Ephox EditLive! for Java FAQs and Troubleshooting

This article contains a list of some common questions you may have when using Ephox EditLive! for Java, as well the answers you need to know. This is followed by a troubleshooting guide.

FAQs

Question:  Ephox EditLive! for Java appears to have stalled.
Answer: Java has a bug related to some dialog boxes.  Please check that you do not have any Java dialog boxes open anywhere. If so, please attend to them.  For more information on this problem, please click here.  
Question:  I lose formatting information when I cut and paste text in EditLive! for Java. 
Answer: When cutting and pasting with Java from many word processing environments formatting information is lost.  However, EditLive! for Java has been implemented with functionality to cut and paste from Microsoft Word 2000 on Windows.  Thus, when copying text from Microsoft Word 2000 into EditLive! for Java formatting information will be retained.  
Question:  The EditLive! for Java applet does not load.
Answer: This probably is because you have used an invalid or missing configuration file. For more information on this problem, please click here.
Question:  EditLive! for Java has no toolbars, menus, shortcut menu etc.
Answer: You can customize what goes on your toolbars, and many other features of EditLive! for Java by editing the configuration file. For information on how this is done please see the Configuration Tool Guide.  Thus, one or more of these components may have been omitted, intentionally or otherwise, from the configuration file.
Question:  I cannot upload a local image.
Answer: This is probably because you are using an invalid image upload script. For more information on this problem, please click here.  If your image upload script is valid this problem could be due to a lack of the correct write and/or execute permissions on your Web server.  Please check the permissions with your system administrator.
Question:  I cannot get the Configuration Tool to start.
Answer:

To run the configuration tool:

If the Configuration Tool does not load correctly, ensure that the folder for Ephox EditLive! for Java does not contain any illegal characters ( e.g "!" etc). 
Question: How is the EditLive! for Java content retrieved?
Answer: Because of the lack of LiveConnect support on various operating systems and browsers EditLive! for Java populates a hidden field with it's contents automatically rather than the developer calling for the contents explicitly. The name of the hidden field is contained within the same form as the EditLive! for Java instance and is given the name that was specified by the developer when the EditLive! for Java instance was created.  If the name specified was "ELJApplet1" then EditLive! would store it's contents in a hidden field named " ELJApplet1" which would then posted with the rest of the form data when the submit button is pressed. EditLive! for Java achieves the automatic updates the hidden field by attaching itself to form's onsubmit() handler, if there is already a function specified in the onsumbit() handler then it will run after the hidden field has been updated so you can still use the onsubmit() handler to run your own javascript functions. If you use another button/image/event to submit the form by calling form.submit() the browser will not call the onsubmit() handler and EditLive! for Java will not populate the hidden field with data, please use form.onsubmit() instead to avoid this problem.
Question: How can I make the EditLive! for Java applet smaller than 600x400?
Answer:  In order for EditLive! for Java to display properly the applet size cannot be set to less than a width of 600 pixels and a height of 400 pixels.  It is not possible to create an instance of the EditLive! for Java applet which is smaller than this.  For more information on these properties click here.
Question: Should I set the height and the width of the applet in pixels or as a percentage?
Answer:  It is recommended that the height and width of the applet be set in pixels.  It is possible for the height and width of the applet to be set as a percentage.  However, setting the size of the applet as a percentage will compromise cross platform support as the applet will be incorrectly displayed on some platforms, such as MacOS X where the applet will not resize correctly.

Troubleshooting

This article lists how to troubleshoot a few of the common problems you may encounter whilst using Ephox EditLive! for Java. 

Dialog Box Problem

There is a known problem with the some of the dialog boxes used in EditLive! for Java. If there is a modal dialog box open, and the user opens some other program, and then returns to the EditLive! for Java window, it appears as if EditLive! for Java has stalled. The cause of this is that the dialog box does not reappear on the screen again when the user returns to the EditLive! for Java Web page, even though it is still active. EditLive! for Java will appear to have stalled, but it is waiting for the dialog box to be closed. If this happens, you must attend to the open dialog box, then you may continue to use EditLive! for Java as you wish. The dialog box can be found by searching through all open programs (e.g. by using the Alt+Tab keys on Windows).  In particular the user should look for a program which is represented by a Java icon (eg. a coffee cup).

This is not a bug with EditLive! for Java, but is a known Java bug. Hopefully this will be fixed with future releases of the Java SDK.

Font and Size Combo Boxes When Using External Style Sheets

When using an external style sheet link to control the format for the various styles (e.g. Heading 1 etc), the font and size combo boxes on the toolbar will not be updated when you click on the appropriate piece of text. 

For example, if you define the style of the H1 tag in an external linked style sheet, and type some font in style H1, you will find that the text will be formatted correctly (i.e. as specified in the style sheet), but the font and size combo boxes in Ephox EditLive! for Java will not be updated to reflect this. 

Common Font Problems

EditLive! for Java allows the developer to add any font they would like to the font drop down box, even fonts that may not exist. If the user adds a font that is not on their client machine, the font name will be written out in the HTML code, but the font may not appear to be visually correct to the user while viewing it in the EditLive! for Java Design View.

If no font is specified for the initial contents of EditLive! for Java then the default font is Times New Roman with a size of 12pt.  This will be the case even if Times New Roman is not contained in the chosen list of fonts in the configuration file.

Problems with Special Characters

EditLive! for Java does not handle special characters correctly at all times. Most special characters will work within the body text of EditLive! for Java correctly, but there may be some problems if special characters are used in the Configuration Tool. 

For example, if a special character is entered for the Title field of the Document tab in the Configuration Tool, the special character will not appear correctly in the title of the actual document in EditLive! for Java. Special characters should only be used in the body text of the HTML document. 

Missing or Invalid Configuration File

If a missing or invalid configuration file is used, EditLive! for Java will not load. The Loading, please wait.. text will be replaced by a plain grey, empty box, where the EditLive! for Java applet would normally be loaded. The Splash Screen will not appear either. Please refer here to find out how to set the location of the configuration file. Also, to ensure configuration file validity, make sure you test the configuration file with the Configuration Tool before attempting to use it with EditLive! for Java.

The Links to Examples in the Documentation Do Not Work

If the links to the examples in the documentation do not work with your Apache Tomcat install it is possible that you have placed the editlilvejava.war file in the incorrect directory.  If this file is placed within the root directory the examples folder is not referenced correctly by Tomcat because Tomcat already has an examples directory of its own.

To correct this problem move the editlivejava.war file from the Apache Tomcat directory where you placed it to the Tomcat_Home/webapps directory (where Tomcat_Home is the Apache Tomcat installation directory).  The files and directories extracted from the editlivejava.war file should also be removed.  Apache Tomcat must now be stopped and restarted.