Game Guides Archive
Thread: How to you put colors in your sig?
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cshauny
Thu Dec 11, 2003 6:37 pm
#1
Does it have anything to do with HTML?
I'm asking because i've seen some people with really awesome looking sigs advertising their vendors and i'd like to do the same 
Perilous
Thu Dec 11, 2003 7:54 pm
#2
I'll reply to this because it drives me crazy that most people who reply to this question when it's posted by someone on these forums just give either a very vague answer ("html you noob!") or tell you they'll do it for you, usually for some ostentatious amount of in-game credits. 
It is indeed HTML. I used my HTML editor to create the rough draft of my sig, and then I sort of elaborated on it when I refined it on these forums. However, if you dont know HTML, you can use these forums to do your sig without using an external app of any kind. Here's what you do:
Use MS IE 6.x to "reply" to a post...any post, it doesn't matter, as you will not acutally be posting anything but merely previewing as you work on your sig in the window. I use the Mozilla browser almost exclusively, but it doesn't display the correct features that the IE browser does on these forums, so to create my own sig I had to launch my MS browser instead. Mozilla has some challenges when it comes to Java.
1. Go to a forum folder and click to enter any thread. Then just go ahead and click the "reply" button. Remember, you won't be posting to the forum...but just to be safe, I used the "general any topic (non swg)" forum, because if you do accidentally post, it won't make too much difference there. And don't worry about the nasty replies you might get about not having to test your sig...some people just have tiny brains. Ignore them.
2. When you have your reply window up, enter the text you wish in your sig. This will be your rough template. Take notice now of several features around the reply window: at the top, you have three drop down menus: font name, font size, and a colour selector. These are what you use to manipulate and experiment with those aspects of your sig. In HTML, you hand enter certain numbers or values. Using this window, the interface does it automatically for you...so you dont need to know HTML.
Below those three drop down menus, you have a row of formatting. Use these to change the style and the justification of your text. After this row comes the typing area, and below that you have several buttons, the second from the left of which is "edit as HTML." (It may say "Graphical Editor;" if it does, click it again until it says "edit as HTML" for now.) This is the spiffy button you'll be clicking after you have a sig you're pleased with.
The default for this board is that you view and type your messages in "graphical" mode, meaning you have a visual, aesthetic representation of the HTML code you are actually entering. The board automatically translates your post to the proper HTML code it needs to display all those colours and other font changes. When you click the "edit as HTML" button, it then goes to the HTML "mode," so you can go into the HTML and edit it as you choose, if you happen to know how. If not, don't worry; the graphical interface will do your work for you. However, you'll have to be quite patient, as things do go wrong, and the forums are notoriously tricky. You have to be patient and work with it, and eventually, you'll get it.
3. Now that you have your plain text sig, make sure that second button says "edit as HTML" (so you're in the graphical mode and can see your results immediately), play with the colours, sizes, fonts, and add all the customizations you want to your sig. Be creative, and take your time! Make sure you frequently "preview" your sig as you're working on it, so that you see exactly how it will be displayed when posted on the forums. It is a common occurrence that what looks great in that reply window can look like poodoo when it's actually posted...use that preview button!
I want to point out here two options in the drop down "font name" menu: wingdings and webdings. Take a look at these for some cool little widgets that you can add to your sig here and there.
4. Once you've got that stunning signature all ready to be officially set, go ahead and click the "edit as HTML" button, and sit back and watch the gibberish fill your screen! What pops up in that reply window is the HTML you need to paste into the box on the profile page where you set your signature. Make sure you copy everything in the reply window text box, and then carefully paste it into the signature box on the profile page. Then click "submit" to set it as your official sig.
5. We're not finished yet! Now you need to find one of your previous posts. Any post at all will do; when you set a sig, it updates every single post you currently have on the SWG forums. This is why you're not going to be making any actual posts to "test" your sig; the boards update it for you, so you don't have to make a special post each and every time you want to see what it looks like once you've updated your profile. Just keep one of your old posts up in another screen, and every time you've updated your sig on your profile page, refresh the page that's displaying your old post, and you'll see that new sig pop up every time.
6. Finally, if you're having trouble and you feel that it's caused by your inexperience with HTML, simply point your browser at either the Yahoo! or Google search engine, and type in the words "html tutorial" and you'll find thousands and thousands of excellent pages that will teach you HTML. You'll have a very easy time of it; you only need to know beginning HTML for these purposes, and pretty much anyone, no matter how bad they think they are at HTML, can learn beginning HTML in less than 30 minutes. Trust me. Remember, though: making your sig extremely large is considered bad netiquette. Also, keep your sig clean: there are rules on these boards against obscenities or insulting language. And remember that some folks have eyes that cannot see quite as well as others: making your text too small can make it impossible to read for some people. Sigs are a very personal expression of yourself. Make sure your sig is like something you'd want to be remembered by.
Good luck creating your sig. There are some really outstanding ones on these boards. I'd love to see some of the more creative things folks who read this guide can come up with!
Hope this helps some. If anyone sees anything hideously inaccurate in this guide, please, feel free to correct me.
It is indeed HTML. I used my HTML editor to create the rough draft of my sig, and then I sort of elaborated on it when I refined it on these forums. However, if you dont know HTML, you can use these forums to do your sig without using an external app of any kind. Here's what you do:
Use MS IE 6.x to "reply" to a post...any post, it doesn't matter, as you will not acutally be posting anything but merely previewing as you work on your sig in the window. I use the Mozilla browser almost exclusively, but it doesn't display the correct features that the IE browser does on these forums, so to create my own sig I had to launch my MS browser instead. Mozilla has some challenges when it comes to Java.
1. Go to a forum folder and click to enter any thread. Then just go ahead and click the "reply" button. Remember, you won't be posting to the forum...but just to be safe, I used the "general any topic (non swg)" forum, because if you do accidentally post, it won't make too much difference there. And don't worry about the nasty replies you might get about not having to test your sig...some people just have tiny brains. Ignore them.
2. When you have your reply window up, enter the text you wish in your sig. This will be your rough template. Take notice now of several features around the reply window: at the top, you have three drop down menus: font name, font size, and a colour selector. These are what you use to manipulate and experiment with those aspects of your sig. In HTML, you hand enter certain numbers or values. Using this window, the interface does it automatically for you...so you dont need to know HTML.
Below those three drop down menus, you have a row of formatting. Use these to change the style and the justification of your text. After this row comes the typing area, and below that you have several buttons, the second from the left of which is "edit as HTML." (It may say "Graphical Editor;" if it does, click it again until it says "edit as HTML" for now.) This is the spiffy button you'll be clicking after you have a sig you're pleased with.
The default for this board is that you view and type your messages in "graphical" mode, meaning you have a visual, aesthetic representation of the HTML code you are actually entering. The board automatically translates your post to the proper HTML code it needs to display all those colours and other font changes. When you click the "edit as HTML" button, it then goes to the HTML "mode," so you can go into the HTML and edit it as you choose, if you happen to know how. If not, don't worry; the graphical interface will do your work for you. However, you'll have to be quite patient, as things do go wrong, and the forums are notoriously tricky. You have to be patient and work with it, and eventually, you'll get it.
3. Now that you have your plain text sig, make sure that second button says "edit as HTML" (so you're in the graphical mode and can see your results immediately), play with the colours, sizes, fonts, and add all the customizations you want to your sig. Be creative, and take your time! Make sure you frequently "preview" your sig as you're working on it, so that you see exactly how it will be displayed when posted on the forums. It is a common occurrence that what looks great in that reply window can look like poodoo when it's actually posted...use that preview button!
I want to point out here two options in the drop down "font name" menu: wingdings and webdings. Take a look at these for some cool little widgets that you can add to your sig here and there.
4. Once you've got that stunning signature all ready to be officially set, go ahead and click the "edit as HTML" button, and sit back and watch the gibberish fill your screen! What pops up in that reply window is the HTML you need to paste into the box on the profile page where you set your signature. Make sure you copy everything in the reply window text box, and then carefully paste it into the signature box on the profile page. Then click "submit" to set it as your official sig.
5. We're not finished yet! Now you need to find one of your previous posts. Any post at all will do; when you set a sig, it updates every single post you currently have on the SWG forums. This is why you're not going to be making any actual posts to "test" your sig; the boards update it for you, so you don't have to make a special post each and every time you want to see what it looks like once you've updated your profile. Just keep one of your old posts up in another screen, and every time you've updated your sig on your profile page, refresh the page that's displaying your old post, and you'll see that new sig pop up every time.
6. Finally, if you're having trouble and you feel that it's caused by your inexperience with HTML, simply point your browser at either the Yahoo! or Google search engine, and type in the words "html tutorial" and you'll find thousands and thousands of excellent pages that will teach you HTML. You'll have a very easy time of it; you only need to know beginning HTML for these purposes, and pretty much anyone, no matter how bad they think they are at HTML, can learn beginning HTML in less than 30 minutes. Trust me.
Remember, though: making your sig extremely large is considered bad netiquette. Also, keep your sig clean: there are rules on these boards against obscenities or insulting language. And remember that some folks have eyes that cannot see quite as well as others: making your text too small can make it impossible to read for some people. Sigs are a very personal expression of yourself. Make sure your sig is like something you'd want to be remembered by.Good luck creating your sig. There are some really outstanding ones on these boards. I'd love to see some of the more creative things folks who read this guide can come up with!
Hope this helps some. If anyone sees anything hideously inaccurate in this guide, please, feel free to correct me.
Sosstuborx
Fri Dec 12, 2003 12:11 pm
#9
I get a "your do not have permission to use HTML" message...
What is that all about?
Col. Cristos Diaz
RevMooFoo
Fri Dec 12, 2003 12:14 pm
#10
That's because you've put in unsupported HTML code mate. Think of all the good bits of HTML and then don't try to use them...then you'll stop getting those errors...lol! 
It's probably an attempt to stop people from using dangerous code.
DemonWeb
Fri Dec 12, 2003 12:23 pm
#11
just use the built in message editor and copy the code!!!
build your sig here and right click , view source, copy the code. done....
all to easy..... -Darth
Sosstuborx
Fri Dec 12, 2003 12:32 pm
#12
____________________________________________________
N Cristos Diaz N
"...youcannot eat plutonium" - Colin Powell
"...it'd be a lot cooler if you did" - Wooderson, Dazed & Confused
____________________________________________________
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