How do I embed HTML Forms, paypal, or video into my Content Articles?

Answer

HTML forms and video objects can be trouble for any Joomla system, because they can be a security threat. The reason is becasue a these HTML elements are able to access other sites and pull other site's information into your page. This external site harvest can provide unexpected results. If you are the only author for your site then you are not worried about what is included in your site, because you are doing all the inclusion. If you run a site where users generate content then you need to take precautions. Luckily most Joomla WYSIWYG editors remove form code and object and embed elements from the user input, so you are protected from the point of your installation.

Methods

If you want to embed HTML forms, paypal, or video objects into your Joomla you simply need to stop your WYSIWYG Editor from running. If it is not running then the input is not filtered for these elements. You can turn off your user editor through the user manger, or if you are using one of our packages you can use the editor swapping tool in the top right corner of the adminstrator (very useful tool). The JCE WYSIWYG Editor has a feature of "show/hide" where you can turn off the editor and input code.

One caveat

When you add form or object code to your content element it can still be sniped by your WYSIWYG Editor. It is upon submission of the content item that the Editor is able to remove your form or object code. So, if you add your code successfully using one of the above methods, but then go back into your content article to update it (and your editor is on), when you save that article your code will get removed and you'll be back to square one.

Recap

To add form or object code to your content item, turn off your editor, paste the code and save. Make sure when you update those content items you turn off your editors before you save, otherwise you'll lose your form or object code.

Remember this is a security feature for sites that have multiple users adding content, which is the point of a content management system!

Category

Joomla Answers

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content , joomla tips