New Forum Update

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Originally Posted by S_M_A

I have trouble searching for my old posts (only user name specified). The search come up empty regardless of if it's basic or advanced. Is it just me or does anybody else have the same issue?
I'm running IE9 on Win7-64 Professional

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Originally Posted by PeejAvery

Not only can you not search for posts...but when clicking the "View Forum Posts" in a username's menu...it only shows the posts since the forum update. All previous posts are missing.

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To add, mainly for completeness: Apparently not any search, including a tag search, reaches back further than the point of the forum software update.

PeejAvery, have you noticed that the code tag in your signature now shows up as

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[code]

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? At least this is what it looks like in my IE8. I've noticed the equivalent effect happening to umlaut characters in comments in code snippets in my earlier posts (inside code tags, of course :)). I hope that won't also happen to other non-comment (and non-string literal) punctation characters in code snippets, as seems to have been the case during earlier forum software updates, from what I see in really old posts.

Finally, while I actually do share many of the concerns issued here so far, what I find most annoying is that it's practically impossible to distinguish links in posts from ordinary text, due to the almost identical color. (Interestingly, they're much easier to tell apart from each other in the post preview, probably because the contrast of the text colors against the gray background is lower, being less distracting from the too-low contrast between the two text colors.)

Well, now search returns something, but some really weird way.
Attachment 29943

Also, what I forgot to mention in my last post: Even for a search not constrained to a specific forum section, search hits are listed with the thread title, but without the forum section name, as can be seen on Igor's screen shot. AFAIR this was different before the update.

Closest that I can find gives beyond... http://forums.codeguru.com/memberlis...sername&order=

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Originally Posted by Eri523

PeejAvery, have you noticed that the code tag in your signature now shows up as

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Seems that the forum update changed how HTML entities and ASCII was handled. All I did was open my signature and click save again.

Found it. Click on a post that has positive feedback, and click the * under it! So far, everything good!

Is it possible to make the in-post links a bit more distinctive?

For example, if I use a mid-sentence link (which I just did) it's not very obvious to the reader.

A few suggestions:
Blah blah blah a link blah blah.
Blah blah blah a link blah blah. <-- even better

Also, it would be great if post preview could have the same background color as the one used for the forums.

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Originally Posted by PeejAvery

Seems that the forum update changed how HTML entities and ASCII was handled. All I did was open my signature and click save again.

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Yeah, seems like that. :) Actually, the forum already converted the entities back into real brackets when I switched post #51 from quick to advanced editing mode to get the preview. I had to edit the erroneously displayed entities back in manually and apply a little hack using empty noparse tags to prevent the forum from doing that again. :D

So I went back to my old post where I saw the umlaut problem, copied the code snippet and pasted it into a new thread in the Testing Area. (Didn't want to get the original post marked edited with today's timestamp.) The entity did not get converted back to a character when I initially submitted the test post, but it did when I then clicked "edit" and re-submitted the post without changing it. So apparently this is what users can do with their posts if that entities thing causes any technical mess-up or noticable annoyance.

The test post, including a link to the original one: http://forums.codeguru.com/showthrea...test&p=2072735

CODE BUG:

The Code Block used to have a Max width, preventing the Forum from going too wide when code was posted..

Now the width of the Post is dependent on the width of the code posted, sometimes requiring one to scroll the forum left to right and back to read the topic ...

See this thread...

I have observed that as well, but I don't think it depends on the length of the code lines. In the thread you linked to and others, all the lines are by far shorter than the width of the code block. They're even considerably shorter than the correct width the code block would have, without collapsing the rightmost ad column.

And there's another thing about the code blocks: Before the update, they used to require horizontal scrolling when the lines were too long to fit, now the lines wrap. I know, developers (including myself... :rolleyes:) shouldn't write/post such long lines anyway, but if I'd have to choose between the two options, I'd prefer horizontal scrolling since it doesn't spoil code formatting.

In my observation, there's one line in the thread GremlinSA linked to that's causing the code block to be so wide, but, I also noticed that the code block is even wider on a larger screen, and then it goes all the way to the right when you remove the ad column - so it simply fills the available width, unless the content exceeds it, in which case it takes the smallest width possible without displaying the horizontal scrollbar. The second part is the problem.

P.S. I really think making the in-post links more distinctive is important.

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Originally Posted by TheGreatCthulhu

Is it possible to make the in-post links a bit more distinctive?

For example, if I use a mid-sentence link (which I just did) it's not very obvious to the reader.

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+1000

Color of links adjusted. It should stand out a little better now.

Brad!

[QUOTE=Eri523;2072707]

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Originally Posted by Brad Jones

Color of links adjusted. It should stand out a little better now.

Brad!

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Very good! :thumb:
How about increasing the tootip font size?

And, perhaps, change the color of these and other "icons" to something that more contasts with the khaki background?

We'll be making a list of the items that need fixed/udpated. More updates coming.

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Originally Posted by Brad Jones

Color of links adjusted. It should stand out a little better now.
Brad!

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:D Thanks.

P.S. I like it how the editor shows right under the quoted post when you click on "Reply With Quote".

[QUOTE=VictorN;2072833]

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Originally Posted by Eri523

And, perhaps, change the color of these and other "icons" to something that more contasts with the khaki background?

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http://forums.codeguru.com/attachmen...1&d=1340635433

May I suggest
9999cc

or even
fafafa // forum background

Attachment 29949
or something in-between.

P.S. The insert attachment inline feature is great! Had some trouble uploading, though. Only the basic uploader option worked for me (FF 12).

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Originally Posted by GremlinSA

CODE BUG:

The Code Block used to have a Max width, preventing the Forum from going too wide when code was posted..

Now the width of the Post is dependent on the width of the code posted, sometimes requiring one to scroll the forum left to right and back to read the topic ...

See this thread...

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I'm using Opera (v11) and here the code is word-wrapped! :eek:
In IE it becomes very width indeed.

No word wrapping in for code blocks in Firefox 12 either.

There used to be a setting for code width. I'll ask our techs if they know where that setting is. If anyone knows where the setting is (if it still exst in vBulletin), let me know.

Brad!

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Originally Posted by Igor Vartanov

Attachment 29939

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...ok I didn't see that, but in my defense; in what world does Alt+S serve as a shortcut to confirm an action such as posting a reply? TAB order is the universally accepted way to traverse controls.

Besides, doesn't the fact that an experienced computer user (who programs computers for a living...) missed that label indicate a flaw in the UI design?

About the new rep/report button labels: I think (rep)/(report) will be confusing to new users - what do you guys think? Maybe (rate)/(report) istead? Or even something along these lines: (rate)/(report)? Of course, in the colors more suitable for the darker background.

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Originally Posted by TheGreatCthulhu

I think (rep)/(report) will be confusing to new users - what do you guys think?

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D'accord. Though it only took one of my brain's low-priority background threads milliseconds to resolve that, I definitely felt some initial irritation when I first saw it. And, of course, that must be judged taking into accound that I have quite some practical experience with the structure of the vBulletin UI.

Your proposed solutions look like definitely being worth consideration to me.

I've asked that light colored icons be created and used on the forum. Those apparnatly have to be created. I'll keep asking abou thtis, but at some point, they shoudl be added. They are likely to be white since that seems to be the color of everything else right now.

While "rep" might be confusing to new users, I think that might be okay. They can only give comments initially anyway (at least until they have made some post, goetten some tenure, et.). Additionally, 'rating" is also used in association to a thread -- you rate a thread.

I'm open to changing the words, but let's make sure we are really making an improvement and that we all (or most of us) agree with what we decide before doing it.

Brad!

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Originally Posted by Brad Jones

While "rep" might be confusing to new users, I think that might be okay. They can only give comments initially anyway (at least until they have made some post, goetten some tenure, et.). Additionally, 'rating" is also used in association to a thread -- you rate a thread.

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You're right! Maybe (upvote)/(report) then? I guess (reputation)/(report) would be too long? Or maybe we can even do without them? The tooltips state their purpose clearly.

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Originally Posted by Brad Jones

I'm open to changing the words, but let's make sure we are really making an improvement and that we all (or most of us) agree with what we decide before doing it.

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Of course; nobody's trying to force you into anything, we're just discussing various options, pros & cons...

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Originally Posted by Brad Jones

While "rep" might be confusing to new users, I think that might be okay. They can only give comments initially anyway (at least until they have made some post, goetten some tenure, et.). Additionally, 'rating" is also used in association to a thread -- you rate a thread.

I'm open to changing the words, but let's make sure we are really making an improvement and that we all (or most of us) agree with what we decide before doing it.

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I'd suggest keeping the interface uniform. I don't understand why the text for these links is between braces or why no capitalization is used. The phrase "rep" is not only not a word, it's not an action (not spelled that way, at least). The text on all other links/buttons is an action, which is clear. I think "Rate" or "Rate Post" would be a big improvement.
Also, I agree with the remark made earlier that the location of these links/buttons in the previous layout (i.e at the top of the post) is better (less confusing).
Just my 2 cents.

Text changes made on the bars for rep/report. Agree with D Drmmr - more consistent and better.


Question for you guys: I have trouble with the quick reply box. It doesn't keep up with my typing. Am I the only one having this issue, or do others have this issue as well? Please let me know so I can report it, if it is not just me!

Thanks,

Brad!

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Originally Posted by D_Drmmr

Also, I agree with the remark made earlier that the location of these links/buttons in the previous layout (i.e at the top of the post) is better (less confusing).

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Well, placing the two at the bottom of the post is at least logical, insofar as these are actions that usually would be performed after reading the post. OTOH I share the concern already issued that the Rate button being so close to the poster's name/avatar/rep display of the next post may be confusing. And placing the Rate button close to the reputation display it is meant to increase is about as logical as placing it at the bottom to accomodate to reading direction.

Bottom line (to this post, not the discussion, of course :)): Experience shows that in UI design, the most logical and the most intuitive placement of an element sometime may not be the same. Also, both may be subject to discussion...

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Originally Posted by Brad Jones

Question for you guys: I have trouble with the quick reply box. It doesn't keep up with my typing. Am I the only one having this issue, or do others have this issue as well? Please let me know so I can report it, if it is not just me!

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No problem here with IE8 on XP pro SP3 and decent dual core hardware.

How to "Go Advance" with "Reply With Quote" in one step?

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Originally Posted by Brad Jones

There used to be a setting for code width. I'll ask our techs if they know where that setting is. If anyone knows where the setting is (if it still exst in vBulletin), let me know.

Brad!

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Okay this ones been fixed .... :thumb:...

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Originally Posted by Brad Jones

Text changes made on the bars for rep/report. Agree with D Drmmr - more consistent and better.

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Yes, consistency is important - I like the way it looks now. Also, about your earlier concern regarding that there already is an unrelated rate option: the wording "Rate Post" nicely solves the problem, as the other option is to rate the thread. And it makes sense, since, although its primary purpose is to increase user reputation, the act of rating is closely bound to a specific post.

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Originally Posted by Brad Jones

Question for you guys: I have trouble with the quick reply box. It doesn't keep up with my typing. Am I the only one having this issue, or do others have this issue as well? Please let me know so I can report it, if it is not just me!

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No problems here, FF12.

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Originally Posted by Eri523

Well, placing the two at the bottom of the post is at least logical, insofar as these are actions that usually would be performed after reading the post. OTOH I share the concern already issued that the Rate button being so close to the poster's name/avatar/rep display of the next post may be confusing.

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There might be a relatively easy way to solve this. Note that the khaki lines form the header and footer of the post; if the forum pages used a daker background, or one otherwise distinct from the background color of the posts themselves, there would be a clear separation between the two posts, as there is a 20-or-so px wide gap between two successive posts. This, potentially along with subtle visual cues, such as a beveled edge on the header and footer (not unlike the one that can be seen in the full-featured post editor), could avoid confusion in most cases.

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Originally Posted by VictorN

How to "Go Advance" with "Reply With Quote" in one step?

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Hmmm..... I think it is two steps - one to reply with quotes, and a second to click the go advanced button. I"m not sure if there is a setting to default to going to the advanced editor or not. Has anyone looked in the settings to see if there is?

Brad!

@VictorN:
Was that possible before the update? :confused:
Was there a shortcut or something? I think you can still do something similar with multiquote buttons. Also, IIRC, there was a setting in the user control panel where you could specify to always use the advanced editor.

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Originally Posted by TheGreatCthulhu

There might be a relatively easy way to solve this. [...] subtle visual cues, such as a beveled edge on the header and footer [...] could avoid confusion in most cases.

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I've been experimenting with CSS via Firebug - something along these lines:
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8158/7...696cfafc_c.jpg
(full res here)

I think it's subtle, and that it nicely associates the footer line with the corresponding post.
(those are 8px bevels, and I subtly altered the back color of the "userinfo" box, as well as of the <li> element borders, so that they merge better with header and footer khaki lines.)

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Originally Posted by TheGreatCthulhu

@VictorN:
Was that possible before the update? :confused:

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Yes, there were two buttons under the posts: Reply (to just reply without quotes) and Quote (to reply with the quote of the above post).
And there was a "quick reply" window one level beneath all the posts from where we could also goto the "advanced mode"

Oh, yeah - you're right. I know there was a "Quick Reply" editor with the "Go Advanced" button (as there is one now), but I forgot about the behavior of the "Quote" button. With the update, the behavior of the corresponding "Reply With Quote" button is different; but it would be nice if we could set the desired behavior as part of the user preferences. Let me just check what happens if the option to always use the advanced editor is checked.

EDIT: Hm... as far as I can tell, these settings make no difference whatsoever.

Attachment 29965

And if you type more than one line in the quick reply block, then the word wrap doesn't wrap the whole word. Sometimes it breaks the word up right in the middle.

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Originally Posted by PeejAvery

And if you type more than one line in the quick reply block, then the word wrap doesn't wrap the whole word. Sometimes it breaks the word up right in the middle.

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This has already been reported by GremlinSA in post #39, almost a week ago. I never observed the same effect in my IE8, though, so I assumed it had been fixed in the meantime. (I have not been logged in here in the time between the update and Gremlin's post.)

I skimmed...apparently right over it. Ain't easy reading through so many posts.

Brad!
Could you fix the wrong link color for thread starter name to be the same as all the other links?Attachment 29969

So now we have a "Welcome Ad", and basically I could live with that. But when I start a day's CodeGuru activity by clicking the link in a thread update notification mail that should take me to the first new post in that thread, instead I get to the page with the ad, and when I then click "Skip this ad" at the upper right, I'm getting dropped at the forum root page, not the respective thread. But most annoying: At this point the thread that the link in the mail should initially have taken me to will be marked "read" and I need to find my way to the first unread post myself. :thumbd:

The ad apparently is only shown "the next day", where "next day" seems not to be determined by lifetime of the IE session or crossing midnight local time; perhaps it's the Windows session that counts or simply a certain timespan of inactivity. But that may actually not be relevant for the issue at all.

The Welcome Ads are not new.

You should, however, end up where you were headed after the ad. I'll report this to the developers.

Brad!

In the interests of keeping 'new update' feedback in the same thread:-

Copied from the thread "Am I the only one..."

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Originally Posted by John E

Is it just me or has the advanced forum search feature stopped working? I'm pretty certain I've used terms like console or stdout in previous posts - but whenever I try to search for those words (in threads started by me) I get zero hits. :cry:

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Originally Posted by Brad Jones

Looks llike search file doesn't go before the migration. I'll ask that the database be rebuilt.

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That seems plausible Brad. If I repeat my original search (today) it now lists my post from yesterday - but it doesn't yet list ny earlier posts.

BUT... this only works if I carry out an advanced search from a main forum page. If I use the "advanced thread search" feature (from within an actual thread) I still get no listings. A "simple" thread search (for the same text) does list my post though.

Hope that all makes sense... :)

Also (in case no-one's mentioned it yet) "Post Quick Reply" seems to work okay for me - but when I use the more advanced reply page, I've had two occurrences where pressing "Submit" appeared to do nothing. When I tried pressing it again I got a message saying that this post had already been submitted.

So basically, I wasn't being redirected to my new post, after submitting it.

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Originally Posted by monarch_dodra

Thanks!

Whilst I'm on the subject, is there any way to see "All Reputation Received"? All I can see is the "Latest Reputation Received".

I think I've been looking for this for more than a year!

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Find the latest post that has a rating, and RATE IT YOURSELF. You'll see the total points.

Also, sorted MEMBER LIST http://forums.codeguru.com/memberlist.php

We changed the icons in the bars to white so you can now see them. Let me know if you think this is better or worse. You can see them know, so I think it is better, but wanted to hear what you guys say.

Brad!

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Originally Posted by Brad Jones

We changed the icons in the bars to white so you can now see them. Let me know if you think this is better or worse. You can see them know, so I think it is better, but wanted to hear what you guys say.

Brad!

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Well, at least they are now very good visible! :thumb:

Brad!
How about some other problems like:

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Originally Posted by VictorN

How to "Go Advance" with "Reply With Quote" in one step?

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Originally Posted by VictorN

Brad!
Could you fix the wrong link color for thread starter name to be the same as all the other links?Attachment 29969

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Re: the wasted vertical space - maybe it's my memory playing tricks but I'm sure the old forum had some way of turning off those adverts on the RHS, thereby allowing posts to expand to te full available width (which of course, reduced their height, meaning you could read more posts without needing to scroll). Can that still be done?

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Originally Posted by John E

Re: the wasted vertical space - maybe it's my memory playing tricks but I'm sure the old forum had some way of turning off those adverts on the RHS, thereby allowing posts to expand to te full available width (which of course, reduced their height, meaning you could read more posts without needing to scroll). Can that still be done?

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There is a text link after the bigger square ad that lets you turn off the RHS column. You have to do this each time you display a page; however, if you end up on a page that needs the width due to code or something,this lets you get the space back.

Brad!

Victor -

The link color for the thread starter doesn't seem very critical. We may get back to that, but right now, it is a low prioirty.

The 'Go Advanced' I'll have to see about looking into. This is underlying forum functionality, so might not be easy to fix without a hack.