Immutable Elements

The immutable feature enables you to add HTML elements that cannot be edited by the user.

For a runnable example, refer to the demo on immutable elements in the Editor.

Enabling Immutable Elements

To define the immutable elements in the content area, set the contenteditable DOM attribute to false. To prevent the user interaction with that element, you also need to enable the Immutables() configuration method.

    @(Html.Kendo().Editor()
        .Name("editor")
        .Immutables(true)
        .Value("<div contenteditable='false'>this is immutable</div><div>this is mutable</div>")
    )

Serializing Immutables

The Serialization() method enables you to control the HTML representation of the immutable elements in the viewHtml dialog.

The immutables.serialization configuration method accepts the following parameters:

• String—A plain string. Implements an opening and a closing tag of the display representation in the ViewHtml dialog.

  @(Html.Kendo().Editor()
      .Name("editor")
      .Immutables(i => i
          .Serialization("<div></div>")
      )
      .Value("<div contenteditable='false'>this is immutable</div><div>this is mutable</div>")
  )
  

• Kendo UI for jQuery template—Contains the immutable data DOM element.

  (Html.Kendo().Editor()
      .Name("editor")
      .Immutables(i => i
          .Serialization("<#= data.nodeName # data=\"immutable-element\"></#= data.nodeName #>")
      )
      .Value("<div contenteditable='false'>this is immutable</div><div>this is mutable</div>")
  )
  

• Function—A callback function. Exposes the immutable DOM element in the overload and is expected to return a string.

  (Html.Kendo().Editor()
      .Name("editor")
      .Immutables(i => i
          .SerializationHandler("immutablesSerializationHandler")
      )
      .Value("<div contenteditable='false'>this is immutable</div><div>this is mutable</div>")
  )
  
  <script>
      function immutablesSerializationHandler(node) {
          var tagName = node.tagName;
  
          return "<" + tagName + ">" + "</" + tagName + ">";
      }
  </script>
  

Deserializing Immutables

The Deserialization() method does the opposite of the Serialization() one. Deserialization() takes the HTML representation from the ViewHtml dialog and alters the immutable DOM element based on the implemented logic in the callback function.

The following example demonstrates how to use the Serialization() and Deserialization() options to expose the CSS text-align property in the ViewHtml dialog so that the user is able to change it from the HTML code.

    @(Html.Kendo().Editor()
        .Name("editor")
        .Immutables(i => i
            .Serialization("<immutable style='# if(data.style.textAlign){#text-align: #=data.style.textAlign##}#'></immutable>")
            .Deserialization("immutablesDeserializationHandler")
        )
        .Value("<div contenteditable='false'>this is immutable</div><div>this is mutable</div>")
    )
    <script>
        function immutablesDeserializationHandler(node, immutable) {
            immutable.style.textAlign = node.style.textAlign;
        }
    </script>

Applying a Default Decoration

To decorate all contenteditable="false" elements and improve user experience (UX), use a CSS rule.

• If you use the classic mode, add the CSS rule to an external CSS file that is adjoined to the stylesheet collection of the Editor.
• If you use the inline mode, place the CSS rule on the page as demonstrated in the following example.

    <style>
        .k-editor [contenteditable='false']{
            opacity: 0.5;
        }
    </style>

    @(Html.Kendo().Editor()
        .Name("editor")
        .Tag("div")
        .Immutables(true)
        .Value("<div contenteditable='false'>this is immutable</div><div>this is mutable</div>")
    )

See Also

• Immutable Elements by the Editor HtmlHelper for ASP.NET MVC (Demo)
• Server-Side API