Triumphrat

jimballard · 01-29-2008

For whatever reason, since the new server (am I right in using that term) came into use, recently, I've been unable to separate my paragraphs and "sign off" statement from the text of the thread. Spacing down doesn't do it anymore...............so what am I doing wrong! I wrote this line 2 spaces below the text...see what I mean? Thanks: Jim

hogwylde · 01-29-2008

Let me see..

Something like this?

Shawn · 01-29-2008

The editor cuts off any excessive spacing/carriage-returns after a post's last sentence. The previous editor wasn't as advanced.

Tell me specifically what you wish to accomplish?

jimballard · 01-30-2008

Hi Shawn,What I'd like to do is to be able to separate my "sign off" line from the rest of the text. Just as you did with the statement: "Tell me specifically what you wish to accomplish." I'm writing this line 2 spaces below the main text; you can see where it gets placed when I submit the reply: Thanks, Jim

Diego · 01-30-2008

Not clear what you mean, Jim, when you say "I wrote this line 2 spaces below the text...see what I mean?"

Do you mean you double-spaced after the sentence that came before, as I have done between the previous sentence and this one?

From what I can see of your message, there is a single character space between your two sentences...no line break at all. Are you sure you pressed the Enter key twice before typing your final line, and did it look OK in the message editing box when you did?

As Shawn notes, the new software does handle whitespace differently from the old method, but this should only show up at the very top of the message, and between the last line of the message and your signature. It ignores whitespace above and below the body of your message, in other words. I typed several blank lines before the start of this message and several before my signature, by way of example, but you see that there is no wasted space. That's normal now.

Carriage returns (pressing the Enter key) anywhere inside the message, however, (ie, separating paragraphs) should behave as they always did.

In saying this, I'm assuming you were using the Enter key for line breaks in the first place, and not trying to space lines using the spacebar to insert lots of blank spaces. Spacing text out ......... like ............ this ......... doesn't work any more, and really isn't supposed to work that way on Web pages in the first place. (There is no magic spacebar on my computer, by the way. I had to play a little trick with text color to simulate the effect.) Thus, you can't separate lines by using the spacebar--only the Enter key.

Now, if you were using the Enter key for line breaks and it still didn't work, then it might be helpful to know what operating system and browser are you using? In some, the text edit box might not behave the same way as it does on most of our systems.

Shawn · 01-30-2008

Jim, are you saying that carriage-returns aren't working for you?

If so, do you mind sharing your computer type, OS, browser? You can PM that info to me if you prefer.

jimballard · 01-30-2008

Yes, I double-space before typing in the last sentence, but it ends up as the last on in the text instead of staying 2 lines below. I'm using a Dell computer, Windows XP and AOL. Even my spell check has to used from a "drop down box" now instead of just going to the spell check icon. THIS LINE WAS TYPED 2 SPACES DOWN FROM THE MAIN TEXT: JIM

BishRat · 01-30-2008

My knee-jerk on this is you used an acronym that strikes fear in the heart of any long-time computer user - AOL. Are you using a third-party browser for accessing the site (e.g. MS IE or Firefox) or using some type of AOL native browser?

At the risk of being simplistic, if anyone has a problem, and is using AOL... then AOL is usually the problem.

Shawn · 01-30-2008

What is happening is that you are logging into TriumphRat.Net properly, and being recognized by my server as properly logged in. However, there is "something" between you and the client-side editor that you are using to enter your posts on TriumphRat.Net.

So if you type a couple paragraphs of text, and include carriage-returns (hard returns) the "something" transposes it and sends it to my server. It is likely that the intent was for a transparent translation, but it is showing a flaw in that it isn't passing your hard-returns.

The new AOL Desktop isn't something I have tested, but it does integrate with Microsoft Internet Explorer. However, I'm not a fan of "heavy" client software provided by ISPs. It does offer a benefit of consolidating all of your internet use and security needs in one nice package. A way to test is to download an alternative browser like Firefox or Opera, connect to your ISP, minimize the AOL software, run the separate browser and see if the experience on TriumphRat.Net improves.

Let me know.

jimballard · 01-31-2008

Hi, Shawn...Well, I guess I'll just live with it. I didn't mention that the last line moves up into the text after it's been submitted, but I think you got that anyway. Silly question: every now and then one of our new cats sits on my lap and tries to get on the keyboard; I always get it off quickly, but is there any chance it tapped a key that could cause this situation?? Seems crazy, I know, but...----------------------------------Thanks for the help: Jim