How to Use BB Codes

You don't need to be a programmer to post formatted messages.

Whenever you post a message in an Internet forum, the forum's software converts it to HTML. HTML is the language developers use to create the formatted pages you see on the Internet. Bulletin Board Codes allow anyone to post colorful, formatted text and images on a forum without knowing HTML. BBCodes consist of short, memorable tags that you can type quickly when drafting a forum post. Master the basics of BBCode formatting by studying a few simple examples.

Instructions

1. Visit a website forum that allows users to post BBCodes. Find a forum thread that you would like to reply to and begin typing a reply.

2. Type the word "Testing" (without the quotes). You will use this word to demonstrate BBCode text formatting.

3. Paste the following text before the word "Testing:"

   [i]

   This is a typical BBCode tag. It is a letter enclosed in brackets. The letter "I" within the brackets tells the website to display text that follows the tag using italics.

4. Paste the tag shown below after the word "Testing:"

   [/i]

   This tag also contains the letter "i." The only difference between this tag and the previous one is the slash appearing before the letter. This slash creates a "closing" tag. Together, the "[i]" and "[/i]" comprise the italic BBCode. Any text between those two tags acquires the attribute enclosed within the tags. To create bold text, replace the letter "I" with the letter "b" in the two opening and closing tags. Underline text by enclosing it between an opening "[u]" tag and a closing "[/u]" tag. You can also create strike-through text using the "[s]" and "[/s]" tag pairs.

5. Move to a new line in your post and type the word "Fruit." Place the following closing tag after the word:

   Fruit[/color]

   Some tags consist of words instead of letters. The "color" tag allows you to set the color of your text.

6. Add "[color=green]" (without the quotes) before the word "Fruit" The resulting text looks like this:

   [color=green]Fruit[/color]

   This colors the text green. Note that the opening tag almost matches the closing tag. The opening tag includes the word "green" in addition to the word color. If you want red or yellow text, replace "green" with the desired color.

7. Type the word "Test2" on another line, and surround it with opening and closing "size" tags so the resulting text appears as shown below:

   [size=14]Test2[/size]

   The size tags control the font size of text enclosed within the tags. In this example, that size is 14. Decrease that number to make the text smaller or increase the number to create larger text. Center text, using the "[center]" tags as shown below:

   [center] Test2 [/center]

8. Paste the following text into your post:

   [img]http://www.abc.com/xyz.jpg[/img]

   Replace "http://www.abc.com/xyz.jpg" with the URL of an image that resides on the Web. The BBCode software will display that image. Insert a hyperlink using a similar "[URL]" tag as shown below:

   [URL]<http://www.whitehouse.gov[/URL>]

   This tag displays a link in your text. When readers click it, their browsers send them to the URL you entered between the "URL" tags. That URL points to the White House website in this example.

9. Preview or submit your message. The site displays the BBCode formatted text, links and images you defined in your message.

Tips & Warnings

• All BBCodes may not work on all websites. System administrators determine the allowable codes. Consult your forum's help page to determine BBCode posting capabilities.

References

• BbCode: BBCode Tags Reference

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish