How do you use BBCode and HTML in this forum?

[JRL]

I've been using this forum for some time and I've figured out how to do some of the things to make posts more interesting and/or easier to look at. Most of these things are accomplished by highlighting the text you want stylized then pressing the appropriate button.

I've also figured out how to do a few fancy things like how to insert another web page and have it show up as a link:

Marcus' Blog

This is done with the URL button found on the "Post a reply" and "Post a new topic" pages. You simply type the text you want as a Link, highlight it, and press the "URL" button. The tricky part is that in the first URL block you add an equal sign (=). After that equal sign you put in the URL of the page you want to link to. So the link above would actually look like this:

{url=http://www.mjtnet.com/blog/}Marcus' Blog{/url}

(I've replaced square brackets with curly braces in the line above so that it will display.)

Using colors can drastically improve the readability and understandability of postings. For example the Link sample above is much easier comprehend in color.

{url=http://www.mjtnet.com/blog/}Marcus' Blog{/url}

I also know that when posting code into a code box, I need to check the box just below the post editor that's labeled "Disable HTML in this post". I've got this checked in my profile so I never forget to check it. Failure to check this box can make code posted into a code box unusable because the forum's HTML feature rewrites portions of code. One thing I haven't yet figured out is what will fail to display correctly if "Disable HTML in this post" is checked. So far I haven't noticed any problems but I assume there is something or the choice would not exist.

But... I'm not a programmer and there's a lot I don't know. I know almost nothing about "HTML". Except for this forum I've never even heard of "BBCode" I suspect that there may be other secrets that could be helpful making posts more clear and easier to understand.

One thing I would like to know is if there is a way to get colors on a code posting. It would be much easier to explain logic, syntax, etc. if code alterations could be highlighted in some manner. I've done this at times by either simply putting code in a post as plain text and highlighting all of it in green and then making the altered portions red. OR by placing the text in a quote box and highlighting the changes in red. The problem with either of these methods is that indentations go away making the code difficult to read.

Does anyone have any other fancy posting methods or clarity enhancing methods that they could share?

[Bob Hansen]

Color options are just above this text area, underneath BOLD buttons, etc. Font sizes also there.

Also see the FAQ section about forum tools. http://www.mjtnet.com/forum/faq.php
Here is an excerpt:

What is BBCode?
BBCode is a special implementation of HTML. Whether you can use BBCode is determined by the administrator. You can also disable it on a per post basis from the posting form. BBCode itself is similar in style to HTML: tags are enclosed in square braces [ and ] rather than and it offers greater control over what and how something is displayed. For more information on BBCode see the guide which can be accessed from the posting page.

Can I use HTML?
That depends on whether the administrator allows you to; they have complete control over it. If you are allowed to use it, you will probably find only certain tags work. This is a safety feature to prevent people from abusing the board by using tags which may destroy the layout or cause other problems. If HTML is enabled you can disable it on a per post basis from the posting form.

[jpuziano]

I also know that when posting code into a code box, I need to check the box just below the post editor that's labeled "Disable HTML in this post". I've got this checked in my profile so I never forget to check it. Failure to check this box can make code posted into a code box unusable because the forum's HTML feature rewrites portions of code.

Your comment above made me go back and check some code I posted here: http://www.mjtnet.com/usergroup/viewtop ... 0&start=15

and sure enough, it was not being displayed correctly. Simply checking the box just below the post editor that's labeled "Disable HTML in this post" did not fix the code... it was still garbled... that must have happened when the post was saved. I had to:

- click the Edit button to open the post
- check the "Disable HTML in this post" checkbox
- delete the old messed up code
- copy and paste the correct code in again
- save the post

Per your suggestion, I also went in to my Profile and set it so that the "Disable HTML in this post" checkbox will be checked by default in all my future posts. I don't think we're loosing anything by always having that checked (other than potential garbling of our posted code). If I want to post a link, BBCode will allow me to do that.

Does anyone have any other fancy posting methods or clarity enhancing methods that they could share?

Its funny that you should ask. The thing I hate the most that destroys clarity and usability of a post is when someone posts some code containing a very long line and thereafter, the entire post is displayed with some lines streaming off the right hand side and not even visible.

It happened again just a day or two ago in that same post: http://www.mjtnet.com/usergroup/viewtop ... 0&start=15

That post went bad in Firefox though in IE it still looked OK. I know Bob Hansen uses Firefox and he was helping me... so since I wanted him to be able to read the post... I even went back in and edited my messages in that thread by adding many carriage returns to make all my lines shorter so they would not disappear off to the right.

I reported the issue to Marcus via his Contact Web Form just as an FYI. I wasn't expecting a fix... but he found the offending line and edited it so the post again displayed properly in Firefox.

JRL, he said the offending line was one of the long lines in some code you posted while trying to help me in that post. I don't have any more details but Marcus would know.

On another note, I see that when we're posting here, the following line of tiny text appears just above where we enter our post:

If pasting script code, highlight it and press the 'Code' button to ensure it can be copied and pasted correctly.

Marcus, since the HTML setting is so bad for posted code... would you consider changing that warning to:

If pasting script code, highlight it and press the 'Code' button to ensure it can be copied and pasted correctly and make sure the "Disable HTML in this post" checkbox is checked.

Just a thought Marcus... thanks as always for your help and continuing efforts on the forums.

[JRL]

I see another fancy posting method that has gone unexplained:

Your comment above made me go back and check some code I posted here:

The quote above is titled:
jpuziano wrote: rather than Quote: which is the default for a quote box.

To get a quote title to display a name you first highlight some text to be quote boxed, then pick on the quote button located just above the "text area". You then add onto the quote tag at the start of the quoted text. Add an equal sign (=) and the text you want displayed with quotes around it. Something like this.

{quote="jpuziano"}Your comment above made me go back and check some code I posted here:{/quote}

Again, I've replaced the square brackets with curly braces so the tag will display.

By the way jpuziano, happy to have serendipitously helped you.


Another question:
What do the "List" and "List=" buttons do? I tried them both but nothing special happened.

[jpuziano]

Another question:
What do the "List" and "List=" buttons do? I tried them both but nothing special happened.

Coded like this (minus the spaces)

[ list ]
Item one
Item two
Item three
[ /list ]

It will look like this:

• Item one
  Item two
  Item three

Coded like this (minus the spaces)

[ list ]
[ * ]Item one
[ * ]Item two
[ * ]Item three
[ /list ]

It will look like this:

• Item one
• Item two
• Item three

Coded like this (minus the spaces)

[ list=1 ]
[ * ]Item one
[ * ]Item two
[ * ]Item three
[ /list ]

It will look like this:

1. Item one
2. Item two
3. Item three

Coded like this (minus the spaces)

[ list=a ]
[ * ]Item one
[ * ]Item two
[ * ]Item three
[ /list ]

It will look like this:

1. Item one
2. Item two
3. Item three

Props to the author of the post at the following link who actually explained it:
http://www.illustratorworld.com/forum/v ... a1d9341d0d

Hope that was helpful JRL... take care.