Title: Faulty HTML is being generated
Last modified: August 19, 2016

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# Faulty HTML is being generated

 *  [aajax](https://wordpress.org/support/users/aajax/)
 * (@aajax)
 * [15 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/faulty-html-is-being-generated/)
 * I’ve noticed unexplainable HTML generated by WordPress on my blog. A representative
   article can be found at “[http://citizenopines.org/2010/08/19/public-policy/what-is-marriage-perry-vs-schwarzenegger/&#8221](http://citizenopines.org/2010/08/19/public-policy/what-is-marriage-perry-vs-schwarzenegger/&#8221);.
   One discrepancy is that midway through the article the font is changed to New
   Times Roman when the theme has specified Arial. I can see nothing about the text
   which should cause any kind of change. Another discrepancy pertains to an unintended
   change in the size of the font.
 * In this case the post was originally authored by OpenOffice Writer. At the point
   where the Font Face is changed there is an occurrence of some italicized text.
   Text following the italicized text is explicitly changed to “small”. As a result
   the way the HTML is generated there are explicit style attributes being written
   in every tag. This makes it extremely difficult to correct such problems by editing(
   fixing) the HTML.
 * This leads me to wanting to know more about how the HTML generation is performed
   and what affect different authoring tools may have on the results. Can anyone
   refer me to applicable reference material.

Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 20 total)

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 *  Thread Starter [aajax](https://wordpress.org/support/users/aajax/)
 * (@aajax)
 * [15 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/faulty-html-is-being-generated/#post-2035105)
 * Correction – I erroneously said that the font specified by the theme is Arial.
   What is correct is that the body uses sans-serif fonts, such as Arial, rather
   than serif fonts such as New Times Roman. The point is the font all of a sudden
   changes, conspicuously, for no apparent reason to something that isn’t consistent
   with the theme. Furthermore, the generated HTML prevents the use of the theme
   for determining which font should be used.
 *  [Chip Bennett](https://wordpress.org/support/users/chipbennett/)
 * (@chipbennett)
 * [15 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/faulty-html-is-being-generated/#post-2035111)
 * That post has inline styles that are defining the font family for the paragraphs.
 * Edit your post, and remove any unneeded, inline styles.
 *  Thread Starter [aajax](https://wordpress.org/support/users/aajax/)
 * (@aajax)
 * [15 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/faulty-html-is-being-generated/#post-2035119)
 * YES, I know. My question is, “why”? I didn’t do it. WordPress did it. The HTML
   WordPress generated is a classic example of what shouldn’t be done because changing
   it is very tedious and error prone. Furthermore, I have no reason to believe 
   that WordPress won’t put it back the way it is because I have no idea of why 
   WordPress did it.
 *  [lockettpots](https://wordpress.org/support/users/lockettpots/)
 * (@lockettpots)
 * [15 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/faulty-html-is-being-generated/#post-2035151)
 * WordPress doesn’t ‘generate’ HTML. The editor in WordPress is based on tinymce
   which surrounds text with HTML tags in response to users clicking on the ‘styling’
   buttons.
 * Where did the text come from? It is possible that if it was pasted into the Visual
   Editor it took with it some embedded styles but that is a function of the output
   of the original source not the WordPress editor.
 *  Thread Starter [aajax](https://wordpress.org/support/users/aajax/)
 * (@aajax)
 * [15 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/faulty-html-is-being-generated/#post-2035160)
 * The article was authored in OpenOffice (OO) Writer, which is similar in function
   and capability to MS Word. It was copied and pasted into the editor used by WordPress.
   This article did use the styling capability of OO Writer. For example, text was
   italicized and indented using the features of OO Writer. This article also uses
   footnotes and endnotes which were recognized by whatever software generated the
   HTML. I neither entered HTML nor used the style buttons, to which you refer, 
   when posting this article. I only did copy and paste.
 *  [esmi](https://wordpress.org/support/users/esmi/)
 * (@esmi)
 * [15 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/faulty-html-is-being-generated/#post-2035166)
 * Don’t paste content from word processing software into WordPress as the pasted
   text will also contain the software’s own formatting. As you’ve now seen, this
   formatting will stop your pages from being displayed correctly. In short, **you**
   entered the HTML/CSS – you just didn’t know you were doing it.
 *  [Chip Bennett](https://wordpress.org/support/users/chipbennett/)
 * (@chipbennett)
 * [15 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/faulty-html-is-being-generated/#post-2035183)
 * > The article was authored in OpenOffice (OO) Writer, which is similar in function
   > and capability to MS Word.
 * You just answered your own question. WordPress didn’t add that formatting. _You_
   added that formatting, when you pasted directly from Writer.
 * Note: I believe the Visual editor has a “Paste from Word” button. If you must
   paste directly from a rich text editor, try using this button.
 *  Thread Starter [aajax](https://wordpress.org/support/users/aajax/)
 * (@aajax)
 * [15 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/faulty-html-is-being-generated/#post-2035215)
 * The reason I mentioned the software used for authoring in my original post is
   that I did think this could be significant.
 * While OO Writer and MS Word are both able to produce HTML/CSS I hadn’t requested
   that kind of formatting. What I’ve also thought is that this kind of software
   has its’ own, product specific, method of encoding the formatting controls, which
   is not HTML/CSS. Therefore, I had imagined that the software into which such 
   code is pasted has to deal with the formatting controls. This is actually a very
   normal situation that accompanies all applications that support paste operations.
   I must confess that this is not something I know much about but it occurs to 
   me that the interface must provide a way to recognize the text without having
   to understand related meta data.
 * The idea that pasting from word processors into WordPress causes problems is 
   a reasonable hypothesis. However, it doesn’t explain why WordPress displays the
   article partially using its’ theme but then switches fonts part way through it.
   I assure you that the OO Writer version uses the same font throughout. However,
   it is New Times Roman.
 * If it is recommended that word processors are not used for authoring then what
   is recommended. The WordPress editor is nice from the point of view that it provides
   a ready to use facility for making comments but it is not really a very useful
   authoring tool. It has occurred to me that using an HTML editor might be wise,
   at least when special formatting is desired, but I would expect that this would
   make a more in depth knowledge of WordPress theme design than I presently possess
   necessary.
 *  [Chip Bennett](https://wordpress.org/support/users/chipbennett/)
 * (@chipbennett)
 * [15 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/faulty-html-is-being-generated/#post-2035219)
 * > If it is recommended that word processors are not used for authoring then what
   > is recommended.
 * The Visual editor. It can do anything that most post-authoring needs require.
   And if you need anything more advanced/complex, you really should be busing the
   HTML editor.
 * > The WordPress editor is nice from the point of view that it provides a ready
   > to use facility for making comments but it is not really a very useful authoring
   > tool.
 * I must admit that I don’t understand this comment at all. What do you mean by“
   provides a ready to use facility for making comments”? And why don’t you find
   it to be “really a very useful authoring tool”?
 *  Moderator [Kathryn Presner](https://wordpress.org/support/users/zoonini/)
 * (@zoonini)
 * [15 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/faulty-html-is-being-generated/#post-2035225)
 * > If it is recommended that word processors are not used for authoring then what
   > is recommended.
 * A plain-text editor such as Textedit in Mac or Notepad on PC. Be sure the program
   is set to plain-text mode, not rich text. If you don’t want to compose in your
   plain-text app directly, you can also select “save as plain text/txt” in your
   rich-text program, then open up your txt document in your plain-text editor, 
   and paste from there.
 * p.s. pretty much all content management systems and newsletter systems that use
   a WYSIWYG editor have this same issue – it’s not WordPress-specific.
 *  Thread Starter [aajax](https://wordpress.org/support/users/aajax/)
 * (@aajax)
 * [15 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/faulty-html-is-being-generated/#post-2035230)
 * By ready to use I meant that if someone can find your blog they have someway 
   to comment or post on it without having to install or find other particular software.
   While not being feature rich it is easy to use and intuitive which is appropriate
   when considering that many users may be new to your site. One cannot expect everyone
   to have the knowledge and experience as oneself.
 * I suppose everyone is entitled their own opinion about what constitutes usefulness
   so I may have erred if my remark sounds like this is universally accepted fact.
   My WordPress blog is not the only thing that I need to author so I like a tool
   that has some versatility. For example, how do I make a printable PDF file using
   the Visual Editor? I also like keeping copy, the master if you will, on my own
   system. Word processors support more features. For example, Visual Editor doesn’t
   seem to integrate with the theme meaning what you see is not what you are going
   to see on the live post. While more sophisticated features may be what got me
   into trouble here that doesn’t mean you never want those features. I’d say that
   Visual Editor has similar functionality to MS Wordpad. Wordpad is fine for some
   things but I’d also accuse it of not being a really useful authoring tool. Finally
   part of the problem may be that I just haven’t used the Visual Editor enough 
   to appreciate what it can do.
 * There is mention herein about tinymce, which is new to me. Is it possible that
   it can be used by itself in some kind of standalone manner? In that, use it to
   author on my own computer.
 *  Thread Starter [aajax](https://wordpress.org/support/users/aajax/)
 * (@aajax)
 * [15 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/faulty-html-is-being-generated/#post-2035234)
 * I conducted a little experiment to test my theory about what to expect when using
   paste.
 * I took the article that is the subject of this thread and opened it in OO Writer.
   Then I copied the whole thing to the clipboard and pasted it into Notepad. What
   showed up was just the text absent any formatting. In that, no HTML/CSS or product
   specific meta data. Since I know the formatting is preserved if I paste the same
   thing back into OO Writer, I believe that the format controls (i.e., meta data)
   is present and can be used should the application want to. However, an application
   that doesn’t understand the meta data can still obtain the text and ignore the
   meta data.
 * Of course we see simple examples of this all the time without thinking about 
   it. For example, some times the font is preserved and some times it isn’t.
 *  [Chip Bennett](https://wordpress.org/support/users/chipbennett/)
 * (@chipbennett)
 * [15 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/faulty-html-is-being-generated/#post-2035252)
 * > For example, how do I make a printable PDF file using the Visual Editor?
 * You wouldn’t. You would upload and attach a PDF to a Post.
 * > I also like keeping copy, the master if you will, on my own system. Word processors
   > support more features.
 * I’ve never tried it, but perhaps a desktop application, such as LiveWriter, would
   be useful for this?
 * > For example, Visual Editor doesn’t seem to integrate with the theme meaning
   > what you see is not what you are going to see on the live post.
 * Actually, that’s not true. Since version 3.0, WordPress has supported custom 
   styles for the Visual Editor. If your Theme supports it, what you see in the 
   Visual editor will be _exactly_ what you see in your published post.
 *  [Chip Bennett](https://wordpress.org/support/users/chipbennett/)
 * (@chipbennett)
 * [15 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/faulty-html-is-being-generated/#post-2035253)
 * > Since I know the formatting is preserved if I paste the same thing back into
   > OO Writer, I believe that the format controls (i.e., meta data) is present 
   > and can be used should the application want to. However, an application that
   > doesn’t understand the meta data can still obtain the text and ignore the meta
   > data.
 * Did you try using the “Paste From Word” button (it’s the one with the “W” overlaid
   on a clipboard) in the Visual Editor?
 *  [Clayton James](https://wordpress.org/support/users/claytonjames/)
 * (@claytonjames)
 * [15 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/faulty-html-is-being-generated/#post-2035257)
 * Your experiment may be overlooking the empirical evidence.
 * > I can see nothing about the text which should cause any kind of change.
 * Simply viewing the source code for that article reveals the formatting issues
   immediately.
 * > The article was authored in OpenOffice (OO) Writer, which is similar in function
   > and capability to MS Word. It was copied and pasted into the editor
 * A pretty common and verifiable issue when pasting directly from word processing
   software.
 * You might research this a little bit if you’re an open source alternative, do
   it yourself, willing to experiment, I’ll give that a try, do it yourself and 
   just make it work kind of person.[
    “Integrated Content Environment ” WordPress“
   how to” ICE
 * Or more specifically, [Blog from OpenOffice.org](http://ice.usq.edu.au/presentations/demos/try_ice_2x_for_wp.htm)
 * Otherwise, as previously mentioned, it might be best to avoid pasting from applications
   that function primarily as word processors or “print media” applications, and
   stick to plain text based applications or desktop software designed to publish
   directly to blogging platforms. Just more information for you.
 * Although I always use a plain text editor or the HTML editor in WordPress, I 
   personally have no feelings about it either way, really. Good luck with it!

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 The topic ‘Faulty HTML is being generated’ is closed to new replies.

 * In: [Fixing WordPress](https://wordpress.org/support/forum/how-to-and-troubleshooting/)
 * 20 replies
 * 8 participants
 * Last reply from: [kevnug](https://wordpress.org/support/users/kevnug/)
 * Last activity: [15 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/faulty-html-is-being-generated/page/2/#post-2035423)
 * Status: not resolved

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