Having lots of troubles with formatting

  • 570thusaag

    (@570thusaag)


    16 years, 3 months ago

    I have been having problems that may or may not be linked. First, I am perplexed as to why I have so many problems with posts keeping their formatting. I lose <p> tags all the time. Someone mentioned writing in Text Edit in simple text and posting the text in when done, then formatting in the wordpress editing window. When I do/did that, I wound up with something that worked, but it also had a bunch of <div> tags instead of <p> tags, which caused a problem with a plugin.

    Why do <p> tags disappear when I switch between code and wysiwyg? I can go in, enter them, and then they disappear when I save or when I change the window back… frustrated.

    Secondly, I am having a format break issue. I suppose the problem could be in the text of the posts, as I did (once or twice, some time ago) copy and paste stuff from other sources that might have left issues in the code. I have tried to find the problems with an HTML validator, but I don’t know how to get to the pure whole code that you get to see on http://validator.w3.org/.

    Can anyone help me get in the right direction on some answers and understanding on this? Links to topics or previous questions on this, or your own expertise?

    site is conservativeoasis.com

    Much thanks in advance if you have some advice!

Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 29 total)
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  • moshu

    (@moshu)

    16 years, 3 months ago

    Why do <p> tags disappear when I switch between code and wysiwyg?

    Because the wysiwyg is NOT for using your own code (and you do not have to insert ever p tags – WP would do it for you if you just let it work in its own way.

    If you want to handcode… turn off the wysiwyg. Period.

    On a totally different note: it should be considered “criminal” to have a background image of 2430.05KB !!! Sorry, that’s a very unfriendly thing toward your visitors.

    Thread Starter 570thusaag

    (@570thusaag)

    16 years, 3 months ago

    I agree on the image- it has been in place since I set up the site. Unfortunately, I have much bigger problems due to WordPress essentially not working – and from what I am finding in the support (what paltry little there is) other people have had major problems with this. So unfortunately, right now, I could give a rip about a background that is too large. At least it loads the way it is supposed to, everytime, which is more than I can say for WordPress.

    I just spent about two hours “fixing” code with “Tidy Up”. Guess what? Even with all of the “errors” fixed, I still get formatting breaks on the page in IE.

    I am about ready to leap to another platform to blog on… this kind of crap should not be so prevalent.

    I am quite sure that turning off the wysiwyg is NOT going to solve the problem I am having, and have not been able to find an answer for. The problem lies in the code that already exists.

    Does ANYONE have any tips for a semi novice on how to find out what is causing this?

    ckortman

    (@ckortman)

    16 years, 3 months ago

    was the theme like this in the very beginning? If i had spent so long on something, with how much i would have stuffed with the code, i probably would have done more harm them good.

    if you can, try to get a copy of an untouched version of your theme. Mandigo seems to have a few other themes flaoting around if you cant find your one.

    You also have an SQL query error, which, for the moment, wont be an issue.

    personally, i would probably start with the CSS file (if it is 100% impossible to move to the original theme, or a similar theme). Since it IS a formatting issue afterall. i would make sure that widths are properly defined in the right locations.

    Thread Starter 570thusaag

    (@570thusaag)

    16 years, 3 months ago

    Thanks for the pointers ckortman. To answer your questions:
    No, the theme did not have this problem at the beginning. One thing I read today by a guy that doesn’t seem really happy with the editor assumptions in WP and TinyMCE is that once you save a post, it might seem fine, then if you go back in and change it, it starts making edits, possibly each edit. This does describe what I was seeing in my posts.

    At any rate, what he said was that sometimes, once an assumption is made that is incorrect, it is not always possible to go back and edit it out, as some errors go into parts of the style/theme code and you never see it again (unless you really dig for it).

    I am not sure I understand the rest of your answer, but I think you mean a clean install if I can. I have started a dialogue with the Mandigo author, due to another problem with a plugin conflict in the new release. Perhaps he can add some light here too.

    I am not certain it is a WP issue, or a Theme issue. My frustration here is, nobody seems to be able to give much in the way of guidance how to solve the problem. You have, and I appreciate that. I am not asking someone to fix it for me, but someone has to know the right direction to go and what to do.

    One other note- I was not seeing the same problem using other themes with the same posts… so, perhpas the Mandigo folks have an idea.

    Could you imagine a way that this could be a problem due to a plugin? I am going to try to disable all of them tonight and see. But I doubt that is going to be it.

    The reallllllllllly frustrating part of this is that I am only having to solve this problem because of Internet Explorer. The other browsers have no problem with this.

    Bill Gates is the richest person in the world producing second rate crap. There isn’t a thing out there that MS has made that someone else has not done better.

    AlisonMooreSmith

    (@alisonmooresmith)

    16 years, 3 months ago

    Because the wysiwyg is NOT for using your own code (and you do not have to insert ever p tags – WP would do it for you if you just let it work in its own way.

    moshu, this problem doesn’t have anything to do with the wysiwyg feature as far as I can tell. I get it no matter which I use on new versions of WP. I have used WP for well over a year. I have an old version on my main blog (not upgraded because the comments are hacked into a Vanilla forum). No problems at all.

    I have three blogs with the current version of WP and ALL of them have this problem.

    If I post in WYSIWYG, the initial post is fine. If I EVER go back to edit the code (even if I don’t do it but “Save” the post again), the post when viewed from the site has NO paragraphs. It’s all one huge block of text.

    I tried, then, using only the code tab. Same problem. It’s been that way for at least two months.

    This is NOT copied text. Just typed in text.

    Here’s another thread with this problem.

    This problem happens with EVERY theme I have tried and with NO plug-ins, etc. Even brand new installations.

    moshu

    (@moshu)

    16 years, 3 months ago

    I followed all the steps you described above on a test 2.3.2 installation. (Upgraded yesterday from 2.3.1)

    However, I can NOT reproduce the error. Resaved. edited the post in wysiwyg, switching between visual/code etc. in every possible way.
    Of course, when the wysiwyg animal is on in the profile – I never add any html tags into my posts… because that’s what I said above: do not add html tags to your posts if the wysiwyg thing is turned on.

    AlisonMooreSmith

    (@alisonmooresmith)

    16 years, 3 months ago

    Well, I’ve tried it in WYSIWIG (without adding tags, just using the return key) AND only typing code in the code tab. Same problem. Just had it happen again on a brand new installation two minutes ago.

    As I said, no matter what I do in my older version, I can’t get this to happen. Only on the newer ones.

    There has been SOMETHING introduced in the recent past that is causing this.

    moshu

    (@moshu)

    16 years, 3 months ago

    email me with my name here at transycan [dot] net and I will give you access to my test install – try to replicate the error there.

    AlisonMooreSmith

    (@alisonmooresmith)

    16 years, 3 months ago

    Done. 🙂

    Thread Starter 570thusaag

    (@570thusaag)

    16 years, 3 months ago

    These are answers, but not solutions.

    IF you have the problem I have on my site, what are the possible solutions?

    If it is code in the posts, how do I find it and fix it. I have used Tidy Up, and I thought it was going to fix it. Still have the problem in Internet Explorer (which is the only place the problem ever existed).

    I am writing the theme author.

    I have tried turning off all plugins (did not fix).

    Barring other approaches, I don’t have any choice but to redo the damn thing from scratch, probably somewhere else. .Mac, Blogspot, whatever.

    moshu

    (@moshu)

    16 years, 3 months ago

    I have used Tidy Up

    I just don’t get this. You publish TEXT, not a webpage written in HTML… so what on the erath are you doing with tidy?

    AlisonMooreSmith

    (@alisonmooresmith)

    16 years, 3 months ago

    BTW, once this format loss has occurred, it’s impossible to use the wysiwyg window. If you try to put returns in that window and save, it dumps them immediately

    If I edit in the Code tab, and save, it keeps the edits. But if I go BACK to edit, the page first open with the correct code for just a split second, then flashes back to Visual mode.

    The visual mode LOOKS correct, but saving in the Visual mode looses the formatting.

    Also, switching to the Code mode, immediately loses the formatting, too. Once you switch, all the paragraphs disappear in the code view and the text bunches up together.

    ckortman

    (@ckortman)

    16 years, 3 months ago

    this IS a free service, so im not sure that the WP people would mind too much about losing a “customer”.

    Format errors or problems, at least for me, are one of the most annoying and time consuming things. The BEST thing to do is to do what you are already doing, talking with the DESIGNER of the theme, as they would have a very firm grasp of what is where and what will change with the code that they alter.

    unfortunately, the people on this forum do not, and cannot know all there is to know about every theme, plugin, widget or whatever else.

    Good Luck!

    AlisonMooreSmith

    (@alisonmooresmith)

    16 years, 3 months ago

    I just duplicated the problem on moshu’s site. (Only the default theme, btw.) Hopefully that will be a start at figuring out this problem.

    moshu

    (@moshu)

    16 years, 3 months ago

    And as I said in my email: it is your computer/browser, not WP.

Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 29 total)
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