Date: 11/9/09 12:22 PM

If you've struggled with posting on the boards, or are new to the site and would like to participate, this tutorial is for you. It also covers posting pictures, formatting the text etc.

Start by clicking the "Message Board" tab found at the top of most of the Pattern Review web pages.




Once there you will see forum topics listed on the left.




The next two columns show how many topics are in each forum and the number of replies to those topics.




The column on the right show the date and time of the last posting along with the topic it was posted under and the member who posted it.




For this tutorial we will choose the "Miscellaneous" section. It is important to determine which forum your topic belongs to, so that other members can easily find the information you're posting. If you post a message under the incorrect topic, it’ll most likely be moved to a more appropriate forum by the board moderators.




Inside the forum the column on the left will list the topics in that forum. This is a good way to see if your topic will fit within that forum.




The next column shows the topic starter's name.




.. and how many replies have been posted to that topic




Last posting date, time, and members name who posted it




To start a new topic click "Start a New Topic" button at the top




If you are not currently logged into Pattern Review you will be asked to log in at this time




The next screen will allow you to draft your new topic. At the top you will see your user name, the topic title, and an area for topic description. The title should be clear and to the point. The description is a quick summary of what this topic is about.




The next section will allow you to format your text.




This is the section where you will write your posting




The three buttons on the left control bold, italic, and underline. If you are used to email and other word processing program, you’ll notice that they work a little differently here in that they use HTML tags instead of actually changing the way the test looks on your screen. To use them click the formatting button of your choice once, enter your text and click the same button again to finish. You can see examples of what this will look like on your screen in the green box above.




To add a clickable link to your posting use the "http://" button found in the formating section.




You can copy and paste a link in this first box or simply type in the URL address. Be sure to include the "http://" Click OK when finished.




Next you will enter what text will be displayed for your link. Click ok when finished.




This is how your clickable link will look in the editing box. Notice that the URL I used for this example is highlighted in yellow and the text to be displayed is in green. To modify this link you can make changes to these areas but be sure to leave the HTML code as it is displayed. If you make a mistake just delete the entire section of code and start over by clicking the "http://" button.




You can easily add images to your posting.

Find the url for the image you would like to use. The image must be located somewhere online, if the image is on your personal computer then it must first be uploaded to the internet. You can upload your images to your Pattern Review photo album or services like Flicker, Picasa, Photobucket, etc.. can help you store your photo images online.

Highlight the URL, right click it, select copy. If you're using a mac then press the option button on your keyboard while clicking to bring up the menu where you can select copy.




Click the "Image" modifier button.




Right click the entry box and paste your image URL. You can also type your URL, be sure to include "http://"




This is how the code will appear while you're editing your posting.




When you're satisfied with your posting click the "Post Topic" button




The next screen will show you your published posting. It is now "live" on the site and other members can see it.




Notice how the modified text now shows as bold, italic, and underline? The clickable link code as also been converted and displays as a hot link.


Editing your Post

If you need to make a change, it’s very easy to do so. Simply click the "Edit" button. This button is only available to the author of the posting.




On the next screen you see the familiar text entry box. Make whatever changes you wish. In the edit mode there is a preview button. If you click this button a preview of how the final post will look is displayed above the text entry box. To make the changes live you must click the "Edit Post" button.




From screen click "Go to this Topic Discussion" to see your edited posting.




To reply to your own post or someone else's posting there are two options, you can click "Post Reply" and you will be presented with the familiar text entry box we covered above.




or you can simply start typing in the "Quick Post" box found at the bottom of the page




The "Quick Post" is great if you don't need to use any formatting or add images or clickable links. When finished typing click "Post Message"




You will see your reply appearing under the last posting





Now that you’ve learnt how to participate on the boards, what are you waiting for? Post away!

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- Deepika
Founder, PatternReview.com

Date: 11/9/09 2:29 PM

Thank you so much for this, Deepika! It's wonderful to see all the info posters need fully illustrated on a single page like this.

Date: 11/10/09 1:33 PM

This is exellent! Thank you for posting this. I will steer people to this post as many need to see more than just written directions, including me.

I would like to add that if you have IE7, you may need to "temporarily allow scripted windows" in order for the message to be posted if a link is involved. A "band" will appear at the top of the page, and probably a sound, to alert you to this. It adds about two more steps to the proceedure.

When the codes appear some have thought that they did it wrong and cancel the process. Click on Preview which will allow you to see how the message will actually look and that you probably did it correctly.

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OH NO! You've done it just like I told you!!!

That's not GEE EYE; it's GEE ell, short for Gloria

Date: 11/10/09 1:53 PM

I believe seeing this actual thread one morning!!

I believe that I actually report it as an objectional post In my defense, it did look hinky.

This seems like a good place to point out that a topic is not editable once it has been posted. I have discovered this after realizing that I can't type with an empty wine glass in one hand.

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http://beccabeckstuff.blogspot.com/

"Clothes do not exist to humiliate their owners. Please do not force garments into performing psychological tasks for which they are not designed." Tim Gunn, A Guide to Quality, Taste & Style