This month we’re going to cover some of the formatting questions I receive most often. Much of this information might be old news to those who’ve been with us for years, but hopefully, it will benefit the newer members and could be a great refresher for all.
First, the emoji board. (Far right on the formatting bar) I’ve heard from a number of people that they can no longer use emoji’s as it freezes their computer. Since a recent update, the emoji board operates differently. Now when you click on the emoji it opens a module above the text box. You must choose your emoji (click) – then right below the line of emoji’s there is a greyed out box. To the far right of your screen, in that greyed area, you’ll see “CLOSE MODULE” You must click that to close the emoji box before you can continue.
Problem solved! ☺
Now let’s take a look at the formatting bar at the top of all forum text boxes.
We’ll cover these options one at a time.
First is BOLD. There are two ways to use this feature. One is by highlighting or selecting the text you want bolded, the clicking on B in the formatting bar.
You’ll notice it inserts the ‘html code’ which includes an opening bracket and a closing bracket. Like this:
[b] your text [/b] This code can also be inserted into your text in the word processor you use to write your responses prior to copying and pasting it to the forum box.
The exact same process is used for “I” Italics – [i] your text [/i] and “U” Underline – [u] your text [/u].
(NOTE: There is never a space between the components in an html bracketed code. The spaces in my examples are only there to show you the code itself instead of its result)
Next on the list is the Strikethrough feature. It can be used when you make a boo-boo error or when leaving feedback and you want to show alternatives to the writer. For example example in this sentence.
Then we come to Subscript and Superscript. Subscripts and superscripts are perhaps most often used in formulas, mathematical expressions, and specifications of chemical compounds and isotopes, but have many other uses as well. Superscripts are used for the standard abbreviations for service mark ℠ and trademark ™. The signs for copyright © and registered trademark ® are also sometimes superscripted, depending on the use of a word or the typeface.
Both low and high superscripts can be used to indicate the presence of a footnote in a document, like this5 or thisxi. Html is much the same here [sub] your text [/sub] gives you This is your text and [sup] your text [/sup] gives you This is your text
Next on the bar is the large “A” – this is for Size It will make your text larger or smaller. You’ll notice that these also have an HTML code. [size=5] your text [/size]
Here we’ll notice the HTML changes slightly. It uses the = (equal sign) This is a common denominator used when there is a choice of options for the code to perform. With size, our forum can go from 1 to 5 with each number getting progressively bigger.
[size=1] your text [/size] compared to [size=3] your text [/size] or even [size=5] your text [/size]
The final format option in the first section is Color, represented by the box of colored cubes. Colors can be used for a number of things but most often they are used when leaving feedback in the classroom so the author can distinguish your comments from the original text.
Again we have a choice of colors so the html would read [color=red] your text [/color] =blue, =green etc.
Let’s move on to the 2nd box of formatting options.
The first (left side) of this section is
Here’s what this will look like in your text box:
[ul]
[li][/li]
[li][/li]
[/ul]
And here’s what it looks like once you’ve added your text and hit Preview or Submit:
- your text 1
- your text 2
To break this down, the “ul” is called the Parent. The “li” is called the child.
[ul id="parent"]
[li id="child"]I'm a child of parent![/li]
[/ul]
So for a longer bulleted list, you would just copy the [li] [/li] for each additional item on your list. OR you can use the “List Item” *–– (third item in this section of the bar) which will insert [li][/li] another opening and closing “child” where you'll add another line in your bulleted list – this can be used as many times as needed to complete your list
Then the closing bracket will end the list. [/ul]
The next item on the bar is a Numbered List. It works in the same way but the opening (parent) element is slightly different. A numbered list looks like this:
[ol]
[li][/li]
[li][/li]
[li][/li]
[li][/li]
[/ol]
And here’s your result:
- Bob
- Carol
- Ted
- Alice
The fourth element in this section is the Horizontal Line. [hr] This will add a line all the way across your page. (Notice it does not have a closing element)
The last three items in this section are Alignment
[left] your text [/left]
[center] your text [/center]
[right] your text [/right]
Simple, right?
One important rule on these types of formatting. Certain elements must be done in the correct order for them to display correctly.
Some have no specific order. So this: [u][i][b]
But when it comes to adding Alignment elements, there is an order that must be followed.
So…
[color=blue][size=5][b]Bob[/b][/size][/color] and [size=5][color=blue][b] Bob[/b][/color][/size] will both give you the same result
Bob
And even [u][color=blue][b][size=5] Bob[/size][/b][/color][/u] will still give you
Bob
Even though we’ve mixed up the order of the elements added.
But when it comes to adding the alignment, this: [center][u][color=blue][b][size=5] Bob[/size][/b][/color][/u][/center] (correct) will give you:
Bob
But this order, [color=blue][b][center] Bob[/center][/b][/color] will give you this:
Bob
The Alignment must always be the final step.
Whew! Confused yet? 
Okay, let’s move on to the rest of the formatting bar. We’re going to cover just a few of the most used options from here.
The fourth section contains starting from the left: Quote - Code – Table - Spoiler – and two others that are rarely needed in the classroom. For now, let’s look at Quote & Spoiler
The Quote tag is a great choice when you want to insert text that is not your own. It looks like this: [quote] Your text [/quote] basically, it will just separate the text inside from the rest of the text on the page by offsetting it and turning it into italics.
This is my text
This is my quoted text
The Spoiler Alert button is a good one to use if you’re going to add information from a book or movie that others may not have seen. It gives readers the option of not readings further if they don’t want to spoil the book or movie. This is what it looks like on the page:
[spoiler][/spoiler]
And here’s the result:
Warning: Spoiler! [ Click to hide ]
This movie is about time-traveling Lizards and the Denver Airport
This is how it reads if you add your text inside the brackets.
It’s better to just add the opening and closing brackets, hit return a couple of times, then continue with your post. So it would read like this:
Warning: Spoiler! [ Click to hide ]
This movie is about time-traveling Lizards and the Denver Airport
That way people have a chance to hide your text before they can read it.
Well, that’s enough for one lesson. I hope you found it useful. Next time we’ll cover adding Links, Images, and Videos to your posts.