Aegir CMS now has Mozilla compatible editor

POZNAN, ESPOO, Dec 23rd 2002

We are excited to announce that Aegir CMS now supports Mozilla and Mozilla-based browsers for content editing! This significant enhancement expands browser compatibility beyond Internet Explorer, giving users more freedom in their choice of web browser.

Cross-Browser Content Editing

Previously, Aegir CMS's rich text content editor relied on ActiveX controls that were only available in Internet Explorer on Windows. This limitation, while common in web-based content management systems of the time, restricted which browsers content editors could use.

The new Mozilla-compatible editor leverages Mozilla's built-in contentEditable functionality and Midas editor capabilities, providing a rich editing experience that rivals the Internet Explorer version.

What This Means for Users

Content editors can now use Aegir CMS with:

  • Mozilla 1.0+ — The full Mozilla browser suite
  • Netscape 7.0+ — Built on the Mozilla engine
  • Future Mozilla-based browsers — Including projects like Phoenix (later Firefox)
  • Internet Explorer 5.5+ — Continued support for existing IE users

Editor Features

The Mozilla editor provides the same intuitive, MS Word-compatible functionality as the IE version:

  • Rich text formatting — Bold, italic, underline, fonts, and colors
  • Lists and indentation — Bulleted and numbered lists with proper nesting
  • Links and images — Easy insertion and management of hyperlinks and images
  • Tables — Create and edit HTML tables for structured content
  • Copy/paste from Word — Import content from MS Word documents (with some cleanup)
  • Source code view — For users who want to work directly with HTML

Technical Implementation

The editor automatically detects which browser is being used and loads the appropriate editing interface:

  • Browser detection — Identifies Mozilla vs. Internet Explorer
  • Appropriate controls — Loads browser-specific editing widgets
  • Consistent interface — Same look and feel across different browsers
  • Graceful degradation — Falls back to plain textarea for unsupported browsers

Benefits for Organizations

This enhancement provides several advantages:

  • Platform flexibility — Content editors can use Linux, Mac, or Windows
  • Cost savings — No requirement for Windows licenses or IE-specific setups
  • Open standards — Moves toward W3C standards-based editing
  • Future-proof — Less dependency on proprietary browser technologies
  • Security options — Organizations can choose browsers based on security preferences

System Requirements

For Mozilla-based editing:

  • Mozilla 1.0 or later, OR
  • Netscape 7.0 or later, OR
  • Other Mozilla-based browsers with contentEditable support
  • JavaScript enabled
  • Cookies enabled for session management

For Internet Explorer editing:

  • Internet Explorer 5.5 or later (Windows only)
  • ActiveX controls enabled

Availability

The Mozilla-compatible editor is included in:

  • Aegir CMS 1.0 beta3 (already released)
  • All future Aegir CMS releases

Users of earlier beta versions can upgrade to beta3 to gain Mozilla support. See the Download page for the latest version.

Known Limitations

While the Mozilla editor is fully functional, there are some minor differences from the IE version:

  • Paste from Word may require additional formatting cleanup in Mozilla
  • Some advanced table editing features work slightly differently
  • Font face selection has browser-specific limitations

We're continuing to refine the editor experience and welcome feedback from users.

Looking Forward

This release represents a significant step toward full cross-browser support for Aegir CMS. Future development will focus on:

  • Further refinement of the Mozilla editor experience
  • Testing with additional Mozilla-based browsers as they emerge
  • Exploring support for other browsers (Safari, Opera, etc.)
  • Moving toward standards-based editing APIs

Try It Out

Download Aegir CMS 1.0 beta3 from the Download page and experience cross-browser content editing!

Feedback

We encourage users to test the Mozilla editor and report their experiences. Contact us through the mailing lists or email [email protected].