dBCodes are a variation on the HTML tags you may already be familiar with. They allow you to add functionality or style to your message that would normally require HTML. You can use dBCodes even if HTML is not enabled for the forum you are using. You may want to use dBCodes as opposed to HTML, even if HTML is enabled for your forum, because there is less coding required and the preview panel includes syntax checking. In the following examples the dBCodes and their arguments are in this color.
There are four ways to include a link in your message:
The simplest way to include a link is to simply type
the URL. Called autolink mode, it works with URLs
that begin with "http://", "https://" and "ftp://":
You can instead give your link a name using the
[url]
code. For example, if you wanted the URL
"http://www.mywebsite.net" to display as "My Web Site"
then just use the following format which places the
desired name after the "=" sign inside the [url] code:
When clicked on, links created in the above ways will be
opened in a new window. Note that you should NOT use
quotation marks inside the URL tag.
Bold and Italics
You can make italicized text or make text bold by encasing the applicable
sections of your text with either the [b]
[/b] or [i] [/i] tags.
Hello,
[b]James[/b]
Hello, [i]Mary[/i]
Face, Color and Size
You can make text in any font, color or size by using
the [face], [color] and [size] tags.
[face=monotype corsiva][color=lightgreen][size=4]This text
should display using the Monotype Corsiva font with a
size of 4 and light green in color.[/size][/color][/face]
Text Background Color
You can change the background color of the text to any
color you like using the [bgcolor] tag.
[bgcolor=green]The text in this
paragraph should be white with a green background
color.[/bgcolor]
Block of Background Color
The [bgcolor] dBCode only changes the background of
text. Wherever text doesn't appear the original
background color is still present. The [blockcolor] dBCode
changes the background color of a rectangular block.
[blockcolor=green]
The text
of these two paragraphs should be white with a
green background color.
The green background
should fill the entire rectangular area behind all
text and images.
[/blockcolor]
Email Links
To add a hyperlinked email address within your message, just
encase the email address as shown in the following example:
[email]admin@evcforum.net[/email]
This will result in a link like this that starts your email tool
to send a message:
You can make bulleted lists or ordered lists (by number or letter).
Unordered, bulleted list:
[list]
[*] This is the first bulleted item.
[*] This is the second bulleted item.
[/list]
This produces:
This is the first bulleted item.
This is the second bulleted item.
Note that you must include a closing [/list]
when you end each list.
The bullet symbol can be changed to circle outline or a square by
using either [list=circle] or
[list=square], for example:
[list=square]
[*] This is the first bulleted item.
[*] This is the second bulleted item.
[/list]
This produces:
This is the first bulleted item.
This is the second bulleted item.
Making ordered lists is just by adding a numeric or alphabetic starting value
such as [list=A] or
[list=1].
Typing [list=A] will produce a
list from A to Z. Using [list=1]
will produce numbered lists. You can also begin a list at any
value, such as [list=E] or [list=27]. Changing the starting letter to
lowercase generates a list using lower case letters.
Here's an example:
[list=A]
[*] This is the first bulleted item.
[*] This is the second bulleted item.
[/list]
This produces:
This is the first bulleted item.
This is the second bulleted item.
Lists can also use uppercase and lowercase Roman numbers by adding the "R" or
"r" parameter as in [list=1,r] or
[list=5,R], for example:
[list=1,R]
[*] This is the first bulleted item.
[*] This is the second bulleted item.
[/list]
This produces:
This is the first bulleted item.
This is the second bulleted item.
Lists can also skip values by assigning the asterisk a value as in
[*=5], for example:
[list=1]
[*] This is the first bulleted item.
[*] This is the second bulleted item.
[*=5] This is the third bulleted item
but it is numbered 5.
[*] This is the fourth bulleted item
but it is numbered 6.
[*=13] This is the fifth bulleted item
but it is numbered 13.
[*] This is the sixth bulleted item
but it is numbered 14.
[/list]
This produces:
This is the first bulleted item.
This is the second bulleted item.
This is the third bulleted item but it is numbered 5.
This is the fourth bulleted item but it is numbered 6.
This is the fifth bulleted item but it is numbered 13.
This is the sixth bulleted item but it is numbered 14.
Adding Images
To add a graphic within your message, just encase the URL of the graphic
image as shown in the following example:
In the example above, the [img]
dBCode causes the image to be displayed in your message.
The [img] dBCode accepts all
the same options as the [thumb]
dBCode. The only difference between the two is the default width.
For [img] the default width
is 600 pixels, while for [thumb]
it is 100 pixels. Images smaller than the default width will
display at their actual width. Images larger than the default
width will be initially displayed at the default width, but
Clicking on the image will display it at its actual width.
Clicking on it again will return it to the default width.
The "http://" portion of the URL is required for the
[img] code. Some dBoard
forums may disable the [img]
dBCode.
Adding YouTube Videos
To include a YouTube video in your message, just include the URL of the video
in the [youtube] or [utube] dBCode like this:
All that is actually required is the code. This will also work
and is much shorter:
[utube=YRxS8IVQRcs]
You may also specify a width and height separated by commas. Their
order in relation to the YouTube code or URL is unimportant, but
the width is assumed to be first. If you only specify a single
numeric value then it is assumed to be the width and the height is
scaled to match to provide a 4:3 aspect ration. All of these
examples (using just the YouTube code for brevity) will work:
Though the YouTube code is all that is really necessary, for
completeness note that YouTube also offers a short form of their
URL:
[utube=http://youtu.be/YRxS8IVQRcs]
Adding Thumbnails
Some images are too large to fit comfortably within a message. In such
cases you should use thumbnails. A thumbnail is an image reduced
in size that is also a link to the full sized image. The [thumb] dBCode is very similar to the [img] dBCode. The default width is
100 pixels, but clicking on the image will enlarge it to its
actual size. An example:
You can supply multiple images to the [thumb] dBCode by separating them with commas.
It will display the images on a single line.
This example includes a line break after the comma so it fits in
the browser window, but do not do this in actual use:
The
[thumb] dBCode can accept optional
case-insensitive arguments:
center - center the images on the page (default)
left - left justify the image on the page
right - right justify the image on the page
floatleft - left justify the image on the page and allow text
to flow around the image
floatright - right justify the image on the page and allow text
to flow around the image
caption - include a caption for your image by following the
word "caption" with a colon and then with the text of your
caption, e.g., "caption:This is my caption, my caption"
width - this is a numeric value for the width in pixels of the
thumbnails. The default is 100.
height - If you specify the width then you can also specify a height
by following the width with an "x" followed by the
height in pixels, e.g., 100x200. The default is a
height that maintains the aspect ratio.
As can be seen in the example, CSS rules (a property and a value separated by a colon)
can be used as values for the [table],
[row] and [col]
dBCodes. Separate multiple rules with semicolons. [col]
inherits the CSS property values from [table] and
[row], and both [col]
and [row] inherit the CSS property values from
[table].
Linking to Messages using Message Numbers
Messages in threads are assigned numbers in increasing order. The first message
of a thread is message 1, the second message is message 2, and so forth.
A link to a message can be created using the
[msg] dBCode and the message number.
Assume that the subtitle of message 19 in the current
thread is "The Rest of the Story". This will
create a link to message 19:
[msg=19]
The link would look like this and have a hoverbox:
All messages are assigned a unique ID. A link to a message can be created using the
[mid]
dBCode and the unique ID number. The message ID for any message can
be found by hovering the mouse over the link to any message. This will
bring up a hover box containing information about the message, including
its ID. Also, in the display of any message it can be found next to the
message number text, for example, "Message 16 of 25 (12604)". The "12604" is
the message ID. Just include the message ID in the mid code like this:
Hovering over links to messages created in this way produces hover boxes
with more information. You can hover over the link now to see this behavior.
The link itself is only for illustration and is disabled.
Linking to Threads
A link to a thread can be created using the [tid] or [thread] dBCode and the thread's ID number. The
thread ID for any thread can be found by hovering the mouse over
the link to any thread or message of the thread. This will bring
up a hover box containing information about the thread or message,
including the thread's ID. Just include the thread
ID in the tid code like this:
[tid=186]
Links to thread are displayed as the thread's title and would look like this:
Hovering over links to threads created in this way produces hover boxes
with more information. You can hover over the link now to see this behavior.
The link itself is only for illustration and is disabled.
Linking to Forums
A link to a forum can be created using the [fid] or [forum] dBCode and the forum's ID number. The
Forum ID for any forum can be found by hovering the mouse over the
link to the forum, or over the link of any thread or message of
the forum. This will bring up a hover box containing information
about the forum, thread or message, including the forum's ID. Just
include the forum ID in the fid code like this:
[fid=7]
Links to forums are displayed as the forum name and would look like this:
Hovering over links to forums created in this way produces hover boxes
with more information. You can hover over the link now to see this behavior.
The link itself is only for illustration and is disabled.
Linking to Members
A link to a member's information page can be created using the [mbrid] dBCode. Mbrid stands for Member ID. The
Member ID for any member can be found by hovering the mouse over any
link to the member. This will bring up a hover box containing information
about the member, including the member's ID. Just
include the member ID in the mbrid code like this:
[mbrid=724]
Links to a member's information page are displayed as the member's name
and would look like this:
Hovering over links to members created in this way produces hover boxes
with more information. You can hover over the link now to see this behavior.
The link itself is only for illustration and is disabled.
Indentation
A region of indented text can be created using the [indent] dBCode.
[indent]This line will be
indented.[/indent]
Latex
Equations
can be rendered using the Latex langauge and the [Latex] dBCode.
Just place a Latex expression between the open and close [Latex] codes.
Some on-line help for Latex can be found here: LaTeX Help.
The binomial equation would be expressed like this:
[latex]\frac{-b\pm\sqrt{b^2-4ac}}{2a}[/latex]
And it would appear like this:
Explicit Formatting
Messages are processed into HTML, which is free form. This means
that all spacing is lost. The
[code] dBCode preserves all
formatting by displaying what you type precisely as
entered, including all spacing. This is useful for
displaying programming code and tables of data, for instance:
The result maintains the original formatting, including the indentation:
if ($ipRecorded) {
if (&CheckBannedIPs($thisIP)) {
&RefuseEntry;
} else {
$loggedIn = true;
&ProcessLogin;
}
$guestLogin = true;
&ProcessGuest;
}
Including HTML in Messages
Use the [html] dBCode to include
HTML tags in your message. By including HTML tags between [html] dBCodes they will not be processed
by the browser (when HTML tags are enabled) or removed (when HTML tags
are not enabled).
[html]This example <a
href=http://www.mywebsite.com>link</a> is a good
illustration.[/html]
Which would appear in your message like this:
This example <a href=http://www.mywebsite.com>link</a>
is a good illustration.
Including dBCodes in Messages
Use the [noparse] dBCode to include
dBCodes in your message. By including dBCodes between [noparse] dBCodes they will not be processed
by the software.
[noparse]This example
[url=http://www.mywebsite.com]link[/url]
is a good illustration.[/noparse]
Which would appear in your message like this:
This example [url=http://www.mywebsite.com]link[/url]
is a good illustration.
Note:
You must not use both HTML and dBCodes to do the same function.
Also note that the dBCodes are not case-sensitive (thus, you could
use [URL] or [url]).
Incorrect dBCodes Usage:
[url] www.google.com [/url]
- Do not put spaces between the bracketed code and the URL.
[email]admin@evcforum.net[email]
- the end brackets must include a forward slash ([/email])
™ Version 4.0 Beta