The following files are accessed with the Edit HTML text procedure
- text of chapters, sections or subsections
- appendixes
- review questions
- assignments
- bibliographies and reading lists
- comments
- contents
- about authors

All these files are HTML files without any special parameter. Some of the files contain important scripts written in Javascript and used for linking to other files or tests. Obviously, it is crucial that these scripts not be damaged when updating the text of the file. When an entire new paragraph is inserted, the writer should not forget to place <P> at the beginning and </P> at the end. It is recommended that a text to be entered be first edited in a word processor, then copied and pasted into PEOI text files. The material pasted must in a format "Text with line breaks". (In Word 2003 select "Text", then click on "Insert line breaks".) It is recommended to paste one paragraph at a time, and save each time. After making all needed changes, clicking on "Save change(s)" button completes the work.

Because of potential harm from unwarranted modifications, all updated files are first saved in a temporary directory to make sure that scripts are not damaged, and to give PEOI's editing staff a chance to read through these modified files. When the changes made by an author involve reporting new findings or are more than just style or grammar, they require peer review which takes more than the usual one day delay, as previously described.

When questions are to be written for specific portions of the text, a link is established between test answers and underlying text with the help of an anchor. Entering an anchor must comply with HTML requirements and be written as <A NAME="anchor#####"></A> where ##### is a unique name or number assigned by the writer. For links the syntax is similar: <A HREF="######">XYZ</A> where ##### is the url (or internet address) and XYZ is the name of the link in plain English. There is no need for authors to worry about placing most anchors because the "Create questions" procedure is designed to that automatically, instantly and painlessly. All the author needs to do is identify the concepts in the text to which questions will pertain by placing a marker in front of them. As explained in the guidelines to the procedure, review questions files as well as test questions files are created by the software based on the markers authors place in the text.

The HTML tags for paragraphs, links and anchors are probably the only tags authors need to ever use in PEOI text files. All other HTML writing is done by PEOI procedures automatically or by PEOI editing staff. Authors familiar with HTML and/or with the use of HTML editors are welcome to configure their pages as they see fit, and paste them in the TEXTAREA of the "Edit HTML text" procedure. But, care must be used to avoid unwanted overhead (which often doubles or triples the size of a file). In particular, if a page is created with a Microsoft application, it is recommended to use HTML Filter 2.0 (which is a free download from Microsoft).

As of January 2007, there is a maximum size for accessing all text course material files to be edited on screen. Files that exceed this maximum need to be edited or updated by PEOI staff on behalf of the author. It is expected that the limitation will be removed in the future.

Next: Editing questions