Integrating TinyMCE into an Express JS App

This quick start guide walks through creating a basic Express JS application containing a TinyMCE editor based on our Basic example.

Tiny Cloud users should use the Tiny Cloud quick start guide.

Prerequisites

This procedure requires:

Procedure

  1. On a command line or command prompt, create a basic Express JS application:

    $ npx express-generator --git --no-view my_tinymce_app

  2. Change into the newly created directory.

    $ cd my_tinymce_app

  3. Add the tinymce package to your package.json with --save.

    $ npm install --save tinymce

  4. Download and install the TinyMCE and Express JS Node modules (and their dependencies):

    $ npm install

  5. Using a text editor, open /path/to/my_tinymce_app/app.js and add the following route:

    app.use('/tinymce', express.static(path.join(__dirname, 'node_modules', 'tinymce')));

    For example:

    var express = require('express');
var path = require('path');
var cookieParser = require('cookie-parser');
var logger = require('morgan');

var indexRouter = require('./routes/index');
var usersRouter = require('./routes/users');

var app = express();

app.use(logger('dev'));
app.use(express.json());
app.use(express.urlencoded({ extended: false }));
app.use(cookieParser());
app.use(express.static(path.join(__dirname, 'public')));

/* New Route to the TinyMCE Node module */
app.use('/tinymce', express.static(path.join(__dirname, 'node_modules', 'tinymce')));

app.use('/', indexRouter);
app.use('/users', usersRouter);

module.exports = app;

  6. Create a new javascript file containing the TinyMCE configuration (tinymce.init), such as:

    Linux/macOS/Unix:

    $ touch public/javascripts/my-tinymce-config.js

    Windows:

    > type nul >public/javascripts/my-tinymce-config.js

  7. Add the TinyMCE configuration to the newly created javascript file (my-tinymce-config.js):

    tinymce.init({
  selector: 'textarea#my-expressjs-tinymce-app',
  height: 500,
  menubar: false,
  plugins: [
    'advlist autolink lists link image charmap print preview anchor',
    'searchreplace visualblocks code fullscreen',
    'insertdatetime media table paste code help wordcount'
  ],
  toolbar: 'undo redo | formatselect | ' +
  'bold italic backcolor | alignleft aligncenter ' +
  'alignright alignjustify | bullist numlist outdent indent | ' +
  'removeformat | help'
});

  8. Update public/index.html to include:

    • The document type declaration, <!DOCTYPE html>.

    • A <script> element sourcing tinymce.min.js.

    • A <script> element sourcing the TinyMCE configuration (my-tinymce-config.js).

    • A <textarea> element with an id attribute matching the selector option in the TinyMCE configuration (my-expressjs-tinymce-app).

      For example:

      <!DOCTYPE html><!-- Required for TinyMCE to function as intended -->
<html>

  <head>
    <title>TinyMCE Demo</title>
    <link rel="stylesheet" href="/stylesheets/style.css"></link>
  </head>

  <body>
    <!-- Text area matching the selector specified in the TinyMCE configuration -->
    <textarea id="my-expressjs-tinymce-app">Hello, World!</textarea>
  </body>

  <!-- Script element sourcing TinyMCE -->
  <script type="application/javascript" src="/tinymce/tinymce.min.js"></script>
  <!-- Script element sourcing the TinyMCE configuration -->
  <script type="application/javascript" src="/javascripts/my-tinymce-config.js"></script>
</html>

  9. Test the application using the Node.js development server.

    • To start the development server, navigate to the my_tinymce_app directory and run:

      $ npm start

    • Visit http://localhost:3000 to view the application.

    • To stop the development server, select on the command line or command prompt and press Ctrl+C.

Next Steps