`
# @ Ats
- @ symbols are used a lot in Opus commands to add modifies to the commands.
- @ symbols are also the way Discourse lets you direct part of a message to another user, so they are notified about your post. For example, typing **@Leo** will turn into @Leo and notify me about your post.
- If you type a modifier like @keydown that (probably!) isn't a username, you don't need to do anything special. But if you want to type @Leo or similar without it turning into a username and notification then there are a couple of methods:
**@⁠Leo** will turn into **@Leo**
- The **⁠** part inserts a special zero-width character between the @ and the name.
**\`@Leo\`** will turn into `@Leo`
- Note that the nicer HTML entity **@** works in the post *preview* but will not work in the actual post after you submit it!
# * Asterisks *
- Many asterisks will be fine as-is, but if they are around a word then they'll be interpreted as formating.
\*word\* turns into italics *word*
\*\*word\*\* turns into bold **word**
\*\*\*word\*\*\* turns into bold italics ***word***
- If you want a literal * asterisk in those situations, you can use \\\* to escape it:
\\\*word\\\* turns into \*word\*
- Since \\\* turns into a single \* you have to be careful with wildcards like C:\\\*. As already mentioned in the section on paths and backslashes, above, you'd need to type something like C:\\\\* (or C:\\\\\\* if you want to be extra safe/explicit, but it's not necessary).
- You can also use ***** to get a literal * character.
- And you can use inline code blocks. **\`\*word\*\`** turns into `*word*`
# Commands:
- Commands can normally be typed as-is, but it's nice to highlight them so it's clear where the commands and words talking about them are separated.
- Use \` ... \` backticks if you want to highlight a command mid-sentence.
For example, **\`Go PATH=/desktop\`** will turn into `Go PATH=/desktop` in the middle of a sentence.
- For multiple lines, you can use **\[code\] ... \[/code\]** for code blocks:
**\[code\]**
**@keydown:none**
**Copy**
**@keydown:shift**
**Copy AS**
**\[/code\]**
will turn into:
[code]
@keydown:none
Copy
@keydown:shift
Copy AS
[/code]
- Alternatively, use three backticks either side like **\`\`\` ... \`\`\`** for code fences:
**\`\`\`**
**@keydown:none**
**Copy**
**@keydown:shift**
**Copy AS**
**\`\`\`**
will turn into:
```
@keydown:none
Copy
@keydown:shift
Copy AS
```
- For pre-formatted text that isn't on a highlighted background, you can also use <pre>...</pre> tags:
**<pre>**
**@keydown:none**
**Copy**
**@keydown:shift**
**Copy AS**
**</pre>**
will turn into:
@keydown:none
Copy
@keydown:shift
Copy AS
- Be careful with all of the code block and pre-formatted text options, as they tend to eat anything placed on a line directly after them. You need a blank line before you have anything else.
That can make them hard to use within lists. Speaking of lists...
# Lists
- Using code blocks in bullet-point and numbered lists can get complicated, but as general rules:
- Within list items, you need to avoid empty lines in your markup.
Use **<br>** to insert an empty line without breaking the list item if you want to space things out or have multiple paragraphs.
- It's easier to simply *not* use code blocks inside of lists, but if you really want to (as I did myself in this post!), you normally need to indent the whole block, including the tags or fence around it, to the same level as the list item you are in.
- Multiple levels of indentation is also how you do nested lists.
- Like.
- This
- If it doesn't work, add a few more spaces and it probably will. :)
- But after messing around with lists, make sure the rest of your post still looks right, as if the forum gets confused it can cause really strange results, and lists are particularly fragile.
# Script Code
- We've configured the forum to show VBScript and JScript code in different colors, to help you tell them apart. This is in addition to the automatic syntax highlighting which Discourse supports.
- If you put VBScript or JScript code into blocks, the forum will do a pretty good job of guessing which language you have used and automatically highlighting things.
- That said, you can override this for better results, or in situations where you don't want it.
#### JScript (Javascript):
----------
[code]
function moo() {
// Implicit [ code ]
var x;
return x + 1;
}
[/code]
will turn into:
[code]
function moo() {
// Implicit [ code ]
var x;
return x + 1;
}
[/code]
----------
Similarly,
```
function moo() {
// Implicit ```
var x;
return x + 1;
}
```
will turn into:
```
function moo() {
// Implicit ```
var x;
return x + 1;
}
```
----------
The forum automatically detects that the code is JScript but is conservative about how it formats things. (At least at the time of writing.)
You can get slightly nicer formatting if you explicitly request javascript.
*You must specify **javascript** as the language and not **jscript**. While jscript is more technically correct for Opus scripts, the forum doesn't know what it is, and jscript is part of the javascript family.*
*The language name is **case-sensitive**. "Javascript" and "JavaScript" will not work, only "javascript" in all lowercase.*
```javascript
function moo() {
// Explicit ```javascript
var x;
return x + 1;
}
```
will turn into:
```javascript
function moo() {
// Explicit ```javascript
var x;
return x + 1;
}
```
Note how the function name is in red and bold in the last example, while it was not in the others. The other advantage of being explicit is it means you aren't relying on the forum's ability to guess the language, which will probably go wrong sometimes.
----------
Finally, you can explicitly tell the forum that something is *not* to be highlighted as script code, by specifying **plain** like this:
```plain
function moo() {
// Explicit ```plain
var x;
return x + 1;
}
```
will turn into:
```plain
function moo() {
// Explicit ```plain
var x;
return x + 1;
}
```
*This is case-sensitive. "Plain" or "PLAIN" will not work; only "plain" in lowercase.*
----------
#### VBScript:
[code]
option explicit
function moo
' Implicit // [ code ]
dim x
moo = x + 1
end function
[/code]
will turn into:
[code]
option explicit
function moo
' Implicit // [ code ]
dim x
moo = x + 1
end function
[/code]
----------
```
option explicit
function moo
' Implicit ```
dim x
moo = x + 1
end function
```
will turn into:
```
option explicit
function moo
' Implicit ```
dim x
moo = x + 1
end function
```
----------
Explicitly specifying the language as **vbscript** avoids the forum having to guess which language is being used.
*This is case-sensitive. "VBScript" and similar will not work, only "vbscript" in all lowercase.*
```vbscript
option explicit
function moo
' Explicit ```vbscript
dim x
moo = x + 1
end function
```
will turn into:
```vbscript
option explicit
function moo
' Explicit ```vbscript
dim x
moo = x + 1
end function
```
----------
As we saw above, you can explicitly tell the forum *not* to highlight something as VBScript by specifying **plain** as the language.
*This is case sensitive. "Plain" and "PLAIN" will not work; only "plain" in lowercase.*
```plain
option explicit
function moo
' Explicit ```plain
dim x
moo = x + 1
end function
```
will turn into:
```plain
option explicit
function moo
' Explicit ```plain
dim x
moo = x + 1
end function
```
----------
# Hiding things in collapsible sections
Sometimes it's useful to include a lot of detail, like a long script or log file, but you don't want it to take up a lot of space.
You could add the extra information to the post as an attachment, e.g. in a .text file or zip file.
But using "details" boxes is another option.
If you type this:
```plain
[details=My Heading Line]
Lots and lots of details
That you cannot see unless you expand this section.
Peekaboo!
[/details]
```
It will turn into this:
[details=My Heading Line]
Lots and lots of details
That you cannot see unless you expand this section.
Peekaboo!
[/details]
(Try clicking on the line above to expand it.)
# Sometimes the preview lies :)
Always check your post after submitting.
When doing complicated things, you may find the end result is not the same as what the preview was showing as you typed your post!
# Discourse is evolving
Discourse, the forum software we are using, is quite new and still evolving. Sometimes when we update to a newer version, some of the rules and tricks above change.
If you notice any problems, please let us know so we can update things!