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 |  Explanations and instructions of all things Writing.Com. |
Sometimes the "Preset In & Out Display Formats"  will not fulfill your needs. In that case, you can create your own custom In & Out format using the Custom Format features offered. Using text, WritingML tags and various replacement variables, you can create a custom format template. With a little practice, you should be able to create your own custom In & Out with the look you envision for your item.The following examples provide ideas for how replacement variables can be used to create a custom format for your own In & Out. A complete list of the replacement variables for creating these custom formats follows the examples. Custom Format Examples In these examples, the following submission information is used:1 Posted By: The StoryMaster  Item Posted: 100931 Time Posted: 5:00 PM on September 1, 2000 Post Body: The {i}quick{/i} {c:lkhaki}brown{/c} fox jumps over the lazy dog. Example #1 This In & Out has Require Item IDs set to No. It's simple, clear, and clean, somewhat resembling a cross between the timed Graffiti Wall and List formats. Note the use of the %%post_username_anonymous%% variable, which will show the poster's username to the In & Out's owner, but not to the general public--the view below is what the general public sees.1: The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. [Delete] 5:00pm on September 1, 2000 ________________________________________________________________________________________ Example #2 Though this In & Out shares more information than the last, the large text keeps the focus on the post body. It uses the plain username and title in place of user and item links. The post body is separated from the other information, which is aligned right. Below the bold, red title, the item type is shown in yellow, and information about when the item was last modified is shown in blue. Because there is a blank line between the two parts of the post, two blank lines are added at the end to more clearly separate posts from one another. storymaster: The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. [Delete] Writing.Com General Discussion Message Forum last modified 2:22pm; July 18, 2010 (1 Day 1 Hour 11 Minutes ago) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Example #3 In an actual In & Out, an Item Icon identifying the item type would be shown in the blank space to the left of the first two lines. The sub-type appears as well, after the title and before the content rating. The genres and brief description appear next, followed by the submitted item's creation and editing dates. The post date and body stand out in red. "Writing.Com General Discussion" [ASR]Genres: Writing.Com, Educational, How-To/Advice A message forum for general discussion. Please come and chat with others! Created: 09-25-2000  Last Edited: 07-18-2010On 07-18-2010: The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. [Delete] - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Example #4 This example shows the use of the Comic font, vibrant colors, and emoticons, which gives this setup a very casual and fun look. Below the submitted item's creation date and time are its three genres, each in a different secondary color. Just under that, in smaller type, are the item's keywords. The arrows on either side of the post delete button draw attention to the post body at the bottom. "Writing.Com General Discussion"  on Writing.Com since Sep 25, 2000 @ 12:12am Writing.Com Educational How-To/Advice Writing.Com, chat forum, discussion forum, general forum, discuss, meet writers, meet members, meet people, mingle, discuss, greet, things for writers  [Delete] The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Replacement Variables for Custom Formats All the replacement variables that can be used in custom formats are listed below. Each replacement variable lists the examples above that use it (if any). That a particular replacement variable was not used in an example does not mean it cannot be used in your custom In & Out. Replacement Variables for Formatting the Submission: These variables can be used in In & Outs that use either Item IDs, Entry IDs, or neither. %%blank_line%% (Used in Examples #2 and #4) This variable returns a blank line. Though this can be placed anywhere in the template, it's intended for the very end, where it's used to put one or more blank lines between consecutive posts. In most cases, if separate In & Out posts don't have space between them, the result is incredibly confusing. %%black_line%% (Used in Example #1) This variable returns a solid black line. Like the blank line, this can be made to appear anywhere, but it probably makes the most sense at the end, where it can be used to establish a boundary between separate posts. %%dashed_line%% (Used in Example #3) This variable returns a thin horizontal line across the post, offering another option for a border. %%cnt%% (Used in Example #1) This returns the post's order in the In & Out. Whether you have Display Order set to Newest First or Newest Last, the output of the variable will be 1 for the top post, 2 for the post below it, etc. %%delete%% (Used in Examples #1, #2, #3 and #4) This variable returns a button that the In & Out owner or anyone with edit access can click to delete any post. If the option to allow self-deletion is turned on, the poster will see the button only on his or her own submissions. Note that this button will be displayed whether you include this variable in the template or not; however, it's recommended that you include the variable in a logical place. If left to its own devices, the button will appear in the last line of each post, slightly indented from the left side. %%text_html%% (Used in Example #4) This variable returns what the poster writes when he or she adds a post to the In & Out, and WritingML and HTML will be processed. This is the only area on Writing.Com besides Web Page Items that will process HTML. %%text_writingml%% (Used in Examples #1 and #2) This variable returns what the poster writes when he or she adds a post to the In & Out. WritingML will be processed, but HTML will not. %%text_plain%% (Used in Example #3) This variable returns what the poster writes when he or she adds a post to the In & Out, and neither WritingML nor HTML will be processed. Replacement Variables for Submission-Specific Information: These variables can be used in In & Outs that use either Item IDs, Entry IDs, or neither. %%post_date%% (Used in Example #1) This variable returns the date, in text format starting with the first three letters of the month's name, on which the In & Out post was submitted. %%post_date_num%% (Used in Example #3) This variable returns the date, in numerical format starting with the numerical month, on which the In & Out post was submitted. %%post_time%% (Used in Example #1) This variable returns the time of day at which the In & Out post was submitted. %%post_username%% (Used in Example #2) This variable returns the username of the member who submitted the post to the In & Out. Note that this is simply the username in plain text; to turn it into a user tag showing the member's portfolio icon, you would need to place the variable where you would normally place a member's username; for example, {user:%%post_username%%}. %%post_username_anonymous%% (Used in Example #1) This variable returns the username of the member who submitted the post to the In & Out, but that username is only visible to the item's owner. Note that this is simply the username in plain text; to turn it into a user tag showing the member's portfolio icon, you would need to place the variable where you would normally place a member's username; for example, {user:%%post_username_anonymous%%}. Replacement Variables for Item Information: These variables can be used in In & Outs that use Item IDs. %%item_brief%% (Used in Example #3) This variable returns the submitted item's brief description. %%item_content_rating%% (Used in Example #3) This variable returns the submitted item's content rating; clicking on the content rating will bring up information outlining what to expect. %%item_created_date%% (Used in Example #4) This variable returns the date, in text format starting with the first three letters of the month's name, on which the submitted item was originally uploaded to Writing.Com. %%item_created_date_num%% (Used in Example #3) This variable returns the date, in numerical format starting with the numerical month, on which the submitted item was originally uploaded to Writing.Com. %%item_created_time%% (Used in Example #4) This variable returns the time of day at which the submitted item was originally uploaded to Writing.Com. %%item_genre_1%% (Used in Examples #3 and #4) This variable returns the submitted item's primary genre, which must exist. %%item_genre_2%% (Used in Example #4) This variable returns the submitted item's second genre, if it exists. %%item_genre_2_comma%% (Used in Example #3) This variable returns the submitted item's second genre, if it exists, with a comma placed after the first genre in order to separate the two genres. This would be equivalent to writing %%item_genre_1%% with a comma after it as long as a second genre exists, but if a second genre doesn't exist, then this variable prevents a comma from unnecessarily appearing after the primary genre. %%item_genre_3%% (Used in Example #4) This variable returns the submitted item's third genre, if it exists. %%item_genre_3_comma%% (Used in Example #3) This variable returns the submitted item's third genre, if it exists, with a comma placed after the second genre in order to separate the two genres. This would be equivalent to writing %%item_genre_2%% with a comma after it as long as a third genre exists, but if a third genre doesn't exist, then this variable prevents a comma from unnecessarily appearing after the second genre. %%item_id%% (Used in Examples #3 and #4) This variable returns the submitted item's ID number. Note that this is simply the item number in plain text; to turn it into a working item link, you would need to place the variable where you would normally place an item number; for example, {item:%%item_id%%}. %%item_icon%% (Used in Example #3) This variable returns the submitted item's Item Icon, an image that identifies its item type. The icon has a red circle background. The Item Icon is aligned on the left edge of the post; that can't be changed. To see all the Item Icons with a white circle background, click on Browse By Type to open the submenu in the main navigation on the left. They are also shown on the Create New Item page. [Note that if the item has a cover, this variable does not display the cover; however, the B-item link will show the item cover (if any) with the item type in a text bar across the bottom of the cover.] For example, "The Ins and Outs of In & Outs" [E] is a Static Item, so its Item Icon is the scrolled sheet of paper on a red background.%%item_keywords%% (Used in Example #4) This variable returns the submitted item's keywords exactly as they appear on the item creation/editing page. %%item_modified_date%% (Used in Example #2) This variable returns the date, in text format starting with the first three letters of the month's name, on which the submitted item was last edited. %%item_modified_date_num%% (Used in Example #3) This variable returns the date, in numerical format starting with the numerical month, on which the submitted item was last edited. %%item_modified_time%% (Used in Example #2) This variable returns the time of day at which the submitted item was last edited. %%item_sub_type%% (Used in Example #3) This variable returns the item's subtype, if it exists. Books, Images, and Static Items have sub-types. %%item_time_since_mod%% (Used in Example #2) This variable returns the amount of time since the submitted item was last edited. The duration shown in Example Two is what would be returned at the moment of posting, but the timer will continue to increase until the item is edited again. %%item_title%% (Used in Example #2) This variable returns the submitted item's title in plain text. %%item_type%% (Used in Example #2) This variable returns the submitted item's type in plain text. %%item_username%% This variable returns the username of the submitted item's author. Note that this is simply the username in plain text; to turn it into a userlink showing the member's portfolio icon, you would need to place the variable in the user tag where you would normally place a member's username; for example, {user:%%item_username%%}. For the example submission information above, the result displayed for the user tag would be: Writing.Com Support   Replacement Variables for Entry Information: These variables can be used in In & Outs that use Entry IDs. %%entry_created_date%% This variable returns the date, in text format starting with the first three letters of the month's name, on which the submitted Book entry was originally uploaded to Writing.Com. For example: Sep 1, 2000 %%entry_created_date_num%% This variable returns the date, in numerical format starting with the numerical month, on which the submitted Book entry was originally uploaded to Writing.Com. For example: 09-01-2000 %%entry_created_time%% This variable returns the submitted Book entry's created time. For example: 5:00pm %%entry_id%% This variable returns the submitted Book entry's entry ID number. Note that this is simply the entry ID number in plain text; to turn it into a working entry link, you would need to place the variable in a link tag where you would normally place an entry number; for example, {entry:%%item_id%%}. %%entry_item_id%% This variable returns the item ID number of the Book item that contains the submitted Book entry. Note that this is simply the item number in plain text; to turn it into a working item link, you would need to place the variable where you would normally place an item number; for example, {item:%%entry_item_id%%}. %%entry_modified_date%% This variable returns the date, in text format starting with the first three letters of the month's name, on which the submitted Book entry was last edited. For example: Sep 2, 2000 %%entry_modified_time%% This variable returns the time of day the submitted Book entry was last edited. For example: 6:00pm %%entry_title%% This variable returns the submitted Book entry's title in plain text. %%item_content_rating%% This variable returns the content rating of the Book item containing the submitted Book entry; clicking on the content rating opens a pop-up window with information outlining what to expect. %%item_icon%% This variable returns the Book Item Icon, an image that identifies the Book item type. The Book Item Icon has a red circle background and is aligned on the left edge of the post; its position can't be changed. To see the Book Item Icon with a white circle background, click on Browse By Type to open the submenu in the main navigation on the left. Note that if the Book item has a cover, this variable does not display the cover. %%item_type%% This variable returns the Book item type in plain text: Book. Recommended Reading Footnotes |
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