# How to code vbtags. **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [April 3, 2004, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-code-vbtags/238095 "2004-04-03T19:39:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2004, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-code-vbtags/238095/1 "2004-04-03T19:39:04Z")
Here are the common code tags. With the why\* at the bottom of the page (out of the way) **bold code** _italic_ underline size (5) [url code (bbc news)](http://news.bbc.co.uk) (produces [url code (bbc news)](http://news.bbc.co.uk)) spoiler text > [@Doper Name](#): > > quoted text or just > [@](#): > > quoted text left aligned text centre aligned text [right]right aligned text[/right] font (Verdana) bulleted list… [ul] [li]item 1[/li][li]item 2[/li][li]item 3[/li][/ul] numbered list… [ol] [li]item 1[/li][li]item 2[/li][li]item 3[/li][/ol] alphabetical list… [list=a] [li]item 1[/li][li]item 2[/li][li]item 3[/li][/list] _ **An example of combining code** _ The code _activated_ produces the following… **bold code** _italic_ underline size (5) [url code (bbc news)](http://news.bbc.co.uk) spoiler text > [@Doper Name](#): > > quoted text or just > [@](#): > > quoted text left aligned text centre aligned text [right]right aligned text[/right] font (Verdana) bulleted list… [ul] [li]item 1[/li][li]item 2[/li][li]item 3[/li][/ul] numbered list… [ol] [li]item 1[/li][li]item 2[/li][li]item 3[/li][/ol] alphabetical list… [list=a] [li]item 1[/li][li]item 2[/li][li]item 3[/li][/list] _ **An example of combining code** _ [sub]\*Whenever I see people asking how to do code I see someone else give an answer along the lines of “do this with [and] instead of { and }” or “without the space” or some other modification. Using html code (replace the [with it’s html code equivalent - [here](http://home.earthlink.net/~awinkelried/keyboard_shortcuts.html)) it is possible to demonstrate coding without modifying it to ‘disable’ it. So I often reply accordingly. I am going to link to this thread in my sig. (uncluding a few other links I think are useful) [/sub] ---
**Author:** ![erislover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/71e660/32.png) [@erislover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erislover)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2004, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-code-vbtags/238095/2 "2004-04-03T20:33:51Z")
[Dude](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=248659)! I still don’t get how you did it. But if you tell me and it solves the smiley problem I’ll love you forever. Or, if you’d prefer, just be happy?your call. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2004, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-code-vbtags/238095/3 "2004-04-03T20:47:01Z")
> [@erislover](#): > > [Dude](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=248659)! I still don’t get how you did it. But if you tell me and it solves the smiley problem I’ll love you forever. Or, if you’d prefer, just be happy?your call. 😛 Do you mean when the ‘)’ changes the rolleyes smiley into a normal one? Using [this page](http://home.earthlink.net/~awinkelried/keyboard_shortcuts.html) (the link is not working for me, but I think that’s a problem at my place of work) find the html code for the right parenthesis ‘)’ and use that code instead of the ) in your post. Remember: If you preview all the html code will be replaced with the relevant characters so be careful. ---
**Author:** ![erislover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/71e660/32.png) [@erislover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erislover)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2004, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-code-vbtags/238095/4 "2004-04-03T21:01:29Z")
So you’re saying I can type the & characters for an em dash, so long as I don’t _preview_? Or are you suggesting I use the alt+#### characters? ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2004, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-code-vbtags/238095/5 "2004-04-03T21:01:36Z")
after much arsing about with charmap and calculator (to turn hex into decimal) I have discovered that the ascii code for ) is 41, so if you type “& # 41 ;” without the quotes and spaces you will get ) so you can do this (:rolleyes:) ---
**Author:** ![erislover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/71e660/32.png) [@erislover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erislover)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2004, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-code-vbtags/238095/6 "2004-04-03T21:04:12Z")
— (:rolleyes:) ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2004, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-code-vbtags/238095/7 "2004-04-03T21:04:30Z")
> [@erislover](#): > > So you’re saying I can type the & characters for an em dash, so long as I don’t _preview_? Or are you suggesting I use the alt+#### characters? What I am saying is, if you construct a post using the special html code ‘strings’ instead of chars like ‘)’ or ‘[’ and _then_ you preview, the software will replace all your special html strings with the actual chars, thus defeating the object of using them in the first place. If you were able to see my ‘raw draft’ for the op you’d see lots of strange strings instead of '['s ---
**Author:** ![erislover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/71e660/32.png) [@erislover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erislover)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2004, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-code-vbtags/238095/8 "2004-04-03T21:06:45Z")
Damn… my em dash didn’t work! — ---
**Author:** ![erislover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/71e660/32.png) [@erislover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erislover)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2004, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-code-vbtags/238095/9 "2004-04-03T21:08:24Z")
Ohhhh! Only the numbers work now, not the named code. OK. I can live with this. Does anyone see anything other than an em dash in my last post? ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2004, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-code-vbtags/238095/10 "2004-04-03T21:40:35Z")
A-HA! figured out how to show html code. So… to fake vbscript [b]bold[/b] will show in your post as **bold** and to stop the ) mollesting the rolleyes smiley (:rolleyes:) will produce (:rolleyes:) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2004, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-code-vbtags/238095/11 "2004-04-04T18:55:00Z")
You realize, **Lobsang** , that you’ve now set yourself up for an infinite regression. 'Cause now you have to tell us how you typed the first half of the second line of that post. And after you explain that, you’ll have to explain how you explained it. And then,… ---
**Author:** ![umop\_ap\_sdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/dbc845/32.png) [@umop\_ap\_sdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/umop_ap_sdn)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2004, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-code-vbtags/238095/12 "2004-04-04T19:45:52Z")
**Lobsang** , why not just link to [this page](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/misc.php?do=bbcode)? 😕 As to coding the & characters, one need only figure out the ASCII value of the ampersand and use that. The space is number 32, so counting up to the ampersand gives 38. So if I type & it should give me an ampersand… On preview, yes it does. And should you want to preview, just copy your code and paste it back in when the preview window comes up. 🆒 (FTR, I typed & # 38 ; # 38 ; without the spaces, and that produced the ampersand code.)