BBCode on a Forum

This guide covers our old ProBoards v4 software. Click here for the ProBoards v5 Help Guide.

When creating or replying to a message board thread, BBCode tags can be used to add additional style and formatting to your post. Moreover, you can add elements such as a YouTube video, images, a list or even a table. You can enable any of the BBCode tags by clicking the icon representing what you're wanting to do in the Add Tags area of the posting page. Below is an explanation of each BBCode tag and how it can be used:

Bold

To bold text, you would use the following tags in the message area: [b] [/b] – Next, add content you would like to bold between these tags. When your comments are posted to the message board, any text within these tags will appear in bold. Example:

Italic

To make text appear in italics you can use the following tags in the message area: [i] [/i] – Next, add any content you would like italicized between these tags. When your forum post is made, text within these tags will appear in italics. Example:

Underline

To add an underline effect to some words in your message, you can use the following tags in the message area: [u] [/u] – Next, add any content you'd like underlined between these tags. When you post your thread to a message board, any text within these tags will appear underlined. Example:

Strikethrough

To add a strikethrough effect to text in your message, you can use the following tags in the message area: [s] [/s] – Now add any content you would like a line through between these tags. When your message board post is submitted, any text within these tags will have a horizontal line through the middle of the words. Example:

Move

The Move feature allows you to animate content and moves text from the right of your forum posting to the left; like a news ticker. To animate your message, use the following tags: [move] [/move] – Add content you would like to have move across the page between these tags. Example:

Renders the words I'm Moving! on the right side of your post and then moves them across the post to the left giving your post a news alert look and feel.

Preformatted Text

This feature allows more flexibility in the formatting of text in your post such as the ability to indent paragraphs or add additional spacing. You can add this to your message by using the following tags: [pre] [/pre] – Add any content you would like pre-formatted between these tags. Example:

[pre]  I'm indented![/pre]

Renders the formatting in the final message board posting the same as the formatting between the pre tags.

Align Left

This allows you to align your message to the left of the page, this is done using the following tags: [left] [/left] – Content provided within these tags will be flush to the left side of your forum post. Example:

The align left tags will push this sentence flush to the left of the post.

Align Center

This allows you to align your message to appear centered in your post. This is achieved by using the following tags in the message area: [center] [/center] – Content provided within these tags will be centered in your post. Example:

Using these tags will align this sentence to the center of the post.

Align Right

This allows you to align your message to the right of your post. This is done by using the following tags in the message area: [right] [/right] – Content provided within these tags will be flush to the right side of your post. Example:

Using align right tags pushes this sentence flush to the right of the post.

Horizontal Rule

This feature will add a horizontal line to your message, achieved with the following tag: [hr] – The [hr] tag, often used to separate posts into different sections, is commonly used in message board threads and adds a line break along with a horizontal line graphic.

Font Size

You can make the font size of your posts larger or smaller by using the following tags: [size=2] [/font] – Text provided within these tags will be in the font size specified in the size tag. Example:

Using this tag controls text size which ranges from 1 (smallest) to 7 (largest) to match your preference. Remember, discussion board threads don't all have to use the same font size.

Font Face

You can also change the font type of the message in your post, this is done by using the following tags: [font=Verdana] [/font] – Text within these tags will appear in the font type you set in the tag. Example:

This configuration will render the text in the Times New Roman font. Keep in mind; for others to see the text in your chosen font, they'll need to have the font already installed on their computer. You can safely use any of the fonts listed below:

• Verdana
• Times New Roman
• Comic Sans MS
• Arial
• Courier New
• Tahoma
• Century
• Autumn
• Lucida Console
• Rockwell
• Scribble
• Trebuchet

YouTube Video

You can embed a YouTube video into your post, using the following tags: [youtube] [/youtube] – Next, type or paste the web address of the YouTube video you want to share within these tags. Example:

The URL for your selected video can be copied from the address bar of your browser as you view it on YouTube. You must use the full URL and not the http://youtu.be short address found in the YouTube sharing options. Adding video is a great way to keep your message board posts interesting.

Blockquote

You can add a blockquote in your message by using the following tags: [blockquote] [/blockquote] – Place the content you'd like to appear in blockquotes within the provided tags. Example:

Here, the blockquote tags will indent the content into its own block, giving the included content a different look compared to content outside the blockquote.

Insert Hyperlink

You can include links within your posts by using the following tags: [url] [/url] – Type the URL of a selected website within these tags to have a link appear in your post. Example:

Here, the proboards.com text links directly to the proboards.com website. When clicked, message board readers are brought to the linked website indicated within the tags.

Additionally, you can use these tags to have specific words within your post link to a website. As an example: [url=https://www.proboards.com]ProBoards Free Forums[/url] – using this will cause the words ProBoards Free Forums to link to the ProBoards.com homepage.

Insert Image

You can also insert images into your post using the following tags: [img] [/img] – Simply type the URL address (location) of your hosted image within the tags and it will appear in your post. Example:

To successfully present the image in your forum posting, it must currently be hosted by an image host (Photobucket, Flickr, etc). Also, be sure to use the Direct URL or Direct Link provided by the image host typically located in their image share options.

Insert Email

To include an email address within your post, you can use the following email tags: [email] [/email] – Type an email address within these tags to provide readers a link to that email address. Example:

Clicking on this link within your post will open the readers default email application (if available) and present them with a new compose page. Also, the email address you added will automatically be filled in.

Insert Table

You can add a table to your post using the following tags: [table][tr][td] [/td][/tr][/table] – This is a template for a one column / one row table. Adding your content between the [td] [/td] tags of this code will put your content in the one column / one row table. Example:

This configuration will put the words Box One in a table that has one row and one column. Inserting tables in message board postings can be useful for displaying ordered data.

Insert Table Row

You can expand a table embedded into a post to add another row using the following tags: [tr] [/tr] – The Insert Table Row function must be used in conjunction with the Insert Table tag as the [tr] [/tr] tags will not function by themselves. Example:

This formatting will generate a two row table with Box One in the top row, and Box Two in the bottom row. The [tr] [/tr] tags must always be nested inside the [table] [/table] tags but should never appear in between the [td] [/td] tags.

Insert Table Column

You can also expand a table embedded into a post to add another column to the table, this is done with the following tags: [td] [/td] – The Insert Column function must be used in conjunction with the Insert Table tag as the [td] [/td] tags will not function by themselves. Example:

This formatting will generate a two row table and, a second column in the second row where the text Box Three will be displayed. The [td] [/td] tags should always be nested inside a set of [tr] [/tr] tags.

Superscript

You can add superscript formatting to your post with the following tags: [sup] [/sup] – Content within these tags will appear a step higher than content outside the tags. Example:

This configuration will display in your message board post as 1^st Place!, where the letters st will appear a step higher than the characters outside of the [sup] [/sup] tags.

Subscript

You can also add subscript formatting to your post with the following tags: [sub] [/sub] – Content within these tags will appear a step lower than content outside of these tags. Example:

This configuration will display as H₂O where the number 2 appears a step lower than the characters found outside of the [sub] [/sub] tags.

Teletype

The teletype effect allow you to add really small text to your posts when using the following tags: [tt] [/tt] – Text within these tags will appear in a smaller font than text outside of the tags. Example:

This configuration will display the words Really Small Text in a font size smaller than text outside the tags.

Insert Code

You can share coding within your posts using the following tags: [code] [/code] – Text within these tags will appear in a code box when your message is posted. These tags are typically used to display programming code on a message board without the code actually being executed by your web browser. Example:

Using these tags will display the text [b]bold[/b] inside a code box without actually converting the words bold text to a bold font.

Insert Quote

You can use a quote box to quote text that you are wanting to share to other members of the forum, this is done using the following tags: [quote] [/quote] – Text within these tags will appear in a quote box when your message board thread is posted. This is often used to quote a news headline or something someone has said. Example:

This will display the sentence This is what they said! in a quote box.

Insert List

It's possible to create a list in your post using the following list tags:

Place the content you would like to appear on the list to the right of the [*] tags. You can add additional [*] tags if you want to add more items to your list. Example:

When you post your comments to the message board, this configuration will display the words Item One, Item Two, Item Three, and Item Four in a vertical list format complete with bullet points.

Colors

You can also add different text colors to your post by using the following color tags: [color=Blue] [/color] – Then, any text within these tags will be blue in color when your post is made. Example:

With this, This text is red. will appear in the color red.

You can also use hex color codes for more precise color control. Example:

Will display the text This text is an off-red. in the hex color code provided.