I'm just wondering how those of you that do very involved, long, and pic heavy posts compose them. Do you compose the entire thing in BLF's editor? Do you compose it in Microsoft Word (or similar program) and paste it into the BLF editor? If this method, how do you handle adding photos - leave yourself notes like "insert beamshot here" and replace that text with the photo within the BLF editor? Or do you compose in html format in Notepad (or something similar) with photo links and all and simply paste that in the BLF editor not requiring any additional corrections/additions?
I'm trying to work up my thread about my underground adventure testing flashlights last week and there's no way I can finish it in one sitting and do it all in the BLF editor! Right now I am typing it all in Notepad with comments like "Insert photo 52 here", "insert link to thread here", etc. . .
I can't imagine that everyone types long photo heavy posts into the editor and risks losing it all if things go haywire.
This particular post will be really really long! It will also have many many photos. I'm also having a hard time finding enough time to get it done. I'm getting 5 minutes here, 10 minutes there.
I have not done any particularly long posts but for mine which generally take 20-30 min to make, I will just type it up as I have time and just post it and then edit my post as I type more. Hope that helps. :)
I'm trying to avoid having people jump in and read / post before I am done. I think my method will work alright so long as I catch all the "INSERT . . ." markers.
Yeah, I don't to many long posts, but when I'm doing something longer than normal, I write it in Word (spell check!) and just use tags for what pics go where. Then copy/paste the mess into the editor and add the links for the pics.
I've not written any long posts but I did a review where I just copied the whole lot to clip board now and then(and prior to hitting 'save') as a kind of back-up.
Yeah, I type all my text in word with markers, paste it in the editor, then add the photos. Still a heck of a lot of work getting all those photos in. Seems to be the only effective way though when you write the books that I end up writing.
I do mine many times in several parts, as you know. I do it, just because I want to put a teaser out, but when I have done long posts, I do it as you stated, in notepad and "insert photo here". It works. There is a free posting software for forum use. It makes the right code, as you type, just like in the BLF editor. I will have to search for it and I will let you know.
Google Search. I can't find it right offhand. Maybe I still have the file at home.
I usually just verbally compose them and my secretary here at E1320 Drop ins does the rest. I am not even sure how to log into BLF to be perfectly honest.
Yeah I've learned to do that with my email (webmail based). I've been burned too many times!
Thanks for the input guys. I'll continue with my Notepad method and hopefully get the post up early next week (weekends aren't good for me to post something that large).
-Garry
(And I sure as heck hope I don't post up this novel to only get a few responses!)
I do reviews in BLF's editor and it might take an hour. But you can probably use whatever you want, convert to HTML, and then paste into the HTML view for a post, as long as it gives you fairly clean HTML (i.e., not MS Word). I end up doing the reverse of that by taking BLF's HTML for a review, clean it up, and then post it to my blog so I will have a backup. The first couple of reviews I ever wrote were over at CPF and they "lost" the entire budget thread (they didn't even have a subforum back then; everything budget-related was in one long thread) along with my reviews.
I always use the editor here. I've tried other methods - I usually use BBEdit for HTML stuff - but the editor works for me, especially with picture-heavy posts.
It is just too much of a pain to use other methods. I've tried most, including HTML tables. All I can say is do NOT edit HTML tables by hand. Piles are much less of a PITA.