The Lemon Fool

The old board you were familiar with used html formatting tags such as <i> </i> for italics. This board uses BBCote format tags, the main difference being that they use [ ] instead of < > to signify a tag.

This causes a problem trying to post a typical chart because the [ ] square braces are needed as part of the link. These will be seen as BBCode markers, resulting in a broken link. A typical chart address such as...

...will be broken at the first '[' character.
http://stockcharts.com/freecharts/pnf.p ... PWUBDANCBO[PA][D][F1!3!60!!2!20]

The way to fix this is to replace all [ characters with %5B and all ] with %5D before posting the link. These are just different ways of representing the same character, so the link will work exactly as intended but BBCode won't break it in the middle.

http://stockcharts.com/freecharts/pnf.p ... 0!!2!20%5D

Bree thank you very muchIit will be a pain but at least I will be able to keep this chart going on LF

OC

Not too much of a pain, I hope. I used Notepad to do the 'Replace All' in the example link above. First paste your link into Notepad (or its equivalent). A matter of seconds later you can have a link ready to copy and paste here.

Breelander wrote:The old board you were familiar with used html formatting tags such as <i> </i> for italics. This board uses BBCote format tags, the main difference being that they use [ ] instead of < > to signify a tag.

This causes a problem trying to post a typical chart because the [ ] square braces are needed as part of the link. These will be seen as BBCode markers, resulting in a broken link. A typical chart address such as...

Code: Select all

http://stockcharts.com/freecharts/pnf.php?c=%24FTSE,PWUBDANCBO[PA][D][F1!3!60!!2!20]

...will be broken at the first '[' character.
http://stockcharts.com/freecharts/pnf.p ... PWUBDANCBO[PA][D][F1!3!60!!2!20]

The way to fix this is to replace all [ characters with %5B and all ] with %5D before posting the link. These are just different ways of representing the same character, so the link will work exactly as intended but BBCode won't break it in the middle.

Code: Select all

http://stockcharts.com/freecharts/pnf.php?c=%24FTSE,PGUBDANCBOPGUBDANCBO%5BPA%5D%5BD%5D%5BF1!3!60.0!!2!20%5D


http://stockcharts.com/freecharts/pnf.p ... 0!!2!20%5D

Bree, I know when I hit this problem I'll be searching for your post or trying to find the hint in my personal notes.
Would it help if I created a URL Formatter tool on our Weebly repository? Something like http://tmffinancialsoftware.weebly.com/tableformat.html where you paste in the URL, click on a button and then copy a modified URL.
Should be fairly easy to do.

--kiloran

Hi, Kiloran,
Your web table formatter is wonderful! I am sure a hyperlink reformatter will be just as useful.

Tramrider

kiloran wrote:Bree, I know when I hit this problem I'll be searching for your post or trying to find the hint in my personal notes.
Would it help if I created a URL Formatter tool on our Weebly repository? Something like http://tmffinancialsoftware.weebly.com/tableformat.html where you paste in the URL, click on a button and then copy a modified URL.
Should be fairly easy to do.

--kiloran

Yes, and while you are about it there are other legitimate characters in links that break links when posting (here and on many other sites). The ones I know about are: <space> '{', '}', '[', ']', and the ' (apostrophe) itself. All can be replaced with: %hh where hh is their ascii hex code, table here: http://www.ascii-code.com/

Breelander wrote:

kiloran wrote:Bree, I know when I hit this problem I'll be searching for your post or trying to find the hint in my personal notes.
Would it help if I created a URL Formatter tool on our Weebly repository? Something like http://tmffinancialsoftware.weebly.com/tableformat.html where you paste in the URL, click on a button and then copy a modified URL.
Should be fairly easy to do.

--kiloran

Yes, and while you are about it there are other legitimate characters in links that break links when posting (here and on many other sites). The ones I know about are: <space> '{', '}', '[', ']', and the ' (apostrophe) itself. All can be replaced with: %hh where hh is their ascii hex code, table here: http://www.ascii-code.com/

OK, will do. Watch this space.

--kiloran

kiloran - the King of Coders wrote: ...OK, will do. Watch this space....

Oh, and you do know that its not compulsory to quote absolutely everything from the post you reply to? You are alowed to edit it down a bit.

Breelander wrote:Oh, and you do know that its not compulsory to quote absolutely everything from the post you reply to?

Yup! But sometimes my brain goes walkabout while I'm posting
Must try harder!

--kiloran

http://uk.advfn.com/p.php?pid=chartscre ... l=FT%5EUKX

Just testing to see if Advfn charts are going to be difficult!

OC

Regarding awkward links. You could use an url shortener, google have one at goo.gl
Just paste in your link and it'll create a shortened one for you to paste here, takes 2 secs. I tested it using your link with brackets and got:

https://goo.gl/J3gZEi

Another popular one is bit.ly

0x3F

Actually, the goo.gl has "click analytics" youcan see how many clicks the link has had / what countires / browsers. Might be of interest, as I recall an earler post on Fool asking how many lurkers there were......

0x3F wrote:Regarding awkward links. You could use an url shortener, google have one at goo.gl

0x3F

Of course! Seems so obvious now you mention it. http://tinyurl.com/ is of course another option
Anyway, I've put together a URL formatter for Bree to have a look at, so it will be available as an alternative shortly if Bree thinks it does the job.

--kiloran

kiloran wrote: Of course! Seems so obvious now you mention it. http://tinyurl.com/ is of course another option
Anyway, I've put together a URL formatter for Bree to have a look at, so it will be available as an alternative shortly if Bree thinks it does the job.

--kiloran

I've looked at it and PM'd you back - nice work.

Personally I hate seeing tinyurl links. I like to know the website I'm being directed to before I click it - there's always a lingering suspicion a tinyurl might be hiding a link to something malicious/nasty.

Breelander wrote:Not too much of a pain, I hope. I used Notepad to do the 'Replace All' in the example link above. First paste your link into Notepad (or its equivalent). A matter of seconds later you can have a link ready to copy and paste here.

For many years now I've used TinyUrl to compile most of the links I've posted on the TMF boards.

The simplest and quickest method of using TinyURL is to create a bookmark on your browsers 'Links' toolbar using the link shown on the following page, under the heading 'Add TinyURL to your browser's toolbar'.

http://tinyurl.com/

Simply drag the link on the above page, under the heading 'Add TinyURL to your browser's toolbar', onto your browser 'Links' toolbar, and it should create a link called 'TinyUrl!'.

To use this couldn't be simpler; just navigate to a site you want to link to in a post, and then click the new 'TinyUrl!' link on your browser toolbar. You'll then automatically be directed to the TinyUrl website that's now got a heading that says 'TinyURL was created!', with a short TinyURL underneath it.

That TinyURL is a URL link to the website you were on before you selected the new 'TinyURL!' link on your toolbar. You can then copy and paste than shortened TinyURL link from that page into the post you are making.

The process takes seconds once you've got the link on your browser tool-bar, and I think is much simpler to use than the Google short-links method due to not needing a human-intervention verify-process that Google currently asks for.

Anyhow, that's how I have done it for years, and will continue to do it given the issue with square braces that LemonFool seem's to have with URL's.

Worth a go just to see how simple it is. You can easily delete the 'TinyURL!' link on your browser tool-bar if it doesn't suit you.

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

kiloran wrote:Bree, I know when I hit this problem I'll be searching for your post or trying to find the hint in my personal notes.
Would it help if I created a URL Formatter tool on our Weebly repository? Something like http://tmffinancialsoftware.weebly.com/tableformat.html where you paste in the URL, click on a button and then copy a modified URL.
Should be fairly easy to do.

--kiloran

OK, the web-based URL reformatter is now available. See: viewtopic.php?f=27&t=389

--kiloran

I have been exchanging e-mails with stooz and here is what I have written today. I am confused about where sticky notes are found and whether anyone coming to the TA board will be able to link to the "Price Charts" advice. Still coming to terms with the new format and out of my depth on the computing advice. Please say if you disagree with anything I have written below:

Stooz,

Further to your reply, I have read the "Price Charts" advice. Unfortunately, Yahoo does not do much that is useful to a TAer. The best is Pro-Charts on Advfn which allows quite a good range of drawing tools and options as well as indicators.

However, Stockcharts happens to have an excellent Point and Figure facility. It has a huge range of abilities in terms of box sizes, reversal, trend and targets which frankly you can only get near on an very expensive subscription service. It was a Stockcharts P & F chart that caused me grief initially.

The thread is now much longer and the outcome is that kiloran has written a tool to help which seems to meet with the approval of the Board. So perhaps Price Charts could refer to my information on other sources for free price charts on the internet and this formatting aid:
http://lemonfoolfinancialsoftware.weebl ... ormat.html

OC

Might the answer be the same as posting a photo? Take a screen-shot of a chart [or other image] put it on a photo-sharing website, then post the URL of the image here? I expect it'll need some kind of HTML[?] tags, maybe 'IMG', or perhaps 'URL'?

Testing a sample from the Photobucket [hosting] site:
Using IMG: [xyz*]http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/xx137/foryourhealth420/Creepy_speedo_guy_with_guns.jpg[/xyz*]

Using HTML tags: <a href="http://photobucket.com/images/mullet" target="_blank"><img src="http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/xx137/foryourhealth420/Creepy_speedo_guy_with_guns.jpg" border="0" alt="mullet photo: Mullet Man In a Speedo Creepy_speedo_guy_with_guns.jpg"/></a>

Using direct URL to site: http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/xx13 ... h_guns.jpg

Using direct URL to site, then adding the URL tags from the top tool-bar: http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/xx137/foryourhealth420/Creepy_speedo_guy_with_guns.jpg

- Nope! In Preview mode none seem to work! It could be images have been disabled??
In fact trying to post I can't and get the warning in red, 'You cannot use certain BBCodes: [img]'; (* hence IMG in code above is replaced with 'xyz'). There's your answer!

I cannot see any problem with using yourLLemon Fool Formatter. I have it bookmarked and have just used it to post this chart of the S & P 500( P & F 1%). It took seconds:

http://stockcharts.com/freecharts/pnf.p ... 0!!2!20%5D

I had many long and detailed discussions with TMF re: posting charts. They were worried about people posting porn or illegal material for which they might be held responsible. They were happy to have material reposted from other internet financial sites like Advfn and Stockcharts but not the annotated charts that I could produce using Metastock software on my computer. Since my data was ofter much better (internet sites do not correct past errors and deal with splits,etc;) and I find it hard to get exactly the run of data in terms of time to illustrate a pattern or resistance level, this is frustrating. Advfn Pro-charts are still relatively slow and clumsy.

OC