Templot Club Archive 2007-2020
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posted: 28 Jun 2007 18:52 from: Martin Wynne
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Hi Brian,Having made the effort, I do like the format of the forum. Thank you for taking elists, (I know it is not exactly an elist), out of the 'Notepad' text only era.I'm glad you like it. There are still a few rough edges but in general it is working well. The primary intention was to get away from Yahoo, which many Templot users would not join, either because of Yahoo registration and privacy issues, or because of (unjustified) fear of spam and viruses. A few questions:I agree, I dislike taking part in other forums where everyone uses nicknames or cryptic names, sometimes silly ones. It's difficult to start a serious reply "Dear Blood and Custard"!  There is an automatic signature function in this forum software, but at present it is turned off. That's partly for technical reasons, but mainly because the signatures do not appear in the messages when sent out as emails. Instead it's better if members simply add their name, which is the natural way to end correspondence. You don't need to add phone numbers, web site links, etc., (but you can if you want to), because all that information is available by clicking the author's name in the left column. Assuming of course that you have filled it in -- click the My Account button at the top and then the Profile tab. You can also have a logo picture below your name on the left if you wish -- click the Logo tab to upload it from your computer. Also, is it an established convention that new input appears at the bottom. 50 years in commerce has taught me that the latest documents appear on the top...... I find this confusing and am always trying to go the wrong way.This is a constant source of argument by web users. It really depends on context, and the length of the quoted text. If you are answering a question, or replying point-by-point as I am doing here, it obviously makes sense to repeat the question first and have the answer second. If you are making a more general response to a topic, readers don't necessarily want to plough through someone else's response (which they are likely to have read already) before getting to yours. On this forum, if you click the Reply with quote button, the quoted text appears in the message editor with a blank line above it. If you click there, you can start entering a reply which will put your new input at the top. Otherwise you can click below the quoted text box and put your new input below it. Generally I would say that if the quoted text is just a few lines, it's better to start your reply below it. If the quoted text is so long that you have to scroll down to start entering your reply, it would be better to put your input at the top. And better still to edit down the quoted text to leave only the relevant bits. But in the end it's your posting. Are you carefully crafting a detailed reply or scribbling a quick note? Is there a spell checker on the system? (I can spell, but my fingers are so arthritic now that I constantly hit the space between to keys....Yes, there is a spell-checker -- but the news you now won't want to hear is that the spell-checker is available only if you are using Internet Explorer. It's not available in Firefox, sorry. When you click the spell-check button it marks words in bold maroon, which isn't always obvious -- I will see about changing that to something brighter. Also in IE, but not in Firefox, your paragraphs are automatically spaced like a word processor, so there is no need to enter blank lines between them. Before sending your reply you can click the Preview button to see how it will look, and scroll back down to the editor to make any changes before clicking Send. For a very detailed reply, or one where you want to save a copy on your own system, you may prefer to compose it in your familiar word processor and then copy and paste the whole thing into the forum editor. And lastly, how do you cange the Subject, if the thread leads to a new topic?Unfortunately you can't do that. As admin I can edit the subject line for a topic, but there is no way to change it in mid-topic. Generally it's better to start a new topic, and reference the previous one by means of a link to it. Reading a topic in web format becomes inconvenient if it goes on for days getting ever longer, it's easier to navigate the forum if subjects are split into individual topics. That applies to the Thunderbird OT topic, so I am posting this reply as a new topic in the main forum. To start a new topic by quoting a different one, click Reply with quote on the old one, Ctrl-A, Ctrl-C, to copy it. Then use the Back button in your browser and click the Start new topic button. Then paste in the copied quote. regards, Martin. |
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posted: 28 Jun 2007 20:44 from: Paul Boyd
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Hi Martinyes, there is a spell-checker -- but the news you now won't want to hear is that the spell-checker is available only if you are using Internet Explorer. It's not available in Firefox, sorry. But the good news is that Firefox has a built-in spell-checker - you right-click the field and choose "Spell-check this field" like wot I just did, and got a red underline underneath 'wot' :-) Cheers! |
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posted: 28 Jun 2007 21:18 from: Martin Wynne
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Hi Paul, Paul Boyd wrote: But the good news is that Firefox has a built-in spell-checker - you right-click the field and choose "Spell-check this field" like wot I just did, and got a red underline underneath 'wot'That's brillaint, I mean brilliant, many thanks! But first you need to right-click and select Add Dictionaries... and follow the instructions to install an English (or whichever) dictionary. The really funny thing is that it underlines "Firefox"!  (Until you right-click on it and select Add to dictionary.) What's more, it's a live spell-check, unlike in IE. As you move off a wrong word it is immediately underlined. Any other Firefox goodies that I don't know about? Martin. |
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posted: 28 Jun 2007 21:51 from: Brian Lewis
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Martin Wynne wrote: Hi Paul, |
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posted: 28 Jun 2007 22:32 from: Paul Boyd
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Hi MartinBut first you need to right-click and select Add Dictionaries... and follow the instructions to install an English (or whichever) dictionary.Oh yeah - forgot that bit! It was ages ago when I installed Firefox! The really funny thing is that it underlines "Firefox"!I chuckled at that as well Any other Firefox goodies that I don't know about?Lots and lots and lots :-) Add-ons I have installed are: FasterFox - does that page really take ages to load?http://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/ lists thousands more. Basically, if you think "Why doesn't it.....?" there is probably an add-on to do it. Have fun (I think even this non-web-forum person is getting the hang of this one - just don't lose the email functionality!) Paul |
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posted: 28 Jun 2007 22:36 from: Martin Wynne
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Brian Lewis wrote:Cannot speak for Firefox Add ons, but the Calendar option is always visible and is invaluable. I actually go to appointments now.........Hi Brian, You are entering your message text in the quoted-text box (brown italic on white), which makes it look as though your words are part of the previous quote. If you just start typing, it will go above the quoted text in the cream coloured area, and enter as normal text in black. In Firefox the flashing caret may not appear until you begin typing, which can be unnerving if you are not used to it. If you want to enter your reply below the quoted text, scroll down and click in the cream coloured area below it before you begin, or just press Ctrl+End keys. If you want to go back to the top, click above the quoted text, or press Ctrl+Home. Sorry if this is a case of grandmothers and eggs. regards, Martin. |
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