FCKeditor module does not work.

Note: Above, I apparenlty didn't understand the directions. I still have a problem with the instruction given, based on the idea that a prefix of a slash typically means root. But, I understand that in the case of the Drupal code, it means the root of Drupal installation. I just disagree on syntax principals with putting /filename when it isn't necessary or doesn't mean /root of the server. That's a personal taste issue I guess. But, people can become confused as to when this will send the file path to the root of the server and when it will send it to the root of the web directory. As I state below, leaving it without the prefix slash (prepending as said by someone else) is both syntax correct and stable.

Complaint: This topic is plastered all over the place. Please try to keep the discussion in one place, at least one problem in one place on one site/forum.

Solution: The prepending slash probably shouldn't be there at all, ever. "/" means "root" in most any unices or web server. So, /home/userdir is often used when you want very specified file locations, like in file permissions in a webserver configuration. In tools that may be placed any old place, the rule is to NOT have a slash before the file location, or put ./ indicating that is to begin in whatever folder it happens to presently reside. This way, you can move it wherever you want, and the resolution goes to the relative location.

The second trailing slash in the file "fckeditor.module" must be in place. If you remove it, it will blend with the following file names (old school URI rules apply here) and thus create melded file names which are NOT where the files are actually located. Your error may come back with things like a 404 error (file not found) for location "modules/fckeditor/libeditor/skins/...." where "libeditor" in the path should have been "lib/editor". This is why you do not need to remove the trailing slash, or if you have a version where there's none there, add it. It shant break it, typically, to add a trailing slash to a folder location on an URI, unless people have coded things up in a way where it takes the variable literally and elsewhere they have added a prefix slash to the hard code. I personally consider this to be a bug. But, workarounds are obvious if you see this problem arise.

Additionally, some of you are going to have errors because the FCKeditor module doesn't contain all the necessary files. Add the FCKeditor files from the site: http://www.fckeditor.net.

Directions:
1) Install the Drupal module just like it tells you to in the README.txt It's just like all the other modules, where you just download, untar, and copy the files to your modules directory.

2) Edit the modules/fckeditor/fckeditor.module file (using Vi, ViM, EX, Notepad, whatever) to change the "fckeditor_base_path" to 'modules/fckeditor/lib/'. People made a lot of hay about having their Drupal install somewhere other than the root of their web root. It makes no difference, just take off that slash at the beginning of the file location - it's bad syntax to put it there, whether your hacked around it or not. The trailing slash at the end keeps you from mingling folder locations in the URIs. You could even put ./ before the path, to indicate "start in this folder" in linux/bsd (any unices) systems. If this breaks something, there are other bugs in the installation. Do the same to any "fckeditor_base_path" in the file where a specified (override) file location is named. Some are going to be "default", etc. Leave those alone.

3) Download, untar or unzip (expand) the files and move the FCKeditor/ files and folders to the modules/fckeditor/lib directory. You should see something like:

FCKeditor/ (will only see if you unzipped/untar'd the file in this dir)
fckconfig.js
fckeditor.php
FCKeditor_2.0rc2.tar (will only see if you gunzipped the file in this dir)
fckeditor.asp
fckstyles.xml
_docs/
fckeditor.cfc
license.txt
_samples/
fckeditor.cfm
editor/
fckeditor.js

That FCKeditor_2.0rc2.tar file is the one I downloaded, after I gunzipped it. The FCKeditor folder is where all those files and folders were before I moved them. FYI, the command was:
mv -R * ../

That moved all the files and folders up one directory to the modules/fckeditor/lib directory. It's simple. You could also FTP those files there, move them with point and click if you have a file manager, etc. You get the idea.

4) There is a potential for permission issues. The tarball has permissions modified in the untar. If you tar -xvf, you are going to get some errors unless you have permission on the server to modify permissions of files using the tar command (sudo or root can usually override these errors). I've yet to see anyone specifically talk on this topic, so let's just say the easy workaround is to pay attention to your errors when you untar the files. You'll need to manually deal with those permissions when those errors occur or untar the file as root and chown it afterward. If you don't have sudo or root, it's just going to be a chmod tweak here and there.

Feel free to let me know if these directions are useful or useless. If you find other buggers, let me know as well.

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Jason A. Nunnelley
There is One Truth