BBCoding Guide Aka Bulletin Board Coding! Here are the original threads, by _MooCow, they can also be found in the Guide Section and the Questions/Feedback Section. Ultimate BB Coding Guide A Guide to All BB Codes! A few of the links no longer work and some of the info is a bit outdated, so I updated all that and added new information! Table of Contents Text Formatting Bold/Underlined Italicized/Strikethrough/Etc. Size Color Images/Pictures/Gifs Lists Emojis URLs and Links Miscellaneous Rainbow/Special Text Effects Titles Stats Code Etc. Tips, Info, Overview Text Formatting These codes are pretty fun and spruce up your text. Plus they’re easy to understand! Here’s how to do it: Use the first set of brackets (e.g. “[.b]”) to start the code (you can use capital or lowercase letters). After the first set of brackets, type what you want bolded, then end the code with another set of brackets and a forward slash (e.g. “[./b]”). Note: Don’t use spaces in the brackets otherwise the code won’t work! This is how the code (when typed) should look: Bolded Text! Italicized Text! Underlined Text! [s]Strikethrough text![/s] [.center]Text is centered![./center] Note: It doesn’t actually appear bolded or italicized etc when you’re typing it. I just added it in so you could see which parts are coded. This is how they’ll appear in forums: You can make a whole chunk of text stand out or you can make just a single word bolded. Or, if you’d rather, make it italicized. Underlined text is also an option! Strikethrough isn’t as common, but it’s still fun, though a bit hard to read at times.... This is one of my favorites. Centered text just makes everything look pretty and even. Time to Learn About Size!Size is really fun to play around with, but keep in mind that there are restrictions. The smallest text can be is 1 and the biggest is 400. Here’s the code: [.size=100]Text is at 100! (It doesn’t look different because size 100 is the default size)[./size] To give you an idea of how big (or small) text can be, here are some examples: Size 400 <— the biggest it can get Size 300 text Size 200 text Size 100 text (default size) Size 50 text Size 40 text Size 30 text Size 20 text <— This is size 20 Size 10 text <— This is size 10 Size 5 text <— This is size 5 Size 1 text <— This is size 1, the smallest it can be Note: The size code also works for emojis.?️?️Great! So now you’ve learned all these formatting codes, but did you know that you can combine them too? For example: This looks terrible but it shows you the possibilities. ^ you can also combine the title and color codes (we’ll get to those later) So how do you do this? Exactly how you would normally. For example, if you want something to be bolded and italicized: [.b][.i]Bolded and italicized![./i][./b] Keep in mind that the order in which you list the codes matters, especially if you’re using multiple at once. For example: ^ this includes italics, underlined, centered, bolded, and color, but it didn’t come out right because the order wasn’t correct. This is how it should look: This is much better! The only difference between those two is the order (that you list the code). To make it simpler, imagine each code being a number. At the start, you begin with 12345, and to end it, 54321. That would be the correct version. In terms of code, it would be listed like this: [.i][.b][.u][.center][.color=deepskyblue]This is much better![./color][./center][./u][./b][./i]. The incorrect version would be completely out of order, so something like: 12345 then 25341. So remember, keep the order! Color There are 2 ways to do colors: the easy way (which is just typing the color name) and hexadecimal color codes. I’ll be showing you the easy way and I’ll leave a link to another thread that explains hex colors. Hexadecimal Color Guide As with all codes, you’ll need to use the brackets, and similar to the size code you’ll be using the equal (“=“) symbol to specify which color. For example: [.color=red]Red colored text![./color] [.color=indigo]Indigo colored text![./color] And now that you know how to do it, here’s a giant list of colors that work in forums: Wheat Tan BurlyWood DarkKhaki RosyBrown SandyBrown Peru Chocolate Sienna SaddleBrown Maroon Brown Indigo DarkSlateBlue SlateBlue DarkMagenta Purple BlueViolet DarkOrchid DarkViolet MediumOrchid MediumPurple MediumSlateBlue Orchid Violet Plum Thistle PaleVioletRed MediumVioletRed Magenta Fuchsia HotPink DeepPink Pink LightPink DarkSalmon LightSalmon PeachPuff Bisque Salmon Tomato Coral IndianRed FireBrick Red Crimson DarkRed OrangeRed DarkOrange Orange DarkGoldenRod GoldenRod Gold Yellow Khaki PaleGoldenRod GreenYellow LawnGreen Chartreuse Lime LimeGreen PaleGreen LightGreen SpringGreen MediumSpringGreen MediumSeaGreen SeaGreen ForestGreen Green DarkGreen DarkOliveGreen DarkSeaGreen Olive OliveDrab YellowGreen Aquamarine Aqua Cyan DeepSkyBlue DodgerBlue CornFlowerBlue SteelBlue RoyalBlue Blue MediumBlue DarkBlue Navy MidnightBlue DarkCyan Teal CadetBlue MediumAquamarine DarkTurquoise MediumTurquoise Turquoise SkyBlue LightSkyBlue LightSteelBlue PowderBlue PaleTurquoise LightGray Silver DarkGray Gray LightSlateGray SlateGray DarkSlateGray Black Note: The following colors are super bright/light and they’re hard to read normally, but they can still be used (and will show up if used with the title code) MintCream (MintCream) MistyRose (MistyRose) Lavender (Lavender) BlanchedAlmond (BlanchedAlmond) AntiqueWhite (AntiqueWhite) PapayaWhip (PapayaWhip) Beige (Beige) Linen (Linen) SeaShell (SeaShell) OldLace (OldLace) CornSilk (CornSilk) LightGoldenRodYellow (LightGoldenRodYellow) LemonChiffon (LemonChiffon) LightYellow (LightYellow) Ivory (Ivory) Note: No spaces, even between the words! Images/Pictures/Gifs This is the code that a lot of people have trouble with, whether it’s the sizing or getting the image url link. Anyway, this is what to do: Post the image to Imgur, Tinypic, or any of the other image apps/sites Copy the image url link Usually you can hold down on the image and it will give you options, one of which is to copy the link If not, there’s probably a button somewhere for the link After getting the image link, put it into this code: [.imgfit]Image URL here[/.imgfit] You can also use this code, but your picture may turn out way too big/small: [.img]Image URL here[/.img] Note: Make sure the link ends in jpg. If it doesn’t, it won’t show up in forums and/or might be the wrong link! Another common mistake is when people copy the entire album link, but you don’t want that, just the individual image link. Posting Gifs: It’s basically the same as posting pictures/images (as explained above); however, when you copy the gif link, it will end in “.gif” So, when you post it in forums, you’ll have to change the “.gif” to “.jpg” and yes, don’t worry, it will show up as a gif. You’ll still be using this code, even for gifs: [.imgfit]Image URL here[/.imgfit] Reminder: Make sure your pictures and gifs follow the Forum Code of Conduct. Lists Lists can be really useful and they look nice. Here’s how to code them: [list.] [.*]Point 1 [*.]Point 2 [/list.] To start a list, write [.list:1teqtue3]. After that you see [.*:1teqtue3] which makes a bullet point. When you want another bullet point, just make another [./*:m][*]. And to end it, just write [./*:m][/list]. This is how it will look in forums: Point 1 Point 2 The default bullet point is a solid black circle, but you can make different bullet points as well. For example, by using this code, the bullet points will be squares: .[/size]] Point 1 Point 2 [/list.] It will look like this in forums: Point 1 Point 2 Here are some other examples of bullet points you can make: ”Circle” Looks pretty cool ————————————————— ”a” (must be lowercase) ————————————————— ”A” (must be uppercase) ————————————————— ”i” (must be lowercase) ————————————————— ”I” (must be uppercase) ————————————————— ”1” Numbered list! ^ the first bullet point, what I put in quotation marks, is what you’ll put after the “=“ in the first bracket for the list code (aka, the key word to change the bullet point). Note: Even for the numbered and Roman numeral bullet lists, the bullet point code (which is “[.*]”) will stay the same. So basically you don’t have to put 1, 2, 3, or I, II, III as bullet points, since the code will automatically do it for you. List-Ception Need sub-lists, or bullet points for your bullet points? Here’s what it looks like, and here’s how to do it: List 1 List within a list Looks cool right Another list! Wow [.list:1teqtue3][*.]List 1 [.list:1teqtue3][*.]List within a list [*.]Looking good [.list:1teqtue3][*.]Another list! [*.]Wowie [./list.][./list.][./list.] ^ in this example, the lists within lists just keep going (as in it never goes back). If you don’t understand, just think back to this thread’s table of contents. I used the first set of bullet points, made sub-lists, then went back to the first set (of bullet points). It’s important to keep in mind if you’ll be using lists that go back, or just a list that goes on and on, like this: List 1 List 2 List 3 List 4 It’s important because, once again, order! If your sub-lists just keep going and going without ever backtracking, then you’re fine to end the code all at once, like this: [list.][*.]List 1 [list.][*.]List 2 [list.][*.]List 3 [list.][*.]List 4 [/list.][/list.][/list.][/list.] ^ See how the “[/list.]” are all in a row at the very end? This is ok to do if your list don’t back track. However, if they do backtrack, then you’ll have to end the list immediately after you’re done with it. For example (like how I did with the table of contents): First set of bullet points 2nd main point Sub-list interruption Sub-List continues Main points restart New sub-list Additional sub-list Making things complicated Final main point ^ that is how it looks formatted and listed in forums, but the code is (ordered) different than the non-backtracking lists: [.list:1teqtue3][.*.]First set of bullet points [.*.]2nd main point [.list:1teqtue3][.*.]Sub-list interruption [.*.]Sub-List continues[./list.] [.*.]Main points restart [.list:1teqtue3][.*.]New sub-list [.list:1teqtue3][.*.]Additional sub-list [.*.]Making things complicated[./list.][/list.] [*.]Final main point[./list.] ^ I made it color-coded so you can see where each list starts/finishes (and why order matters) this code also killed me, so plz appreciate it kthxbye Whew, now all this can get really complicated (or at the very least a little more difficult to keep track of). So just keep practicing, and adding more once you have one step figured out. Anyway, going back to good ‘ol non-backtracking lists and sub-lists, you can make as many lists within a list as you want, but I don’t suggest going beyond 5 or 6. It’s pretty easy to get the hang of, just don’t forget how many lists you have going on at once! Emojis Pretty self explanatory, so here’s a list of the forum emojis and what to type to post them: [ = [ = [ = [ = [:| = :| [ = [ = [:x or [ = :x [:roll: = :roll: [ = [:? = :? [ = [:shock: = :shock: [:cry: = :cry: [:lol: = :lol: [:geek: = :geek: [:ugeek: = :ugeek: [:mrgreen: = :mrgreen: [:evil: = :evil: [:twisted: = :twisted: [:!: = :!: [:?: = :?: [:idea: = :idea: [:arrow: = :arrow: Of course, you’re also able to use the emojis on your keyboard, however some emojis won’t show up on Android/iOS, so what might look cool to you could possibly be a blank box to someone else. But, here is a guide by Kefo that lists all android emojis that work in forums. URLs and Links As you guys might have noticed, I’ve already used a few links. This section will teach you how. Here’s the code: [.url=URL here]Words that will turn into a link[/url.] There’s a couple parts to this, so bear with me. The first part you should already be accustomed to: the brackets. After your first bracket and the “=“ you’ll have to put in the URL. Keep in mind that this URL will probably have to be shortened (I’ll give more details in just a moment, but let’s keep going for now). After you end the first bracket set, you’ll make the button link (basically the words that someone will click on to go to the link). Then, just finish the code with the 2nd pair of brackets and you’re done! Now getting back to shortening the link. Once you have the original link, go to a url shortener (I use the google one). When it’s shortened, use that new URL in the code and voilà, you’ve now made a link. The links I’ve used so far have all been to other forum threads, but you can also give links to people’s profiles and to websites. Make sure the websites have relevance to the thread and follow the rules. Note: ONLY iOS users are able to get links to threads and profiles (sorry android people) Here’s a link to my profile. Pretty cool right? In order to link someone’s profile: Go to that person’s post on forums Hold down on their name Select “copy” Shorten the url Post (with the url code) in forums And now to link threads: just like with a profile, instead of just regularly clicking on the thread you want to link, hold down on it. (Once again, don’t forget to shorten it!) Miscellaneous We’ve gotten (close) to the end! Here are a few more things that you can use in forums. See how “Miscellaneous” is bolded and in big letters, surrounded by gray? That’s a title. And after reading all this (if you have), you’re probably a BB code expert by now, so you probably guessed how to do it! If not, no worries, here’s how: [title.]Big bolded letters surrounded by gray[/title.] If you remember the very first title I used, you probably remember it being rainbow as well. You can achieve this by using the easy color code, but here’s another option: Rainbow Text Generator Since I didn’t feel like choosing my own colors and wanted the rainbow colors to blend together, I used that website. It’s very easy and gives quite a few options to choose from, so have fun! (It also codes the letters for you, so that’s even easier!) If you’ve ever looked at the Stories Tiers and Rewards Thread, you’d see that the next code is used quite often, the stats code: [stats.]abcd/1234[/stats.] As always, there are the brackets. The first string of letters (or numbers, since both work within this code) is what will show up in red. After the forward slash, whatever follows will be in blue. Then just end the code just how the others are ended, with the 2nd pair of brackets. Here’s how it looks: [stats]abcd/1234[/stats] Trying to teach someone how to BB code? Need to show them a code? Can’t show it because the code shows the output instead of the actual code? Here’s the code to use: [code.][b.][.size=150][.color=blue]None of this is affected[./color][./size][/b.][/code.] This is how that code will look in forums: Code: [b][size=150][color=blue]None of this is affected[/color][/size][/b] So what this code code (haha) does is nullifies all the other code that’s included within it (basically all the code inside the code code doesn’t work and shows up in forums). Tips, Info, Overview Yay! You made it to the end! Hopefully you learned some new stuff, or refreshed your memory on BB coding. Anyway, here are some reminders and recaps: No spaces in the brackets! Text size ranges from 1 to 400 Size 100 is default (how it usually looks without coding) Combine codes! Images and gifs should end in “.jpg” Some emojis can’t be seen on certain devices Order is important!! Shorten your URLs Practice practice practice! Have fun! [/list][/list][/list][/list][/list][/list] Speaking of fun...theres a code to make text invisible (not just a super light color, but actually invisible). I’ve hidden it on my thread, so try to find it and good luck! Feel free to practice your coding on this thread or on the Test Thread I made (found in Fan Creations). The test thread is useful because it won’t be bumped to Active Topics (therefore no thread spam). And let me know if something is wrong/incorrect, or if you just need clarification on how to do something ?