How To Use Links in Posts and PMs

Miscellaneous Other Topics.
Stargzer
Great Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 2578
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 3:56 pm
Location: Crownsville, MD

How To Use Links in Posts and PMs

Postby Stargzer » Sun May 09, 2010 4:45 am

I had a question from a user about how to code links so the multi-line URL does not appear. When composing the answer I figured I'd post a copy in Res Diversae for all to use. Here's how to do it.


Copy the URL you want for the link (e. g., highlight, right-click, and select copy or highlight and type CTRL-C).

Type the name of the link, e. g., Stargzer's Meager Web Site

Highlight it and click the URL button on the upper right. it will put URL tags around the name of the link.

[/color][/b][b][color=darkred]Stargzer' ... lor=green]

Now put an equals sign ("=") in the opening URL tag between the "l' in "url" and the right square bracket ("]").

[/color][/b][b][color=darkred]Stargzer' ... lor=green]

(Hint: After it puts the tags around the link name, it keeps everything highlighted and leaves the Focus on the highlighted item. You can just do one Left Arrow and four Right Arrows to get to the proper spot and then do a CTRL-V to paste (which is the next step). I do as much on the keyboard as I can unless I really need to use the mouse.)

Finally, click between the equals sign and the right square bracket and paste your URL.

Click Preview.

Stargzer's Meager Web Site

Code: Select all

[url=http://www.stargzer.com]Stargzer's Meager Web Site[/url]
[color=darkred]http://www.stargzer.com[ ... =green][b][/color]


You will run in to problems if the URL has parentheses or some other special characters in it. When that happens, you'll have to replace them with an escape sequence. This really drove me crazy for a while until I figured out what was going on.

Examples:

Typing an URL with parentheses:
-- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asterism_(astronomy)

Trying to encode an URL with parentheses:
-- Asterism

See how the first one stops at the left parenthesis and the second just doesn't encode?

This is how you fix it:

Asterism

Substitute a %28 and %29 for the left and right parentheses, respectively.

Code: Select all

[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asterism_&28astronomy%29]Asterism[/url]
[color=darkred]http://en.wikipedia.org/ ... lor=green][/b]

For more on URL encoding go to W3Schools. On the left, under HTML Tutorials, click Learn HTML and then scroll down until you see HTML References on the left and click HTML URL Encode. This is the long way to that page, but I want you to see what else is available at the site. I've found this site very helpful. In their tutorials, they have a window where you can enter code and then see how it displays.

Don't forget, you can always click the Quote button in a post to see how it is coded. That's how you can bypass the Profanity Filter to see the underlying offending words! :twisted: That's also how I figured out how to use the ="some name" parameter in the Quote tag to add the name of a site I'm quoting, like the Online Etymology Dictionary.

Notice how in this post I put the URL tag around the name and put the whole shebang in quotes to have "Online Etymology Dictionary" be a link.


Final note: in the lower left corner of the edit or compose window there is a list of Options. Click the BBCode link to read more about BBCode, the code used in posts and replies. It's similar to HTML but different. I personally don't think the List code works well, so I rarely use it, but the Formatting, Linking and Image Linking instructions are worth reading.


Enjoy!

Post early, post often, and try to keep it at least vaguely related to the original topic.
Last edited by Stargzer on Sun May 09, 2010 8:05 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Regards//Larry

"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
-- Attributed to Richard Henry Lee

User avatar
Slava
Great Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 8040
Joined: Thu Sep 28, 2006 9:31 am
Location: Finger Lakes, NY

Postby Slava » Sun May 09, 2010 1:47 pm

Thank you muchly, Oh Greatest of Grand Panjandra. Now I can pretty up my posts before they go out into the wide world. I've done it once now, and it worked. Now all I have to do is remember to do it each time. It may take longer, but it also allows for a bit more thought before making that really inane post. Or so I hope.
Life is like playing chess with chessmen who each have thoughts and feelings and motives of their own.

Stargzer
Great Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 2578
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 3:56 pm
Location: Crownsville, MD

Postby Stargzer » Sun May 09, 2010 8:08 pm

As with many things, it takes more time to explain it than to do it. Short version:

Highlight the text you want as the link. Click the URL button to plop in the start and end tags. Put in the equals sign and past the link. Preview and test link.

Preview is your friend, with this and any other posting task.
Regards//Larry

"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
-- Attributed to Richard Henry Lee


Return to “Res Diversae”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 15 guests