Forum Help Guide

Adding a message

Preferences

Tools

Troubleshooting

 

How to format a forum message

When you start a thread or add a new message, you'll have the following formatting buttons at your disposal:

  • (1) Bold, italics, underline, bullets, lists, undo, redo, cut, copy, paste: Just like Word
     
  • (2) Smilies: Click a smiley from the pulldown menu to insert it in the message. Hover over each smiley in the menu to see its description and its text equivalent.
     
  • (3) Links: Highlight the text you want to turn into a link, click the button, and when the popup appears, paste in the website address you want to link to. There's also an 'undo link' button to return a link to plain text.
     
  • (4) Image/movie insertion (the square tree icon): You can insert the following into your forum post: an image from another website; an image that you've already uploaded to your gallery on this site; or an image from your computer. More details below if you need them.
     
  • (5) Spellcheck (the ABC icon): this underlines any suspect spelling. Click on an underlined word for suggestions
     
  • (6) Quote: Click this to insert any posts you have selected for insertion (there is a quote button under each post)
     
  • Options: You can use a simpler editor by choosing 'basic editor' under 'Forum Editor' on your My Forum page.
     
  • Exceptions: The new form requires Javascript - users with Javascript disabled will see a plain (but functioning) message box. It's also currently incompatible with Safari, so Safari users will see a plain message box. Mac users can successfully use Firefox or Opera - and they can still use the bb-code (eg [b] and :-) ) to post.


How to add an image or movie to a forum post

 

You can insert the following into your forum post: an image from another website; an image that you've already uploaded to your gallery on this site; or an image from your computer. Click the square 'insert image/movie' tree icon, then choose one of the these tabs from the popup:

  • From an external site (eg a photo sharing website). Put the web address (url) of the image into the form and submit it. You can also add a YouTube or Google video like this (movies do not appear until the post is submitted).
  • Your Gallery If you have gallery space on our website, you can easily select images you have already uploaded to it.
  • Your computer This works by uploading the image(s) to your gallery and showing it in your forum post in one fell swoop. If you don't have a gallery album you are invited to create one from within the forum popup.

 

  • If you show a gallery image in a forum post then delete the image from your gallery, it will show as an 'image not found' in your forum posts.


Press this to copy a post: Press this to paste it as a quote: Here's how it looks: How to quote other people's messages

 

  • You can quote another member's post in your own message by clicking the quote button underneath it.
  • It works like this
  • Click the quote button under a post you want to quote
  • A popup explains that to paste the quote into your message, you need to press the quote button on the message form. This popup has a 'don't show me this again' tickbox.
  • You can select multiple posts to quote before pasting them together. The quote button turns red under messages that have been selected for quoting, and you can deselect a message by pressing its quote button (now 'unquote') again.
  • Quotes from one thread can be pasted into another thread. A 'see' link by the quoted text takes readers back to the original post, whether it is in the same thread or not.
  • Your unpasted quotes remain available until they are pasted or until the end of your session, whichever is sooner
  • You can manually edit the quoted post once it's in your message form, eg if you don't want to quote the whole message


How to edit your messages

 

  • You can edit your forum messages for 20 minutes after you post them, or until you post another message, whichever is sooner, using a temporary 'edit message' button (1).
  • If you have posted something disastrous that you need to delete afterwards, please ask admin.


How to update your avatar

 

  • You can add or edit a small image (avatar) that appears under your name in your forum posts. Just click the current image in your Member box (1) (the one with your name in at the top left of every page) and you'll be asked to upload one. You can also do it by going to your My Profile page and clicking 'Change your face'. If only life was that simple...


How to update your status

 

  • You can add a short status message that appears underneath your avatar by your forum posts. (Typically, your location, your mood, or what you're currently doing). Change it in the Status section of your My Profile page.


How to change the appearance of the forum page
(showing and hiding member stats, avatarsand images, and using an advanced vs simple message editor)

Using the Settings panel of your My Forum page, you can change how the forum appears to you:

  • Forum face control shows or hide other people's avatars
  • Thread starting page
  • Others' activity stats arranges posts counts, gallery counts etc horizontally, vertically, or hides them
  • Forum smilies shows smilies as images or as text
  • Forum images shows images that people have embedded into forum posts as images or as links to the image
  • Forum editor lets you change the forum message box formatting buttons to a simpler set for speed


(1) This tickbox controls notifications for a single thread: (2) The Notifications section on your My Forum page lists your current notifications: (3) Change your notifications default in the Notifications section of your My Forum page: How to control forum notifications

 

The forum can send you an email alert when someone replies to a thread you have taken part in.

The site's default is to send you one email after the first reply, then no more until you have visited the thread .

  • To control notifications for single threads, either:
    • When you post a message to a thread, tick or untick the box underneath the message box which says 'E-mail me when a response is made?' (see pic 1)
    • Or (if you are already receiving notifications for a thread): you can alternatively go to your My Forum page and remove the thread from your Notifications list. (pic 2)
       
  • To change the site default: In the Notifications panel of your My Forum page, change 'Default notifications type' to either 'Off'; or to 'One email per reply', which sends you one email for each reply, without waiting for you to return to the site; or to the site default of 'One email per thread then wait until you visit'. (pic 3)
    • NB This will not unsubscribe you from any threads; it just changes the manner of existing notifications and/or changes whether the 'notifications' box is pre-ticked when you add new messages.
    • You can still opt in to to notifications for individual threads without changing your default, by ticking the box under the thread message box when you add messages. (pic 1)


How to change your privacy settings

 

  • To control what other users see when they click your name Go to your My Profile page (1) and tick or untick 'show' next to your real name, profile information etc (2)
     
  • To control whether other members can send you messages on the site's internal private messaging system Tick or untick 'Message me' on your My Profile page (3)


Press this to ignore a member (via the forum): This is confirmed in your My Forum page, where you can manage your list of ignored memebrs Here's how it looks: Ignore another member

 

  • If you don't like a particular forum members, you can hide their posts and any threads they start, from your view of the forum.
  • Do this by clicking 'ignore member' under any of their forum posts; or by going to the 'Members I'm Ignoring' section of your My Forum page, and using the 'Add a member to your ignoe list' button. You can also 'unignore' members from this page.


(1) Unread messages highlighted in your member box (2) Compose a message (3) Sent messages How to use private messaging (your 'Inbox')

 

  • Private messaging replaces the site's previous 'email me' function. It's less obtrusive, and easier to keep track of conversations
     
  • Send a message by clicking 'Message member' under any of their forum posts - or by going into your Inbox pages and pressing 'compose message' (2)
  • You can message any member unless they have chosen not to accept messages. You can currently only send to one member at a time.
  • If you type the recipient's forum name into the 'To' box, you'll need to click 'check nickname' before you can send.
     
  • You'll see a new Inbox link in your member box at the top-left of every page (1). This also shows the number of unread messages you have.
  • There's also a new Inbox link in the menu above all your other member pages.
  • Messages are grouped in conversations, a bit like forum threads.
  • Delete a conversation using the tickbox and 'delete' button. There's currently no limit on the number of conversations you can keep.
     
  • You can prevent other members messaging you by unticking 'Message me' on your My Profile page. This is just the same as your previous 'Email me' setting
  • You will receive an email alert whenever someone sends you a private message. This is a default setting and you can switch it off by going to 'Settings' when you are in your Inbox pages


TROUBLESHOOTING

 

The forum has been updated, but I can't see some of the new bits

    If you can't see the 'insert quote' button, or icons or colours seem to be missing, please empty your browser's cache, or hard-refresh the page you are looking at (ctrl-F5 on IE) - your browser may be storing old elements of the page.

My email notifications have stopped since the forum upgrade

The threads you were signed up to, and your default setting for new threads, should be exactly as they were. We have taken a database snapshot of your old settings; please drop us a line if yours don't seem right.

    Only two things about notifications should have changed:
    1. The manner of notifications - they now send one email per thread, then wait til you've visited before sending any more
    2. They are now sent from [email protected], not forum@ - please check your spam filters and add notifications@ to your trusted-email list if you need to. (Notifications@ will also be used to send you notifications of private messages, if you choose to receive them)

I use Safari...

    Sorry, Safari still does some things differently from other browsers, and only works with the basic version of our forum editor. As soon as they become compatible, we'll make the upgrade, but for now, Firefox is the best bet for Mac users.

Why doesn't quoting work?

1. If you can't see the 'insert quote' button... please hard-refresh your page (ctrl-F5 on Internet Explorer, or the refresh button on Firefox), or empty your browser's cache (see below) - your browser has stored an old version of the message form.

2. If no quote seems to get stored... the quoting cookie may not be stored by your browser, usually either because:

a. It's reached the limit on the number of cookies it will accept from this site, in which case clearing them once will do the trick (see below)

or

b. Your browser security settings are set to restrict cookies from all sites, in which case, making us a 'trusted site', if you have that function, is the safest solution.

How to clear your cookies and cache

NB You will be logged out of the site when you remove your cookies, just log back in using the member-logon box on the left of every page, or at this page

Internet Explorer
The quick blunt way: (this will remove all your cookies and log you out of all sites)

The GetWoodworking-specific way

Firefox
The quick, blunt way (this will remove all your cookies and log you out of all sites)

The GetWoodworking-specific way

If you still have problems with quoting, please could you drop us a line, explaining what happens (or doesn't), and which browser you use.

    If you've double-checked the guide to how quoting should work, please try the remedies below:
    • Clear cookies by going to: Tools > Internet options > General > Delete cookies
    • AND
    • Clear cache by going to: Tools->Internet Options->Delete Files (Offline and Online content)
    • Tools > Internet options > General > settings > view files `> [this will show your cookies; now delete all GetWoodworking-related ones]
    • AND
    • Clear cache by going to: Tools->Internet Options->Delete Files (Offline and Online content)
    • Preferences > Privacy > Clear private data > tick cache and cookies and press 'clear private data now'
    • Preferences > Privacy > Show cookies > enter GetWoodworking into the search in the cookies window, then select them and click 'remove cookies
    • AND
    • Preferences > Privacy > Clear private data > tick cache and press 'clear private data now'

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