jeeswg's forum tutorial: tips for using the forum

[jeeswg]

[updated: 2019-10-22]

Tips for using the forum.
Some tips that would have been useful when I first joined the forum.

Please comment/contribute below.

Note: use the quote button, to inspect code tags etc used in this post.

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SUBMITTING A POST

- Use 'code' tags, when you submit code. Other useful tags are 'c', for small bits of code, and 'url' to show urls in full, and to avoid long urls being truncated.
[how to use code tags]
AutoHotkey Community - BBCode guide
https://autohotkey.com/boards/faq.php?mode=bbcode#f2r1

- If you post as a guest, or as a newly-registered user, there can be a delay in your posts appearing on the forum, until they are reviewed.
- Careful when you click Submit, it won't be obvious that your post was submitted. You could end up submitting the post multiple times. Check whether your post has appeared on the forum page.
- To view a list of posts that you have submitted, click the person icon at the right of the toolbar at the top, (zoom out if it's not visible,) then click 'Profile'.
- If you have successfully posted to the forum, but you do not get a response straightaway, do not start a new duplicate post, it is far better to 'bump' the post.
- If the question is games-related, please post it in the Gaming subforum.
- To start a new thread in the Ask For Help forum: click on the 'Forums' button (toolbar, top-left corner), click on 'Ask For Help' in the list of forums (it's the 3rd item), then click the 'New Topic' button on the left.

- You could consider posting to the Discord or IRC servers:
Autohotkey Livechat / Autohotkey IRC / Discord - AutoHotkey Community
https://autohotkey.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=59

QUOTING

- There is no need to quote someone else's post in its entirety.
- If you include a username in a 'quote' block, that user will receive a notification.

MARK A THREAD AS SOLVED

- If someone answers your question, you can click the tick button ('Accept this answer'), this marks the thread as 'solved'. You can subsequently remove the tick, or put a tick on a different post.

PROBLEMS RUNNING CODE

- If a script isn't working, it may be because of issues relating to admin windows or UAC. If the script is an old script (e.g. from the old forum), try running it with AHK 32-bit Unicode, otherwise AHK 32-bit ANSI otherwise AutoHotkey Basic.

SEARCHING

- To find a post by searching keywords and/or usernames, you can often get better results with Bing than with Google. E.g. site:autohotkey.com custom InputBox.
- AutoHotkey's built-in search is faster if you're logged in. The 'Sorry but you cannot use search at this time. Please try again in _ seconds.' delays are shorter. I believe a 30-second wait is typical if logged out, no wait or a 7-second wait is typical if logged in.

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TAGS: EXAMPLES OF TAG USAGE

Click the 'Reply with quote' button on a post, to see the tags used in a post (e.g. this post). You can use the 'quote' button, to view the underlying contents of a post, even when you're not logged in.

my quote

Note: if you use quote="username", the user gets a toolbar notification (the bell in the top-right corner turns orange).

my quote

Code: Select all

my code

my code

[code that is ready to save with a specific filename, the file will be LF-delimited]
[e.g. 'code=autohotkey file=MyFile.ahk']

Code: Select all

MsgBox
MsgBox

[text that links to a url]
AutoHotkey Community - Index page

[urls with/without the 'url' tag]
Tips for using the forum. - AutoHotkey Community
https://autohotkey.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=29007&p=136190#p136190
Tips for using the forum. - AutoHotkey Community
https://autohotkey.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=29007&p=136190#p136190

Windows Data Types (Windows)
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa383751(v=vs.85).aspx
Windows Data Types (Windows)
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa383751(v=vs.85).aspx

[advice on tags]
[note: when editing a post you can access the first link (BBCode guide) by clicking on ''BBCode is']
AutoHotkey Community - BBCode guide
https://autohotkey.com/boards/faq.php?mode=bbcode
GitHub - hoppfrosch/AHKScript_BBCodeGuide: Enhanced BBCode Guide for http://ahkscript.org
https://github.com/hoppfrosch/AHKScript_BBCodeGuide

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TEMPLATE URLS: A USER'S POSTS

[user's profile][click the person icon at the right of the toolbar at the top, then click 'Profile']
AutoHotkey Community - Viewing profile - jeeswg
https://autohotkey.com/boards/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=74796
[equivalent to:]
AutoHotkey Community - Viewing profile - jeeswg
https://autohotkey.com/boards/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&un=jeeswg

[all posts by a user][links are equivalent]
[person icon, 'Profile', 'Search user’s posts']
AutoHotkey Community - Search
https://autohotkey.com/boards/search.php?author_id=74796&sr=posts
[equivalent to:]
AutoHotkey Community - Search
https://autohotkey.com/boards/search.php?author=jeeswg&sr=posts

[all topics featuring a user][click the right arrow to jump to the last post]
[e.g. I use this to check for responses to topics I'm on (the speech bubble turns orange if a topic has unseen posts)]
AutoHotkey Community - Search
https://autohotkey.com/boards/search.php?author=jeeswg&sr=topics

[all topics started by a user][click the right arrow to jump to the last post]
AutoHotkey Community - Search
https://autohotkey.com/boards/search.php?author=jeeswg&sf=firstpost&sr=topics

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TEMPLATE URLS: FIRST/NTH/LAST PAGE

[page 1 of topic][start of topic]
jeeswg's 3-item wish list (GUI class name+GUI no icon, A_ThisHwnd/A_ThisIfWinCriteria on hotkey launch, InputBox HFONT) - AutoHotkey Community
https://autohotkey.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=26180
[sometimes you see the url without the topic number]
[if you open such a url, and then click on the title at the top of the page, the page will be reopened and forum number will be added to the url]
https://autohotkey.com/boards/viewtopic.php?t=26180

[page 2 of topic]
jeeswg's 3-item wish list (GUI class name+GUI no icon, A_ThisHwnd/A_ThisIfWinCriteria on hotkey launch, InputBox HFONT) - Page 2 - AutoHotkey Community
https://autohotkey.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=26180&start=20

page 2: start=20
page 3: start=40
page n: start=n*20-20

[last page of topic]
last page (there are unlikely to be over 100K posts): start=100000
last page/first unread page (if logged in), first page (if logged out): view=unread#unread
note: there are 20 posts per thread, so 100000 posts would equate to 100000/20=5000 pages

Suggestions on documentation improvements - Page 31 - AutoHotkey Community
https://autohotkey.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=1434&start=100000
https://autohotkey.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=1434&view=unread#unread

« What's on your mind? » - Page 212 - AutoHotkey Community
https://autohotkey.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=52&start=100000
https://autohotkey.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=52&view=unread#unread

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TEMPLATE URLS: POSTS WITHIN A TOPIC

[jump to specific post]
[note: if you right-click a post's datestamp, you can copy this url to the clipboard]
jeeswg's 3-item wish list (GUI class name+GUI no icon, A_ThisHwnd/A_ThisIfWinCriteria on hotkey launch, InputBox HFONT) - Page 3 - AutoHotkey Community
https://autohotkey.com/boards/viewtopic.php?p=134158#p134158
[although I prefer to use the long-form url which includes the forum/topic numbers]
https://autohotkey.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=26180&p=134158#p134158

[jump to specific post (old forum)]
[note: if you hover over the bottom of a post, and right-click a post's number e.g. '#1', you can copy this url to the clipboard]
COM Object Reference [AutoHotkey v1.1+] - Scripts and Functions - AutoHotkey Community
https://autohotkey.com/board/topic/56987-com-object-reference-autohotkey-v11/
https://autohotkey.com/board/topic/56987-com-object-reference-autohotkey-v11/#entry357748

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TEMPLATE URLS: JUMP WITHIN A POST

[jump within a post, by adding fragment identifiers]
jump within a post - AutoHotkey Community
https://autohotkey.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=64567&p=281406#p281406

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TEMPLATE URLS: FURTHER

[new posts]
The 'New posts' button, only available when logged in, lists threads modified since you last logged in.
AutoHotkey Community - New posts
https://www.autohotkey.com/boards/search.php?search_id=newposts

[open the Ask For Help forum page, scrolled down slightly]
Ask For Help - AutoHotkey Community
https://autohotkey.com/boards/viewforum.php?f=5#forum-search

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QUICK LINKS

The 3-line 'Quick links' button, on the top-left of the toolbar, lists:

[all topics featuring you (can be more than 1000 topics)]
AutoHotkey Community - Your posts
https://autohotkey.com/boards/search.php?search_id=egosearch

[topics with new posts since you last logged in (maximum 1000 topics)]
AutoHotkey Community - New posts
https://autohotkey.com/boards/search.php?search_id=newposts

[first 1000 topics with unread posts]
AutoHotkey Community - Unread posts
https://autohotkey.com/boards/search.php?search_id=unreadposts

[first 1000 topics with no replies]
AutoHotkey Community - Unanswered topics
https://autohotkey.com/boards/search.php?search_id=unanswered

[topics with new posts posted in the last 7 days (maximum 1000 topics)]
AutoHotkey Community - Active topics
https://autohotkey.com/boards/search.php?search_id=active_topics

[you can modify the time period via a drop-down menu at the bottom]
[e.g. topics with new posts posted in the last 14 days (maximum 1000 topics)]
[note: replace 14 with 1/7/14/30/90/180/365/0 (0 for all-time)]
AutoHotkey Community - Active topics
https://autohotkey.com/boards/search.php?st=14&search_id=active_topics

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SLOW WEBSITE

Once when the website was very slow, my list of topics featuring me showed that someone had responded to one of my posts, but the thread page would never load. I was able to view the text of the post by looking at that user's list of posts. E.g. link:
AutoHotkey Community - Search
https://autohotkey.com/boards/search.php?author=jeeswg&sr=posts

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PRIVATE MESSAGES

Be careful when replying that you don't end up sending a message to yourself!

When you send a message, it first appears in 'Outbox', once the recipient has opened it, it appears in 'Sent messages'.

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TOOLBAR BUTTONS

When zoomed in, or when the window is not maximised, you may lose some of the toolbar buttons such as the Frequently Asked Questions button (it appears on the right of the toolbar, its icon is a question mark inside a filled-in circle).

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WEBSITE TIME ZONE

When not logged in, the default time zone is:
UTC−05:00 - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UTC%E2%88%9205:00

It will say at the bottom of the page: •All times are UTC-05:00

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QUERIES

- Is it possible to list the first post for all topics on a forum (e.g. Ask For Help) created between day A and day B?
- Is it possible to list topics featuring a user not started by that user?
- How to use tags in text without the tags having their usual function. In order to show how to use tags.
- Is there a 'comment' tag, for invisible comments that aren't shown? E.g. to remind me *not* to make a correction to a post that I would normally make e.g. add url tags. Didn't work: [ size=mycomment][/size]
- Is there a recommended way to back up posts? One reason is because I want easy access to the posts for use in tutorials, or to review/correct code. Otherwise I could get the urls for each post I make, open them in 'edit' mode and grab the text, with a delay between each action (although whatever method I used I would not want to burden the system).
- Is it possible to lock a topic? E.g. one that's intended for announcements, or a collection of functions with different posts for different function categories, but where new categories might emerge. [It's possible for admins/mods.]

[4GForce]

Please comment/contribute below.

Good points ... I see a lot of post that could use 'pre-guidance'.

• Searching for solved issues
• Post in Ask for help -> wait 24/48h -> bump or go to live chat when urgent
• Code brackets is often ommited
• Quoting so that the person gets notification
• Bumping old post instead of spamming new ones
• Marked as solved walkthru =p

[jNizM]

Edit:
I removed my content because you know what I mean, but still you made my day

[Xtra]

Why is this in "Forum Issues" is appears to be a "Tutorial"?

[joedf]

Topic moved.

[jeeswg]

Uh oh, joedf ... 'You reposted in the wrong neighborhood'.
Hehe. Forum Issues / Tutorials / About This Community. All good neighbourhoods. Cheers.

[joedf]

??

[jeeswg]

It's a meme, that's all. It's funny to have a chance to legitimately use the phrase in a sentence. Good idea to put the thread here. I wasn't sure whether it was more forum-y or tutorial-y. Thanks.

[BoBo]

The main thing I've to fight with are single threads posted multiple times!
Let's guess there are two main reasons for that: a thread has been posted by one of our favourite clients, the typical "first time ever posting/scripting/begging/..." gamester (at the wrong forum section of course!), and these kinda customers aren't aware that guest-postings need to be reviewed/released to show up. So, any non-immediate display of the requested thread will let them rapid fire a follow-up request - OR - second guess, a forum-bug, as those threads time-stamps are quite close together (about 2-10 secs)??!

It looks like gamesters aren't the best when it comes to reading a) the AHK help or b) whatever forum-rules ... BUT there's a chance that they are more interested in some "animated stuff" simply bc ...
"Ein Bild/Film sagt mehr als tausend Worte!". Therefore it might make sense to create a set of tiny (video) clips to show a few of the forums core features mentioned above.

[LICEcap]

And those who decline to watch those clips will get punished with their threads getting released with a 2-month delay MUAHAHAHA

[BoBo]

And here we go ... https://autohotkey.com/boards/viewtopic ... 22#p196322

[bcgrossman]

I've tried searching the forum for my topic but have not been able to find it.
So I thought I would post it as a new topic. Then I could not figure out how
to post a new topic. The help file says: Click the 'New Topic' button.
But there is no New Topic button on any of the pages I have looked at.

Yes I'm signed in.

Can someone direct me to a tutorial that actually helps?

[BoBo]

I've tried searching the forum for my topic but have not been able to find it.
[...]

Click on your username to the left. Now you should get your user statistics, where to the right, you'll find something similar to "search for the users' postings" ... https://autohotkey.com/boards/viewtopic ... 11#p199411

[Xtra]

So I thought I would post it as a new topic. Then I could not figure out how
to post a new topic. The help file says: Click the 'New Topic' button.

[jeeswg]

- @bcgrossman: I checked the list of forum posts by you, the only post I found was one about Pulover's Macro Creator, but it is listed as being newer than the post in this thread.
- It would have helped if you'd stated about your missing thread: what the thread/post was about, when you posted it, under what username you posted it (as bcgrossman logged in, or as a guest, and if as a guest, under what name).
- If you post as a guest, or as a newly-registered user, there can be a delay in your posts appearing on the forum, until they are reviewed. I have asked for more guidance to be provided regarding this to new users, either via an FAQ page, video, or both. However, I don't actually know all of the details regarding this, otherwise I might have said more myself in this thread.
- I've added information that attempts to answer you questions, in the first section, called 'SUBMIT', of my tutorial above.

[tank]

In short new user posts are flags for review if they contain links images or other hidden criteria that identify with no expand. These posts are reviewed by our moderators and released as soon as possible

[NIRC]

How do I start a new Post? I can't see a link anywhere.
Thanks for any help.

[jeeswg]

To start a new thread (aka topic) in Ask For Help, open this link, and click on the New Topic button.
Ask For Help - AutoHotkey Community
https://autohotkey.com/boards/viewforum.php?f=5

There are other forums besides Ask For Help, here's a list of all the forums. You can also reach this page by clicking on the Forums button on the top-left.
AutoHotkey Community - Index page
https://autohotkey.com/boards/

[submeg]

I was trying to figure out how to find all the topics I had started, but I couldn't see that as a option in the user profile. However, the advanced search works in this case (just changed the author= text to the username you are interested in and remove the space before "&fid%5B%5D="):

https://www.autohotkey.com/boards/search.php?keywords=&terms=any&author=submeg &fid%5B%5D=1&fid%5B%5D=4&sc=1&sf=titleonly&sr=topics&sk=t&sd=d&st=0&ch=300&t=0&submit=Search