Configuring system properties for TinyMCE HTML editor

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated July 31, 2025
  • 3 minutes to read
    • Summarize
    Summarized using AI
    This content was generated using new OpenAI-powered functionality. Results are provided on an as is basis and are not guaranteed to be accurate or complete.

    Summary of Configuring system properties for TinyMCE HTML editor

    This documentation details the key system properties available for configuring the TinyMCE HTML editor within ServiceNow. These properties allow administrators to customize the editor's behavior, toolbar, plugins, paste handling, fonts, URL handling, and context menu to better suit organizational needs.

    Show full answer Show less

    Key Features

    • Plugin Management:
      • glide.ui.html.editor.validplugins defines which plugins can be used client-side.
      • glide.ui.html.editor.enabledplugins specifies which allowed plugins are enabled on the widget.
      • Removing plugins may cause unintended effects, so changes should be made cautiously.
    • Toolbar Configuration:
      • glide.ui.html.editor.toolbar.validbuttons restricts which buttons are valid for the toolbar.
      • glide.ui.html.editor.toolbar defines the actual toolbar buttons using a space-separated list from the valid buttons.
      • glide.ui.html.editor.toolbar.on.focus (admin-added) controls toolbar visibility based on editor focus.
    • Paste Behavior:
      • glide.ui.html.editor.paste.htmlimport controls how HTML content pasted from non-Word sources is filtered—options include Clean, Merge, or Prompt.
      • glide.ui.html.editor.paste.wordimport similarly controls paste behavior for content from Microsoft Word.
      • glide.ui.html.editor.paste.filteredinlineelements allows filtering specific inline elements (default: strong, b) when removing formatting on paste.
    • Font Collections:
      • glide.ui.html.editor.font.collection lets you define the available fonts for the editor, using a semicolon-separated list without spaces.
    • URL Handling:
      • glide.ui.html.editor.converturls (default false) controls TinyMCE’s URL conversion behavior.
      • glide.ui.html.editor.relativeurls (default true) sets whether URLs are relative, linked to the instance’s base URL.
    • Extended Valid Elements:
      • glide.ui.html.editor.extendedvalidelements allows configuring additional valid HTML elements beyond defaults.
    • Context Menu:
      • glide.ui.html.editor.contextmenu configures which editor-specific context menu options are available; can be disabled by setting it to "false". Holding Ctrl while right-clicking shows the browser’s native menu.
    • Default Link Target:
      • glide.ui.html.editor.defaultlinktarget sets the default target attribute for links created in the editor.

    Practical Implications for ServiceNow Customers

    By configuring these system properties, administrators can tailor the TinyMCE HTML editor to meet their organization's content editing standards and usability preferences. This includes controlling which formatting tools and plugins are available, how pasted content is cleaned or preserved, font options for end users, and URL behaviors ensuring links function correctly within the ServiceNow instance context.

    Careful adjustment of these properties can improve content consistency, security, and user experience across ServiceNow applications that use HTML fields.

    There are multiple system properties that are used to configure the behaviour of the HTML editor field type. Learn about the system properties available in the TinyMCE rich text editor.

    Table 1. HTML system properties in TinyMCE
    System properties for TinyMCE HTML editor Type Description
    glide.ui.html.editor.valid_plugins​ String
    Client-side HTML editor plugins that CAN BE added/or used (spaced delimited).
    Important:
    Removing plugins could cause undesirable side-effects.
    glide.ui.html.editor.enabled_plugins​ String

    Client-side HTML editor plugins that should be added (spaced delimited) in order for them to get enabled on the widget.

    Only plugins added in glide.ui.html.editor.valid_plugins​ can be added. Removing plugins could cause undesirable side-effects.
    glide.ui.html.editor.toolbar.valid_buttons​ String

    A valid (supported) button list for html fields. Use this to limit what buttons CAN BE added to the toolbar.
    glide.ui.html.editor.toolbar ​ String

    Configures the editing toolbar for HTML fields. This is a space-separated list without commas. Only valid buttons added in glide.ui.html.editor.toolbar.valid_buttons​​ can be added.
    glide.ui.html.editor.paste.html_import​ Choice list
    Paste formatting behavior for HTML. This setting controls how content from sources other than Microsoft Word is filtered when being pasted on html-editor. Note that this includes content copied from TinyMCE itself. The supported values are:
    • Clean: Preserves the structure of the content such as headings, tables, and lists but remove inline styles and classes. This results in simple content that uses the site's CSS stylesheet while retaining the semantic structure from the original document.
    • Merge: Preserves the inline formatting and structure of the original document. Invalid and proprietary styles, tags and attributes are still removed ensuring that the HTML is valid while more closely matching the original document formatting.
    • Prompt: Prompts the user to choose between the clean and merge options after attempting to paste HTML content.
    glide.ui.html.editor.paste.word_import​ Choice list
    Paste formatting behavior for word. This setting controls how content from Microsoft Word is filtered when being pasted on html-editor. Note that this includes content copied from TinyMCE itself. The supported values are:
    • Clean: Preserves the structure of the content such as headings, tables, and lists. Removes inline styles and classes. This results in simple content that uses the site’s CSS stylesheet while retaining the semantic structure of the original document.
    • Merge: Preserves the inline formatting and structure of the original document.Removes invalid and proprietary styles, tags and attributes.This ensures the HTML is valid while more closely matching the original document formatting.
    • Prompt: Prompts the user to choose between the clean and merge options after attempting to paste HTML content.
    glide.ui.html.editor.font.collection​ String

    User can select different font collection for Tiny MCE HTML editor:

    Example with one font:

    <pre>
Arial=arial,helvetica,sans-serif;
</pre>
    Note:
    More than one font value should be separated by a semi-colon with no space or line-break.

    Example with more than one font:

    <pre>
Andale Mono=andale mono,times;
Arial=arial,helvetica,sans-serif;
Arial Black=arial black,avant garde;
Book Antiqua=book antiqua,palatino;
Comic Sans MS=comic sans ms,sans-serif;
Courier New=courier new,courier;
Georgia=georgia,palatino;Helvetica=helvetica;
Impact=impact,chicago;Symbol=symbol;
Tahoma=tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;
Terminal=terminal,monaco;
Times New Roman=times new roman,times;
Trebuchet MS=trebuchet ms,geneva;
Verdana=verdana,geneva;
Webdings=webdings;
Wingdings=wingdings,zapf dingbats;
</pre>
    glide.ui.html.editor.paste.filtered_inline_elements​ String This setting allows the content to be filtered when pasted from MS Word to the TinyMCE V6 editor. This property takes input as a comma separated string of inline elements to be filtered by selecting the Remove formatting button on the paste prompt dialog. Default value is 'strong, b'.
    glide.ui.html.editor.convert_urls True | False This system property is used to set the convert_urls config of TinyMCE. Default: false.
    Note:
    This is related to the value of relative_urls which itself is set by glide.ui.html.editor.relative_urls.
    glide.ui.html.editor.extended_valid_elements String This system property is used to set the extended_valid_elements config of TinyMCE. Default: <Empty string>.
    glide.ui.html.editor.relative_urls True | False glide.ui.html.editor.relative_urls is used to set the relative_urls config of TinyMCE. Default: true.
    Note:
    This is related to the document_base_url which is not configurable in ServiceNow and is set to the window.location.origin (the base url of the instance).
    glide.ui.html.editor.contextmenu String

    Client-side HTML editor has its own context menu, overriding the browser's. Holding Ctrl while right-clicking bypasses the editor's context menu to show the native context menu.

    This property specifies which context menu options are available. Default value is "link image table" (without quotes). A value of "false" (without quotes) disables the editor's context menu.
    glide.ui.html.editor.toolbar.on.focus String

    True: User should be able to see hide toolbar behaviour if they move focus out.

    False: User should always see the toolbar regardless of the tab focus.

    Note:
    This property isn't added OOTB (out of the box) but can be added by an admin.
    glide.ui.html.editor.default_link_target This system property is used to set link_default_target.