Upcoming changes to unsupported HTML in Fresco
A change is being made in Fresco that will remove unsupported HTML markup (code used to control layout and formatting) from pages and editing fields. This may affect existing content, so editors are encouraged to review any pages that use pasted formatting or custom layouts before the release, ready to fix any issues afterwards.
What’s changing?
On 24 August, a filter will be applied across all Fresco sites, including both migrated and newly created sites.
Unsupported HTML markup will no longer display in the editor preview or render on the page. A simple way to think about this is as an invisibility cloak of sorts: the content will still exist behind the scenes, but it will not be visible in the editor preview or on the published page.
Content created using pasted HTML, old Mosaic formatting, or other unsupported code will no longer display. Examples include:
- text containing font, font colour or font size formatting from Word or Google Docs
- custom styling such as fonts, colours, or spacing added directly in the text in Mosaic
- layout code, such as WYSIWYG column layouts
- other unsupported HTML, such as iframes
Existing content will be unaffected if built using Fresco's own components. Examples of such supported content might include:
- paragraphs and heading levels when created using Fresco’s Heading component
- content created using the Fresco embed component
- bold, italic, underline, subscript, superscript
- bulleted and numbered lists
- tables
- hyperlinks
- horizontal lines
- text alignment
- indentation via Fresco controls
- inline images
This applies in any of the three content editing areas (Text component, Person Bio field, or Event Presenter field).
Why is this happening?
This is a clean-up of unsupported content in Fresco. It will help keep pages consistent with the design framework, and reduce the risk of hidden formatting causing unexpected results.
For migrated sites, it is a tidy up of HTML that may have been brought across from Mosaic but is not supported in Fresco.
For editors, this should mean fewer unexpected differences between the editor and the published page, and a lower risk of hidden formatting issues causing layout problems later.
What is the impact?
Any pages using unsupported HTML will look different after the release on 24 August.
Examples of effects on webpages include:
- unsupported formatting copied directly from other sources (e.g. MS Word or Google Docs) may be stripped out
- headings, colours or fonts may revert to Fresco defaults
- Example: Adding a 'Heading 1' to a Fresco page is only possible using the Heading component. Any Heading 1 pasted into the Text component will be changed to 'Paragraph' text and will need to be separately added to the page using the Heading component
- unsupported content (such as iframes) will disappear completely, leaving a gap
- column layouts or other custom structures may be converted to a single column
This change will be applied immediately when the page loads, so unsupported content may appear differently even before a page is edited or saved.
Note: In the future, we may extend the allowed list to include additional supported content. In this case, formatting or content may reappear, so long as the Text component is not edited before the allowed list is updated.
What should editors be doing?
Editors are encouraged to review any pages that may contain pasted HTML or custom formatting.
If you know a page uses unsupported markup, it may help to take a screenshot now so you can compare it after the release. After 24 August, you will need to adjust or recreate affected content using supported Fresco components.