[TheProspector]

How to use the Forums (posting, images, quoting & the editor)

Welcome! This quick guide walks you through everything you’ll use most: creating topics, replying & quoting, adding images, and styling your post with the TinyMCE editor (fonts, color, links, lists, emojis, and more).

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1) Create a new topic

1. Go to the forum where you want to post and click Create New Topic.

2. Enter a Topic Title.

3. Write your post in the big editor area.

4. (Optional) Add Topic Tags to help people find it.

5. Click Submit.

Tip: If you don’t see the editor tools or they look odd, make sure you’re on the Visual tab (top-right of the editor). The Code tab is for raw HTML only.

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2) Reply to a post

• Click the Reply link under any post. The page will scroll to the editor at the bottom and set your reply to that specific post.

Quote-reply (include part of someone’s message)

• Highlight the exact text in the post that you want to quote.

• Click Quote (next to Reply).
  You’ll see a quoted block inserted into your editor with “Replying to @Username” above it. Type your response under the quote.

You can also click Quote without highlighting—this grabs a smart excerpt from the post.

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3) Add images & media

You have two easy options:

A) Upload an image from your device

1. Click Add Media (or Upload image).

2. Drag & drop files into the window, or click Select Files.

3. Choose the image and click Insert into post.

Allowed types: JPG/JPEG, PNG, GIF, WEBP
Max file size: up to 8 MB per file.
Privacy: On the front-end you’ll only see your own uploads.

B) Paste a link to media (auto-embed)

Just paste a supported URL on its own line and press Enter. YouTube, Vimeo, Tweets, etc. will auto-embed.

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4) Format your post (TinyMCE toolbar)

You’ve got a full-featured editor. Here’s what you’ll use most:

• Headings & paragraphs: use the Paragraph dropdown (left-most) to pick heading levels or keep normal text.

• Font size: use the 12pt dropdown to set the size for the selected text or for new text you’re about to type.

• Bold / Italic / Underline: B / I / U buttons (or Ctrl/Cmd+B / I / U).

• Text color / highlight: the A (text color) and the paint-bucket (background color) buttons.

• Lists: bullet or numbered list buttons.

• Quotes: the quote mark button inserts a blockquote (in addition to the Quote-reply feature).

• Links: select text → click the link button → paste a URL → Apply. Use the broken-link icon to remove.

• Alignment: left / center / right.

• Undo / Redo: curved arrows (or Ctrl/Cmd+Z / Ctrl/Cmd+Y).

• Remove formatting: eraser icon to clear weird formatting if you pasted from elsewhere.

• Visual vs Code: stay on Visual unless you know HTML.

Note on sizes & colors: setting a size/color affects only the text you select (or what you type next). It won’t override other people’s posts or your theme defaults.

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5) Emojis 🙂

Click the smiley button in the toolbar.

• Use the Category dropdown (Smileys, People & Hands, Animals, Food, etc.).

• Optional Search (try “heart”, “fire”, “thumbs”).

• Hover a tile (desktop) to see a larger preview near your pointer; tap to insert.

• Tiles highlight on hover and insert right where your cursor is.

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6) Mentions

You can @mention someone by typing @ followed by their username (e.g., @TheProspector). It adds clarity about who you’re speaking to.

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7) Editing your post

After posting, you’ll see Edit under your own post. Click it to make changes. (There may be a time limit depending on forum settings.)

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8) Subscribing & notifications

At the top of forums and topics you’ll see Subscribe. Click it to get email notifications for new topics/posts.

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9) Posting tips & etiquette

• One topic, one subject. New question? Start a new topic.

• Be concise, but include details. For bug reports: what you did, what you expected, what happened, screenshots if helpful.

• Credit sources and avoid copyrighted content you don’t own.

• Keep images reasonable (optimize screenshots; crop if needed).

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10) Troubleshooting

• My formatting looks weird: select the text → click Remove formatting (eraser), then re-apply styles.

• Image too large: compress it (PNG/JPG/WebP) and re-upload; stay under 8 MB.

• Editor missing or blank: refresh the page and make sure Visual mode is active.

• Quote didn’t appear: make sure you clicked Quote (not Reply) after highlighting. You can always re-click Quote; the editor will replace any previous auto-quote.

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Quick reference (shortcuts)

• Bold: Ctrl/Cmd B

• Italic: Ctrl/Cmd I

• Underline: Ctrl/Cmd U

• Undo / Redo: Ctrl/Cmd Z / Y

• Insert link: Ctrl/Cmd K (with text selected)

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That’s it! If you get stuck, post in Website Discussion → Help and we’ll jump in. Happy posting!

[Author]

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