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Old 29 Jul 2004, 07:41 AM   #1
robert@fm
The "e" in e-mail
 
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: London, UK
Posts: 4,681
Post Forum hints and tips

(Request to mods:  Could this thread please be made sticky? )

This is a repository for anything which may enhance one's EMD experience. Feel free to add to it...

OK, to start off:

1) Disrupting unwanted smilies

We've all known that annoying problem where we type something which we want to come out like "(example)" and instead it comes out like "(example)".  To prevent this happening, use an empty italic (or bold, or whatever, if you so prefer) container, thus:

"(example:eek:[i][/i])".

(Thanks to whoever came up with that one; unfortunately I haven't got time to do a search just now, so maybe you could identify yourself.  )

2) Stopping punctuation being absorbed into URLs

One way is to uncheck "Automatically parse URLs", but most of the time one wants URLs to be parsed; there are two ways to stop them being parsed incorrectly, such as in "This example uses www.emaildiscussions.com, to demonstrate bad auto-parsing":
  1. Manually insert a URL container, e.g. "This example uses [url]www.emaildiscussions.com[/url], to demonstrate manual parsing which cures the problem".
  2. Insert a <> container, e.g. "This example uses <www.emaildiscussions.com>, to demonstrate good auto-parsing which also cures the problem".

(Note that one proposed "solution", of using a service such as tinyurl.com, will not work; it just replaces a broken direct link with a broken TinyURL one.&nbsp;&nbsp;)

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I may post some more tips tomorrow, when I have more time.
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