CKEditor5 Definition List Fix

Features

CKEditor 5 Definition List Fix improves support for semantic HTML definition lists in Drupal's CKEditor 5 integration.

By default, CKEditor 5 may transform or normalize definition list markup in unexpected ways, including:

Converting <dt> elements into paragraphs
Inserting unwanted

tags inside <dt> or <dd>
Altering valid semantic definition list structures during editing

This module provides a lightweight CKEditor 5 plugin that preserves proper definition list markup while editing content.

Features include:

• Preserves
  

  <dl>
      <dt>
          Term
      </dt>
      <dd>
          Description
      </dd>
  </dl>

  AND ALSO

  <dl>
      <dt>
          <p>Term</p>
      </dt>
      <dd>
          Description
      </dd>
  </dl>

  elements in CKEditor 5

• Also preserves <dl>, <dt>, and <dd> elements in CKEditor 5
• Preserves this markup
  

  <aside class="wb-fnote" role="note">
  <h2 id="fn">Note</h2>
  
  <dl>
  	<dt>Note 1</dt>
  	<dd id="fn1">
  	<p>Lorem ipsum quarum</p>
  	<p>Examples:</p>
  	<ul>
  		<li>equipment required</li>
  		<li>an inspection required</li>
  	</ul>
  
  	<p class="fn-rtn"><a href="#fn1-rf"><span class="wb-inv">Return to footnote </span>1<span class="wb-inv"> referrer</span></a></p>
  	</dd>
  </dl>
  </aside>

• Prevents unwanted paragraph insertion inside <dt>
• Supports semantic HTML definition lists
• Preserves semantic <i> elements during editing and saving
• Prevents unwanted <em> from wrapping <i lang="la">et cetera</i> insertion inside <dt> elements
• Works directly inside the CKEditor 5 editing experience
• Lightweight implementation with no external libraries required
• Compatible with Drupal 10 and Drupal 11

Typical use cases include:

• Accessibility-focused websites
• Government and enterprise websites
• Technical documentation
• Glossaries and dictionaries
• FAQ layouts using semantic HTML
• Structured editorial content

Post-Installation

After enabling the module:

1. Go to: Administration » Configuration » Content authoring » Text formats and editors
2. Edit the text format where CKEditor 5 is enabled.
3. In the CKEditor 5 toolbar configuration, enable: Definition List Fix Plugin
4. Save the text format configuration.

The module works automatically after the plugin is enabled for a text format.

No additional configuration pages are required.

Example supported markup:

<dl>
  <dt>Term</dt>
  <dd>Description</dd>
</dl>

AND

<i lang="la">et cetera</i> (without the em element)

The module is designed to preserve valid semantic definition list markup during editing and saving.

Additional Requirements

No additional modules or external libraries are required.

Requirements:

• Drupal 10 or Drupal 11
• CKEditor 5 (included with Drupal core)

Recommended modules/libraries

The following modules may complement this project depending on your use case:

• CKEditor 5 Table Fix
• CKEditor 5 Label Fix
• CKEditor 5 Sup Fix

Documentation

README.md