[Using Sakai] Character limits and HTML coding

[Josh Baron]

Chris,

We too had some challenges with the 4000 character limit. The approach 
we've taken is to try and in crease this limit to allow for more text (and 
HTML codes).  We've been able to get a patch so that we could increase the 
limit on test question answers (e.g. short answer essay questions) but I 
don't think there is yet a solution for increasing the limit on the 
feedback boxes where you're entering you text.  There are two community 
JIRAs that technical folks on your end could look at to better understand 
the issue.  These are:

http://jira.sakaiproject.org/browse/SAM-756
http://jira.sakaiproject.org/browse/SAM-757

There might be some alternatives to consider.  For example, you can attach 
a file to questions so you could create the materials sin MS or or PDF and 
attach it to the question.  This would allow for some useful formatting 
but get you around the limit.  You could also set up a HMTL page, either 
in Sakai/Resources or on another server and point to it from the Feedback 
box.

Hope this helps.

Josh


-----------------------------
Joshua Baron
Senior Academic Technology Officer
Marist College
Poughkeepsie, New York  12601
(845) 575-3623 (work)
Twitter: JoshBaron



From:   Christopher Heard <christopher.heard at pepperdine.edu>
To:     <sakai-user at collab.sakaiproject.org>
Date:   09/26/2010 10:44 PM
Subject:        [Using Sakai] Character limits and HTML coding
Sent by:        sakai-user-bounces at collab.sakaiproject.org



Dear Sakai users,

Hello! I've been using Sakai for about a year, but I'm new to this mailing 
list. Is this the right place to report problems with existing Sakai tools 
and/or to post feature requests/wish lists?

Just in case I'm in the right crowd, here's my issue: when I use the 
Source option in the rich text editor to write Questions and Model Short 
Answers for essay/short answer questions, either the editor or Sakai 
rewrites my code, formatting it in a way that appeals visually to somebody 
behind the curtain but that introduces a whole bunch of space characters 
that take my code over the 4,000-character limits in the relevant text 
areas. Specifically, I use a lot of HTML coding to provide important 
information in a tabular format to my students. In particular, I use the 
Model Short Answer text area to provide a rubric for each essay question, 
so that students can informally self-assess before they get the official 
assessment from me. I present this information in an HTML table. I keep 
blank spaces and even carriage returns to a minimum to conserve 
characters, but either Sakai or FCK Editor insist on putting in a bunch of 
carriage returns and spaces (to simulate tabs). The effect can be quite 
significant. In one case, the code I wrote occupies only 3,616 characters 
in my HTML editor, but when I paste it into Sakai, the forced reformatting 
takes the character count up to 4,007 characters. The surplus 391 
characters are all carriage returns and blank space used to simulate tab 
stops—pleasing to some programmer's eye but completely irrelevant to the 
browsers interpreting the code. In essence, the reformatting robs me of 
11% of the characters I could use to communicate with my students.

Does anyone know of a way to shut off or override this behavior?

Thank you!

Chris
--
Christopher Heard
Associate Professor of Religion
Pepperdine University
Malibu, CA 90263-4352
Web Site: http://faculty.pepperdine.edu
Personal Blog: http://higgaion.heardworld.com
Online Research Resources: http://www.iTanakh.org
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