One of the hardest things to navigate as a newbie is coding your posts. I've been around for a few years now and I still don't always feel like I have a handle on it :)

When you go to post an entry in your journal, you may notice two tabs that offer the choice of "Rich text" or "HTML". I like most new fans started out using Rich Text, which basically does the coding for you. I found that I often couldn't make it do what I wanted and when it did work, the post was full of little flaws that I couldn't seem to get rid of.

I'm technologically challenge, but to make matters worse, I can also be lazy :) So I ignored the imperfections and went on with my life. LOL!

But it bugged me. Plus I couldn't do italics in my comments for quotes or strikeouts just to be cool :) And then one day I wanted to send in a story I had written for one of the challenges, but it had to be html coded for easy loading.

UGH!

So it was time for me to learn html. But the good news is that it wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be and now I can do a lot more in my posts and comments. In the long run I find it even easier than Rich Text.

I keep a "cheat sheet" for myself with html code and then I cut and paste from as needed. That's what works for me... maybe others will share what works for them.

Many people also use semagic for their coding which someone much smart will have to explain we'll get to in another post.

Anyway here is my basic cheat sheet (under a cut in case you were wondering what those are). Please comment with any questions... no matter how "silly" :) These are just the basics, but we will get to posting pictures and videos soon!

ETA: flamencanyc was kind enough to teach me an easier way to show the coding! To learn from her check out the comment section. In the meantime I have edited the post! Thank you!

ETA2: Thanks to zaipixie for the addition of font size and color!

( Cheat Sheet )

Okay kids, since we're talking about coding I though you guys might like this.

If you use the "regular" way to code a user or comm:

<lj user=flamencanyc> or <lj user=qaf_drabbles>

the little symbol before the username will default to the right one for the journaling system you're posting in. In other words, here it's a tweakface, but on LJ it's the little LJ user symbol. And the icon and username will point to the user's profile page and journal in the current journaling system (IJ or LJ). Like this: flamencanyc or qaf_drabbles. That's great most of the time.

But what if, that user or comm doesn't exist on IJ, only on LJ? Like, for example LJ's xhaleslowly or whatsup_qaf?
If I code it that way now, we get this since I'm posting on IJ: xhaleslowly or whatsup_qaf, which if you click on them just give you errors, since they don't exist on IJ.
And what if you want to point to an LJ for a user or comm who has an IJ too?
Same problem applies in reverse when you're posting from LJ about an IJ user or comm.

You needn't say "LJ's xhaleslowly" or "IJ's qaf_alumsnnews".
Instead you can code them so they look and work correctly, like this: xhaleslowly! Here's how:

( Instructions under here! )

AKA Semagic.

I fumbled along for quite a while trying to use html coding in my posts but I'm very technically challenged and somehow I stumbled across semagic. I honestly don't remember how but it's been my best friend for posting since I downloaded it.

Anyho' the maintainers here asked me to do a post on semagic so here goes. LOL

You can download SEMAGIC HERE.

Basically it's a word processing program that you us to create posts. And it's nice point and click system works well for this spoiled windows gal. I can bold things, change their size, their color or add a link or a picture or a poll with a couple of highlights and clicks. BUT, the best thing is, I can start a post and save it for polishing or posting later. (Now someone once told me you could do that with your journals too but I could never figure out how.)

I even type some comments up in semagic and then copy and paste them to journals. It's so much easier to post pictures or multiple links. I encourage you to give it a try. I'm betting half of you will be more proficient with it in a week than I am years later. LOL

Questions? Ask away and I'll do what I can. :)

When I first found fandom in 2007, I was missing my old show and had done a search for QAF that led me to, among other things, some fanvids on YouTube. Maybe because they were the first bit of fandom that I found; maybe because I’m an audiophile; or maybe because I have no clue how to begin making a good fanvid, when I find a really amazing fanvid—one that really tells a story…one that uses the song and the clips and seamlessly blends the two—I get excited and want to share it with my Flist.

( In any case, I’m here to share with you how to post a YouTube video into a post on your IJ. It’s pretty simple, really. (Which is maybe another reason why I love posting vids—you get a lot of bang for your buck, so to speak!) )