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1.x-1.3.0 (18.94 KB) May 2nd, 2026 Notes

Text Formatter (Acuity Utils) provides a configurable text normalisation system for Backdrop CMS. It formats text fields, node titles, and user account names automatically on save to ensure consistent, clean data entry across your site.

Features

Field-Level Formatting (Widget)

  • Custom Acuity Text Formatter widget for text fields:
    • Text
    • Long Text
    • Text with Summary
  • Automatically formats field values on save.

Entity-Wide Support

  • Works across:
    • Nodes (including title field)
    • Users (including username)
    • Any fieldable entity
  • Uses hook_entity_presave() and hook_user_presave() for consistent behaviour.

Text Normalisation Options

  • Trim

    • Removes leading and trailing whitespace.

  • Collapse Spaces

    • Converts multiple spaces into a single space
      (`"John   Smith"` → `"John Smith"`)

  • Case Transformations

    • Lowercase
    • Uppercase
    • CamelCase (Title Case)
    • Intercapped (CamelCase + Mc/Mac name handling)

Intelligent Formatting

  • Smart Punctuation

    • Capitalises after:
      • Hyphens (Jean-Luc)
      • Apostrophes (O'Connor)
      • Brackets ((Example))
      • Periods (Sentence one. Sentence two.)
      • New lines (addresses, paragraphs)

  • Mc/Mac Name Logic

    • Optional intelligent handling for names like:
      • mcdonald → McDonald
      • macarthur → MacArthur

Custom Replacements

Define whole-word replacements such as:

  • uk → UK
  • usa → USA
  • iphone → iPhone

Case-insensitive

Whole-word matching (prevents issues like Luke → LUKe)

Applied after casing rules

Title Formatting (New)

  • Apply formatting rules to node titles per content type
  • Configurable via admin UI:
    • Trim
    • Collapse spaces
    • Case transform

User Account Formatting (New)

  • Apply formatting to usernames ($account->name)

  • Optional and configurable:

    • Trim
    • Collapse spaces
    • Case transform

  • Uses hook_user_presave() to ensure:

    • Runs early enough for username generators
    • Avoids late-stage conflicts

Safety Features

  • Plain Text Enforcement

    • Disables WYSIWYG editors on formatted fields
    • Prevents corruption of HTML markup during case conversion

  • Scoped Processing

    • Only applies to fields using the Acuity widget
    • Avoids unintended global data mutation

Requirements

  • Backdrop CMS 1.x
  • PHP 8.0+

Installation

Install this module using standard Backdrop CMS instructions:

https://docs.backdropcms.org/documentation/extend-with-modules

Enable the module.

Configuration

1. Global Settings

Go to: Configuration > Acuity Utils > Text Formatter Settings (/admin/config/acuity-utils/acuity_text)

Configure:

  • Smart punctuation rules
  • Mc/Mac name handling
  • Custom replacements

2. Field Configuration

To apply formatting to a field:

  1. Go to Manage Fields for your content type
  2. Select a text field
  3. Set Widget Type to Acuity Text Formatter
  4. Configure:
    • Trim
    • Collapse spaces
    • Case transformation

3. Title Formatting

Tab: Titles

  • Assign formatting rules per content type
  • Applies to node titles on save

4. User Formatting

Tab: Users

  • Configure formatting for usernames
  • Recommended:
    • Enable Trim
    • Enable Collapse Spaces
    • Avoid aggressive case transformations unless required

Usage Notes

Username Safety

This module does not automatically generate usernames.

It only formats usernames if explicitly configured, preventing:

  • Unexpected username changes
  • User lockouts
  • Conflicts with external modules

Choosing the Right Mode

Mode Best Use
Lowercase Emails, IDs
Uppercase Postcodes, codes
CamelCase Titles, general text
Intercapped Names, addresses

Collapse Spaces Guidance

Use Case Recommended
Names ✅ Yes
Titles ✅ Yes
Addresses ⚠ Depends
Free text ❌ Usually No

Known Behaviour

  • Formatting occurs on save, not display
  • Existing content is not retroactively processed
  • Custom replacements apply after casing rules

Issues

Report bugs and feature requests:

https://github.com/backdrop-contrib/acuity_text_formatter/issues

About the "Acuity" Name

"Acuity" is the name used to organise a collection of modules and utilities. These tools are grouped under a unified name to streamline installation and make it easier for site maintainers to identify these suite of solutions.

Technically, the namespaces acuity_ and abms_ were chosen to enhance code readability and keep function names simple and easy to type.

While part of this larger Acuity family, this module is a standalone utility.

Maintainers

Contributions welcome.

Credits

  • Steve Moorhouse (Zulip: DrAlbany)
  • AI-assisted development (Google Gemini, ChatGPT)

Sponsorship

License

GPL v2
See LICENSE.txt