Seamlessly Integrate a Date Picker Into Froala Rich Text Editor
Froala Rich Text Editor is a powerful tool that transforms content management. Integrating a date picker into it enhances your whole application user experience. This can be easily achieved by incorporating a date picker JavaScript library into Froala.
This blog post will guide you through the process of integrating a date picker into the Froala Rich Text Editor using the MCDatepicker JavaScript library. You can use any other date picker alternative, the integration process will be almost the same.
MCDatepicker is a free, open-source date picker library with a clean design and flexibility, making it the ideal choice for managing dates with ease and accuracy. Join us as we delve into the step-by-step process of this integration, showcasing how you can enrich the Froala experience and streamline your content creation process with just a few lines of intuitive JavaScript.
Understanding the Role of a Date Picker in a Rich Text Editor
When it comes to rich text editors, usability and functionality are paramount. Adding a custom date picker enhances the user experience by providing an intuitive way to input dates. Using a JavaScript date picker simplifies the process, reducing user errors and improving the efficiency of content creation. Froala’s rich text editor is a great example of how we can integrate these tools seamlessly, offering developers a solution that’s both powerful and easy to use. Our focus on UX ensures that users have a smooth experience, and integrating a date picker is just one of the many ways we enhance the editor’s capabilities.
Why Should We Use Froala Rich Text Editor?
The Froala Rich Text Editor is a popular WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editor that provides a wide range of features and customization options.
It allows users to easily format text, and insert images, tables, and videos. It offers over 100 features. Check them all here.
One of the key benefits of the Froala Rich Text Editor is its extensibility, which enables developers to integrate additional functionality and features.
Setting Up MCDatepicker for Seamless Date Management
To manage dates effectively within Froala’s editor, we turn to MCDatepicker, a robust library renowned for its attractive design and ease of use. Setting up an MCDatepicker date picker allows us to handle date formats and calculations with precision. By leveraging MCDatepicker, developers can streamline date management, ensuring application consistency and reliability. The integration process is straightforward. Froala’s custom buttons approach makes it easy for developers to implement MCDatepicker within the editor.
Integrating the Date Picker
- Set up the Froala Rich Text Editor:
- Include the necessary Froala CSS and JavaScript files in your HTML file.
- Initialize the Froala Rich Text Editor on your desired HTML element.
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
<title>Insert date and time</title>
<!--Include Froala Stylesheet -->
<link href='https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/froala-editor@latest/css/froala_editor.pkgd.min.css' rel='stylesheet'
type='text/css' />
<!--Include Font awesome for the button icon -->
<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/font-awesome/4.5.0/css/font-awesome.min.css"
integrity="sha512-+L4yy6FRcDGbXJ9mPG8MT/3UCDzwR9gPeyFNMCtInsol++5m3bk2bXWKdZjvybmohrAsn3Ua5x8gfLnbE1YkOg=="
crossorigin="anonymous" referrerpolicy="no-referrer" />
</head>
<body>
<!--Editor element -->
<textarea id="editor"></textarea>
<!--Include Froala javaScript -->
<script type='text/javascript'
<script>
new FroalaEditor('#editor');
</script>
</body>
</html>
- Install and include MCDatepicker:
Download the MCDatepicker library or include it from a CDN.
<link href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/mc-datepicker/dist/mc-calendar.min.css" rel="stylesheet" /> <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/mc-datepicker/dist/mc-calendar.min.js"></script>
- Define a new Froala button and include the necessary functionality:
As per the Froala custom button guide, we should:- Define an icon for the custom button.
FroalaEditor.DefineIcon('calendar', { NAME: 'calendar', template: 'font_awesome' });
-
- Register the button
FroalaEditor.RegisterCommand('calendar', {
-
- Set a title
title: 'Display Calendar Popup',
-
- Specify the icon for the button. If this option is not specified, the button name is used.
icon: 'calendar',
-
- Save the button action into the undo stack.
undo: true,
-
- Set whether to focus inside the editor before the callback or not
focus: false,
-
- Set a callback function to be called when the button is hit.
callback: function () {
const datepicker = MCDatepicker.create();
datepicker.open();
datepicker.onSelect((date, formatedDate) => {
this.html.insert('Selected date: ' + formatedDate);
});
}
In the callback function, we used the MCDatepicker.create() method to initialize the date picker and then automatically display the picker using the datepicker.open(); method.
When the user selects a date and clicks on the “OK“ button, the selected date is inserted in the editor. We achieved this using the MCDatepicker onSelect event. This event provides the selected date and formatted date. We then used the html.insert() Froala method to insert the formatted date into the Froala editor.
The MCDatepicker provides the formatted date based on the format specified with the dateFormat option, which is set to DD-MMM-YYYY by default. By customizing the dateFormat option, you can customize the date format to suit your specific needs. Once the date picker is integrated, users can easily select dates within the Froala Rich Text Editor, streamlining the content creation process.
- Display the date picker button on the Froala toolbar
Add the newly created custom button to Froala’stoolbarButtonsoptions. Master the customization of Froala toolbar buttons.
new FroalaEditor('#editor', {
// Add the custom buttons in the toolbarButtons list, after the separator.
toolbarButtons: [['calendar', 'italic', 'bold']]
});
- The final code
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
<title>Insert date and time</title>
<!--Include Froala Stylesheet -->
<link href='https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/froala-editor@latest/css/froala_editor.pkgd.min.css' rel='stylesheet'
type='text/css' />
<link href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/mc-datepicker/dist/mc-calendar.min.css" rel="stylesheet" />
<!--Include Font awesome for the button icon -->
<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/font-awesome/4.5.0/css/font-awesome.min.css"
integrity="sha512-+L4yy6FRcDGbXJ9mPG8MT/3UCDzwR9gPeyFNMCtInsol++5m3bk2bXWKdZjvybmohrAsn3Ua5x8gfLnbE1YkOg=="
crossorigin="anonymous" referrerpolicy="no-referrer" />
</head>
<body>
<!--Editor element -->
<textarea id="editor"></textarea>
<!--Include Froala javaScript -->
<script type='text/javascript'
src='https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/froala-editor@latest/js/froala_editor.pkgd.min.js'></script>
<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/mc-datepicker/dist/mc-calendar.min.js"></script>
<script>
// Define an icon and command for the button that opens the custom popup.
FroalaEditor.DefineIcon('calendar', { NAME: 'calendar', template: 'font_awesome' });
FroalaEditor.RegisterCommand('calendar', {
title: 'Display Calendar Popup',
icon: 'calendar',
undo: true,
focus: false,
popup: false,
callback: function () {
const datepicker = MCDatepicker.create();
datepicker.open();
datepicker.onSelect((date, formatedDate) => {
this.html.insert('Selected date: ' + formatedDate);
});
}
});
</script>
<script>
new FroalaEditor('#editor', {
// Add the custom buttons in the toolbarButtons list, after the separator.
toolbarButtons: [['calendar', 'italic', 'bold']]
});
</script>
</body>
</html>
Customize The Date Picker
The MCDatepicker library offers a range of customization options, enabling developers to tailor the date picker’s appearance and behavior to match the branding and design of their application. By leveraging these features, you can create a cohesive and visually appealing date management solution within the Froala Rich Text Editor. For example, you can disable some weekdays, specify allowed years, or change the date picker theme.
Conclusion
Integrating a date picker into the Froala Rich Text Editor using MCDatepicker can be a powerful way to enhance the user experience and improve the overall quality of your web content. By following the steps outlined in this blog post, you can seamlessly incorporate this functionality into your web application or website.
This seamless integration of MCDatepicker enhances the overall functionality and user experience of the Froala editor, making it a powerful tool for developers to create rich and engaging content. The flexibility to add custom features like the date picker sets Froala apart as a versatile and extensible rich text editing solution.
If you’re looking to enhance your web application’s content creation experience, I encourage you to give Froala a try. With its robust API, extensive feature set, and easy integration, Froala makes it simple to build a WYSIWYG editor that is perfectly suited to your users’ needs.
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