What you see in the front end (UI) is NOT a Rich Text field -- it is the rich text editor. The actual RTItem only exists in the back end. Think of it as a file that stores the data that you create with the editor (or directly through script in the back end). If it were Microsoft Word, you would have a particular document open on your workstation. Someone else then changes the file that's saved to the disk. Would you expect those changes to show up in the version you have open on your screen? And what happens when you save the version you have open?
Rich text fields work exactly that way. If you make changes to the back end, they are not committed until the document is saved, and won't be visible in the UI until the current version is closed and the saved version re-opened.
To prevent conflicts between the RT editor and the back-end field, the process should look like this:
1. Save any changes made in the UI.
2. Create and save changes in the back end.
3. Close the UI document.
4. Open the back-end document into the workspace.
Rich text fields work exactly that way. If you make changes to the back end, they are not committed until the document is saved, and won't be visible in the UI until the current version is closed and the saved version re-opened.
To prevent conflicts between the RT editor and the back-end field, the process should look like this:
1. Save any changes made in the UI.
2. Create and save changes in the back end.
3. Close the UI document.
4. Open the back-end document into the workspace.