After sitting in digital storage for over a decade, I’m excited to finally share my 2014 PluralSight audition video on integrating WYSIWYG editors into ActiveAdmin.
What It’s About
This tutorial walks through the complete process of integrating TinyMCE (a popular WYSIWYG editor) into ActiveAdmin, covering:
- Adding the
tinymce-railsgem (Rails 3 era!) - Configuring TinyMCE with custom toolbars and plugins
- Working around ActiveAdmin’s unique architecture (object-oriented vs framework-oriented)
- Using Formtastic to apply CSS classes to text areas
- Following Yahoo’s YSlow best practices for JavaScript placement
The Time Capsule Effect
Recording date: February 14, 2014
Publication date: January 23, 2026
Time elapsed: Nearly 11 years
It’s fascinating to look back at Rails 3, pre-Webpacker asset pipeline, and the state of rich text editing before ActionText existed. Some things have changed dramatically—others remain surprisingly relevant.
Why I Made This (Then and Now)
2014: This was an audition video for a comprehensive ActiveAdmin course with PluralSight. While the full course never materialized due to my professional commitments, I am pleased with the technical depth and teaching approach in this footage.
2026: During some routine harddrive cleanup, I came across this video and I’m finally sharing it because:
- The retro aesthetic fits perfectly with my current portfolio theme
- It demonstrates teaching ability and technical communication
- It’s a fun “before ActionText” historical artifact
- Someone might still find the information useful (ActiveAdmin + TinyMCE is still a valid stack!)
What’s Next
I’m planning to create more content around:
- Modern Rails patterns and best practices
- CTO/technical leadership insights
- Legacy Rails modernization strategies
- No-drama deployment pipelines
See you again in 12 years! 8-)
Watch the full video on YouTube at ActiveAdmin + TinyMCE and consider subscribing if you enjoy the teaching style!
Got thoughts on this vintage Rails content? Found it useful? Let me know on LinkedIn or GitHub.