Forum usage guide: how to search, format text, images and edit signature.

Quick links
HTML Code guide: [forums.reprap.org]
Editing signature: [forums.reprap.org]

Any request to Forum's admins can be done here: Administration, Announcements, Policy

Search guide

---

First of all for a good searching the use of Advanced search is suggested.

• Yellow arrow: Here we have the search field, where to put the words/arguments that we are looking for. Usually don't use articles or prepositions. E.g.: "Is Xy vendor trustworthy?" look for "XY vendor".
• Green arrow: Show the matching, All Words looks for all words inside topics; Any Words looks for any single words matching (one word to another); Exact Phrase looks for the exact words (in the e.g. before it looks for the exact phrase "XY vendor trustworthy").
• Red arrow: Look inside the author's posts for the words matching.
• Blue arrow: Forum's sections to search.
• Orange arrow: Displays results in different ways.

• Dark arrow: IMPORTANT, range of time to search, All dates is suggested, others settings can be useful when you know the time's interval of topic. E.g.: If I'm looking for an info that I remeber it was posted inside a topic 5 months ago I will search Last year (pay attention if the year has just began!).

Watch out: search apparently does not work for words that are three letters long or less. For example, if you do a search for "PLA" or "ABS" or "wax" it comes up with no results, even though those are very commonly used words on the forums.
Solution: A Google search for "site:forums.reprap.org wax" turns up lots of results.

---

Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 03/22/2016 06:34PM by Gordie.

---

---- "Let me make my move" ----

HTML code for tables

The heart of page formatting is the table, tables are easy to use and make neat pages.
Tables are created by this code <TABLE border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="1"> The tag is table, others are attributes: border="1" draws a border of 1 pixel widht; cellpadding="4" put a space between items (text, images,..) and the border, 4 pixel; cellspacing="1" it's the distance between cells, 1 pixel.
Tables are made by cells in rows and columns, to make a row use the tag <TR>, inserting a cell creates also a column: <TD>. Remember, it's important to close, in the same order you've opened, the tags.

Let's see some examples with their code on the right:

cell 1 cell 2 cell 3 cell 4	<table border="3" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="3"> <tr> <td>cell 1</td> <td>cell 2</td> </tr> <tr> <td>cell 3</td> <td>cell 4</td> </tr> </table>
We can also use the CSS tag style which can help to group up all the attributes for the table or the cell, search the Web for more about it.
cell 1 cella 2 cella 3 cell 4	<table style="border:3px dashed black;" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="3" width="300"> <tr> <td bgcolor="#0000FF" align="right">cell 1</td> <td>cell 2</td> </tr> <tr> <td>cell 3</td> <td bgcolor="#0000FF" align="left">cell 4</td> </tr> </table>

So these are two examples, as you can see the first one is the simplest table you can create, just few lines of coding and you're done. Tables are essential for making a readable page if you're writing a lot and inserting images or if your writing a guide.
Consider to use them when posting a gallery of images with text descriptions.
Let's see it:
"Hi mates, today I finished my printer and I tried some printing:

	Here I set the temperature bla bla bla
	This was my reaction, I lost my head...
	So I quit and ride my bike to the sea where I found a jellyfish..

Isn't it useful? Please use tables!.

---

-- Please, notice that to insert your signature you have to check the "Add my signature to this message" when writing the message/opening a topic --

A signature shows to others who are you and what you want other users know about you. These are few of my thoughs about using it:

• I'm a new user and I want to introduce myself
• I built or I'm building a printer and I describe it in my signature (for reference)
• I'm into the 3D printing business so for trasparency (forum rules) I've to show it in my signature
• I have a RepRap project in a forum topic or on the Wiki, and I want to show it
• I have a signature because I can

While composing the signature you can follow the HTML guide above, in fact, in addiction to the forum's toolbar, the HTML code works also into the signature. In this way you could organize the layout of your signature maybe adding small pictures of your printer
Let see how to do it:
Open two browser tabs, one into the Control Center-Edit Signature, the other on a "Open new topic" like you usually do in the forum - we are not going to post a new topic, just use the preview function of it.
Start by writing the signature onto the second "preview" tab following the HTML code guide and using the toolbar of the forum, then use the preview function to see how it will looks like. If everything is fine (do not post the topic) copy and paste (select all text) into the first Edit Signature tab, save the signature and go to View My Profile to look at it.
Some suggestions:
- Please insert in your signature your hardware and software set up, so everybody can help you without asking "what's your setup?"
- Do not use big fonts, nor capital letters. Better is if you use small text (small font). To do this, select your signature's text and "Select font size" from forum's toolbar;
- Do not use images larger than 64x64 pixel; read above the HTML code guide to learn how to do it;
- Do not create a big signature few lines (4-5) are good;
- Maybe using a table to format the signature's layout could be helpful;
- Colours are good, flashing colors not, please use them with some aesthetic sense

For example, this is my signature code (small font):

<table style="border:1px dashed black;">
<tr>
<td align="center">[ size=small]---- "Let me make my move" ---- <br>
# [ url=http://forums.reprap.org/read.php?362,286684]Un progetto di stampante multifunzione[ /url] ## I commenti sono benvenuti #<br>
# [ url=http://forums.reprap.org/read.php?177,320404]ATM planning a multifunction printer with aluminum extrusions[ /url] ## Comments and thoughts are welcome #[ /size]
</td>
</tr>
</table>

Note that I used the "Code" tool to quote it. I'll never stop to say to use the "Code" tool while quoting firmware or software code!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/11/2014 11:28AM by Gordie.

---

---- "Let me make my move" ----