The inline editor for Optimizely CMS offers a great in-context experience for authors. As you edit, the view continually updates to show the latest value and how it affects the layout. This experience is a strength of Optimizely CMS. Another strength is the ability to customize the way properties display in views, with numerous techniques available. Sometimes, though, customized rendering and more complex layouts can muddle the authoring experience. There are different ways to handle these situations, like the use of the FullRefreshPropertiesMetaData, or EditAttributes helpers. However, these helpers can sometimes get in the way, or they don’t provide the solution needed.
I have encountered several scenarios with string properties where I needed an alternative solution to handle layout changes due to property updates. To handle short string values I have implemented the PreviewableText UIHint, which creates a popup editor in the page context for editing values. I wanted a similar solution for longer strings, but one was not available out of the box. Thankfully, I was able to implement one with a Textarea that provided the solution I needed.
Read more about my solution from my article, Popup TextArea Property Editor. Also, leave a comment below with questions or more information.
