Rich Text Editor Patterns
Toolbar Design
- Floating toolbar: Appears on text selection (medium-style). Clean, minimal.
- Fixed toolbar: Always visible at top. Better for heavy editing.
- Slash commands: Type "/" to insert blocks. Power user friendly.
- Group tools logically: text formatting | alignment | lists | media | blocks
Essential Formatting
| Priority |
Features |
| Must have |
Bold, italic, headings (H1-H3), links, lists, images |
| Should have |
Code blocks, blockquotes, dividers, tables |
| Nice to have |
Callouts, toggles, embeds, colors |
| Avoid |
Font family picker, font size picker (use heading levels instead) |
Block-Based Editing
- Each paragraph, heading, image, etc. is a block
- Blocks can be reordered (drag handle)
- Blocks can be converted (paragraph → heading, list → checklist)
- "/" command to insert new block types
- Block-level actions menu (⋮ button on hover)
Markdown Support
- Typing shortcuts:
# for heading, * for bold, > for quote
- Auto-convert markdown syntax as user types
- Export as markdown option
Collaboration
- Real-time cursor positions
- Selection highlighting per user
- Comments on specific text ranges
- Version history with visual diff
