Formatting Text with the eZ Publish Online Editor

The distinction between block and inline elements explains why some elements are displayed as they are. A block element always begins on a new line when displayed. It exists in its own virtual box and is always followed by a carriage return (as when, in a word processor, you press the "Enter" key after typing in some text). There are 12 types of block elements, including headers and embedded objects. An inline element, such as emphasized text or a link, becomes part of the text on the same line. There is no virtual box around inline elements.

eZ Publish enables you to create relations between different objects. For example, it is possible to relate an image object to an article. The Online Editor makes it possible to insert related objects into the XML structure so that they become embedded objects. The Object button is used to embed objects and edit existing embedded objects. This button is located in the Special Tools area of the OE toolbar. By default, embedded objects are inserted as block elements, even though the OE sometimes displays images as if they were inline elements. However, you can also set embedded objects to be inline elements.

Adding an inline image to an article

Images are the most common elements to embed in content. It is recommended that you create a new paragraph before inserting an image.

To insert an image, position the cursor at a location where you wish to add an image. Then, click the Object button in the OE toolbar. You can also right-click and choose the "Insert object" item from the context-sensitive pop-up menu.

You will see a modal dialog showing a list of related objects (these are objects that are either used by or that use the current object in some way). If there are no relations, the list will be empty. If the needed object is not in the list of related objects, you should add it by using one of the two buttons located below the list itself. It is possible to either add an existing object or upload a new file and use that as a related object. Otherwise, select the desired object from the list and specify its embedding properties. Set the desired properties and click the OK button. The inserted object will appear in the OE text area. Image objects will appear as images, while all other objects will appear as special icons.

OE modal dialog for insert object (image)