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Compose tips

input formats:
  • Filtered HTML:
    • Lines and paragraphs are automatically recognized. The <br /> line break, <p> paragraph and </p> close paragraph tags are inserted automatically. If paragraphs are not recognized simply add a couple blank lines.
    • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.

    • Allowed HTML tags: <a> <em> <strong> <cite> <code> <ul> <ol> <li> <dl> <dt> <dd>

      This site allows HTML content. While learning all of HTML may feel intimidating, learning how to use a very small number of the most basic HTML "tags" is very easy. This table provides examples for each tag that is enabled on this site.

      For more information see W3C's HTML Specifications or use your favorite search engine to find other sites that explain HTML.

      Tag DescriptionYou TypeYou Get
      Anchors are used to make links to other pages.<a href="http://www.nathanieltroutman.net"> Glimpses</a> Glimpses
      Emphasized<em>Emphasized</em>Emphasized
      Strong<strong>Strong</strong>Strong
      Cited<cite>Cited</cite>Cited
      Coded text used to show programming source code<code>Coded</code>Coded
      Unordered list - use the <li> to begin each list item<ul> <li>First item</li> <li>Second item</li> </ul>
      • First item
      • Second item
      Ordered list - use the <li> to begin each list item<ol> <li>First item</li> <li>Second item</li> </ol>
      1. First item
      2. Second item
      Definition lists are similar to other HTML lists. <dl> begins the definition list, <dt> begins the definition term and <dd> begins the definition description.<dl> <dt>First term</dt> <dd>First definition</dd> <dt>Second term</dt> <dd>Second definition</dd> </dl>
      First term
      First definition
      Second term
      Second definition

      Most unusual characters can be directly entered without any problems.

      If you do encounter problems, try using HTML character entities. A common example looks like &amp; for an ampersand & character. For a full list of entities see HTML's entities page. Some of the available characters include:

      Character DescriptionYou TypeYou Get
      Ampersand&amp;&
      Greater than&gt;>
      Less than&lt;<
      Quotation mark&quot;"

    • Using custom PHP code

      Custom PHP code may be embedded in some types of site content, including posts and blocks. While embedding PHP code inside a post or block is a powerful and flexible feature when used by a trusted user with PHP experience, it is a significant and dangerous security risk when used improperly. Even a small mistake when posting PHP code may accidentally compromise your site.

      If you are unfamiliar with PHP, SQL, or Drupal, avoid using custom PHP code within posts. Experimenting with PHP may corrupt your database, render your site inoperable, or significantly compromise security.

      Notes:

      • Remember to double-check each line for syntax and logic errors before saving.
      • Statements must be correctly terminated with semicolons.
      • Global variables used within your PHP code retain their values after your script executes.
      • register_globals is turned off. If you need to use forms, understand and use the functions in the Drupal Form API.
      • Use a print or return statement in your code to output content.
      • Develop and test your PHP code using a separate test script and sample database before deploying on a production site.
      • Consider including your custom PHP code within a site-specific module or template.php file rather than embedding it directly into a post or block.
      • Be aware that the ability to embed PHP code within content is provided by the PHP Filter module. If this module is disabled or deleted, then blocks and posts with embedded PHP may display, rather than execute, the PHP code.

      A basic example: Creating a "Welcome" block that greets visitors with a simple message.

      • Add a custom block to your site, named "Welcome". With its input format set to "PHP code" (or another format supporting PHP input), add the following in the Block body:

        print t('Welcome visitor! Thank you for visiting.');

      • To display the name of a registered user, use this instead:

        global $user;
if ($user->uid) {
  print t('Welcome @name! Thank you for visiting.', array('@name' => $user->name));
}
else {
  print t('Welcome visitor! Thank you for visiting.');
}

      Drupal.org offers some example PHP snippets, or you can create your own with some PHP experience and knowledge of the Drupal system.

  • Full HTML:
    • Lines and paragraphs are automatically recognized. The <br /> line break, <p> paragraph and </p> close paragraph tags are inserted automatically. If paragraphs are not recognized simply add a couple blank lines.

    • Syntax highlighting of source code can be enabled with the following tags:

      • Generic syntax highlighting tags: "<pre>".
      • Language specific syntax highlighting tags: "<applescript>" for AppleScript source code, "<c>" for C source code, "<cpp>" for C++ source code, "<drupal5>" for Drupal 5 source code, "<drupal6>" for Drupal 6 source code, "<java>" for Java source code, "<javascript>" for Javascript source code, "<php>" for PHP source code, "<python>" for Python source code, "<ruby>" for Ruby source code.

      Options and tips:

      • The language for the generic syntax highlighting tags can be specified with one of the attribute(s): type, lang, language, class. The possible values are: "applescript" (for AppleScript), "c" (for C), "cpp" (for C++), "drupal5" (for Drupal 5), "drupal6" (for Drupal 6), "java" (for Java), "javascript" (for Javascript), "php" (for PHP), "python" (for Python), "ruby" (for Ruby).
      • Line numbering can be enabled/disabled with the attribute "linenumbers". Possible values are: "off" for no line numbers, "normal" for normal line numbers and "fancy" for fancy line numbers (every nth line number highlighted). The start line number can be specified with the attribute "start", which implicitly enables normal line numbering. For fancy line numbering the interval for the highlighted line numbers can be specified with the attribute "fancy", which implicitly enables fancy line numbering.
      • If the source code between the tags contains a newline (e.g. immediatly after the opening tag), the highlighted source code will be displayed as a code block. Otherwise it will be displayed inline.
      • A title can be added to a code block with the attribute "title".

      Defaults:

      • Default highlighting mode for generic syntax highlighting tags: the default language used for syntax highlighting is "python".
      • Default line numbering: no line numbers.

      Examples:

      You typeYou get
      <pre>foo = "bar";</pre>Inline code with the default syntax highlighting mode.
      <pre>
      foo = "bar";
      baz = "foz";
      </pre>      		Code block with the default syntax highlighting mode.
      <pre lang="c" linenumbers="normal">
      foo = "bar";
      baz = "foz";
      </pre>      		Code block with syntax highlighting for C source code
      and normal line numbers.
      <pre language="c" start="23" fancy="7">
      foo = "bar";
      baz = "foz";
      </pre>      		Code block with syntax highlighting for C source code,
      line numbers starting from 23
      and highlighted line numbers every 7th line.
      <applescript>
      foo = "bar";
      baz = "foz";
      </applescript>      		Code block with syntax highlighting for AppleScript source code.
      <applescript start="23" fancy="7">
      foo = "bar";
      baz = "foz";
      <applescript>      		Code block with syntax highlighting for AppleScript source code,
      line numbers starting from 23
      and highlighted line numbers every 7th line.