoft Word is filtered when being pasted on html-editor. Note that this includes content copied from TinyMCE itself. The supported values are:
    • Clean: Preserves the structure of the content such as headings, tables, and lists. Removes inline styles and classes. This results in simple content that uses the site’s CSS stylesheet while retaining the semantic structure of the original document.
    • Merge: Preserves the inline formatting and structure of the original document.Removes invalid and proprietary styles, tags and attributes.This ensures the HTML is valid while more closely matching the original document formatting.
    • Prompt: Prompts the user to choose between the clean and merge options after attempting to paste HTML content.
    glide.ui.html.editor.font.collection​ String

    User can select different font collection for Tiny MCE HTML editor:

    Example with one font:

    <pre>
Arial=arial,helvetica,sans-serif;
</pre>
    Note:
    More than one font value should be separated by a semi-colon with no space or line-break.

    Example with more than one font:

    <pre>
Andale Mono=andale mono,times;
Arial=arial,helvetica,sans-serif;
Arial Black=arial black,avant garde;
Book Antiqua=book antiqua,palatino;
Comic Sans MS=comic sans ms,sans-serif;
Courier New=courier new,courier;
Georgia=georgia,palatino;Helvetica=helvetica;
Impact=impact,chicago;Symbol=symbol;
Tahoma=tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;
Terminal=terminal,monaco;
Times New Roman=times new roman,times;
Trebuchet MS=trebuchet ms,geneva;
Verdana=verdana,geneva;
Webdings=webdings;
Wingdings=wingdings,zapf dingbats;
</pre>
    glide.ui.html.editor.paste.filtered_inline_elements​ String This setting allows the content to be filtered when pasted from MS Word to the TinyMCE V6 editor. This property takes input as a comma separated string of inline elements to be filtered by selecting the Remove formatting button on the paste prompt dialog. Default value is 'strong, b'.
    glide.ui.html.editor.convert_urls True | False This system property is used to set the convert_urls config of TinyMCE. Default: false.
    Note:
    This is related to the value of relative_urls which itself is set by glide.ui.html.editor.relative_urls.
    glide.ui.html.editor.extended_valid_elements String This system property is used to set the extended_valid_elements config of TinyMCE. Default: <Empty string>.
    glide.ui.html.editor.relative_urls True | False glide.ui.html.editor.relative_urls is used to set the relative_urls config of TinyMCE. Default: true.
    Note:
    This is related to the document_base_url which is not configurable in ServiceNow and is set to the window.location.origin (the base url of the instance).
    glide.ui.html.editor.contextmenu String

    Client-side HTML editor has its own context menu, overriding the browser's. Holding Ctrl while right-clicking bypasses the editor's context menu to show the native context menu.

    This property specifies which context menu options are available. Default value is "link image table" (without quotes). A value of "false" (without quotes) disables the editor's context menu.
    glide.ui.html.editor.toolbar.on.focus String

    True: User should be able to see hide toolbar behaviour if they move focus out.

    False: User should always see the toolbar regardless of the tab focus.

    Note:
    This property isn't added OOTB (out of the box) but can be added by an admin.
    glide.ui.html.editor.default_link_target This system property is used to set link_default_target.