Content Editor Comparison Table

Following is a side-by-side comparison of the classic Content Editor with the beta Content Editor available in Blackboard Documents to help you choose which one to use. There are features being added to the beta Content Editor with each release, so be sure to check back often. Remember that you can choose the beta Content Editor for some content blocks and the classic Content Editor for other blocks, depending on which features you need.

Organization

Classic Content Editor	Beta Content Editor
Single toolbar	Text-based menus to organize all editor options, making them easy to locate—especially on mobile devices Icon-based toolbar to surface most commonly used options without visual clutter Inline menu bars that appear in context for just-in-time needs

Text formatting

Classic Content Editor	Beta Content Editor
Style: Bold, Italic, Underline, Strikethrough, Superscript, Subscript	Style: Bold, Italic, Underline, Strikethrough, Superscript, Subscript
Color: Black, Gray, Purple, Blue, Green, Red	Color: Dark Gray (Default), Gray, Purple, Blue, Green, Red
Font: Arial, Comic Sans, Courier New, Noto, Open Sans, Times New Roman, Verdana	Font: Arial, Comic Sans, Courier New, Noto, Open Sans, Times New Roman, Verdana
Size: 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 24, 36, 48	Size: 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 24, 36, 48
Code: Code blocks	Code: Code blocks and new inline code snippets
Edit: Undo, Clear formatting	Edit: Undo, Redo, Clear formatting

Paragraph formatting

Classic Content Editor	Beta Content Editor
Paragraph Style: Title, Header, Subheader, Paragraph	Paragraph Style: Title, Header, Subheader, Paragraph
Lists Numbering not correctly maintained in ordered lists Restricted to eight nested levels Can’t combine numbered and bulleted items in a list	Lists Reduced indentation and varied bulleted styles—including discs, circles, squares, and upper and lower alphas—improve readability Ordered lists correctly maintain numbering sequence Can combine numbered and bulleted items within the same list Soft returns maintain the existing list item and hard returns start a new list item No limit to nesting level and provides a horizontal scroll bar so the entire list can be accessed regardless of size Increase or decrease indent with toolbar button
Align: Left, Center, Right, Justify	Align: Left, Center, Right, Justify
Direction: Right to left or left to right text	In progress
Line Height: Single, 1.15, 1.5, Double	Line Height: 1, 1.15, 1.5, 2

Tables

Classic Content Editor	Beta Content Editor
Creating a table and designating header rows and columns are separate steps	Creating tables is more streamlined by combining row and column selection with header row and column options in a single workflow
Tables can’t be navigated with the keyboard	Selecting Tab navigates quickly through table cells
Formatting applies to the entire table	One or more cells can be selected to apply cell level formatting
Undo does not work in tables	Table edits now fully support undo and redo
Cells can’t be split or merged	Cells can be split and merged
Columns can’t be resized	Columns can be resized. Tables larger than the content area display a horizontal scroll bar.
Tables are managed with a second row on the toolbar	Tables are managed with an inline menu bar

Classic Content Editor	Beta Content Editor
To add a link, you must select the link button on the toolbar	You can select the link button on the toolbar to add a link You can select Ctrl + K/Cmd + K to open the link modal You can select text in the Content Editor then paste a link and it will make the selected text a clickable link You can type a URL and it will make the URL a clickable link* You can paste a URL and it will make the URL a clickable link* * Best practice to make content WCAG compliant is to give links descriptive text, which you can do in the link modal by selecting the link button or selecting Ctrl + K/Cmd + K

Attachments

Classic Content Editor	Beta Content Editor
Add file	Add file
Image Upload from device Stock Image from Unsplash Generate Images	Image Upload from device Stock Image from Unsplash Generate Images File properties open on upload so you can add alternative text and choose display options before the image is inserted.
Math	Wiris, LaTeX and MathJax supported, including LaTeX \begin{...}...\end{...} environments.
Image from URL	Images inserted from a URL are downloaded from the source and uploaded directly into the course rather than linked to the external source.
Embed Media	File Upload, Video by URL, and Video Studio are supported.
YouTube video	In progress
Content Collection	Browse and select files from the Content Collection without leaving the editor
Content Market	Content Market
Cloud Storage	Planned

Accessibility

Classic Content Editor	Beta Content Editor
	A skip navigation link appears as you move through the editor with a keyboard, giving quick access to the editor’s keyboard navigation instructions and shortcuts
	Disabled toolbar actions use higher contrast, making it easier to tell which options are unavailable.