Formatting threads

Subject: Formatting threads - HELP!!!!!
From: Mick Lowe.
Date: 16 Jun 98 - 06:18 PM

So what's the secret to formatting your threads so that lyrics come out looking half decent.

I've just posted a reply for the lyrics to The Blarney Rose.. typed it in all nice and neat and it's come out looking like a dog's dinner, completely ignoring any carriage returns or any other attempt to make it look semi-presentable

Reminds me too much of my guitar playing.. so somebody help!!!!!!!

Subject: RE: Formatting threads
From: Jon W.
Date: 16 Jun 98 - 06:29 PM

There've been several recent inquiries on this, so you're not alone. The main thing to do is insert what's known as an HTML line break code at the end of each line. This is simply < BR >, with no spaces in it. It's not case sensitive either (either BR or br, doesn't matter). There are a lot of other tricks but that's the only one I use. Search the previous threads if you like.

Subject: RE: Formatting threads
From: Mick Lowe
Date: 16 Jun 98 - 07:47 PM

I thought I had used
at the end of the line. This internet business is more complicated than it looks and I've been in the "business" for over 13 years. Bring back BASIC is what I say.

Keep on hacking

Mick

Subject: RE: Formatting threads
From:
Date: 17 Jun 98 - 02:23 AM

Mick,

The <br;> you used did work. Look at where your line is broken. Of course it didn't print out <br;> to the rest of us because it assumed you wanted a line break. You have to be more tricky to get for example a literal <.

Basic had (has) its traps for the unwary too!

Murray

Subject: RE: Formatting threads
From:
Date: 17 Jun 98 - 06:09 AM

"View Source", or your browsers equivalent command is the best learning aid you've got. It will show you which HTML tags were used to get the effect you're interested in.

Personally I use only "basic" HTML tags so that the most primitive browsers (eg Lynx, on a public access terminal) will still be able to display the content.

Formatting tags I use:
<br> - line BReak
<p> - Paragraph (double line break)
<i> - Italic - </i>
<b> - Bold - </b>
<dl><dt><dd></dl> a list format to achieve indents.

Use View Source with this example:

John Kanaka-naka

I heard, I heard the Old Man say,

John kanaka-naka too-ri-ay.

Today, today's an holiday,

John kanaka-naka too-ri-ay.

Too-ri-ay, O - oh, too-ri-ay,

John kanaka-naka too-ri-ay.

AndyG

Subject: RE: Formatting threads
From: AndyG
Date: 17 Jun 98 - 06:21 AM

Ah! - having submitted the above message and tested I see I should also say that the upper case HTML tags were inserted by the mudcat forum software.
Only the lower case tags are my HTML.

AndyG

Subject: RE: Formatting threads
From: Will
Date: 17 Jun 98 - 10:39 AM

Andy's comments about a minimal set of HTML commands make a lot of sense. One additional trick: If you are typing in a long song, with lots of line breaks, it helps to type it into a word processing file (e.g., Word), and then do a global replace in which you insert the < br > HTML in front of the paragraph breaks. In Word, for instance, this means using the "replace" command to insert the break command before each paragraph mark, that is, convert ^p into < br >^p .

Then copy and paste from the word processing program into mudcat. It's less fiddly than it sounds and saves having to type a lot of < br >'s.

Subject: RE: Formatting threads
From: Bill D
Date: 17 Jun 98 - 12:02 PM

being VERY lazy, and not being familar with Word Processing programs...I begin typing a song, and when I get to the end of the first line, I type the first line break < br > (without the spaces), and immediately highlight and copy (ctrl 'c') it to the clip board...then, as I reach the end of each line, I just paste (ctrl 'v') that pesky break thing at the end, hit the return to make it look like I want, and keep typing.

I have also used this trick when a song has a longer repeating phrase, chorus, or hard-to-type line in it..
(e.g., "John kanaka-naka too-ri-ay".)..

If I have to do BOTH line breaks and a repeating phrase, I do the whole song first, without the breaks...then copy the line break thing and go back and paste all the < br > at the end of the lines..just takes a few moments.

I have promised myself I'll practice some of the more elegant ways, and that I will learn several of the useful HTML commands like indents & paragraphs, etc....but it is true that you CAN get by using the line break as almost your only trick.

Subject: RE: Formatting threads
From:
Date: 17 Jun 98 - 04:04 PM

Another possible approach is to use the <PRE> </PRE> tags for "preformatted" text. This SHOULD allow your browser to recognize all carriage returns AND spaces. That would also allow you to position chords correctly above the text. This hasn't always worked correctly for me, but I may have messed up in typing. Here's a modest example/experiment:

    

     G             C  When I was young I used to wait    

   G                      D7  On Massa and hand him his plate  

If this doesn't work, your browser may be trying to render it in a proportional font. At least you can always cut and paste from the HTML source code. Here's hoping I got it right this time.

Bert C

Subject: RE: Formatting threads
From: Bert C
Date: 17 Jun 98 - 04:15 PM

Well, that didn't work too well, did it. It looks like the Mudcat engine replaced certain characters with <P> - I didn't intentionally put any in the areas between the preformatting tags. It may also swallow up others. I'll give it one more try here, and I'll use only lower case in the tags so we'll know which ones were added by Mudcat.

    

     G             C  When I was young I used to wait    

   G                      D7  On Massa and hand him his plate  

If this doesn't work, I surrender to someone else with more insight. I've seen it work fine on other pages; I just don't undertand why it shouldn't work here.

Bert C

Subject: RE: Formatting threads
From: Mick Lowe
Date: 17 Jun 98 - 05:44 PM

Many thanks for all your suggestions. The trouble is now I spend more time practising HTML then I do the guitar.

Mick

Subject: RE: Formatting threads
From: GUEST,nodger
Date: 03 Sep 04 - 06:14 PM

6 years later....I ask you can you please post those lyrics?

Subject: RE: Formatting threads
From: PoppaGator
Date: 03 Sep 04 - 06:26 PM

Six years later, isn't the above discussion moot?

I got my text to this line after hitting [Enter] twice (i.e., two "carriage returns") -- no HTML "br" codes at all.

You need a little elementary HTML to make italics and boldface, a little more to introduce colors and font-size changes. Including a "blue ckicky" link requires a fair bit of code, but the "link maker" does it for you automatically.

Subject: RE: Formatting threads
From: Teresa
Date: 03 Sep 04 - 06:49 PM

Nodger, perhaps it would be less confusing if you made a new thread for lyrics request?

Although it was fun to read this hTML stuff all over again. Heh.
T

Subject: RE: Formatting threads
From: Jeri
Date: 03 Sep 04 - 07:26 PM

If it was Bert's song, it's Blue Tailed Fly. You can type in a word or phrase from the song into the "Lyrics and Knowledge Search" at the top, click "Search" and voila, there's your song...or there isn't, or there's 97 songs with that word/phrase.

Subject: RE: Formatting threads
From: Jeri
Date: 03 Sep 04 - 07:30 PM

By the way, 'preformat' tags given by Bert up here work fine now with automatic line breaks.

<pre>

       G             C
  When I was young I used to wait
  
     G                      D7
  On Massa and hand him his plate  

</pre>

Subject: RE: Formatting threads
From: Joe Offer
Date: 04 Sep 04 - 01:49 AM

Or could it be Blarney Roses?
-Joe Offer-