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CKEditor 4 Launched! Inline Editing, New Skin and More!

CKEditor 4
The CKEditor team is happy to announce the release of the much-awaited CKEditor 4! After months of grueling work it is finally out with a new look, improved code, inline editing and many other improvements! And in case you haven’t noticed, we also have a new website with a centralize Add-ons repository and a service called CKBuilder that lets you create your own CKEditor version before downloading!

There’s a lot to discuss but if you can’t wait, just click here or press the big Download button in the top right corner and grab “the best web text editor” right now!

CKEditor 4

CKEditor 4 represents one of the biggest advancements in terms of WYSIWYG functionality. Here are some of the new features:

Inline Editing

The biggest enhancement in CKEditor 4 comes in the form of Inline Editing, an HTML5 feature that removes the old text area, allowing users to edit pages directly in their final state. Inline editing gives you a perfect idea of how your content will look without using impractical “preview” functions. CKEditor 4 truly gives you a WYSIWYG experience!

Find out how inline editing can help improve your website experience by seeing it action and check our documentation on it.

New default skin

Another big change is the new default skin. A few weeks ago we launched a skin contest, and of the many excellent entries Rafal Bromirski’s creation was chosen to represent CKEditor’s new default look. Moono’s slick and neutral design makes it easy to integrate seamlessly into a wide range of websites.

CKEditor 4 skin

The new skin is designed to look better in different colors by adding a slight hue to the actual buttons, making the new UI even more customizable than before. 

Add-ons Repository and CKBuilder

It’s time to say farewell to the old website! After years of small changes we decided to completely redesign CKEditor’s online presence. Why? The CKEditor community expected upgrades and improvements and we delivered them in the form of a groundbreaking Add-ons Repository and a service called CKBuilder, both of which required a new website.

The Add-ons Repository is a new central location where all community plugins and skins can be submitted. The system lets contributors easily upload and maintain submissions, add screenshots, descriptions as well as release information, and allows other users to comment and rate contributions. The repository tracks each add-on's popularity so the community will always know which ones are useful.

We are also very excited about our new CKBuilder service. We understand that people have different needs, and with over 7 millions downloads CKEditor has been customized in every way possible. That’s why we decided to make the customization process easier.

CKBuilder lets you choose toolbar presets and modify them by adding or removing plugins and skins from the community Add-ons Repository. In short, you can now create your own version of CKEditor even before downloading! The CKEditor community wanted to have a choice and we took this very seriously. It redefines the concept of “a single editor for everyone”.

And much more!

CKEditor 4 also includes other improvements:

New documentation page: We created a new documentation page just for CKEditor 4.

Enhanced DOM and CSS performance:  CKEditor 4 has been reviewed and optimized to enhance its overall functionality.

Reformatted source code: We reorganized the source code to encourage community contributions, adopting a coding formatting strategy that matches the most important JavaScript applications out there.

Backwards compatibility:  The CKEditor 4 JavaScript API has been kept compatible with CKEditor 3. We focused on making the upgrade experience as seamless as possible. Report issues regarding backwards compatibility.

Improved Copy/Pasting: We have rewritten the clipboard handling feature set, one of the most important functions of any HTML text editor. You should see increased quality in all browsers.

Other News

CKEditor Premium

The CKSource website also got a facelift, and with it we introduced a new CKEditor Premium line. All commercial products have been moved to CKSource to make things easier to find and to avoid confusion with the Open Source vision of CKEditor.

CKEditor Joins GitHub

We would also like remind you that CKEditor 4 is now available on GitHub:

https://github.com/ckeditor

Feedback and What’s Next

CKEditor 4 is a big step for us so your input is very important. If you find bugs or issues, please report them at the following link:

Our bug report page

Stay Connected

And don’t forget that you can find us on Facebook and Twitter and subscribe to our CKEditor Newsletter through our social dropdown menu in the top left corner.

If you have enjoyed reading this, be sure to check out our other blog posts

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