# Cool stuff in Discourse - Basics, tips, tricks, your favorite features **URL:** \ **Category:** Site Feedback\ **Created:** [March 7, 2021, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-stuff-in-discourse-basics-tips-tricks-your-favorite-features/937378 "2021-03-07T05:50:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 2
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2021, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-stuff-in-discourse-basics-tips-tricks-your-favorite-features/937378/2 "2021-03-07T06:06:23Z")
Here are some individual feature tips. Some info. on the OneBox feature. It lets you link items with a preview. > [@I love the OneBox feature!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-the-onebox-feature/912299): > > Just put a URL by itself on a line, and it automatically creates a box with the relevant info and image. You can even put YouTube videos inline in a post. Quick, easy, and a huge improvement in the quality of posts! News articles: Wikipedia: YouTube: [[Friday Afternoons (Cuckoo) - Benjamin Britten.] ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTMLWuY36KQ) Works great! grinning For the more technically savvy, you might be able to reduce white space with this hack. > [@A hack to reduce whitespace and scrolling](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hack-to-reduce-whitespace-and-scrolling/912224): > > Using the browser extension Stylish, I created a basic style to reduce whitespace and the need for so much scrolling. This could be a little tricky to set up if you are not technically inclined. It essentially hacks the CSS in your browser to compress the gaps between posts. For better or worse, it hides the Reply bar at the bottom of each post. If needed, you can quickly disable/enable the style from Stylish to show/hide the Reply bar. This is a Before and After picture which demonstrates the … For people looking for something similar to the “subscribed list” feature, this might help. > [@Very happy with Discourse](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-happy-with-discourse/919602/48): > > It is rarely used but [https://boards.straightdope.com/posted](https://boards.straightdope.com/posted) is similar to what you’re asking for. Just because you posted in a topic doesn’t necessarily mean you are watching or tracking it, but it usually does. For people looking for the “find” feature, here are some tips. If the thread is short enough, ctrl+f works in the browser. For longer threads, this could work, depending your browser and set up. > [@How are people feeling about Discourse?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-people-feeling-about-discourse/926428/299): > > Strange. It highlights the term for me. Perhaps it depends on which theme you are using? I’m using SD Light. Another alternative: Press Ctrl-P, when not editing, to open a print window. Cancel the printing, which leaves you with the full text of the thread in one window. Search normally via Ctrl-F. Some search tips. You can narrow your search by several options in the options menu from the hourglass search feature. > [@How are people feeling about Discourse?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-people-feeling-about-discourse/926428/178): > > Click on the search icon at the top, and check ‘Search this topic’. Enter @Username and after a pause of a second or two it will provide a dropdown list of their posts in the thread. You can click on one to jump there, and then go back to the search box and click on another. Also, if you see someone’s avatar anywhere in the thread, you can click on it, then on the filter button (‘x posts in topic’). It will then show only that person’s posts in the thread, which can be very useful. But it won’… More info on search. > [@How are people feeling about Discourse?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-people-feeling-about-discourse/926428/179): > > ETA: @GreenWyvern ninja’d most of what I was had written but got interrupted before posting. So I’ll continue w just my conclusion. … Ref any of the user searches you need to be able to correctly spell the name of the poster you’re seeking. That’s sometimes a problem for people. All these options as @GreenWyvern explained are available from the advanced search page. Click the magnifying glass, then click “options” at the right of the popup. That brings up the advanced search page. All … If you click on a poster’s profile in the thread, you can click on the icon that says ‘X posts in this topic’, that will show that user’s posts in the thread. When you’re done reading those posts, you can do one of two things to clear the search. If you hit the ‘show all’ on the bottom of the page, it will go back to where you left off but add back all the posts. You can also go back to the person’s profile and ‘remove filter’. That will take you back to the top of the thread. What are your favorite tips and finds on Discourse? --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-stuff-in-discourse-basics-tips-tricks-your-favorite-features/937378)._