Tiptap typography: choose which typed characters the editor may replace

A workshop brief contains the sentence Fit the 1/2-inch adapter. A polished fraction character can look appropriate in prose, but the same document also names a catalog entry as 1/2-inch adapter. The application should decide whether those strings must remain identical before it changes what the author typed.

Configure the actual substitutions you accept

In an existing Tiptap application, install the Typography package compatible with the editor's version and include one configured extension:

import Typography from '@tiptap/extension-typography';

const workshopTypography = Typography.configure({
  oneHalf: false,
  oneQuarter: false,
  threeQuarters: false,
  openDoubleQuote: false,
  closeDoubleQuote: false,
  openSingleQuote: false,
  closeSingleQuote: false,
  emDash: false
});

Add workshopTypography to the existing editor's extension list. Keep its schema and other setup. This fragment deliberately disables a set of rules; rules not listed retain their defaults. For a field requiring completely literal text, review every enabled rule or omit Typography from that field instead of assuming this short list disables all transformation.

The documentation lists more than quote and fraction rules. Examples include ... to an ellipsis, -> to a right arrow, != to a not-equal sign, and patterns for multiplication and superscripts. Those replacements can change technical strings even when no spelling error exists.

Compare characters, not just the preview

Use these test sentences with the actual configuration:

Type each example rather than loading it with setContent() and assuming the same input-rule path ran. Then inspect editor.getText() and the application's saved HTML or JSON. Similar-looking punctuation can be a different character in a copied command, a search query, or a catalog lookup.

The purpose of this table is to make a configuration decision visible. The sample sentence is illustrative; it does not establish that every catalog treats the two fraction spellings differently. Test the downstream system that actually receives your document's text.

Let the author reverse an unwanted conversion

The current Typography documentation identifies Backspace on Windows/Linux and Delete on macOS for its undoInputRule() behavior. Try the reversal immediately after typing a pattern that converts in the integrated editor. Confirm that the literal characters return, then continue normal editing.

If the expected reversal does not run, inspect the installed extensions and keyboard handling. An application keymap can intercept the key. Explain the shortcut alongside a real authoring control when character replacement is a recurring source of confusion; do not require authors to discover it by accident.

For developers implementing lower-level patterns, the ProseMirror input-rule guide explains matching, code-context boundaries, and immediate reversal. Typography offers a prepared set of character rules rather than a complete Markdown importer.

Keep character changes separate from formatting and proofing

Centering a heading changes a node's alignment attribute. Typography changes text characters. The Tiptap alignment guide covers the first operation; applying a different font or alignment will not restore a slash that became a single fraction character.

Spelling software is another separate layer. The spelling configuration guide explains checking dictionaries and service choices. A typographic replacement is not evidence that a sentence has been proofread or that its technical notation remains correct.

When the workshop brief is ready, copy the adapter name from the saved reader view into the catalog's real lookup field. Read the instruction beside it and confirm the characters survive the handoff. Choose the editor's substitution policy around that actual use, then keep the policy consistent when the document reopens.