# Where's the FAQ for how to do stuff? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [February 28, 2005, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-the-faq-for-how-to-do-stuff/292238 "2005-02-28T01:56:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2005, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-the-faq-for-how-to-do-stuff/292238/1 "2005-02-28T01:56:14Z")
I’m assuming there are other techno-illiterates here who’ve had to have stuff explained, like making links appear as normal text (instead of as long bits starting “http/:www…”, which is all I know how to do if I want to provide a link.) Where would I find such guidance on the SD? I can’t believe if I posted that as a GQ, I wouldn’t get told it’s a frequently asked question. So where has it been answered? ---
**Author:** ![AZCowboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/97f17d/32.png) [@AZCowboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AZCowboy)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2005, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-the-faq-for-how-to-do-stuff/292238/2 "2005-02-28T02:13:07Z")
Psst See [sticky](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=103503). ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2005, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-the-faq-for-how-to-do-stuff/292238/3 "2005-02-28T02:27:08Z")
Specifically, if you post an answer using the “Post Reply” button, there will be a list of various commands above the reply window. The list starts **B** _I_ U - see it? You’ll see one of the icons looks like a little blue globe with a paperclip. Click on that and it’ll open a window where you can type in the words you want. Click it a second time and you can past or type in the URL of the link you want. Click one final time and it’ll enter the text with a hyperlink command into your replu window. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2005, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-the-faq-for-how-to-do-stuff/292238/4 "2005-02-28T10:29:42Z")
Okay, I’m in this thread and I’ve clicked on the http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=304214 globe three times and clicked my heels and said “There’s no place like home.” Let’s see how this looks. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2005, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-the-faq-for-how-to-do-stuff/292238/5 "2005-02-28T10:35:46Z")
Hmmm. Not so good. What do you suppose I did wrong to get the first linky thing (for which I was trying to substitute the word “globe”) in there? ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2005, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-the-faq-for-how-to-do-stuff/292238/6 "2005-02-28T13:06:00Z")
I always code by hand, then preview to make sure it worked: {url=http…}your word{/url} only with instead of { } ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2005, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-the-faq-for-how-to-do-stuff/292238/7 "2005-02-28T21:51:54Z")
At the bottom of every page there should be a section titled “posting rules”. If there’s nothing under it, click on the double down-pointing arrows just to the right of it to expand the section. Within the section is a line that should say “vB code is on”. Click on the link given there to see all the current vB codes. There is now a way to link to a specific post that’s easier than that described in the sticky linked to above. It’s the “post=” vB code. Oh, and the meta-hint: If you see something in a post that looks cool, click on the “reply” button in that post to see how it was done. This works for everything except something in a “quote” box in the post.