Pulldown Help

NAME SEEN IN PULLDOWN LIST|$USER$ $WHOTO$ $SAYS$|

Those are the FIVE (5) elements you have to understand, to understand pulldowns.

NAME SEEN IN PULLDOWN LIST : Means just that. The exact word/s you will see when selecting which pulldown to use in the room.
| and | : These bars occur TWICE in each pulldown. They are programming breaks and tell the program that what comes before the first | (bar) is the name of the pulldown, and everthing else following that until the end | (bar) is to be displayed in the room, as defined by HTML coding in between the two | | (bars).
$USER$ : Means the user. The typist. The one making the post. This command tells it to display the screenname of the person posting.
$WHOTO$ : Means who the user is talking to. Who they select from the people showing in the room to direct their post to.
$SAYS$ : Means that anything they type in the message box is to be displayed in the room. **Notice on the divider example, this command is not there! What does that mean, then? It means, that what is typed in the message box while using that divider as a pulldown option, is NOT going to display in the room.

**IF you feel froggy, those $$ commands do not always have to be in the same order. Some pulldowns may have an action directed to someone ($WHOTO$) in the middle, followed by more description and then the ($SAYS$) command for the user's post.

- - - HTML coding is allowed and encouraged between the two | | (bars) in order to personalize and tailor the pulldowns to fit each room.

- - - EVERY HTML command must be CLOSED. For example, if you use an italics code , then you MUST use a to close it out. If you use a command, then you must use a command. If you use FOUR (4) commands, there MUST be FOUR (4) commands. **IF YOU DO NOT CLOSE THEM OUT, THEN IT WILL CARRY OVER INTO YOUR CHATTERS' POSTS AND THEY WILL BEAT YOU FOR IT**

- - - NO pulldowns can be named the same. For example, if you have a garage pulldown in the Bronx AND in Queens, they cannot both be named 'garage'. It is best to look at some of the examples below and notice that such things as 'Bx Garage' and 'Q Garage' would be the wisest way to handle them. If you use the same names, then ONLY the first description will display in the room, no matter where on the list they choose the pulldown from.

- - - The use of symbols is restricted to those available on standard keyboards, such as: ! @ # $ % ^ & * ( ) _ - + = . ~ . Also, only English lettering is allowed and read by the programming.

- - - Added note on LINKS in pulldowns .... when using the <a href= command, most of you are picking up on having it end in a target= command after the URL but are electing to use "blank" instead of "new". Please start using target="new". Blank will only open in a new tab or window if the current one is a fresh tab - BUT if the tab that you enter the room with was opened through a link (like for example, clicking on 'Whochat' up at the top of the forums), then that tab is considered the 'link' tab and when clicking on the a href command URL, it will use that same tab - kicking people out of the room.

Long story short : <a href="URL" target="new">URL NAME</a>

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Do NOT ever change the 'says to' pulldown NOR move it from being FIRST on the list. This pulldown is used in the hard-coding programming for making entry posts display when someone enters a room. The programming searches for 'says to' and if it doesn't find, NO entry will ever display. This pulldown will always end in '|1' and is the ONLY pulldown that will have a '1' at the end.

says to|$USER$ says to $WHOTO$: $SAYS$|1

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Be careful about changing the Privately Whispers pulldown - but all elements of it CAN be changed except the final '2'. If this pulldown does not end in '|2', then it is not private and will display to the room as a public post. This pulldown does not have to remain second in the list but most are used to finding it there.

PRIVATELY whispers to|$USER$ PRIVATELY whispers to $WHOTO$: $SAYS$|2

EXAMPLES:
(boxes below in examples are expandable)

ONE LINE:

Beach|$USER$ <center>. Is somewhere along the beach . says to $WHOTO$: $SAYS$|

TWO LINES:

NY Restaurant|$USER$ <center>. . )( . . N . e . w . Y . o . r . k . . )( . . . In a Restaurant . says to $WHOTO$: $SAYS$|

THREE LINES:

LA LB Tavern|$USER$ <center>L . O . S ~ A . N . G . E . L . E . S . . )( . . l . o . n . g ~ b . e . a . c . h . . )( . . . at or near a tavern to get their drink on . says to $WHOTO$: $SAYS$|

W/a GRAPHIC:

Field of Dreams|$USER$ <center><img src=http://galleries.roleplayevolution.com/dark/albums/userpics/10001/butterflies.png> =.=.= F I E L D . of . D R E A M S =.=.= ~ M E A D O W . L A K E ~ . Relaxing with a picnic basket . says to $WHOTO$: $SAYS$|

A --------------------------------- DIVIDER:
Dividers are used to show gaps or to differentiate between categories and groups of pulldowns. They can be as intricate or as simple as a room leader prefers. The following is an example of coding that displays a message in the room that someone did not use a legitimate pulldown.

-----------------------------------|$USER$ Is using a divider and not a pulldown for posting|