Hi all,
as there have been repeated requests on how to use the tag functions to make your posts more readable, I thought I'd put up a short how-to for those unfamiliar with the forum software.
Basically, you can use tags to mark off specific sections of text, or to directly insert images into posts; furthermore, you can use them to create a text which is shown in place of a long and cryptic web address if you want to add a link.
You can add tags by either typing them in, using rectangular brackets [ ], or use the formatting buttons found above the emoticon ("Smily") row above the text box.
The structure is as follows:
[TAG]Selected Text[/TAG]
The first tag "opens" the formatting, the second tag "closes" it (indicated by the slash). This works the same for all tags, although some (the URL tag, notably) have extended functions explained below.
The buttons, from left to right:
Upper Row:B - Puts text in
bold.
I - Puts text in
italics.
U -
Underlines text.
S -
Strikes text.
G - Adds a
glow effect to text.
D - Adds a
shadow effect to text.
M - Adds a
to text.
The following four buttons are for text alignment.
The next button (11th in top row) adds a horizontal line:
The following button (12) adds a text size tag; you can enter different sizes, 10 being standard. NOTE: The font size number MUST be followed by "pt", e.g. "size=10pt", otherwise, it will not be properly recognized as a tag and be shown as plain text.
The final button (13) in the top row lets you
choose a font face (in this case, font=Times New Roman).
The dropdown lets you change
the colour of the text selected.
Bottom row:1: Adds a flash object.
2: Adds IMG tags to directly display an image which you have uploaded to an external image hosting service (eg Photobucket). You need the image address (obtained either from the hosting service or by right-clicking the image and choosing "get image address", although some browsers may name it differently). A proper IMG tag address looks like this while writing:
[img]http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg236/Christian_S_1979/1952_Kater_Maeckie800.jpg[/img]
And like this in the finished post:
3: Adds a hyperlink. You can directly insert an http address into your post, which will automatically create a working link, but it may be a very long link; using the URL tags, you can add a descriptive text shown in place of the address.
You insert a = into the first URL tag, followed by the web address between the two URL tags. Then, you type in Which looks like this:
[url=https://www.google.de/search?q=six-sided+dice&client=firefox-a&hs=QeH&rls=org.mozilla:de:official&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=f9eQUu_UF8KC4ASM3oGABw&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ]A Google Image search for six-sided dice[/url]
In a finished post, it looks like this:
A Google Image search for six-sided diceUnfortunately, the forum software does not automatically underline hyperlinks. You will need to use the tag (see above) to add this manually:
[url=https://www.google.de/search?q=six-sided+dice&client=firefox-a&hs=QeH&rls=org.mozilla:de:official&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=f9eQUu_UF8KC4ASM3oGABw&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ][u]A Google Image search for six-sided dice[/u][/url]
Finished, it looks like this:
A Google Image search for six-sided diceThe following two buttons (4&5) are for inserting clickable mail links and FTP links.
The following three buttons (6,7,8) allow for inserting a table, a table row and a table column, respectively.
The next two buttons (9&10) are for
superscript and
subscript, respectively.
The next button (11th in second row) allows for inserting a clickable teletype number.
Following this, there are two rather useful buttons, first for code (12) and second for quotes (13).
Code lets you show tags without applying their formatting effect in the finished message post, like this:
[b][i][u]Sample text[/u][/i][/b]
Sample textThe quote button lets you clearly identify a section of text which you quoted from a fellow forum user, or from elsewhere, to improve readability and structure of your post.
[quote]Sample Text[/quote]
Sample Text
That's all the buttons with short explanations.
The basic application is, highlight your chosen piece of text in the editing field, press the button, and the forum will add the tags and change the format (or add the special function). If you have further questions, please feel free to post them in this thread and I will answer them as soon as possible.