However, I'm in the process of converting about 100 of my site's (external-to-WordPress) static PHP pages to WordPress pages, and ran smack into this issue. It was, indeed, quite a pain.

I would be happy just having a configuration option to disable the RTE from modifying HTML input using the HTML editor.

Perhaps a plugin is the way to go?

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Here's where I find frustration though; if you have edited the HTML or brought it in from an outside WYSIWYG editor, then switch to the internal visual editor: your code is toast. The visual editor strips tags that you have carefully inserted (usually by hand).

This is not to much of a problem on a personal site if your careful not to make this mistake, and if you do you only have yourself to blame. If you have multiple people editing, all at different proficiencies, then thats where your start running into problems.

This has been a long term issue in WordPress, I would say maybe even longer than the 3 years this thread has been open. I would propose a compromise between Samuels position and the point of view that WordPress shouldnt offer any help or make changes.

If the editor stopped you from switching and warned you about impending code edits, it seems to me that this problem would go away.

Thats not to say it wouldnt be annoying in some situations, but it would of course have a toggle, so you could disable it if you wish. It would be nice to have this tied into user levels also so that you can control who can mess with the code.

At the very least this prevents accidental or unknowing loss of data.

If you use the HTML editor, and turn off the "WordPress should correct invalidly nested XHTML automatically" option, and never switch to visual editor, then your HTML goes straight into the database as you type it. No changes.

Now, it might get altered on *display*, but your theme can disable the various auto-formatting functions if you wish. Heck, you can just echo $post->post_content and get your exact HTML spit out.

Facts are these: Most people that install WordPress don't even know what HTML means. A lot of people like to write their posts in Word for crying out loud, and the number of people we see on the forums trying to use Dreamweaver with WordPress boggles the mind.

The majority of users do not want to enter raw HTML.

So I'd say that this should be closed. If there are *specific* problems with the way WordPress auto-formatting works, then they should be addressed. But this "idea" is too general to have value.

protection against some dangerous things won't be removed either.

I don't get it?

http://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/11930

There are more ... for anyone that DOES know a little code ... it is awful.

The visual and html editors conflict with each other.

It is adding MS Word-like unnecessary and often empty tags. ... And that is the worst possible insult I could make.

1. activate HTML editor
2. paste some valid HTML code
3. change to visual editor
4. change back to HTML editor
5. copy the code

and the code must be identical in steps 2. and 5. Now that would make this really usefull editor for both user groups: mainly HTML editing people and people who once in a while do something in HTML mode.