Tips for Navigating and Posting on the Forum

Tips for Navigating and Posting on the Forum

This thread is a compilation of some of the best tips I've learned from other members on this forum. This post will act as an index to several more posts that will follow. If you have other tips for getting around or making better posts, please add them to this thread.

I'll start with the first one right here, because it isn't restricted to the forum. It works in most browsers, but not everyone is used to using it - the right mouse button.

The forum is vast, and you'll often find links that lead to other links. It's easy to get lost. When you see a link you want to follow, click on it with your right mouse button. Most browsers will pop up an option list. You can choose "Open link in new tab", or "Open link in New Window" in Microsoft Edge. Select the new link or window, and you can follow links wherever they lead. When you have read everything of interest, you can close the new tab or window, and you're right back where you started. This tip is particularly helpful when using the Search function. You can try it now on any of the topics below:

• Reading the Forum
• How the Forum Works
• Study Strategies
• Several Ways to Search
• Lazersteve's Guided Tour of the Forum
• Why Can't I Ask a Simple Question and get a Simple Answer?

• Posting on the Forum
• General Posting Guidelines
• Including Quotes in your Posts
• Including Links
• Attaching Images or Files, Working with Attachments
• Resizing an Image with IrfanView
• How to Include Videos
• How to Display a Table
• Editing or Deleting a Post
• Chemical Formulas

I hope some of these tips can make your time on the forum more enjoyable and productive.

Dave

How the Forum Works

This forum was started by Jean-Nicolas Allaire (Noxx) in February 2007. In the early days, the forum was young, every question was new, and experienced members answered questions freely. As the forum grew, new ideas were introduced, critiqued by others, and honed into tried and true processes. As the years passed though, many questions started to become repetitive. They had been asked and answered many times, and many experienced members tired of writing up the same old answers again and again. Instead, they encouraged new members to read through the existing posts and to use the search function to find information that was of interest to them.

As I write this post at the end of 2014, the forum is mature. Almost anything you could want to know in the world of recovery and refining has been discussed, in most cases many times. If readers follow the advice given throughout the forum, they will start their studies by downloading a free copy of C.M. Hoke's book, Refining Precious Metal Wastes (there are links in my signature line below). They should read EVERYTHING in the Safety section of the forum, especially the Dealing with Waste topic.

Lazersteve has put together the Guided Tour, which provides an introduction to the forum and numerous valuable links. Some members have built web sites or created YouTube videos that provide much additional guidance.

That doesn't mean members are not allowed to ask questions. But they are expected to take advantage of the information that has already been shared before they ask simple questions that would be answered by spending their own time doing some research before asking others to spend their time writing up the same answers yet again. Questions are still welcome and will be answered as long as readers can see that the new member is doing their part by studying what is already available.

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Study Strategies

This forum is immense! As I write this post, there are over 200,000 posts in almost 20,000 threads. So trying to find the information you want can be a daunting task. The problem is compounded by the very nature of a forum. There is no single author putting information together in a logical, structured fashion. Threads can, and do, twist and turn as various members add their posts. And if a new member starts by reading recent posts, or by asking simple questions, they will likely see a response that the issue has been discussed many times in the past.

So, what is a new member to do? The same advice is repeated many times throughout the forum, and for good reason - because it works.

First, download a free copy of C.M. Hoke's book, Refining Precious Metal Wastes (there are links in my signature line below). In the words of one of our veterans, "Read it. Read it again. Read it until you understand what she teaches." There is much wisdom in that statement. Each time you read the book, you will understand more of what you read. You will also understand more of what is discussed on the forum. And when the time comes to ask questions, you'll be able to do so in a way that will probably get you some helpful answers.

Every process used in recovering and refining precious metals is hazardous. Before you begin any process, be sure you understand the potential hazards and do everything you can to minimize the risks. Read EVERYTHING in the Safety section of the forum, especially the Dealing with Waste topic. You should understand a process from start to finish, including how to dispose of the waste, before you start. No amount of precious metal is worth jeopardizing your health or the health of those around you.

Follow the Guided Tour created by LazerSteve. It will provide an introduction to the forum and numerous valuable links including the General Reactions List. Be sure to follow the link to his web site as he has many outstanding videos, a collection of great reference documents, and he sells a lot of the supplies needed to get started including detailed instructional DVDs. Samuel-a also has a lot of videos, guides and tutorials at his web site Gold-N-Scrap.

Another great resource is the GoldRefiningWiki put together by Göran (g_axelsson). Note: Göran's Wiki is not available at the moment.

You'll also find a tremendous amount of information in the two Forum Handbooks compiled by aflacglobal, Forum Handbook Vol 1 and Forum Handbook Vol 2, though some of that information is a little dated.

Once you've gotten through these resources, choose a category of the forum that interests you, and start reading through the posts, beginning with the oldest threads first. These old threads often have some of the best information because the questions were new and the experienced members shared a lot of detail in their responses. The old threads are where you will find the information people are referring to when they say something has been discussed many times before. But beware! Keep in mind that many processes evolved over time. Old posts recommend using urea to neutralize excess nitric acid, but we now know that doesn't really work and there are better ways of dealing with the problem. The first discussions of the stripping cell recommended adding some glycerin to the sulfuric acid, but it has been found that it is not needed. So start with the oldest threads, but then read through the category to the current information.

The same strategy is useful when using the search function. Search results are listed in chronological order, with the most recent posts at the top of the list and the oldest at the bottom of the last page of results. There are many answers in those older posts.

TBarrow (Todd) put together an excellent document on Learning Strategies for New Members several years ago. The whole thread is well worth reading, but be sure to read the attachment "Search-Strategy-For-Beginners.pdf". He did a great job!

Bookmarks
As you study, you will find discussions that you feel may be particularly useful in the future. The forum software offers a feature that allows you to "Bookmark" these threads. But the bookmark feature has an odd quirk. Once you click the button to bookmark a thread, it's natural to press the "backspace" key to return to the forum category in which you found it, but this will actually erase the bookmark!

There are two ways around this problem. If you find a thread you like, you can click the Bookmark button to mark the thread, then, at the top of the page, click on "Board index", or the forum category name, or some other link to leave the thread while retaining the bookmark.

But, if you're systematically reading through a forum category, you'll lose your place in the category doing this, and you'll have to navigate back to where you found the thread you've marked, to continue your studies. In this case, it is easier to click on the backspace key to return to the forum category where you found the thread you want to mark. Now, click on the thread title with the right mouse button, and select Open in New Tab. Select the new tab to see the thread and click on the "Bookmark" button. Once the thread is bookmarked, you can close the new tab, and you'll find yourself right back at the forum category ready to read the next thread.

Notes
Another technique I started early in my studies here was to create a simple text document using Windows Notepad (you can use whatever program you like). I named it "Knowledge of the Professionals". While I still use bookmarks for threads that I want to return to, I also often find little gems of wisdom scattered throughout other threads. In cases where there is just one post of interest, I copy the post and paste it into my "Knowledge" document, along with the name of the member who posted it. It has become a very large document, but it is my own permanent record of some of the best information on the forum.

I also created a separate log file to track my progress as I read through the old posts. While the forum software will change the color of the titles on threads you've read (dark blue titles change to a lighter shade of blue), any time your IP address changes, the colors all revert back to the original shade. I'm on a flaky, older technology ADSL connection which often resets and changes my IP address, so it became the only way to track what I had read and what I hadn't.

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Several Ways to Search

There are several options for searching the forum's content.

Forum Simple Search
There are two standard search functions built into the XenForo software. The software provides both a simple, direct entry search function and an advanced search with different options.

Press the Search button at the top right corner of the screen. You can type a word, or several words, directly into a text box on the menu that appears, then press <Enter> or click on the Search button. That's it. It will search the entire forum and produce a screen full of results that you can choose from.

But there are other options in this initial search menu. To the right of the upper text box is a button set to the default Everywhere, meaning it will search the entire forum, including post titles and the body of the posts. If you click on the button you will see 3 other choices; Threads, This forum, This thread, that can narrow your search.

There is a check box that will search only post titles for your keywords, ignoring them in the bodies of the posts.

You can also search by an author's user name, either with or without any keywords. As you start to type, a drop down list will appear showing valid user names. You can click on one or just type out the full user name.

When you've chosen your options, click on the Search button.

Advanced Search
For the Advanced search, again click on the Search button, but then click on Advanced Search. A new screen will appear, and it will look pretty simple at first. But below the Search title, there is a menu bar that allows you to choose Search Everything, Search threads, or Search profile posts.

Search everything
You'll again see a text box for keywords, a check box for Search titles only, and a Posted by box for user names.

There are also control for Newer than and Older than limits. Click in the text box or on the small calendar icon at the right of each box, scroll through the months with the arrows at the top of the larger calendar that appears, and click on a date. The date will appear in the text box. You can also click on the month and a drop down list will appear with all months. Once you understand the date format, you can enter it directly into the two textboxes

There are also two radio buttons to put the results in order by either Relevance or Date. You can select one or the other. Then click the Search button.

Search threads
You'll again see a text box for keywords, a check box for Search titles only, and a Posted by box for user names, as well as the Newer than and Older than controls.

Next is a Minimum number of replies control. You clan use the plus or minus buttons, or click in the box and enter your own number.

The next control is Search in forums. It allow you to choose one or more forums to limit your search. You can click on a single forum, or to select multiple forums click on one, the hold down the <Ctrl> and click on additional forums. There is a check box below the forums control That allows you to search or exclude sub-forums as well.

Next there are three radio buttons for the display order of your results; Relevance, Date, or Most replies. Choose any one.

Finally there is a Display results as threads check box. If you leave this box blank, when you choose one of your results you will go directly to the post with the keyword. If you check the box, when you choose a result you will go to the first post in the thread.

As usual, click on the Search button to execute the search.

Search profile posts
I've got to figure this one out yet.

The more time you spend reading the forum, the more helpful some of the options become.

Lazersteve's Search
Lazersteve provides a Google based search function on his site. You can access it here: Lazersteve's Forum Search Page. You may need to scroll down to see the text entry box. Unfortunately, his site is offline at this time.

TBarrow's Google Search
I'll end the search options with another good post on searching from TBarrow (Todd). He posted how to use a regular Google search to search for results just from the forum in his post Tips On Using Google to Search GRF.

Closing Notes
As you're reading the forum, it can be helpful to keep an extra tab or window open for either regular or Advanced searches. As you come across terms or processes you don't understand, you can do a quick search in the extra tab or window, then continue your reading in the first tab or window. You can also find many recovery and refining related terms in the Glossary of Common Terms.

If you do a search and there are a lot of results, that's a good sign, because it's been written about a lot. Some readers are overwhelmed when they find hundreds or thousands of matches. Often, reading the older threads first will yield good results, but beware that some processes have been improved over the years. For example, the first posts about the AP process recommended using equal quantities of HCL and hydrogen peroxide. We now know that only a tiny splash of peroxide is need to get the process started. If you get frustrated and don't want to take the time to go through all this bother, consider whether members are going to want to take the time to type up the answers yet again.

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General Posting Guidelines

Unlike many areas of the internet, posts made on this forum are permanent. With very few exceptions, like spamming, objectionable material, etc., posts are rarely deleted. Since most members will never meet face to face, every member is known by what, and how, they write in their posts. As it says in Harold_V's signature line, "You are what you write".

Remember that this forum has members from around the world. English is not a first language for some, so they have to use translators to read the forum. If you don't spell correctly or use proper grammar, these members can struggle to understand what you're trying to say. Take your time when posting. Organize your thoughts and provide clear, accurate information. Using Spell Check and Grammar Check are strongly encouraged.

Proper capitalization, punctuation, and breaking the information into paragraphs also makes your posts much more readable. Consider this example:

• Let's eat, grandpa.
• Let's eat grandpa.

Correct punctuation can save a person's life.

When you're writing a post or sending a PM, use the "Preview" button at the top right corner of the edit box to proofread your posts. It's amazing how many errors you can find when you see the Preview screen.

If you're responding to a specific member in an old post, it's a good idea to check to see if they still visit the forum. You can move your cursor over the poster's user name to see their profile. In the user's profile, you'll be able to see when they last visited the forum (unless they hide their presence on the forum). If the member is active, compose your reply.

When starting a new topic, try to post it in an appropriate category! For example, creating a new topic to introduce yourself should go in the "Introductions - About Yourself" area, not the "Techniques" category. You'll find a huge amount of information here, but it's already widely scattered due to the nature of the forum. Please don't compound the problem. Or, instead of starting a new topic, find a topic that already discusses the subject you're wondering about and add on to it, even if it is older. It helps to keep similar information together, making it easier for other readers.

Finally, consider that if you don't want to take the time to make your post readable, the members who may be able to answer your question may not feel like taking the time to help you.

There aren't a lot of rules on the forum, and most of them are just a matter of common sense and common courtesy. They are stated in the Gold Refining Forum Rules post. For convenience, they are also provided below.

Forum Rules
We expect readers to be on their best behavior to avoid confrontations that take energy away from the topics at hand, and to avoid losing good and valuable members. This includes not posting about religion, politics, explosives, potentially illegal activities, or other subjects that could divide members of the forum. They simply create unnecessary and unwanted distractions away from the purpose of this forum - the recovery and refining of precious metals. Understand that accessing the forum is a privilege, not a right, and can be terminated for failure to adhere to board policy.

Profanity, racism, sexism, bad taste, and violent, vulgar, or foul language have no place on this forum. We are intelligent individuals who have the ability to converse without the use of offensive language. We are visited by people of all ages, genders, races, and religions, so please keep your comments clean. Post as if your mother, child or grandchild might read what you say.

Many people who join this forum have developed habits that now come naturally to them, such as using text lingo, or typing in all capital letters. Those habits are not acceptable on this forum. Do not post in all capital letters. It is considered shouting and is difficult to read. Without proper use of upper and lower case letters, chemical formulas cannot be correctly represented. Do not use text lingo (e.g., u instead of you, r instead of are, b4 instead of before, etc.). This forum is international. English is not the first language for many members, so they must use translation software. Text lingo or the use of incorrect grammar could create dangerous confusion. Use the Preview button and try to correct mistakes in spelling and grammar before posting.

Be sympathetic to other members. There will be zero tolerance for personal attacks on the board. If you are at odds with another, feel free to have a polite debate, but temper your words with wisdom. Post your position, doing so by sticking to the subject at hand. Do not make your comments personal in nature. Flaming is not permitted. No one will be allowed to attack the character of another. If you find yourself involved with another reader, and things don't work out as you hope, do NOT make mention in such a way that it can't be addressed by the accused.

Do not "double" post. Try to select the appropriate category when making a post and wait for a response. Any duplicate posts will be deleted and the author of those posts will be reminded of this rule.

Anyone who edits their posts or removes attachments so as to ruin the integrity of the thread or revise the overall tone of the post will be banned pending a Moderators group review.

We do not allow links in your signature line or your post for the purpose of spamming the forum. Offering and soliciting precious metals-related services is acceptable provided it is not done in excess. If you want to sell your services or your wares, and they apply to refining services or related equipment, you can post in the "Refiners, Buyers, Assayers, etc." section.

Choose your board name carefully, keeping the rules above in mind. It should not, in any way, reflect illegal or sexual activities, religion, politics, or be rude or profane. It must NOT contain inflammatory rhetoric, or have bigoted connotations.

Make every effort to stay on topic in a thread and minimize social commentary. Do not use the forum as you would instant messaging like MSN/ICQ. If you want to respond on a personal level the forum has an excellent PM system for personal messages, which don’t have to be read by everyone. And there’s always the “Bar & Grill” section where you can be more social.

Respect the authority of the Administrators and Moderators. If you have a problem with a Moderator, feel free to contact other Moderators or Administration for resolution. Please adhere to the requirements of proper behavior in doing so.

The most important reason to follow these rules may be that if you don't, your posts will likely be ignored by the very people who would be able to help you. No one on this forum is paid. Members give freely of their time and share their knowledge without any compensation other than the feeling of helping a fellow member. But they ask that you respect the few rules they've established to keep this a useful resource for those interested in precious metals. If you ignore these simple rules, these knowledgeable members will likely ignore your posts.

The Moderators come here to talk about refining. Members who do not follow the rules as stated, take away from the goal of this forum, which is “Refiners helping one another”. Whether they realize it or not, they are forcing the Moderators to be policemen when we are really here to discuss refining. We will enforce all of these rules, we will issue warnings and ban members who abuse the privilege, and we will continue to live up to the standard that has been created here.

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Including Quotes In Your Posts

Quoting a Post in Your Reply
There are a number of ways to include a quote in a post. If you're reading a thread on the forum, and you want to quote another member's entire post in that thread, you can simply click the Reply button at the bottom right corner of their post. The edit window will open and will automatically start with the other member's post. You can simply add your response before or after the quoted material. To add your response before the quote, put your cursor before the first word of the quote and press <Enter>. You can then type your response and it will appear before the quoted material. To post your reply after the quote, just start typing in the edit box.

If you want to respond to several different issues in the quoted material, you can break it up by putting your cursor where you want to break the quote and press <Enter>, then type your reply to the first part of the quote. Repeat this process as needed to respond to the various parts of the quote.

If you don't need to quote the entire original post, you can simply delete whatever isn't needed for your response.

Using the "Quote" Button in the Edit Window
You can also use the Quote button in the editing window. You can copy and paste (or type) the passage you want to quote in the edit box. Then select the text to be quoted. At the top of the edit window you'll see a menu bar with several icons that allow you to change text attributes like making text bold, italic, changing font size etc. After the font size button you'll see three dots. Clicking on the dots will drop down a list of additional attributes. You'll also see three dots after the last icon in the menu bar. Click on these three dots to find the quote button. Click on the quote button, and the text you've selected will appear as a quote in your reply.

Alternately, you can place the cursor where you want to add the quote, and click the Quote button. It will add a shaded box to the edit window. Now you can type or paste the text you want to quote in the shaded box. Note that the Quote button will not show the name of the person you are quoting.

If you want to add their name, instead of using the quote button, type [quote=a persons name] paste or type the text you want to quote then type[/quote]. When you preview or post your reply it will look like this:

a persons name said:

paste or type the text you want to quote then type

Click to expand...

If you wanted to include a quote from a second source, just repeat the process, adding quote tags, the name of the second source to prevent any confusion about who is being quoted, and finish with the end quote tag.

Adding Quote Tags Manually
You can, of course, do all of this manually. All you need to do is type out the opening quote tag [quote] (with or without the source's name), paste or type the material to be quoted, and then type out the closing quote tag [/quote]. It looks complicated, but once you've done it a couple of times, it's pretty quick and easy.

You can also use the other attribute buttons within the quoted material if you want to emphasize part of the passage, e.g., by using the underline, or bold attributes, etc. Just be sure that any editing you do of a quote does not change the original quote.

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Including Links

There are several ways to include links in your posts and conversations, and the results can appear quite different. For the rest of this discussion, I will simply refer to a post, but the same things apply to conversations. The first step is copying the link.

Copying a Link

You can copy any link on the forum like a section name, thread names, menus, control buttons, members' profiles, etc. easily. Simply move your cursor over the link, click on your right mouse button, and select Copy link from the pop-up menu. This will copy the web address, or URL of the link.

Posts within a thread do not have direct links, but you can still link to a specific post. At the top right corner of every post you'll see the number of the post in the thread. Click on the number. If you watch the web address at the top of the screen, you'll see it change just a bit. Click on that address, then press <Ctrl> C on your keyboard to copy the address.

You can capture any web address in the same way if you want to include a link to something outside the forum. Click on the address to highlight it and press <Ctrl> C.

With any of these methods, you have copied the link's URL, and can include it in your post. How you include it will affect how it looks to the reader.

Including the Link in Your Post

The simplest way to include the link is to paste the URL directly into the post edit box. Place your cursor where you want the link to appear and press <Ctrl> V. It will paste the URL into your post. Here are two examples of the same link to the Glossary post in the Library done slightly differently.

In this first example, I am pasting the link within this sentence A Glossary of Common Terms. Be sure to leave a space before the URL so the software can recognize it as a link. Notice the link appears as text within the sentence. The reader can click on the thread name to follow the link.

Next I will paste the URL on a line by itself with no other text.

https://goldrefiningforum.com/threads/a-glossary-of-common-terms.23400/
Quite a difference! You can see the name of the thread as well as the first few lines of the first post. The reader can click anywhere in the shaded box to follow the link.

It's always a good idea to Preview your posts before submitting them. If the link does not display correctly, you can go back to the text edit box and fix it. Click on the Preview button at the top right corner of the edit box to see how your post and link will appear. Click on the Preview button again to return to edit mode.

You can also use the Insert link button at the top of the edit box. When you click on it a small menu box will pop up. The upper line is for the URL. Press <Ctrl> V to paste it. The box below it allows you to customize the text the reader will see. I'll use the same link and simply type Glossary in the Text box. Hit <Enter> or click on the Insert button. It looks like this Glossary.

Of course, if you are so inclined you can type in the URL tags manually. For a simple link type [url]Your target URL address[/url].

For a link where you want to customize the text type [url=Your Target URL]Text you want to appear[/url].

Tips for Navigating and Posting on the Forum

Attaching Images or Files, Working with Attachments

There are two ways to include images in your posts - either by uploading the image to the forum's server as an attachment or by pasting it into a post, or by linking to an image stored somewhere else on the internet. Each method has advantages and disadvantages.

When you upload an image to the forum, it requires storage space on the forum's server and download bandwidth every time someone views the post containing the image, but this can be minimized as described below. The advantage is the image is permanently stored on the forum's server, so it is always available. There is a limit of 10 attachments per post or conversation. Attachments can be as large as 20,420 Kb in file size (nearly 20 Mb). For comparison, my versions of Hoke's book are both about 2.4 Mb.

Images that are stored elsewhere do not consume forum server space and are downloaded from the host site, but they can be less than permanent. Many image storage services have disappeared without warning in the past, and once they're gone, the images are no longer available to be seen on the forum. Many image storage services also limit the space available to each user, so it is not uncommon for someone to have to delete old images to be able to add new ones. This also means the image will no longer be viewable on the forum. Some image hosting sites also place limits on the downloads a user can have during a given period (usually, a month), so if the limit is exceeded, the image will not be available until the beginning of the next period. Losing images can sometimes destroy otherwise useful posts and threads.

Regardless of where you store your images, it is generally a good idea to minimize the file size of the image for fastest downloads. Remember, not everyone has access to high speed internet. There are exceptions, like when an image contains a lot of small details that readers need to be able to see. In these cases, the reader can click on the image to see a magnified view.

Resizing Images
While you can attach images or files with very large file sizes, there are some issues to be aware of. As mentioned above, every attachment requires storage space on the forum's server. The forum has to pay for it. Every time someone views a post with an image on it, the server has to transmit the file to the reader. That requires download bandwidth, and the forum has to pay for that too. Large files cause slow downloads, which can be a real problem for those without high-speed connections. The best practice is to reduce image sizes to no more than 800 pixels wide, and keep the file size of all attachments as low as practical.

If you don't already have software capable of resizing images and lowering image quality when appropriate, I highly recommend a freeware program called IrfanView. Here is a link to the IrfanView Homepage. The price can't be beat - it's free for personal use! The program is very full featured, and I can't begin to explain all it's capabilities, but if you need some help on how to resize an image, take a look at the Resizing an Image with IrfanView post below.

Attaching Images or Files
Once you have your picture(s) or file(s) ready, it is easy to attach them to your post. The "text edit box" for starting a new thread is shown below. The Reply to a Thread, and Conversation text edit boxes are similar*. There are numerous buttons along the top of the box that allow you to control font attributes like bold, italic, size, etc. Among these buttons is an Insert images button, indicated by the red arrow, which will be discussed below.



(*Note: The options that have their own buttons on the top menu vary depending on whether you're working on a thread or a conversation. All options are available through the More options buttons indicated above with the green arrows.

Below the text edit box, you'll find several buttons, including Attach files, Upload Videos, and Post reply (blue arrows). I'll deal with videos a couple of posts down in How to Include Videos. To attach an image or file that is stored on your computer, click on the Attach files button and a window will pop up that you can use to navigate to the image or file you want to attach. Select the file and click the "Open" button, or double click on the file you want. The new window will close and the file will upload to the forum's server. It will appear as a thumbnail below the edit box. Once the upload is complete, move your cursor in the text edit box where you want the image to appear, and click on Insert at the top left corner of the thumbnail image. You can choose to insert a thumbnail of the image or the full image. The image will be stored on the forum's server and will always be available. If you want to delete the image, click on the trash can icon at the top right of the thumbnail.

Another way to add an image is to copy the image, then simply paste it into the edit box. You can copy an image by opening it in your software of choice and choosing copy from the menus. If it's an image on the internet, you can click on it with the right mouse button, and choose Copy image from the pop up menu. Then move your cursor to where you want the image to appear in the edit box and paste it by pressing <Ctrl> V.

The third way to upload an image is to click on the Insert image button in the menu at the top of the edit box mentioned earlier. A pop up will appear. You have several ways to use this pop up. First, you can drag an image and drop it into the box. Second, if you click on the Drop image box, another window will pop up that you can use to navigate to the image or file you want to attach as described above. Third, you can click on the By URL button at the top of the pop up box, then paste the URL where the image is located. As always, it's a good idea to use the Preview button to see if your post looks the way you intend before you hit the Post reply button.

A Word About Copyright
While it is possible to copy virtually any image from the internet and paste it into your post, doing so may be a violation of copyright laws and could cause a complaint of copyright infringement for the forum. For those who remember when the forum was shut down for a couple of weeks, it was caused by such a complaint. If you're going to copy and paste images from the internet, be sure to obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Linking Images from Other Internet Locations

The other method of including images is to upload them to some other internet server and simply include a link to the image in your post or PM. You'll need the URL for the image. Check with your image hosting service to see how to capture the URL. Once you have copied the URL, you can paste it in the text edit box where you want the image to appear in your post, or use the By URL button in the Insert image button described above. The forum software should display the image correctly. But remember that if you later delete these images or the hosting service disappears, your images and files will be lost to the forum.

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Resizing an Image with IrfanView

IrfanView is a freeware image viewing and manipulation program with extensive features. It can be downloaded from the Irfanview Homepage, and is free for personal use, though if you like the program, Irfan Skiljan, the author, will gladly accept a donation.

This post will only focus on how to resize an image and how to adjust the image quality to reduce the file size. The program can do MUCH more, and it is well worth exploring its many other options.

IrfanView works with just about any image format you can think of, so it can handle images captured from the internet, scanned images, photos from digital cameras, etc. If the image is already stored on your computer, you can use the "Open" command from the "File" menu. If you're going to work with a screen capture from your computer, you can start IrfanView and paste the image into the blank screen.

There are two parts to resizing an image - cropping and using IrfanView's resizing function.

Cropping an Image
Whether it's a computer screen capture, an image copied from the internet, a photo from a digital camera, etc., there is likely to be some wasted space around the borders of the image. You can use IrfanView's cropping function to get rid of this wasted portion of the image, just as you might use scissors or a paper cutter to trim off the unwanted parts of a printed image.

Open the image in Irfanview. Move the arrow cursor to any corner of the part of the image you want to keep. It doesn't have to be exact, because you can adjust it later. Hold the left mouse button down and drag the cursor to the opposite corner of the area you want to keep, then release the mouse button. You'll have a box outlining the part you want to keep. If you want to adjust the area, move the cursor over the line you want to adjust and it will turn into a double ended arrow. Left click and hold while you drag the line where you want it. When you're happy with all four sides, click on "Edit" in the menu bar and select "Crop selection" from the drop down menu.

IrfanView will trim away everything outside the area you selected. Sometimes, this may be all you need to do. Check the bottom of the IrfanView window for the current image size. If it's less than 800 pixels wide, the image will display correctly on the forum. If not, you can use IrfanView's resizing function described below.

The Resizing Function
With the image cropped, click on "Image" on the menu bar, and select "Resize/Resample..." from the drop down list. A "Resize/Resample image" window will appear like the one shown below:
There are many options available in this window. We only need to use the "Set new size:" section. The current image width in pixels will already be highlighted. All you need to do is type the number "800". This will replace the current image width with 800 pixels. By default, the program will preserve the aspect ratio of the image, so as you change the image width, the image height will automatically be adjusted. When you're done, click on the "OK" button, and the Resize/Resample Image window will close.

At this point, you can save the file in whatever format you choose from IrfanView's many options, and your image will be saved as 800 pixels wide.

Note: It is always a good idea to give the new, resized version a different name than the original in case you ever want to open the original, full size image in the future.

Adjusting Image Quality
Having followed the steps described above, you now have an image that is only 800 pixels wide. You can further decrease the file size by your choice of file format when you save the image. Some file formats will automatically reduce the file size by reducing the image quality. Other formats allow you to select the image quality to suit your needs. I usually save images in the .jpg format because it is widely compatible and it allows me to control the image quality.

It's actually a simple step when saving the file. Click on the "File" menu, and select "Save as..." from the drop down list. A "Save Picture As ..." window will open. You can use standard controls to navigate to where you want the file to be saved. Near the bottom of the screen, you'll see an area to type the file name you want, and below that a "Save as type:" drop down menu that offers many file format options. Below that, you'll see three check box options. If the middle option, "Show options dialog" is not checked, click on it. Depending on the file format that is selected, there will be another small window to the right of the Save Picture As ... window with a variety of "save options" that vary depending on the file format. The options for a .jpg file are shown in the screen capture shown below:
Once again, you'll see many available options. The one that will have the greatest effect on file size is the "Save quality:" option at the top of the save options window. You can move the slider control or use the arrows at the left and right ends of the control to change the image quality. Lower quality results in smaller file sizes, but it does sacrifice some image quality. You just have to try different settings to reach a compromise you're happy with. Once you've adjusted the slider bar, click on the "Save" button in the Save Picture As ... window. Again, it is a good idea to give the new version a different name than the original in case you ever want to reopen the original, full quality image in the future.

The file will be saved, but you'll still be viewing the original image. You can open the newly saved image from Windows Explorer. The original image will remain, and the new image will be opened in a new instance of IrfanView. You can then toggle back and forth between the two images to make sure the image quality is acceptable. If not, toggle back to the original image, and use the Save as option to readjust the image quality and save the new copy. Repeat this sequence until you are satisfied with the results. I saved the images used in these posts at 90%. While they look nearly identical to the original images, saving them at 90% quality reduced them all by about 50% in file size.

You can now add your image to your posts through any of the various methods described in the Attaching Images or Files, Working with Attachments post. I used these techniques on the images included in all my posts in this thread. There are 11 images that only add up to about 645 KB.

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How to Link or Embed YouTube Videos

NOTE: This post is out of date and needs to be edited to reflect the change to the Forum's software

You can share YouTube videos in two different ways. You can include a link that the reader can use to go to YouTube to view the video, or you can embed the video in your post. The advantage of providing a link is that the video screen will be larger on YouTube, and sometimes the video and audio may be smoother. The disadvantage is that it forces the reader to navigate away from the forum (or to open a new tab or window) to view the video. Embedding the video allows the reader to view the video right in the post, but the screen is smaller and video and/or audio quality may suffer.


Upload Your Video To YouTube
Before you can share a video, you have to upload it to YouTube. If you don't already have a Google account, you'll have to create one. Once you're logged in to YouTube, you'll be able to upload your video(s). Note that the file name will be the title that is displayed at the top of your video, so give your file an appropriate name before you upload it.


Including A Link In Your Post
The easiest way to share your video is simply to provide a link in your post. Once you've uploaded your video to YouTube, you can get links in several different ways. YouTube provides a simple URL during the upload process. You can copy this link and use it in your post if you like. You can get this same link if you look at the "Info and Settings" for the video. You can get there through the DASHBOARD or the VIDEO MANAGER in YouTube's CREATOR STUDIO. You can click the "Edit" button from either of these views. In the VIDEO INFORMATION area, you'll find a "Video URL:" at the bottom. Click on the link and it will be highlighted. Press <CTRL> C to copy the link. You can now paste this link in the body of your post. The forum's editing window will recognize it as a link as long as there is a space before what you paste. Readers can click on the link (with either the left or right mouse button) to navigate to YouTube's site to view the video. Here is that type of link to the video I'll be using throughout this post: and here is how it looks to the reader: .
Note: This type of link cannot be used to embed a video into your post.

If the link does not work, you can add the url tags yourself, by moving your cursor to the beginning of the link and typing: then moving your cursor to the end of the link and typing: The "youtube" button in the post editing window will not work with this type of link. The button is used to embed a video into a post as described below.


You can get a different link from YouTube's CREATOR STUDIO. From the DASHBOARD view, right click on the video, and you can choose "Copy Link Location" to get a link like: . You can paste this link into your post just like the link described above. While it looks quite different, it will work just the same.

Making Links More Reader Friendly
Notice that neither of the links above provides any information about the content of the video. You can, of course, describe what the video is about in your post, but you can also make the links more descriptive very easily. Once you've pasted your link where you want it in your post, move the cursor to the beginning of the link, and type: Now move the cursor to the end of the link, and type: Here's the link when we just paste it: .

And here's how it looks with the url tags and the added text: The Text You Want To Appear.


Embedding A Video In Your Post
The other way to share your video is to embed it in your post. This is where you can use the "youtube" button in the post editing window. While you can't use the first type of URL described above to embed a video, you can use the second type, with a slight modification. You can go to YouTube's CREATOR STUDIO, and from the DASHBOARD view, right click on the video, and choose "Copy Link Location" to get a link like: . Paste this link into your post where you want the video to appear. Now highlight the whole link and click the "youtube" button. (Alternately, you can move the cursor to where you want to insert the video and click the "youtube" button to insert the YouTube tags, then paste the link between the opening and closing tags.) Either way, you'll end up with something that looks like this in the editing window: Now you need to delete the "s" from the https at the beginning of the link.

Here's how it looks to the reader:
[youtube]


There are other ways to capture a URL for a video you'd like to share. If you are viewing a video in YouTube, you can copy the URL at the top of the screen and paste that into your post. Here again, you can leave it as a link, or embed it, using the "youtube" button as described above.

Note: When you capture a URL this way, it begins with http instead of https, so there is no need to edit the link once it's pasted.

You may notice that the link ends with something like: &feature=youtu.be. You can leave it or delete it. I haven't found that it makes any difference with an embedded video.


The Best Of Both
As mentioned at the beginning of this post, providing a link or embedding a video each have their advantages and disadvantages. The best practice is to provide both, since it takes little extra effort once you have the link. Place your cursor where you want your video to appear. Paste the link, press <Enter> twice, then paste the link a second time. Highlight the first link and press the "youtube" button. Move the cursor to the beginning of the second link, and type something like "To see the video on a larger viewer at YouTube, click here: ". You can also make the link text more descriptive as described above in the Making Links More Reader Friendly section.

Here's how it looks:
[youtube]- YouTube

To see the video on a larger viewer at YouTube, click here: Full size view.


As you can see, you can embed multiple links, videos or combinations of both in a post.

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How to Display a Table

NOTE: This post is out of date and needs to be edited to reflect the change to the Forum's software

The forum software does not provide an easy method for displaying information in a table. There are no tabs available in the edit boxes, and since the default display uses a proportional font, trying to use spaces doesn't work very well either. If you use dots or dashes as spacers, and take the time to preview the information, then go back and edit, preview, tweak it some more, preview... You can get it close, but not quite right.

Displaying the Table as an Image
There is a way around this limitation, as long as you can get all the data to be visible on a single screen on your computer. The trick is to save the information as an image, and then use the forum's Attachment feature to display the image in your post.

Start by creating the table in a spreadsheet, or word processor, or other program that allows tables. You can then capture an image of your computer screen by holding down the <shift> key and pressing the <Print Screen> key (or <prt sc>, or however it's marked on your keyboard). This will copy the entire screen to the clipboard. Next, open an image manipulation program like IrfanView, and hold down the <Ctrl> key and press the "V" key to paste the image into IrfanView. Finally, resize the image to no more than 800 pixels wide, as described in the Resizing an Image with IrfanView post, and save it in an image file format that can be displayed on the forum. I usually use the .jpg format because it gives me a lot of flexibility that can reduce file size without sacrificing image quality, and it's recognized by most operating systems and browsers, but the forum can display many other formats.

Now you can attach the image of your table to a post or PM. Once it's attached, you can use the "Place inline" feature to put the table wherever you want it in your post. For more information, see the Attaching Images or Files, Working with Attachments post.

This method has its limitations. It only works with small tables that can be viewed on the screen. Because it's displayed as an image, readers can not copy and paste the data in the table. I have only described how to do this on a Windows based computer. Others may be able to help with other operating systems. I don't know if this is the best way to do this, but it works.

The table below, which compared differences in the old board styles, was created this way.
Since the current board styles all offer the same options, this table is no longer needed.

Using the Code Attribute
Another way to display tabular information is to use the "Code" attribute, as I recently saw demonstrated by Göran (g_axelsson). While we usually use this attribute to display and explain other attribute tags, it works well for displaying a table as well, because it uses a monospace font instead of a proportional font and it does not delete extra spaces.

If you create the table in the text editing box, it is still a tedious trial and error process of using the Preview button, editing, Previewing, etc., because the font used in the edit box is proportional. It is easier to create the table in a text editor like Notepad, which uses a monospace font, then copy the finished table into the edit box. Once the table has been pasted into the text edit box, select the whole table and click on the "Code" button, or manually add the code tags.

Here's the same sample table using the code attribute:
While it lacks the grid lines and you can't add background color, it avoids the need to capture the screen image, crop, resize, etc., and the text can easily be selected and copied. Each method has advantages and disadvantages.


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Edited to add the Code Attribute method

Editing or Deleting a Post

NOTE: This post is out of date and needs to be edited to reflect the change to the Forum's software

On this forum, members are able to edit their posts at any time. If they make a post, and no one has responded after their post, they are also able to delete their post. These are both privileges that are granted by the Administrators. With privilege comes responsibility.

The following screen captures show the same post in each of the three board styles. If you view the same post, you will not see the edit or delete buttons. The original poster is the only one, other than Administrators or Moderators, who can edit or delete the post.





Editing a Post
You are able to edit your own posts at any time, even if others have posted after you. This privilege is enabled so members can correct errors in their posts, e.g., spelling errors, grammar mistakes, chemical names and/or formulas, etc. The Administrators and Moderators work hard to avoid the spread of misinformation, so correcting factual errors in your posts is encouraged.

To edit a post, click on the "Edit" button, which looks like a pencil or a pencil on a sheet of paper. It will take you to an edit window just like you used to create the post. Depending on what you're correcting, you can use the [stt]strikethrough[/stt] attribute, underline attribute, a color attribute, etc. to indicate the erroneous information, or simply correct the error. Because editing a post is taken very seriously here, it is a good idea to add a note to the end of the post describing what you have edited.

However - One of the rules of the forum is that anyone who edits their posts so as to ruin the integrity of the thread or revise the overall tone of their post may be banned from the forum. The edit option should be used sparingly, and must be used responsibly.


Deleting a Post
Members also have the ability to delete their own posts, but only if it is the last post in a thread. Once another member posts on the thread, the delete button, which is depicted as an "X" button, is no longer available. This ability is enabled to allow members who inadvertently double post to delete the second instance of their post. From time to time, the forum hiccups, or a member posts a second time because they can't tell if their post was completed. If a member sees a double post like this, it is courteous to send the original poster (OP) a PM informing them of the error so they can delete it on their own without an Administrator or Moderator having to spend their time doing it. As long as the OP gets to the post before someone else posts on the thread, they can simply click on the "X" button to eliminate the post.

If someone else has already posted, the OP can ask a Moderator to delete the double post.

As with the ability to edit a post, deleting a post is a privilege that is granted for a specific purpose - that of keeping the forum running smoothly. Although I've never read a specific rule that would prohibit a member from deleting a post that had been made in the heat of the moment, or had violated other forum rules, members would be wise not to use the delete function in such a way. Consider your posts carefully before you press the "Submit" button, and once you do, be prepared to stand by your post.

Reporting a Post
The third button in the circled areas above, the exclamation mark, can be used to report a post that is in violation of forum rules. After clicking on the button, a member can give a description of the violation they see. Moderators and administrators can see these reported posts and act accordingly.


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Chemical Formulas

Unless they are properly written, chemical formulas can be confusing or possibly dangerous.

Capitalization
Consider these examples:
H2SnO3 or H2SNO3 - The first would be 2 atoms of hydrogen, 1 atom of tin, and 3 atoms of oxygen, while the second would be 2 atoms of hydrogen, 1 atom of sulfur, 1 atom of nitrogen, and 3 atoms of oxygen.
SiO2 or SIO2 - The first would be 1 atom of silicon and 2 atoms of oxygen, while the second would be 1 atom of sulfur, 1 atom of iodine, and 2 atoms of oxygen.

Clearly, correct capitalization is very important.

Order of the Formula
The order in which formulas are written is also very important. You would never want to write AgCNO, the formula for silver fulminate, when you should have written Ag-OCN silver cyanate! If you aren't sure of a chemical formula, either look it up before putting it in a post, or write out the name of the chemical, paying equal attention to that as well. Sodium metabisulfite can be used to precipitate gold from an acid solution, while sodium metabisulfate cannot. Mistakes in chemical formulas and names could cause problems or prove deadly for someone who doesn't realize you've made a mistake, and no one would want that on their conscience.

Subscripts and Superscripts
I know that most members will probably not want to take the extra time to tweak their formulas to the same degree, but for those who are interested, here is how you can use the forum attributes to the fullest. The best way to describe their use is with examples.

Subscript
You can post HNO3 or HNO₃.

It's actually easy to do in the post and PM edit boxes.

• Start by typing the formula out as in the first example - HNO3.
• Now, highlight just the 3 and click on the "sub" button. That will add the subscript tags before and after the 3.

The result is HNO₃.

Superscript
The superscript option works the same way.

Superscript is useful for formulas, but can also be used in area and volume measurements like in², or ft³, as well as Ag⁺ or Au³⁺.

Used together, you can write formulas that are more clear, and in some cases, impossible to write otherwise. Consider the sulfate ion - an SO4 ion with a minus two electrical charge. Without subscripts and superscripts, you would have SO42-. That's not very clear. The same ion with the appropriate subscripts and superscripts would be SO₄^2-.

The more complex the formula, the more important this becomes.

• 3(NH4)2PtCl6 vs 3(NH₄)₂PtCl₆
• Pd(NH3)2Cl2 vs Pd(NH₃)₂Cl₂
• Na2B4O7·10H2O vs Na₂B₄O₇·10H₂O

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Sometimes you want to save some good posts, you can bookmark or print, but the best way I found was to copy the post completely into a [Open Office][new document][Writer/Web], then save as html file. Opening the html with a browser you have the texts, equations, links as if you were online in the forum. If you need the context, just push the blue marked topic link and you get back to the forum, just where you once have copied the text from.

That's a good suggestion Björn. Thanks for adding to the thread!

Dave

The moderators would like to thank all of the members who contributed to the original thread that this post was based on, as well as those who asked questions showing what was missing. Because of the extra length and interest in these threads we have created the above, consolidated version making for an easier read. We encourage all members to read, comment, and ask questions in the original threads, Tips for Navigating and Posting on the Forum.

The Library threads should not be considered to constitute a complete education. Instead, they're more like reading a single book on the subject of recovery and refining. There is so much more information on the forum, and it is impossible to include it all in these condensed threads. Members are strongly encouraged to read the rest of the forum to round out their education.