BYYB Forums

The new forum software is Simple Machines Forum or SMF.  The layout is similar to the old phpBB2 forums, but works a bit differently.  Here are a few tips, in random order, that might help you navigate through the new forums.

1.  After posting, are you returning to the forum index instead of seeing the post you just added?  You can change this behavior by clicking on the "Profile" link in the dark brown menu bar, clicking "Look and Layout Preferences" and checking the box next to "Return to topics after posting by default."  Remember to click the "Change Profile" button at the bottom.  Now, after you submit a post, you will be returned to your post rather than the forum index.

2.  Images can be added to your post by clicking the "Additional Options (add images, subscribe to post, etc.)" link that appears beneath the edit box when you start entering a message.  Click the "Browse ..." button next to the "Attach:" box to search your computer for the image and select it.  To add another picture, click the "(more attachments)" link and another "Attach:" box will appear. 

If you want to have the picture inserted into the text, position the cursor where you want the picture to appear and click the "[Insert Attachment 1]" link and you'll see a text code like "[attachment=1]".  After you click the "Post" button, the picture will be uploaded and be inserted into the post at that point.  Note that SMF does not upload your picture until you click "Post", so you can't see a preview of the picture before posting.  You can edit after you post it.

3.  The "Additional Options" link is also where you can subscribe to the thread by selecting "Notify me of replies".  You can disable smileys and choose other options from that area.  Note that you can also change the "Return to this topic" behavior here; it affects only this post, leaving the default behavior as selected in your profile (#1, above).

4.  You can be advised whenever a new post shows up in your favorite board (the "Builders Bulletin Board" is a board).  At the top right of the board listing is a link in light brown that says "Notify".  Clicking on that will give you a dialog box that asks "Are you sure you wish to enable notification of new topics for this board?"  Click yes, and you'll get an email advising you when a new post has been made.

5.  A calendar is integrated into the forums.  The link is in that dark brown menu bar, and when you go to the calendar, you can choose to "Post Event" ... posting a calendar event is very similar to leaving a message, and you can choose which board to insert an announcement in linking to the calendar.  This way, the post you have started in a particular board can be accessed by the link in the calendar itself, allowing people seeing the event in the calendar to find out more about the event. 

You can also create the message first, with all the information you want, in the appropriate board, and "Post" the message.  Go back to the posted message and click the link at the bottom of the page in the medium brown menu bar that says "Link to Calendar". 

If you have questions on the operation of the software, go ahead and ask here.

So, what happened to the old photo gallery? Is it gone now like the one before it? :

Nope, its at this link ... http://byyb.org/pages/homepage/gallery.php  (there's a menu link from the homepage at http://byyb.org also).

It is converted to use the same log in as the forums, just as before.  You might have to re-log in over there the first couple of times to make sure the cookie is overwritten on your local machine, but it should still work. 

To show a picture from there ... or anywhere else on the Internet ... in a post, you can use the "img" tag in square brackets just like with the old software.  This:


Produces this image from Craig Gleason's album:



You find the URL of the image by getting it on screen, right clicking and looking at "Properties" for the location of the actual picture.  Copy and paste it into your message, highlight it and click the "Image" button above the edit box (its in the second row, and looks like a picture of a landscape). 

Adding an "avatar" or picture under your name:

Click "Profile" in the dark brown menu bar, and then click "Forum Profile Information" in the left column on the page that opens.  The first section of the new page allows you to specify an avatar on the server, one you upload, or one somewhere on the Internet.

For Robert Griffiths, who asked in a PM where he found the link to add a new topic to a board, from the board index, look at the lighter brown links at the right:


You can start a new topic by clicking that link.  Let me know if that helps!  If you can't post at all here, email me at fshagan@roadrunner.com

I changed the settings for the size of pictures allowed in each post.  It was set at 128kb maximum for each picture uploaded, and I've increased that to 640kb. 

A lot of times, the picture you have is over 1 MB, and large.  When you upload it, the software will re-dimension it on the fly, but it does make the software slower, and it takes up more disk space.  Many versions of Windows have a "Make Thumbnail" application built in and available if you right-click on a picture; set the dimensions to 400 x 300 for most pictures, and you'll have a file size way under the 640kb limit.

If you don't see a "Make Thumbnail" choice when you right click on a picture on disk, you can get the free EZ Thumbs application from Fookes Software at http://www.fookes.com/ezthumbs/index.php

It allows you to set your "thumbnail" dimensions, and install it so you can use the right-click menu's "Open With" feature to automatically make a thumbnail of your photo before uploading.  It makes a smaller copy of your photo and pre-pends the file name with "tn_" so you know which one is the new smaller version.