Feature request -- save draft in dgrin

[rutt]

The apple support discussions BB has this feature and I've wished for it on dgrin many times. I've written quite a number of long posts and I've lost hours of work by accidentially hitting the back button or initiating a google search while composing my posts. It would be really great to be able to save intermediate drafts without actually posting them.

How hard would this be?

Workaround -- compose posts in text editor and then cut and paste to drin. It's not perfect at all because you have to add the pictures one at a time after composition.

[Andy]

The apple support discussions BB has this feature and I've wished for it on dgrin many times. I've written quite a number of long posts and I've lost hours of work by accidentially hitting the back button or initiating a google search while composing my posts. It would be really great to be able to save intermediate drafts without actually posting them.

How hard would this be?

Workaround -- compose posts in text editor and then cut and paste to drin. It's not perfect at all because you have to add the pictures one at a time after composition.

rutt,

i looked in vbulletin help, couldn't find such a feature. if you can find it, let me know and we'll look into it. until then, yeah, do what many of us do, compose long or detailed posts in a text editor and then paste.

ps: does the board you reference in your question use vbulletin? if so, perhaps you could ask them how they've done it?

[David_S85]

2nd Rutts' idea and have also experienced lost messages. When I try a "Preview Post" and discover an error, and then go back, all what I wrote and picture links are gone. I've also tried highlighting and the copy/paste into Notepad or WordPad trick, but the text formatting becomes broken up and strange in the translation to and from.

Over at that other place (DPR) they also had a preview post function, but it saved what was written if I had to recompost, pictures et all. Real nice for the longer posts. If there's any way to do this here, then by all means, it would be a swell idea. :wink

One other kinda posting gripe here... when inserting multiple pics in posts, why is it that I have a reply or post I'm working on with a picture being added (from my server), example...

text
text
text
<--- a picture being inserted here
more text
text
text
<-- another picture being inserted here
still more text
etc.
etc.

Problem is that sometimes a picture being inserted in one of those places above insists on being appended to the very bottom of the text instead of in the middle where I want to insert it. Why is that? :dunno Or is it just me? (using WIN, IE5.5). Odd thing is that sometimes it works perfect, and other times it doesn't. Anyone have a clue what I'm doing wrong?

[rutt]

What version of vbulletin does dgrin use? I googled for
vbulletin "save draft"
and it seems that a save draft feature is availalbe in 2, released last February. http://www.vbulletin.org/forum/showpost.php?p=628547&postcount=55

There also seems to be a separate "save draft" feature:
http://www.vbulletin.org/forum/archive/index.php/t-74837.html

When I know that I am going to compose a long post, I do it in my text editor, but I've still lost zillions of posts I was composing. Unlike other bb's I use, dgrin seems very fragile in this respect. Firefox->back loses a message. Can't visit a new page and then go back and still have post.

So it would be GREAT to have this feature and it seems to have been in the code base for more than a year. Can we get it, please? Pretty please?

[Andy]

What version of vbulletin does dgrin use? I googled for
vbulletin "save draft"
and it seems that a save draft feature is availalbe in 2, released last February. http://www.vbulletin.org/forum/showpost.php?p=628547&postcount=55

There also seems to be a separate "save draft" feature:
http://www.vbulletin.org/forum/archive/index.php/t-74837.html

When I know that I am going to compose a long post, I do it in my text editor, but I've still lost zillions of posts I was composing. Unlike other bb's I use, dgrin seems very fragile in this respect. Firefox->back loses a message. Can't visit a new page and then go back and still have post.

So it would be GREAT to have this feature and it seems to have been in the code base for more than a year. Can we get it, please? Pretty please?

it appears that save draft is in v 3.0.5 and we're running on 3.0.3

i'll bring this to baldy's attn.

andy

[rutt]

it appears that save draft is in v 3.0.5 and we're running on 3.0.3

i'll bring this to baldy's attn.

andy
Thanks. Maybe we'll get some other features and/or bug fixes as well.

[wxwax]

IIRC, changing versions of vBulletin is no small task. :uhoh

[Andy]

IIRC, changing versions of vBulletin is no small task. :uhoh

well, hopefully it's not a biggie - but baldy will tell us. fyi it's not a version upgrade, just a release upgrade...

[patch29]

This does not look to be part of the vbulletin software, but a script written by a third party. Here is a quote from the first post in his thread, given that it is a mod it will probably not be installed.

This is a difficult mod to install


I read a semi work around which would be to create a PM and send it to yourself to save for later and have the ability to edit and use the forum tools. I have not tried to do that, no problems creating post or editing them elsewhere. :dunno

[rutt]

Just in replying right now, I demonstrated the problem. It was only a three sentence reply, but I have this new mouse with buttons on the side that send firefox back and forward. And I accidentially hit the back button and now I'm reentering my post. Doesn't this sort of thing happen to others?

Anyway, let's not second guess Don and Chris. I think it's a good idea not to be too far behind in software versions. We don't have to be on the cutting edge, but we shouldn't be frozen.

[patch29]

I tried a test in both Firefox and Safari. Firefox does reload if I go back and cancel what I have, Safari keeps my info if I just go back one page. :dunno

[wxwax]

Firefox keeps my deathless prose if I go back one page and then return.

[rutt]

Firefox keeps my deathless prose if I go back one page and then return.
There are big differences between windows, os x, and linux firefox versions. I learned this because I had a few os x only bugs.

Look it doesn't really matter. Save draft is a nice but not an essential feature. There are probably other nice things in newer versions of VB. So if Don and/or Chris think an upgrade is not too scary it would be nice. If not, fine. Is the plan to live with the current version forever? That's a decision I can understand, but it wouldn't be my decision. At some point, changes in os versons, web server, and the other parts of the platform will force an upgrade to VB. So, IMHO, it's good not to be afraid of upgrading at the right time.

[pathfinder]

Just in replying right now, I demonstrated the problem. It was only a three sentence reply, but I have this new mouse with buttons on the side that send firefox back and forward. And I accidentially hit the back button and now I'm reentering my post. Doesn't this sort of thing happen to others?

Anyway, let's not second guess Don and Chris. I think it's a good idea not to be too far behind in software versions. We don't have to be on the cutting edge, but we shouldn't be frozen.


Yup - it happens to me all the time since I am a mediocre typist, and occaisionally hit the wrong key, sending Firefox forward or backward and them WHAM!! my post is the twilight zone!

Using a text editor is a possible soution - I have also used the e-mail form in Yahoo's emailer for very long posts - but usually I forget about it until after I have already lost the post I was composing. I kind of thought it was just me - but I should know better. If there is one thing I have learned in this life, it is that if I am having issues, I am not alone!! :D

[wxwax]

There are big differences between windows, os x, and linux firefox versions. I learned this because I had a few os x only bugs.




Hmmm, I think I just heard you say that Windows is superior. Gotta get my ears checked. :lol3

[rutt]

Hmmm, I think I just heard you say that Windows is superior. Gotta get my ears checked. :lol3
Yeah, you do. My position is very consistent. I don't think any single computer software system is consistently better than any other or even very good compared to what it might be. So you have to make do with what you have. I'm not a mac maniac, a linux luney, or a windows weenie. I commonly use all three every day. Let a thousand flowers bloom.

[rutt]

I just did it again. What started off as a short reply grew to a few paragraphs and then *bam* I hit the back button on the side of the mouse and it was lost. Please, please, Chris or Don, at least take this seriously enough to reply. No is the second best answer. Thanks.

[wxwax]

I just did it again. What started off as a short reply grew to a few paragraphs and then *bam* I hit the back button on the side of the mouse and it was lost. Please, please, Chris or Don, at least take this seriously enough to reply. No is the second best answer. Thanks.
Bummer. :cry

Got my ears, checked, BTW. Turns out they're fine. :evil


:lol3

[rutt]

bump

[Baldy]

I like to keep vBulletin up to the latest release when I can and we're a few dot releases behind right now. I've been following the dot releases and they've fixed a few bugs or plugged security holes that didn't affect us much.

My philosophy has been to upgrade if there are features we need but not risk instability if we don't gain anything.

Generally, upgrades are not too hard if hacks are not present, like the ones on vBulletin.org (an independent site with third-party add-ons). I have a few hacks installed on ADVrider and I've found that you have to have an "I'm feeling lucky" attitude to try them. I really loved one of them on ADVrider but finally gave it up when ADVrider got big and the hack made us slow. I had to diagnose it myself and figure out how to remove it because vBulletin support won't support you if you've installed a hack.

The vBulletin.org add-on (hack) that saves drafts says:

Saving a draft will run (1) query!
All admin panel actions never use more than (2) db calls, tested the db so both MySQL 3 and 4 are both supported!

That (1) query is a database write... and I dunno if he tested those (2) DB calls on a big board, which is our destiny. Dgrin is still a cinch to keep running but ADVrider is tough because it's so big. I suspect dgrin will be bigger than ADVrider one day.

So... we'd be taking a risk of slowing dgrin or crashing it as it gets bigger and having the hack break as we upgrade and find the hack writer didn't keep it up with future releases of vBulletin.

Is this feature important enough to take those risks?

[rutt]

I didn't understand that save draft was not in the main line of releases. Probably not worth it then. What would be great would be to figure out why windows firefox (acording to Sid) doesn't lose draft on back/forward but mac (and linux) firefox do. It wouldn't be so bad if that didn't happen. Maybe there is some hidden about:config thing we can dhange. I'll do a little research...

[Baldy]

Cool. I hadn't run into the problem, probably because I use Windows a lot on dgrin. I'll have to check my Mac and see whassup.

[Andy]

I'll have to check my Mac and see whassup.

it's not an issue (for me at least) running os x and safari...

[patch29]

I noticed it will automatically reload a new reply page if I go back and then forward in Firefox (mac), but not in Safari. I mainly use Safari, so it is a non-issue, but I check FF when Rutt mentioned what was happening. I also get a very different reply window in FF vs Safari, more tools and the text box is dark grey with white type. I prefer the simpler look on Safari.



What about reprogramming your mouse buttons so you cannot accidentally go back and lose you work?

[rutt]

I noticed it will automatically reload a new reply page if I go back and then forward in Firefox (mac), but not in Safari. I mainly use Safari, so it is a non-issue, but I check FF when Rutt mentioned what was happening. I also get a very different reply window in FF vs Safari, more tools and the text box is dark grey with white type. I prefer the simpler look on Safari.



What about reprogramming your mouse buttons so you cannot accidentally go back and lose you work?
That's not the only way this problem is caused. I used to do it all the time in other ways as well (following a link forward.)

[rutt]

OK, I tried a bunch of things on a bunch of platforms.

Could not reproduce Sid's behavior. Brand new firefox and brand new Windows XP, type into text box back, forward, box no only cleared but accepts no new input.
Safari behaves as Patch and Andy reported, text is retained after back and forward. It presents a simplified interface without undo/redo, e.g.
Firefox on linux, same as on os x.
Sid, maybe you can share your config:about pages? Might be a clue there.

I tried to register and post a question about this on the vbulletin community site, but seems you have to be an actual customer with a valid number to do that.

[wxwax]

OK, I tried a bunch of things on a bunch of platforms.

Could not reproduce Sid's behavior. Brand new firefox and brand new Windows XP, type into text box back, forward, box no only cleared but accepts no new input.
Safari behaves as Patch and Andy reported, text is retained after back and forward. It presents a simplified interface without undo/redo, e.g.
Firefox on linux, same as on os x.
Sid, maybe you can share your config:about pages? Might be a clue there.

I tried to register and post a question about this on the vbulletin community site, but seems you have to be an actual customer with a valid number to do that.

Sure, no problem. Where do I find that info?

[rutt]

Sure, no problem. Where do I find that info?

Before we get into this, here is a question. Who is using the "inhanced Interface - Full WSYWYG Editing" for posts? I find that if I use the standard editor, even in enhanced mode (whatever that does), I can go forward/back no problem, no text lost on all platforms. If I check this option in safari, I don't in fact get the inhanced interface, but rather the standard editor. So that might explain why Andy and Patch have no problems. Sid, show is this option set? When you insert a photo into a post, do you see it right away, or only after you do a "preview post"?

So there might be a reason that the WSYWYG editing thing loses its state and this might even be a vbulletin bug.

Baldy? Don?

[wxwax]

I don't know nuthin' 'bout no enhanced interface. I click on Reply or New Thread and go about my bidness. :dunno And I never, ever preview my replies. I heard a long time ago in a different galaxy that bad things happen when you do that, so I don't. I post, then hit Edit to correct my multiple mistakes. When I link to or attach a photo, I don't see it until I submit my post.

Does that help?

[rutt]

I don't know nuthin' 'bout no enhanced interface. I click on Reply or New Thread and go about my bidness. :dunno And I never, ever preview my replies. I heard a long time ago in a different galaxy that bad things happen when you do that, so I don't. I post, then hit Edit to correct my multiple mistakes. When I link to or attach a photo, I don't see it until I submit my post.

Does that help?
Tends to confirm my theory. The issue seems to be with the "Full WYSIWYG" interface. Patch, do you see photos you post while composing? Andy? I bet not.

Maybe I'll just switch over. But I'd very much like Baldy or Don to report this to the Vbulletin support people and see if it's a known issue and if not maybe it can eventually be fixed. If it helps, I'd be happy to write the bug report.

The WYSIWYG interface is nice. It would be too bad to lose it.

[patch29]

I never, ever preview my replies. I heard a long time ago in a different galaxy that bad things happen when you do that, so I don't.

In that other galaxy it had to do with losing an attached image, not sure if it is a problem here or not, since I usually do not attach images and if I do I don't preview them, but if I have linked a lot of images I will often preview to make sure everything looks right.

[patch29]

Tends to confirm my theory. The issue seems to be with the "Full WYSIWYG" interface. Patch, do you see photos you post while composing? Andy? I bet not.


I think you are onto something. I do not get the WYSIWYG interface in Safari, but I do in Firefox, no option to turn it off either, maybe it is in the CP? It is annoying and I have a good idea of what it will look like anyway, so no loss to me.

[rutt]

I think you are onto something. I do not get the WYSIWYG interface in Safari, but I do in Firefox, no option to turn it off either, maybe it is in the CP? It is annoying and I have a good idea of what it will look like anyway, so no loss to me.
It's in the CP, near the bottom of the options page. I don't think it works in Safari and I'm pretty sure that Sid has it turned off. So evidence is growing that this is a nice feature of vbulletin that doesn't quite work.

[Baldy]

I surfed through the chatter in the forums at vBulletin.com and found some comments about how Firefox works differently than IE, but I didn't stumble across quite this issue, at least that I recognized.

I think what I'll do is upgrade to the latest version because I noticed a few bug fixes that had to do with display, so maybe we'll get lucky and find this has been solved.

[rutt]

I surfed through the chatter in the forums at vBulletin.com and found some comments about how Firefox works differently than IE, but I didn't stumble across quite this issue, at least that I recognized.

FWIW, I got the exact same results with IE and Firefox on windows. WSYSWYG editor always loses state with forward/back. I don't think it has anything to do with the browsers at all.

[Andy]

i use safari, which trods along like harry in the swamp with either the standard editor or the enhanced interface (full wysiwyg) -- incidentally sid both are available under user cp> edit options, then look near the bottom.

anyhow, safari works great with the basic editor, so that's what i've been using. i never have a problem with losing posts....

hth,

[Andy]

FWIW, I got the exact same results with IE and Firefox on windows. WSYSWYG editor always loses state with forward/back. I don't think it has anything to do with the browsers at all.

but it doesn't do this in safari. i just tested, switched to wysiwyg and have gone fwd/back without loss of state.

[rutt]

but it doesn't do this in safari. i just tested, switched to wysiwyg and have gone fwd/back without loss of state.
You have to be very careful when you do this experiment. I just repeated. if you set the full WYSIWYG option in the User CP, my version of safari doesn't actually do it. I still get the standard editor. And I can still go fwd/back without loss of state, but images added to posts don't show inlinie and there is no undo/redo tool. I think we know that this even makes sense because the vbulletin code checks the firefox version before deciding that it is really allowed to have the WYSIWSG editor. The code has some fairly select lists of browsers and versions that are allowed to do this.

So you have to insert an image or a quote and see if it shows up the way it's going to look after you post. You have to make sure the undo/redo tools show. I'd be surprised if I were wrong, but if I am I want to know because it would mean that it is possible for the full WYSIWYG to have nonbroken fwd/back in some browsers (but safari would be an odd choice, since it doesn't work in IE either.)

[rutt]

I was able to reproduce the problem with WYSIWYG editor and back/forward on vbulletin.com and so reported a bug. Bug number is 3946.