What is BBCode? BBCode is a special implementation of HTML. Whether you can actually use BBCode in your posts on the forum is determined by the administrator. In addition, you can disable BBCode on a per post basis via the posting form. BBCode itself is similar in style to HTML: tags are enclosed in square braces [ and ] rather than < and > and it offers greater control over what and how something is displayed. Depending on the template you are using you may find adding BBCode to your posts is made much easier through a clickable interface above the message area on the posting form. Even with this you may find the following guide useful.
Text Formatting
How to create bold, italic and underlined text BBCode includes tags to allow you to quickly change the basic style of your text. This is achieved in the following ways:
To make a piece of text bold enclose it in [b][/b], eg.
[b]Hello[/b]
will become Hello
For underlining use [u][/u], for example:
[u]Good Morning[/u]
becomes Good Morning
To italicise text use [i][/i], eg.
This is [i]Great![/i]
would give This is Great!
How to change the text colour or size To alter the color or size of your text the following tags can be used. Keep in mind that how the output appears will depend on the viewers browser and system:
Changing the colour of text is achieved by wrapping it in [color=][/color]. You can specify either a recognised colour name (eg. red, blue, yellow, etc.) or the hexadecimal triplet alternative, eg. #FFFFFF, #000000. For example, to create red text you could use:
[color=red]Hello![/color]
or
[color=#FF0000]Hello![/color]
will both output Hello!
Changing the text size is achieved in a similar way using [size=][/size]. This tag is dependent on the template you are using but the recommended format is a numerical value representing the text size in pixels, starting at 1 (so tiny you will not see it) through to 29 (very large). For example:
[size=9]SMALL[/size]
will generally be SMALL
whereas:
[size=24]HUGE![/size]
will be HUGE!
How to change the font face used To alter the font face of your text, the following tag can be used. Keep in mind that how the output appears will depend on the viewers browser, system and that the font in question is installed:
Changing the font face of text is achieved by wrapping it in [font=][/font]. You need to specifiy a recognized font face. (Safe font face descriptions are the generic font face names provided with CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). E.g. sans-serif, serif, monospace, cursive, fantasy). You can use comma seperated lists of font faces too. E.g. arial,geneva,helvetica,sans-serif. For example to create text with monospace font face you could use:
[font=monospace]Monospaced Text[/font].
This will output Monospaced text
What does Blur do? Using blur on selected text will display the text with a blur effect. For example using:
Wow! Look I'm [blur]blurred[/blur]!
will display as:
Wow! Look I'm blurred!
What does Fade do? Using fade on selected text will display the begining of the string as normal text and then continue lightening the text from left to right until the text just fades away. For example using:
Wow! Look I'm [fade]fading away[/fade]!
will display as:
Wow! Look I'm fading away!
What does Flip do? Using flipv on selected text will display the text upside down (like a mirror reflection). Using fliph on selected text will display the text bacwards. Using both flipv and fliph will display the text upside down and backwards. For example using:
Wow! Look I'm [flipv][fliph]vertically and horizontally flipped[/fliph][/flipv]!
will display as:
Wow! Look I'm vertically and horizontally flipped!
What does Scroll do? Using scroll on selected text will make the text scroll from right to left across the post body. The scroll text will appear on a seperate line. For example using:
Wow! Look I'm [scroll]scrolling across the screen[/scroll]!
will display as:
Wow! Look I'm
What does Tab do? Using Tab will insert several spaces, for indentation purposes. For example using:
Wow! Look I'm [tab]all tabbed in!
will display as:
Wow! Look I'm all tabbed in!
What does the Pre do? The [pre] tag will preserve formatting that you may have from a regular text editor, so that tabs and spaces will show up in your posts.
Can I combine formatting tags? Yes, of course you can; for example to get someones attention you may write:
[size=18][color=red][b]LOOK AT ME![/b][/color][/size]
this would output LOOK AT ME!
We don't recommend you output lots of text that looks like this, though! Remember that it is up to you, the poster, to ensure that tags are closed correctly. For example, the following is incorrect:
[b][u]This is wrong[/b][/u]
Quoting and outputting fixed-width text
Quoting text in replies There are two ways you can quote text: with a reference or without.
When you utilise the Quote function to reply to a post on the board you should notice that the post text is added to the message window enclosed in a [quote=""][/quote] block. This method allows you to quote with a reference to a person or whatever else you choose to put. For example, to quote a piece of text Mr. Blobby wrote, you would enter:
[quote="Mr. Blobby"]The text Mr. Blobby wrote would go here[/quote]
The resulting output will automatically add: Mr. Blobby wrote: before the actual text. Remember that you must include the quotation marks "" around the name you are quoting -- they are not optional.
The second method allows you to blindly quote something. To utilise this enclose the text in [quote][/quote] tags. When you view the message it will simply show: Quote: before the text itself.
Outputting code or fixed width data If you want to output a piece of code or in fact anything that requires a fixed width with a Courier-type font, you should enclose the text in [code][/code] tags, eg.
[code]echo "This is some code";[/code]
All formatting used within [code][/code] tags is retained when you later view it.
Generating lists
Creating an Un-ordered list BBCode supports two types of lists, unordered and ordered. They are essentially the same as their HTML equivalents. An unordered list ouputs each item in your list sequentially one after the other indenting each with a bullet character. To create an unordered list you use [list][/list] and define each item within the list using [*]. For example, to list your favorite colours you could use:
[list] [*]Red [*]Blue [*]Yellow [/list]
This would generate the following list:
Red
Blue
Yellow
Creating an Ordered list The second type of list, an ordered list gives you control over what is output before each item. To create an ordered list you use [list=1][/list] to create a numbered list or alternatively [list=a][/list] for an alphabetical list. As with the unordered list items are specified using [*]. For example:
[list=1] [*]Go to the shops [*]Buy a new computer [*]Swear at computer when it crashes [/list]
will generate the following:
Go to the shops
Buy a new computer
Swear at computer when it crashes
Whereas for an alphabetical list you would use:
[list=a] [*]The first possible answer [*]The second possible answer [*]The third possible answer [/list]
giving
The first possible answer
The second possible answer
The third possible answer
>Making Tables
What do the [table] and [/table] tags do? You use [table] and [/table] to start and end the table Use [table] at the very beginning of the table, and [/table] at the very end.
What does the [mrow] tag do? You use [mrow] for a new row that starts with a header column (Centered, Bold text). Note: [/mrow] is NOT required
For example:
[table][mrow]Main Row[/table]
Will show up as
Main Row
What does the [mcol] tag do? You use [mcol] for each new header column (Centered, Bold text). Note: [/mcol] is NOT required
Do I need to add closing tags for the [mrow], [mcol], [row], or [col] tags? No, the Table BBCode is set up to eliminate the need for any closing tags other than the [/table] tag, which is required.
What are the different attributes? You can use "color=" and "fontsize=" with any tag. You use them the same way you would an html attribute by seperating each tag with a single space. The order in which you use them does not matter.
Color
The "color=" attribute allows you to change the background color. You can specify either a recognised colour name (eg. red, blue, yellow, etc.) or the hexadecimal triplet alternative, eg. #FFFFFF, #000000.
Example: [table color=blue][mrow color=green]Main Row Column 1[mcol color=red]Main Row Column 2[row color=#00FF00]Regular Row 1 Column 1[col color=#FF0000]Regular Row 1 Column 2[row]Regular Row 2 Column 1[col]Regular Row 2 Column 2[/table] Will show up as
Main Row Column 1
Main Row Column 2
Regular Row 1 Column 1
Regular Row 1 Column 2
Regular Row 2 Column 1
Regular Row 2 Column 2
Fontsize
The "fontsize=" attribute allows you to change the text size. The default font size is set to the FONTSIZE3 setting in the current template, however this can be changed by using the attribute in the [table] tag.
Example: [table fontsize=18][mrow fontsize=10]Main Row Column 1[mcol fontsize=14]Main Row Column 2[row fontsize=5]Regular Row 1 Column 1[col fontsize=28]Regular Row 1 Column 2[row]Regular Row 2 Column 1[col]Regular Row 2 Column 2[/table] Will show up as
Main Row Column 1
Main Row Column 2
Regular Row 1 Column 1
Regular Row 1 Column 2
Regular Row 2 Column 1
Regular Row 2 Column 2
Creating Links
Linking to another site BBCode supports a number of ways of creating URIs, Uniform Resource Indicators better known as URLs.
The first of these uses the [url=][/url] tag; whatever you type after the = sign will cause the contents of that tag to act as a URL. For example, to link to Fully Modded phpBB.com you could use:
This would generate the following link, Visit Fully Modded phpBB! You will notice the link opens in a new window so the user can continue browsing the forums if they wish.
If you want the URL itself displayed as the link you can do this by simply using:
An additional feature is something called Magic Links which will turn any syntatically correct URL into a link without you needing to specify any tags or even the leading http://. For example typing www.phpbbfm.net into your message will automatically lead to www.phpbbfm.net being output when you view the message.
The same thing applies equally to email addresses; you can either specify an address explicitly, like:
[email]no.one@domain.adr[/email]
which will output no.one@domain.adr or you can just type no.one@domain.adr into your message and it will be automatically converted when you view.
As with all the BBCode tags you can wrap URLs around any of the other tags such as [img][/img] (see next entry), [b][/b], etc. As with the formatting tags it is up to you to ensure the correct open and close order is following. For example:
is not correct which may lead to your post being deleted so take care.
Showing images in posts
Adding an image to a post BBCode incorporates a tag for including images in your posts. Two very important things to remember when using this tag are: many users do not appreciate lots of images being shown in posts and second, the image you display must already be available on the Internet (it cannot exist only on your computer, for example, unless you run a webserver!). There is currently no way of storing images locally. To display an image, you must surround the URL pointing to the image with [img][/img] tags. For example:
Aligning images and wrapping text This forum has the Left-Right IMG tag installed. Through the use of these tags, you can better format your posts by aligning text to the left or right side of the post body. Additionally, through the use of these tags, text will now neatly wrap around the images as opposed to being in-line as with a normal [img] tag. For example:
With img tags: A really really [img]phplogo.gif[/img][img]phplogo.gif[/img] really really really really really really long sentence.
A really really really really really really really really long sentence.
With left and right tags: A really really [img=left]phplogo.gif[/img][img=right]phplogo.gif[/img] really really really really really really long sentence.
A really really really really really really really really long sentence.
Using Flash
Using Macromedia Flash BBCode Flash tag supports a number of ways of using flash URIs, Uniform Resource Indicators better known as URLs, to display stunning flash animations, games etc...
You may use the flash tag in your posts, and signature, and any other BBcode enabled fields on your site. Flash isn't for the faint hearted, and it is recommended that you know what you are doing before using these tags.
The first of these uses the [flash][/flash] tag, everything in between the tags, it the URI for the swf file. For example to make a flash tag with this file you could use:
You may also not use the loop param, and just post using the width and height params. for example [flash width=500 height=45]http://www.macromedia.com/software/flash/header_fl_main.swf[/flash] produces the same as not using the loop, except loop is set to a default value of, off.
Make sure you use flash correctly otherwise you may end up with a mess (like the first flash posted), it is better to set the height and width params yourself. By param, we mean parameter which is just a value which makes it behave the way it does.
Other matters
Can I add my own tags? No, I am afraid not directly in this version. We are looking at offering customisable BBCode tags for the next major version.
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really really really really really really long sentence.
