TinyMCE configuration API

7 min

The TinyMCE configuration API lets you modify editor settings dynamically based on content context. Use transformations to customize behavior per property or plugin, and enable setting inheritance across content type hierarchies.

Set transformations

Modify the settings object based on the current content by registering a SettingsTransform callback for a given property or plugin. Remove registered transformations by specifying the key. The callback receives the current settings instance, content, and property name. The content item can be NULL.

Add a setting transformation

services.Configure<TinyMceConfiguration>(config => {
      var locator = ServiceLocator.Current;
      ...
      config.For<ArticlePage>(t => t.MainBody)
        .AddSettingsTransform("custom", (settings, content, propertyName) => {
          settings["preferred-culture"] = locator.GetRequiredService<LanguageResolver>().GetPreferredCulture().Name;
        });

      // Remove a specific transform
      config.For<ArticlePage>(t => t.MainBody)
        .RemoveSettingsTransform("custom");
      ...
    }

Add a setting transformation for a plugin

Plugin developers that need custom initialization code based on the current content item register the transformation callback with the plugin.

services.Configure<TinyMceConfiguration>(config => {
        ...
        
  config.Default()
    .AddPlugin("custom-plugin", (settings, content, propertyName) => {
      settings["custom-plugin-setting"] = content.Id;
     })
     .RemovePlugin("custom-plugin"); // Will remove the plugin and any registered transformations;
     
      config.Default()
        .AddExternalPlugin("custom-external-plugin", "http://url.js", (settings, content, propertyName) => {
           settings["custom-external-setting"] = content.Id;
        });
     ...
 }

Exceptions

When your code throws an exception, the system handles and logs it, passes it to the client, and displays an error message to the user.

Order of execution

Plugin transformations run before settings transformations. Site developers modify settings after plugin developers complete their changes.

services.Configure<TinyMceConfiguration>(config => {
     ...

      config.Default()
      .AddPlugin("custom-plugin", (settings, content, propertyName) => {
        settings["custom-plugin-setting"] = "plugin value";
      });

      config.Default()
      .AddSettingsTransform("custom-settings", (settings, content propertyName) => {
        settings["custom-plugin-setting"] = "I have modified the plugins settings value";
      });

      ...
    }

Inherit settings from ancestors

Setting inheritance lets you define a configuration on a base content type and have descendant types inherit it automatically, reducing duplicate configuration code.

To inherit settings from an ancestor, set the InheritSettingsFromAncestor property to true. It is set to false by default.

config.InheritSettingsFromAncestor = true

This global setting applies to all configured types.

If InheritSettingsFromAncestor is true, Optimizely resolves the setting for a property starting with the leaf type. The system traverses upward in the inheritance hierarchy to find the closest ancestor with a setting for that property. When no match exists in the class hierarchy, Default() is used.

Inheritance example

📘 Note Do not change this property from plug-ins. Use it only when configuring the site.

abstract class ProductBase {
  public virtual XHtml ProductDescription {
    get;
    set;
  }
}

class ProductPage: ProductBase {}
class ShoeProductPage: ProductPage {}
class ShirtProductPage: ProductPage {}
class BlueShirtProductPage: ShirtProductPage {}
class VerySpecialProductPage: ProductPage {}
class AndEvenMoreSpecialProductPage: VerySpecialProductPage {}

// Init
services.Configure<TinyMceConfiguration>(config => {
      // Enable inheritance of settings
      config.InheritSettingsFromAncestor = true;

      config.Default()
        .Toolbar("epi-image");

      var baseSettings = config.Default().Clone();
      baseSettings
        .AddPlugin("product-selector")
        .Toolbar("product-selector cut paste");

      // Will be applied for every descendants unless they have set a specific setting
      config.For<ProductBase>(t => t.ProductDescription, baseSettings);

      // Will be based on Default() and not the setting configured on the ancestor
      config.For<BlueShirtProductPage>(t => t.ProductDescription)
        .AppendToolbar("color-picker");

      config.For<VerySpecialProductPage>(t => t.ProductDescription, baseSettings)
        .Toolbar("cut past | product-selector | spellchecker);
        });

    /**
     * Page                              Toolbar
     * ==========================================================================
     * ProductPage                       product-select cut paste
     * ShoeProductPage                   product-select cut paste
     * ShirtProductPage                  product-select cut paste
     * BlueShirtProductPage              epi-image | color-picker
     * VerySpecialProductPage            cut paste | product-select | spellchecker
     * AndEvenMoreSpecialProductPage     cut paste | product-select | spellchecker
     **/