Styling Your Posts

[ProBoards Help Guide]

When creating a new topic or replying to a thread, you have a variety of different ways to style your post to give it a look of its own. This is done using all of the different options available to you under the Subject area of the posting page. You can style your post to use a combination of the provided features, like you would do when typing in a word processor program. Below is a breakdown of each of the different options available, along with a description of how they are used:



Font Face: Using the dropdown menu here, select the type of font that you would like to use for the text provided in your message. This dropdown menu will display the font names within their font style so you can have a preview of what to expect. Once you have a font selected, you can start typing and you will see your text within the selected font. Otherwise if you already have text typed out in the message area, you can simply highlight the words that you want to display in a different font face, and then choose which font to have the words display as within the drop-down menu.



Font Size: The dropdown menu provided here will allow you to change the text size of the text you write in the message area of the posting page. The options provided to you range from as small as 8pt font on up to 36pt font. Much like the Font Face option, simply choose the font size you would like to use from the menu and begin typing in the message area. The text you type should appear in the size that you have selected. Otherwise if you already have text added to the message area that you want to change the size of, you can highlight the text that you want to appear in a different size and then choose the text size from the Font Size menu. Once this is done, the selected text will appear in that size.



Font Color: Clicking the provided button will allow you to change the font color to any color you would like to use. Once you click the button, a color picker will display allowing you to create the perfect font color you would like to use for your message text. If you already know the hex color code of the color you would like to use, you can simply type that into the Hex box provided in the picker. Once you have the color you would like to use, you can start typing in the message area and your text will appear in that color. You can also apply a font color to text you have already written into the message area by highlighting the text you want to appear in a different color, then using the color picker to select the color of your choice.



Bold: To make your text appear in bold lettering, click the button and begin typing in the message area and your text will appear in bold lettering. You can also select text that you have already written into the message area that you want to appear in bold lettering, and then press the bold button to make the selected text appear in bold.



Italics: You can make your text appear in italicized lettering by clicking the button provided above the message area. After the button has been pressed, you can begin typing in the message area and your text will appear in italics. If you already have text written, you can highlight the words that you want to appear in italics and then press the Italic button.



Underline: You can underline text with the button. After you press the underline button, you can begin to type your text into the message area that you would like to appear with underlined lettering. You can also also select text you may already have written and then click the underline button to have your selected text appear with an underline.



Superscript: The button will allow you to make your text appear as a superscript. Click the superscript button and the text you type in the message area will appear as a superscript. If you have already written text into the message area, you can highlight the text you want to to appear as a superscript and then click the superscript button.



Subscript: You can use the button to make your text appears as a subscript. Once you click the subscript button, the text you enter into the text area will appear as a subscript. You can also highlight the the you would like to appear as a subscript first and then click the subscript button for the selected text to appear as a subscript.



Remove Formatting: Want to remove the style formatting from the text you have entered into the message area? Click the button. Once clicked, all styling will be removed from your message.



Justify Left: Clicking the button allows you to align your message text to the left of the page.



Justify Center: You can center your text using the button on the posting page.



Justify Right: Using the button, you can align your text to the right of the page.



Justify Full: Full justification will allow your message text to stretch to fit evenly on both the left and right margins of the page. You can enable this by clicking the button.



Table: You can add a table to your message using the button. Once clicked, you will see a pop up asking for the following info: Columns, Rows, Cellpadding, Cellspacing, and Border. Fill out this pop up based on how you want your table to appear in the post, then press the "Insert Table" button. Once pressed, you will see your table appear in the message area.



List: You can use the button to add a list to your post. After you click the list button, you will see a pop up window display. In this pop up, you'll be asked for the number of items you would like to list, along with a drop-down menu allowing you to choose from 8 different list styles to choose from. Fill out these options based on your needs and then click the "Insert List" button. Once this is completed, you should see a list appear in the message area available for you to edit.



Horizontal Rule: The horizontal rule button adds a horizontal line to your post. This line will extend the width of your post, often times used to separate a post into different sections. Simply click the button and the line will be added to your message area.



Link: The button will allow you to add a text link to your post. When you click the link button, a pop up window will display asking for "Text" as well as a "URL". The text you type will be the text that will display as a link in your message. The URL is the web address you would like the word to link to. Once you have these two options filled out, click the "Create Link" button and the link will be added to your message area.

You can also add a link to text you have already written in the message area. This is possible by highlighting the text you want to link to, and then click the link button. Once this is done, a pop up window will display only asking for a URL. This is the web address that you want the selected word to link to once it is clicked.



Email: You can add an email link to your post using the button. An email link is a word that links to an email address; once the email is linked, your default email application will load allowing you to quickly send an email to the linked email address. Once you click the Email button, a pop up will display asking you for text as well as an email address. In the text field, type in the text you want to display as an email link in the message area and then type in the email address you want the word to link to. Once you have these fields are filled out, click the "Insert Email" button and your email link will be added to the message area.

If you want to add an email link to text you already have typed, select the text you want to appear as an email link and then click the Email button. In the window that pops up, type in the email address you would like the selected text to link to, and then click the Insert Email button. The selected text will then appear as an email link.



Insert Image: This option will allow you to embed an image into your post using the button. Once clicked, a pop up will display asking you for an "Image URL" as well as some "Alt Text". The image URL is the direct link to the image you want to have display in your post. The image will need to be hosted with a file host in order for it to successfully appear within your post. If you do not have a file host, you can consider using the "Add Attachment" feature on the posting page instead. You can read more about the attachments feature in the "Attachments" area of the help guide.

Once you have the image URL in place, type in some text for the image; this alt text is what will display in place of your image in the event that your image is unable to load, or will display to those who have images disabled in their browser settings. Once you have the correct info in place, click the "Insert Image" button and you should see your image in the message area.



Insert Video: With the button, you can embed a video into your post. Once you click this button, a pop up will display asking for the Video URL, as well as be able to view a list of supported video websites. You also have the ability to link directly to a hosted video file as well. Simply paste in the URL of the video you would like to embed in your post; you can find the URL of the video either by copying directly from the web address in your web browsers address bar, or through a direct link provided by the share options of the video service you're linking from. Once you have the URL pasted in, click the "Insert Video" button at the bottom of the pop up window. Now in the posting area, you should see an image placeholder for where the video player will be positioned in your post. After you create the post, the video will display in that spot.



Insert User Link: Adding a user link to your post allows you to tag another member of the forum into your post. When another user is tagged, they will receive a notification making them aware that they have been mentioned in your post. To insert a user link, click the button and you'll be asked to enter a username. Type in either the username or display name of the member you would like to tag in your post, and you should see search results as you type. Once you see the member you would like to tag in your post, click on their micro-profile and you will see their tag automatically inputted into the message area, represented in an @username format. After you create your post, the @username will convert into a link, displaying the linked members display name.



Insert Code: If you have some coding to share, you can use the code box to isolate the code from the rest of your message. This code box will prevent any styling or smiley images from appearing within the code you provide, allowing your code to display as intended. To add a code box to your message, click the button and in the message area you should see an outline of a table, with default text that reads "insert code here". Replace this default text with the code you would like to share in your post.



Insert Quote: The button allows you to insert a quote box into your message area. Once this button is clicked, you will see an outline of a table in the message area with the default text of "insert quote here". Replace this text with the words you want to appear inside the quote box.



Insert Smiley: By default, every forum comes with 30 standard smiley images that you can use in your posts. You can call these smiley images by adding their tags into the message area (ie. :) would turn into once your post is made), or you can click the button and you'll be presented with a list of all the smileys that are available to use. Simply click on the preview of the image that you want to use in your post and you should see the image appear in your message text. Also in this menu is the ability to disable smiles, which will prevent the smiley images from appearing in your post and will show their calling tags instead.



Source: www.proboards.com/user-guide/posting/styling