1: Hello - 2: Concepts - 3: Sign-Up - 4: This-Posting - 5: Formatting
This post explains Creating contributions.
It uses concepts and vocabulary explained on the curated journey to here. If anything is unexplained maybe you have forgotten a step?: use the links above 🙂
The work-flows below for contributing a reply to someone else’s post or starting a new thread are very similar.
The differences to the workflow between a Wide-Screen View with a mouse (normally on a Desktop | Laptop) or Narrow-Screen View with a touch screen (normally on a Mobile device) are mostly cosmetic. See 2: Concepts
For example:
The Wide-Screen View mode with a keyboard places the Composer (Post Creator & Editor) window-pane at the bottom of the forum’s window
The Narrow-Screen View mode or when an On-Screen Keyboard is used places the Composer window-pane at the top of the forum’s window
(To allow space for the on-screen keyboard at the bottom)
Dotted underlines like this have Tool-Tip text on mouse hover. The same with any link or image with the Title attribute in use. - You need a pointing device to reveal them not a touch-screen
If anything the workflow is easier on a mobile device in mobile mode!
To add a Post to an existing Thread
- To reply to a specific post Click | Tap the Reply option below right of the post
- In some combinations of mode and interface you need to hover the mouse-pointer at the post’s (not thread’s) end to reveal the Reply option
- If you wish to add a post to a thread without replying to a specific post then Click the “Write a Reply…” option at the current end of the Thread (or on DeskTop the Reply button at the Top Right of the desktop window - Equivalent ways to accomplish the same result
- A Composer window pane will open on top/ in front of the current forum display (If relevant with the referred to post’s details included)
If you highlight a portion of any existing posts a “Quote” option button pops-up
- Clicking | Tapping the “Quote” option button will add the quote to the currently open Composer Window (Opening a new Composer/ Post Editor window if one wasn’t already open)
- Compose your reply 🙂
More guidance in Composer Menu Options and Navigating While Composing below
- Use the Preview Button table-columns 1st icon of the Composer-Menu (details below) to view the current state of your draft post
Using the “X” top left in Narrow Screen or the “_” top right of the Wide Screen layouts also minimises the Composer without repositioning the underlying window - Useful for inspecting edits without needing to find ‘your place’ again!
- When creating a new post the preview button shows a side-by-side display.
- When updating an existing post the preview button loads the current, edited unsaved, version to the display and minimises the Composer Window-Pane to a bar at the bottom of the screen
- Tapping the bar re-opens the Composer-Window to continue editing
- Tapping any of the forum’s other controls will take you to their normal destinations and keep the composer window available in the bar at the bottom of the screen
- ReOpening the Composer Window allows for further composing and access to Composer Menu/ Post control options
- In mobile mode’s the composer window’s paper aeroplane paper-plane icon top right is the Post (Save and Publish the) Reply button
- In desktop mode the Post Reply button is at the bottom left of the composer window-pane
- If you post your reply after having navigated away from the thread it replied to then after successfully posting the new contribution a green pop-up button will offer the opportunity to view the new contribution
The 3 Scrolling Regions
The whole forum content of posts, threads or the top level of Tags/ User Directory/ Profile etc will scroll if there is any content available before or after what is currently showing.
To scroll on mobile Tap and Hold and Glide somewhere inside the window’s edge’s that is not within any contained scrolling region’s
When composing the editing window is a scrolling region that will scroll if there is anything available before or after what is currently showing
To scroll a nested window Tap and Hold and Glide inside the nested window pane (You can continue to glide beyond it’s boarders)
-
The mobile mode Composer Window it’s-self will move relative to the window underneath it (So can move the Post Reply button, even the whole the whole content entry area off of the top of the screen! 🙁 but you can’t resize / enlarge it 😠 )
To slide the Composer Window back into view Tap and Hold and Glide the composer window’s icons toolbar or any edge of the composer’s window pane
Scrolling any region that contains another region on top of it will scroll to the limit of one and then scroll the other - leading to general confusion 🙁
Navigation while Composing
You can navigate the forum while the composer window is open whether you have minimised it or not!
Normally it’s easiest while the composer is minimised as described next
Composer Menu Option Buttons (including Preview)
The Composer-window’s buttons at the foot of the window enter Mark-Up formatting directives (actually a combination of some Mark_Down and Bulletin Board Code - >>>See 5: Formatting for (some) understanding of what is available<<<)
table-columns View Preview
Works as a side-by-side when 1st creating a post on Desktop.
Otherwise on desktop: refreshes the view under the composer window to show the current draft state of the post being edited
On Mobile and when editing an existing post table-columns will refresh the display in the pane below the composer to the top of the post being edited. Useful if you have navigated away from the thread you’re replying to.
Using the “X” top-Left of the Composer Window (NOT the Browser’s “X” which is sometimes on the left(!)) will collapse the composer to the bar at the bottom and reveal the window beneath. If it is the post currently being edited It will show the current updated state of the draft without repositioning to the post’s start. A convenient element of workflow as the draft version of the post is updated in real-time - You must post/publish it when finished to avoid discarding changes.
- When creating a post a draft is saved at the frequency set in your profile and when you hit the floppy-disk icon. If you closed the Composer Window the draft, upto the last save is saved despite the scary “Do you want to discard…” message! 🙂 To fully discard a draft go to the Drafts Menu | Select the draft by Clicking | Tapping and select the trash icon
photo-film Add Image from your Library of uploads,
file-arrow-up Upload to library and insert image or file,
heading Heading level 1 to 6
Only the leading hashes are required followed by a space
bold Bold selected text,
italic Italicise selected text,
strikethrough StrikeThrough,
quote-left Add a background to a text block,
triangle-exclamation Redact text until clicked,
Other similar formatting tags are recognised see 5: Formatting
code Add preformatted text (code),
This is in line code a code block can also be marked see 5: Formatting
link Add a link - links to forum threads go to the 1st post unless they end …/# (#= the sequence number of the target post-in-thread)
- [just the Thread's address. Omits the protocol and domain](/flarum/public/d/1-click-here-first-hello-welcome) goes to head of the thread
Try it just the Thread’s address. Omits the protocol and domain
- [Just the Thread's id](1-click-here-first-hello-welcome) goes to the head of the thread
Try it Just the Thread’s id
- You can even just quote the threads number
[Just the thread numeric id](1)
Try it Just the thread numeric id
- [Just the **post's** id note the trailing "/2"](1-click-here-first-hello-welcome/2) goes to 2nd post in thread
Try it Just the post’s id note the trailing “/2”
- [Just **post's** numeric id!](1/2) goes to 2nd post in thread try it
Try it Just post’s numeric id!
image Add image by link,
list Add unordered list,
list-ol Add Numbered list,
at Add mention of person or group (3 chars are needed for a auto complete search),
Not in the menu but
typing “#TagName” adds a link to a Tag-ref (enter 1st3 chars for auto-suggestions)
typing “ :” followed by a search eg :smi for smilies (there are 100s), and
table-cells-large try-this one (duplicates a lot of what is already listed) then see the 5: Formatting post!
Tagging the OP of Thread
When creating a thread the Opening Post (OP) MUST have at least one Primary Tag to categorise it - but may have more.
Some Primary Tags have Secondary Tags/ Categories within them that may optionally be applied. See 2: Concepts
Every OP can also be optionally tagged with any Universal Tags
On a mobile the screen real-estate is constricted when 1st creating an OP. Saving then updating gives slightly more space (especially if anonymous posting is enabled)
Draft Posts
Your list of current draft contributions can be listed by opening the pen-to-square Drafts menu option (at the top of the page in WideScreen mode or on the Menu revealed by the hamburger: hamburger in NarrowScreen mode)
- IF you are creating a new post (rather than editing an existing post) and you have enabled Save-Drafts in your profile (Profile settings are accessed by clicking your Avatar top Right Then Settings) then Clicking the “X” on the minimised bar will Save A Draft
WideScreen View/ Mode
- Simply use any of the navigation buttons that are available to you windows top or bottom
Editing An Existing Post
1: Hello - 2: Concepts - 3: Sign-Up - 4: This-Posting - 5: Formatting
