Tech Question For Board Admin...

[High_Plains_Drifter]

OK... when I copy and paste type and use, "paste as plain text," the text is properly spaced when I paste it, but when I hit submit, single spacing always becomes double?

Is it my browser doing that or what?

@jimnyc (http://www.debatepolicy.com/member.php?u=1)
@darin (http://www.debatepolicy.com/member.php?u=19)

[jimnyc]

OK... when I copy and paste type and use, "paste as plain text," the text is properly spaced when I paste it, but when I hit submit, single spacing always becomes double?

Is it my browser doing that or what?

@jimnyc (http://www.debatepolicy.com/member.php?u=1)
@darin (http://www.debatepolicy.com/member.php?u=19)

Do what I always do Tom...

ALWAYS keep a blank text document on your desktop. Open it when reading articles. Copy paste anything into there first, then copy and paste it from there, to the board. What that does is remove ALL attributes, coloring, spacing and anything at all - and will be guaranteed to copy here at DP as plain text.

I honestly don't know your answer at first glance and I'll investigate. Hell, I don't even know how to "submit as plain text"! LOL I would assume somewhere in that option it automatically does that. I'll see what I can find....

[pete311]

Jim you need to upgrade vB, this post editor has tons of problems and it's frustrating.

[jimnyc]

Jim you need to upgrade vB, this post editor has tons of problems and it's frustrating.

I have zero problems. Pls be specific with exact problems you are having. Only upgrade at this point is to vb5, and it ain't happening for the same reasons so many other thousands refuse to upgrade to.

I'm unaware of any specifics and post all the time using every portion of the editor.

So be specific, and include browser and version, as well as OS pls and see what I can do to help.

[jimnyc]

I haven't heard any complaints from anyone else. Feel free to add in any issues you may have, just please include the browser and version as well, and the operating system you use. We all use the identical interface. When one or 2 people have an issue and no one else has one for years, it's usually indicative of an issue between versions, and sometimes can be a workaround, hence me asking. And if no one else experiences the same issue, then it's fairly easy to troubleshoot. Conflicts are usually the primary issue.

Upgrading won't be happening as moving to vB 5 and forward is like moving to another completely board altogether. Different look, different interface, basically everything is changed, and IMO, and that of thousands of others, are that it's stupid looking and bloated & worst of all - slower. It would be like starting over again with a new type of message board software. That is exactly why so many converted over to "Xenforo", which is the software used at our old site. Also starting all over again, having to have all images redesigned and what not. It's a huge headache and would cost some $$ as well.

vB 4 is secure and more than workable. And while at very rare times there are conflicts like what Pete mentioned, it is absolutely not having a ton of issues as he states. The entire board would be facing the same issues if it were true, software doesn't discriminate.

[pete311]

I have zero problems. Pls be specific with exact problems you are having. Only upgrade at this point is to vb5, and it ain't happening for the same reasons so many other thousands refuse to upgrade to.

I'm unaware of any specifics and post all the time using every portion of the editor.

So be specific, and include browser and version, as well as OS pls and see what I can do to help.

Here are my top 3 issues using latest Chrome, Win10:

1. Sometimes URLs don't turn into links.
2. Sometimes I write something and want to edit a word and the backspace doesn't do anything, the cursor doesn't even move. Usually saving and then trying again works.
3. Removing formatting when I copy and paste from somewhere. This is annoying and doesn't always work. Is there a setting I can choose where everything in the editor is plain text?

[jimnyc]

Here are my top 3 issues using latest Chrome, Win10:

1. Sometimes URLs don't turn into links.
2. Sometimes I write something and want to edit a word and the backspace doesn't do anything, the cursor doesn't even move. Usually saving and then trying again works.
3. Removing formatting when I copy and paste from somewhere. This is annoying and doesn't always work. Is there a setting I can choose where everything in the editor is plain text?

1 - When you paste or write a link to the board, do you do so manually, or do you click on the globe/link icon? I do both ways and never have an issue. For example, when I post articles, I copy the link from the URL bar, and then paste directly into my post. In over 10 years I have never had an issue with that one. Let's start from there.

Also, does anyone else have this specific issue?

Lastly, Pete, can you also save and don't fix it the next time it happens, and send me a PM to look at the post.

2 - Completely unsure of that one at the moment, never experienced that one myself. I do recall in the past someone having an issue with hitting backspace. Do me a favor, try hitting the "A/a" button.

Also, try this. - go to top right of board and click on "settings". Then on the left panel find and click on "general settings". Go all the way to the bottom, 4th to last option - what is yours set too? Mine is "standard editor", as it's my preference and hides/eliminates a lot of goodies in the post box, as I prefer to do everything manually anyway. I know in the past this helped someone who had a backspace issue. We'll go from there.

3 - The "A/a" may help, but better yet, do what I told Tom to do - which is always have a plain 'ol .txt file on your desktop. If you were to copy 3 paragraphs in there, from a site that is littered with colors and other weird attributes - a plain text editor that comes with windows will instantly remove all of that, and then you now copy that into your post. This isn't a "lame fix" before you say so, it's something I started myself like 10 years ago, to make life SO much easier than posting into the box, and then spending the next 10 minutes cleaning the post up for actual posting. You're mentioning basically the same as Tom, posting into the "paste as plain text" option on the toolbar? This really isn't an issue, but just something that sucks. When ANYONE "copies" something from a website out there, it will automatically always include all the attributes. The text file way is the quickest and easiest, IMO.

Now, there are some apps out there that you can use that allow for copying/pasting multiple things into your clipboard at once, and also a few that automatically remove all attributes. I don't use it all the time as I hate going back and forth, so I just stick with the txt file option.

NONE of these are specific issues with the board, not unless ALL of us are experiencing the identical issues. Again, vBulletin, like all software, doesn't discriminate.



Try any of these links to see if they may be of assistance to you:

https://www.howtogeek.com/186723/ask-htg-how-can-i-paste-text-without-the-formatting/

And one I didn't even know about until just now:

Paste text without formatting

When referring to rich-text, like found on a web page, Word document, or e-mail, the formatting remains when it is copied then pasted elsewhere. For example, if you were to copy this paragraph of text, "This is bold" would remain bold when you paste it into any other document that supports rich-text. Anyone needs plain text pasting frequently may find having a universal shortcut key beneficial.

Free Software

We recommend the free tool PureText, which runs in the background and can paste plain text into any program using the same shortcut key your choosing (Windows key + V by default). PureText is capable of removing font faces, font styles (i.e. bold, italic, etc.), font colors, paragraph styles, extra spacing, tables, and pictures from any text you copy.

Windows Tip: In most versions of Windows Ctrl+Windows Key + V also pastes text as plain text.

Link to download is on their site. I prefer to do manually myself when posting.

https://www.computerhope.com/tips/tip171.htm

Again though, and allow me to reiterate for all readers. While vB 4.2 IS behind, it's the last version left before they went with major major changes. Upgrading wouldn't solve any of these issues. I don't have these issues. No one else is complaining.

With that said, Pete, I'm willing to work with you on all 3 until you are happy if you choose. But unfortunately, when dealing with huge software such as this, and then adding in one of dozens of browsers that folks use and then adding in windows versions, the conflicts like these can and do happen.

[Abbey Marie]

I once had the backspace/stuck cursor problem. As you’ve said, hitting the A/A​ icon fixed it.

[jimnyc]

Here are my top 3 issues using latest Chrome, Win10:

1. Sometimes URLs don't turn into links.
2. Sometimes I write something and want to edit a word and the backspace doesn't do anything, the cursor doesn't even move. Usually saving and then trying again works.
3. Removing formatting when I copy and paste from somewhere. This is annoying and doesn't always work. Is there a setting I can choose where everything in the editor is plain text?

I forgot to ask if you use any other browsers or can install for testing. I have IE of course which comes with the Windows OS. I used to use primarily Firefox, so still have it installed for troubleshooting purposes like this. And now my default browser is Chrome, like you.

You can try to use another browser and see if the problem follows you. Just another easy test to help eliminate potential problems.

[NightTrain]

I'm using Chrome and Win 10, with zero issues.

Like Jim said, when you copy from somewhere else, don't go directly to here and paste. Paste into a text document on your desktop, then copy / paste here, that removes everything but the simple text.