You could possibly have the following problems with either the Administration backend and/or with the WYSIWYG editor.

Problem 1:

You might get a blank screen when you try to log in to the Administration backend. This is almost always because your 'live-site' setting in your Configuration.php file doesn't correspond with your Administration URL. You either have a www in your live-site setting in your configuration.php file and you are accessing your administration backend without the www or vice versa.

Problem 2:

You might log into the administration backend and find that none of your menus are showing! After lots of searching I found that this was an Internet Explorer Cache problem. The menus were showing fine when I accessed the Admin backend through Firefox.

Clear your IE cache by going into Tools->Internet Options and deleting your temporary Internet files. This solved the problem of my menu tabs not showing in the Admin backend.

Problem 3:

You might get one or more of the following problems when you try to use the WYSIWYG editor:

When you try to open a popup, for example when you try to insert an image into your content, or a table, you might get this message and the popup will show a blank window:

"tinyMCE object reference not found from pop up"

You might also get this error or something similar:

error tinyMCE has no properties in
mambots/editors/tinymce/jscripts/tiny_mce/themes/
advanced/jscripts/source_editor.js
line 51

or an error referring directly to not being able to find tiny_mce_popup.js or that tiny_mce_popup is undefined.

Please note that sometimes the Popup will be blank, with just the little yellow triangle in the left-hand corner of your Internet Explorer indicating that there was a Javascript error. Double-Click on the triangle to see what the actual error was. In Firefox you can look at Tools->Javascript Console. The problem ocurred under Firefox too.

This problem can be related to one, (or more!) of the following: 

1. Please note that you should go into your Mambots and check first that your WYSIWYG mambots are correct, especially if you have installed/uninstalled some special WYSIWYG editors previously.   

2. Make sure that your live site setting in your Configuration.php has the www if you are accessing your admin backend through your URL WITH the www. This is probably the most common cause of the problem

3. This problem could also be related to file permissions of your editor mambot directories. If you were doing an upgrade from Mambo to Joomla and copied files across from different folders, the file permissions could also have changed when you copied the files across from your Joomla sub-folder where you tested your installation to their permanent home. If you followed my Mambo to Joomla Upgrade procedure  and made a list of the required file permission that I suggested in Step 2 of the upgrade path, you should use this list  to make sure that the mambots/editors directory has the right permissions.

4. In the end, in my case, this error was due to cache, again! Make sure that your Joomla cache settings are correct and that your cache directory is writeable. Clean out the cache folder just to make sure. But the biggest problem is your Internet Explorer cache. I traced the source of the problem to the html file called source-editor.htm.  This file is located here:

/public_html/mambots/editors/tinymce/jscripts/tiny_mce/
themes/advanced/source-editor.htm

You will see that this html file refers to two external javascript files. First make sure that these Javascript files are not corrupted by pasting their location/path directly into your browser, for example:

http://www.sitename.com/mambots/editors/tinymce/jscripts/
tiny_mce/tiny_mce_popup.js

In IE you should  get the option of running or saving the file. Open the file in an editor to see if the code looks OK.

If this is OK, then you should try and force IE to read the actual source-editor.htm and not the one in cache. If you paste the path of this html file into your browser and execute in a standalone way, you should also get the error related to the popup.

For example:

http://www.sitename.com/mambots/editors/tinymce/jscripts/
tiny_mce/themes/advanced/source-editor.htm

Keep on executing this file, refreshing it until it loads eventually without the Javascript error. You should then be able to go back to your Admin backend and use the popups in your WYSIWYG editor. If you had this problem in Firefox, you need to clear the cache in Firefox too. You can do this by going into Firefox and doing the following:

1. Click Tools and select Options.
2. Click the Privacy Icon.
3. Click Clear across from the Cache option.
4. Click Ok.
5. Exit and relaunch.

This solved my TinyMCE problem with inserting images, tables etc.

Tags: Joomla, WYSIWYG, Editors

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Comments (63)

JCE and other editor disapper in front end not back end..
written by robert duke, January 05, 2010

The JCE editor disappear on front end but working in back end..

Strange since I update to J 1.5.15 this doesnt work any more. Any tips what to do?

Missing WYSIWG TOOLBARS
written by Noel Devlin, November 13, 2009

Some of the items on each row to the editor toolbar are missing, how can I get them all to appear. I have checked the the user settings in the global config???

Thank you very much
written by zee, October 24, 2008

all i had to do was just ass www unbeleivable thanks for the post

Problem with WYSIWYG and subdomain like something.site.com
written by Xigmond, September 03, 2008

hello
I read this very great and useful Article
Unfortunatly I couldnt fix my problem and my WYSIWYG editor still doesnt work. It opens the popup but there is a java script error in it related to the htm file you mentioned source_editor.htm
my problem is everything looks fine without any problem ! I cleared the cache 100 times and tested all the files and directories permitions.
I have installed the joomla on subdomain.site.com and livesite variable is also set to this and all the site works fine except the WYSIWYG editor (tiny_mce)

please please please help!

Match url with main window for admin backend
written by Michelle, August 27, 2008

I have a domain linked from someone else using my hosting so http:..... was showing as different anyway, so had to change completely which I would not have found without that adding of www explanation.

Note for beginners like me: ensure that www.....matches url in main window for admin backend. Then pop will appear. (might seem obvious but wasn't to me straight away.)

Wonderful.

thanks free much
written by mohammed ragb, August 21, 2008

i have had a problem and you have solved it by your excallent explaining .
thank yoooooo.

THANK YOU
written by Edward Fernando, August 17, 2008

thank you so much for this helpful Article buddy!

Better solution to Problem 1
written by Brando, August 09, 2008

If we add a prefix to the live site, we are requiring ourselves to add a prefix all the time. We are also requiring all front end visitors to use www as well. Some javascripts won't work if users don't follow the prefix. There's a better solution to this. Go to this page for a detailed solution for Problem 1:

http://extratopics.com/how-tos/proper-solution-to-joomlamambo-wysiwygs-insert-image-window-is-empty-problem.html

Brando
http://extratopics.com

Awesome! Thanks so much!
written by Allen Mowery, August 08, 2008

This information was most helpful indeed. I can now edit in my WYSIWYG, but best of all, I can stop pulling my hair out :-)

Thanks!
written by Ludwig, July 16, 2008

I had this problem in Joomla!
Styles wouldn't show up in the stylelist and also the
inline html editor of the textfields came up with a blank screen.You have saved me hours of jiggeling. Godspeed!

Thanks alot for the information.
written by Daniel, June 24, 2008

Thanks alot for the information. Got the Problem 1:
And this info helped me out.

some pages don't let me edit content from front end editor.
written by mandy, June 19, 2008

I am having problems trying to figure out why all pages can't be edited from logging on to the front end editor. I have full security permission. I did realize that most of those pages, that won't allow me to edit are categories. They can be edited from logging into the administrator backend, but it is annoying going back and forth to edit text.
Any suggestions?

Awesome!
written by tennistar, April 30, 2008

Thanks for your help dude! i was struggling with this! Thanks a lot! my wysiwyg wasn't working earlier!

Thanks
written by Heschung Christian, March 14, 2008

Merci pour cette solution.
Thanks for your help.
sorry

Thanks. Obrigado (Portuguese)
written by Rui Costa, March 10, 2008

You help me solving my problem and my work. Keep doing your great job.
Best Regards .

thanks!!
written by Spjika, March 07, 2008

great help, much props. I switched the config live setting to a www and also enabled the cache and I'm all good with JCE love again. Sweet, thanks!

Thanks
written by Guest, March 06, 2008

Thanks, people like you (clever and willing to share) give you hope in our future!!

Thank You!
written by Alan, February 15, 2008

Another satisfied reader...Thanks for the suggestions, my WYSIWYG is now working beautifully!

Thank you!
written by brian, January 29, 2008

Added the WWW to the config file and now it all works like a charm! Thank you so much life saver!

www worked
written by Kurt, January 28, 2008

Thank you so much for taking the time to post this! www worked like a charm!!!!!

Thanks for the WWW
written by minori_aoi, January 26, 2008

Nice solution.

'www' problem
written by Will, January 15, 2008

Wow! Thanks for the 'www' tip. Joomla now working great!

thanks kaguar
written by Melanie, January 15, 2008

I had the same problem with the missing www and the fix worked like a charm. Amazing how something so simple can really screw everything up.

thanks!!!!!!!!!
written by obay, January 10, 2008

fixed it with the "www" solution! thanks!!!!!!

Hyperlinks in tiny MCE Editor
written by Anju, December 27, 2007

Hi,
We try adding a link via tiny MCE Editor.

Select the text to be changed as a link
Click on the Insert/edit link button
Write the destination address
Select the target window where to open the link
Click on Insert to create the link

On viewing, the text is still a plain text, not a link. When we check the source code, we can find that in the anchor tag an unclosed class attribute is added because of which ,the text doesnot behave as a link.

...
written by Giancarlo Calò, December 15, 2007

sorry for the previous posts... the site permits php codes and it doesn't appear properly... so I detouch < and > to show you the code now... hoping it works...

?php
if ( $my->id ) {
initEditor();
}
?

...
written by Giancarlo Calò, December 15, 2007

oops!
written by Giancarlo Calò, December 15, 2007

Hummm... Since the post doesn't show the php code correctly now I add a "'" symbol to separate it:


'

I have another solution!
written by Giancarlo Calò, December 15, 2007

I have tried everything but the only one that worked is the following:

I have put the next lines at the bottom of the code of the index.php which load my template:



the TinyMCE editor now works very fine!!

Thanks! Add the www.
written by kaguar, December 07, 2007

I read, this coment and i solve my problem,
Thanks!


My WYSIWYG editor appeared, but I couldn't type anything in the window. It never got the focus. The plain text editor worked fine.

After finding these comments, I looked in configuration.php, and found the following line without the www.

$mosConfig_live_site = 'http://spin2winracing.ca/joomla';

I updated it to

$mosConfig_live_site = 'http://www.spin2winracing.ca/joomla';

And the editor worked like a charm.

Even though my problem wasn't exactly as described, the suggested fix worked!

Thanks for such a great tips
written by Bahrun, October 06, 2007

Its been almost two month i encountered this problem
I thought it is a matter of permission for the javascript files of editor folder
I never think www cause the problem until i found this tips

Many Thanks

hyperlinks in tinyMCE Editor
written by Ambica, September 22, 2007

Hi,

When a link is been created in tinyMCE Editor on Mozilla and copied to IE it works. While adding a new link in IE, it doesnt work. An unclosed class attribute is getting added to the anchor tag which may be reason for the link not following.Please advice

problems
written by Astroboy, May 31, 2007

as we are editing using the tiny mce wysiwyg editor tables appear in our content on closing when we have not even gone near the table button

Thanks
written by Guest, May 17, 2007

Good advice. I had the www problem in my config.php.

Thanks
written by johnny burn, April 23, 2007

Number one was my problem. The www was not in the site address in the config file.

Thanks.

Add the www.
written by Guest, April 11, 2007

My WYSIWYG editor appeared, but I couldn\'t type anything in the window. It never got the focus. The plain text editor worked fine.

After finding these comments, I looked in configuration.php, and found the following line without the www.

$mosConfig_live_site = \'http://spin2winracing.ca/joomla\';

I updated it to

$mosConfig_live_site = \'http://www.spin2winracing.ca/joomla\';

And the editor worked like a charm.

Even though my problem wasn\'t exactly as described, the suggested fix worked!

Many blessings and thanks
written by Guest, April 10, 2007

I have been so stumped, until now. You rock. My editors work perfectly now.
Thanks

Thanks :)
written by Guest, April 05, 2007

Step 2 solved my problem, just add the www before domain and thats it.... thank you all

THANKS SO MUCH
written by Becky, March 26, 2007

I\'ve been having this problem and finally this resolves it!!!

THANK YOU!
written by Mark, March 09, 2007

Thank god for this post. I had prob #3 with the missing \"www\" in the config file. Man that was sooo frustrating having to work around the empty popups for so long. Thank you!!!

Thank you
written by Kiru, March 06, 2007

Hi thank you very much for the nice note, Just www was my problem, thx a lot

WOW! You\'re a genius!
written by Nana, January 19, 2007

Thank you so so much! I had Problem#3 , turned out the solution was #2 ... All I did is added the www to the configuration.php file, and the problem was resolved...

genius
written by jay cosmo, January 13, 2007

this site is the bomb! i kept having issues with joomla\'s configurations, frustrated me cause my client was expecting stuff to work. amazingly every icon in the wysiwyg editor work now. thanks to this site. good job.

Thanks
written by Guest, December 09, 2006

Thanks...

This one is helpful for me..

Thanks a Million!!!!
written by ivagarfitt, December 02, 2006

I hade problems with my editors and it was that problem with the live site www thing.

So simple but you realy need someone like you to point it to a right direction.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU

THANK YOU!
written by Lisa, November 29, 2006

I was baffled why sometimes the TinyMCE editor would work and sometimes it wouldn\'t and it is because sometimes I am lazy and don\'t put www before the url and sometimes I do. I cannot thank you enough for these troubleshooting tips!

A editor instance must be focused before
written by ilya, November 06, 2006

I get the following error:

A editor instance must be focused before using this command.

my domain name is localhost.com, and not www.sitename.com, i\'d like to work on the site on localhost.com, is there a way to get around this?
any help is appreciated

Thanks
written by Guest, November 03, 2006

I had to remove the www from mine. It was a backwards process to this one. But I never would have figured that one out without your post.

Thanks

Thank you sooo much!
written by Guest, November 02, 2006

added www to the live-site setting in the configuration.php and that cleared up the problem! You are great.

One more issue...
written by Mark, September 12, 2006

Hi, I have a different issue here, for me the styles also are not working.
The \"Styles\" menu beside the \"Format\" menu does not show the list of styles. What would be the problem????

Thanks for the help!
written by RextheRunt, September 12, 2006

I was going crazy with problem 3 - and I couldn\'t figure out why it was working on my one machine and not the other. Same Firefox version etc. Just a stupid www missing!

Thanks so much for this!
written by Guest - T.Watson, September 08, 2006

Such a hard thing to figure out on my own, this post made my life much easier. Mine was the blank window deal...I just had to put the www on the live site config. Thanks a bunch! Better than the joomla forums!

Thanks!
written by amansker, September 03, 2006

Thanks for the detailed info. VERY helpful!

Same problem.. or more
written by radix_angel@hotmail.com, September 01, 2006

I have a strange problem... when i open the editor.. this dont show me the tab panel.. i cant add text formats or image or anything else because i cant see the edit panel... i check everything.. and read many forums.. but nothing work.
Im runing on last apache with the last joomla on loclahost. could be some problem on localhost and not on normal hosting?

Man, you saved my life
written by Tommy Thompson, September 01, 2006

My Joomla admin back end was referencing the site with the miss-matched live site and admin \"www\" settings. I never would have figgured that out!
Thanks a ton

Others causes of blank HTML area
written by Guest, August 22, 2006

Hello,

I took 20mn to redact complements with url references which are refused by antispam system.
So you will not know where additianal informations can be found.

By

Spoke too soon?
written by Jason, August 15, 2006

I just discovered something and wonder if anybody else is having the same problem. My live site is at an address without the www.

If I enter administration via that address directly and login, the address of the administration has \"www\" added to the front and the hyperlink popup doesn\'t so it doesn\'t work.

However, if I enter the adminstration by visiting my domain again at the normal visitor page and then click on the Administrator button, no \"www\" is added and everything works fine.

Seems like a bug maybe?

Thanks for your help!

Hmmm... Spoke too soon?
written by Jason, August 15, 2006

I just discovered something and wonder if anybody else is having the same problem. My live site is at an address without the www.

If I enter administration via that address directly and login, the address of the administration has \"www\" added to the front and the hyperlink popup doesn\'t so it doesn\'t work.

However, if I enter the adminstration by visiting my domain again at the normal visitor page and then click on the Administrator button, no \"www\" is added and everything works fine.

Seems like a bug maybe?

Thank you! Thank you!
written by Jason, August 15, 2006

As soon as I did #4 - clearing the cache, the problem disappeared. I\'m hoping it doesn\'t occur soon; it did appear to be intermittent but with this list, I\'m sure to be able to resolve it if it does.

Oh god thank you!
written by Guest, August 14, 2006

I was having this problem with blank pop up editors and it was a huge pain that I couldn\'t fix. I just had to add the www to the site name in the config file as you mentioned. I am so happy and I\'d have never figured this out on my own. You\'re great!

Wyswig editor problem:symbols
written by Guest, August 14, 2006

Each time i go int to edit, after saving and then viewing the page again , I have been finding weird symbols littering the page: A\'s with squiggly lines, upside down question marks etc...the only way to clear them is to FTP but then it renders wyswyg useless. What is this problem and how can it be solved?

Thanks for this tip!
written by SolarCat, August 06, 2006

Thanks so much for posting this tip. I was experiencing problem 3, and your solution number 2 cleared it right up.

SolarCat

...
written by Guest, August 05, 2006

Solution #4 has resolved the problem for me. Thank you very much.