Integrating textAngular to Angular applications

week12gsoc1

In the previous article we have seen how handling different mime types is important, So while extending that discussion one might think what is the case of files that come under a completely different aspect, As in scripts, documents etc have dynamic operations that are performed over them.
sTeam's old web interface gave the user the provision for creating and editing the documents within the interface. So in short the user had complete control over the documents as he didn’t have to go through complex process for altering documents that which are stored in his/her playground.

The sTeam web interface has a controller in the workspace called workspaceDetailedCtrl which basically comprises of a function called mimeTypeHandler that helps in matching the mime-type and performing the required action if it matches a particular mime type. So let us have a look as to how should one design such things;


$scope.mimeTypeHandler = function () {
	if(localStorageService.get('currentObjMimeType') == 'application/x-unknown-content-type') {
		return 'unknown'
	}
	else if (localStorageService.get('currentObjMimeType').match(/image\/*/)) {
		return 'image'
	}
	else if (localStorageService.get('currentObjMimeType') == 'application/pdf') {
		return 'pdf'
	}
	else if (localStorageService.get('currentObjMimeType').match(/audio\/*/)) {
		return 'audio'
	}
	else if (localStorageService.get('currentObjMimeType').match(/video\/*/)) {
		return 'video'
	}
	else if (localStorageService.get('currentObjMimeType').match(/text\/*/) ||
		localStorageService.get('currentObjMimeType') == 'application/x-javascript' ||
		localStorageService.get('currentObjMimeType') == 'application/x-pike') {
		return 'text'
	}
	else { return 'notfound' }
}

So before we go and understand about developing a text editor let us understand the library that is used for developing it. textAngular is the library that which is used for developing the text editor, although there are many options textAngular proves to be a minimal text editing development source that can be easily setup and broadly configured.

We all know that a text editor must have the following things necessarily :

  • It must support basic formatting options and must extend feasibility to make changes to the document in a easier way
  • Enabling live preview in order to see the changes made to the document instantly
  • Supporting indentation options for documents which are identified as scripts

We might feel that the technicalities are important apart from these notions, but it is important to have these in place along with the technicalities.

Let us observe the syntax and usage of text angular.


angular.module('steam')

  .controller('workSpaceEditorCtrl', ['$scope', 'handler', 'localStorageService', 'textAngularManager', '$document',
   function ($scope, handler, localStorageService, textAngularManager, $document) {
    $scope.data = {
      empty: 'Please enter text',
      full: ''
    }
    $scope.editable = true;
    $scope.content = $scope.data.empty;

    $scope.allh1 = function() {
      textAngularManager.updateToolDisplay('h1', {
        buttontext: 'Heading 1'
      });
    }

    $scope.allh2 = function() {
      textAngularManager.updateToolDisplay('h2', {
        buttontext: 'Heading 2'
      });
    }

    $scope.allh3 = function() {
      textAngularManager.updateToolDisplay('h3', {
        buttontext: 'Heading 3'
      });
    }

    $scope.allh4 = function() {
      textAngularManager.updateToolDisplay('h4', {
        buttontext: 'Heading 4'
      });
    }

    $scope.allh5 = function() {
      textAngularManager.updateToolDisplay('h5', {
        buttontext: 'Heading 5'
      });
    }

    $scope.allh6 = function() {
      textAngularManager.updateToolDisplay('h6', {
        buttontext: 'Heading 6'
      });
    }

    $scope.submit = function () {
      console.log("The document has been submitted");
    }
    $scope.clear = function () {
      console.log("The document has been reset");
      $scope.data = {
        orightml: $scope.content
      }
    }
    $scope.resetEditor = function () {
      textAngularManager.resetToolsDisplay();
    }
  }])

So if we observe we can see that there is a service called textAngularManager which is needed for customizing the text editor. There are a few things that are to be looked upon while customizing the editor.

  • We can totally customize the text editor’s options as well as the appearence of the text editor
  • We can give scope for customized functions that could be part of the controller. Observe the above code snippet where functions like resetEditor etc are customized to the needs of the application
  • Finally We can add more options to the text editor using the textAngular service in order to make it better

After all the customizations and changes Here is how it looks:

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Source : click here

Thats it folks,
Happy Hacking !!

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