From the wandering that I did for setting up the default level of wysiwyg editors, I found it is not clear how to set the default level of wysiwyg editor filter. I found several explanations. Many explanations exist, the explanations were outdated and therefore incorrect. Many suggestions used extraordinary methods of PHP to accomplish the task. If done correctly, with Drupal 7 and latest modules (available 2/18/2014), the task is trivial.

To set the default:

• Install and activate the wysiwyg module
• Install and activate the wysiwyg editor that you prefer
• Set up the wysiwyg editor to offer the correct features for Filtered and Full option versions
• Go to the administrations Text Formats page (admin/config/content/formats)
• Move the level you prefer to the top of the editing levels list
• Save changes

Warning: if you load the PHP Filter module, it automatically loads the PHP Filter option to the top of this filters list and becomes the default. Probably, if you have multiple level people logging in, this is a problem. If you have roles that do not allow PHP Filter level editing, when they login, people without PHP Filter available will be locked out of the editor because they do not have authority to use PHP Filtering. Be certain to go to the Text Formats page and adjust to move the PHP Filter off the top of the stack of editors.