The HeadWize forums are currently hosted with a custom application, but the original forum application was the Ultimate Bulletin Board (freeware version, circa 1999). UBB code was the set of simplified tags for formatting text posted to the UBB forum. For continuity (and because UBB code has become a standard in many forums), the HeadWize forums still use UBB code.

UBB Code is a variation on the HTML tags you may already be familiar with. Basically, it allows you to add functionality or style to your message that would normally require HTML. You can use UBB Code even if HTML is not enabled for the forum you are using. You may want to use UBB Code as opposed to HTML, even if HTML is enabled for your forum, because less coding is required.

Current UBB Codes:

URL Hyperlinking There are 3 ways to post a link: type out the full HTML URL format, let auto-link handle the conversion or enclose the URL in UBB [URL] tags. If the HTML option is enabled for posts, auto-linking automatically converts any standalone URL in the text of a message that starts with "http://" and is not part another HTML or UBB tag set. You can combine all 3 URL formats in a post. The advantage of HTML or UBB code is that you can create links with titles. Auto-links use the URL itself as a title, which is not very descriptive and can be very long. The UBB [URL] tag is easier to use than the HTML version. To add a UBB hyperlink to your message, just encase the link as shown in the following example (UBB Code is in red). [url]www.headwize.com[/url] In the example above, the URL is between the [URL] tag set. The UBB Code automatically generates a hyperlink to the URL with that same URL as the title of the link. It will also ensure that the link is opened in a new window when the user clicks on it. Note that the "http://" part of the URL is completely optional. [url=www.headwize.com]HeadWize[/url] In this next example, the URL is an attribute of the first URL tag and the title is between the [URL] tag set. The UBB Code automatically generates a hyperlink to the URL with the specified title. It will also ensure that the link is opened in a new window when the user clicks on it. Note that the "http://" part of the URL is completely optional.

Email Links To add a hyperlinked email address within your message, just encase the email address as shown in the following example (UBB Code is in red). [email]webmaster@headwize.com[/email] In the example above, the UBB Code automatically generates a hyperlink to the email address that is encased.

Bold and Italics You can make italicize text or make text bold by encasing the applicable sections of your text with wither the [b] [/b] or [i] [/i] tags. Hello, [b]James[/b] Hello, [i]Mary[/i]

Adding Images To add a graphic within your message, just encase the URL of the graphic image as shown in the following example (UBB Code is in red). [img]http://www.headwize.com/ubbimages/logo.gif[/img] In the example above, the UBB Code automatically makes the graphic visible in your message. Note: the "http://" part of the URL is REQUIRED for the [img] code. Also note: some UBB forums may disable the [img] tag support to prevent objectionable images from being viewed.

Quoting Other Messages There are two ways to quote text: 1. [quote]text[/quote] and 2. [quote=author]text[/quote]. Cut and paste the text and enclose it as shown below (UBB Code is in red). [QUOTE]Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio: a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy.[/QUOTE] displays as: quote: Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio: a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy. In the first example, the [quote][/quote] tags automatically blockquote the text you reference. [QUOTE=shakespeare]Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio: a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy.[/QUOTE] displays as: quote: [By shakespeare] Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio: a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy. In the second example, the author's name is included as an attribute of the opening QUOTE tag.

Incorrect UBB Code Usage:

[url] www.headwize.com [/url] - don't put spaces between the bracketed code and the text you are aplying the code to.

[email]webmaster@headwize.com[email] - the end brackets must include a forward slash ([/email])