Truncated Blogs

[Silver Sidelines]

Hello Andy

 

When I go to my Blogs the titles have all been truncated - in some cases down to just one word.

 

More concerning the Blog Posts themselves have been truncated. It seems random.  Sometimes 50% is missing, sometimes there is only a couple of lines and a single picture left to read.

 

Any chance that this can all be put back as was?

 

Thanks

 

Ray

[martin_wynne]

Hi Ray,

 

This is probably related to this problem:

 

 http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/41387-bargain-hunters/page-122&do=findComment&comment=2206998

 

Pound symbols and other special characters in posts made before yesterday's software upgrade are causing the text to be truncated at that character.

 

This may be a significant problem for posts written and pasted from Microsoft Word or copied from other web pages.

 

Martin.

[Silver Sidelines]

Thanks Martin

 

Yes I had spotted your entries on the Bargains Thread.

...This may be a significant problem for posts written and pasted from Microsoft Word or copied from other web pages...

Yes - serious loss of content on my Blog.  All 130 odd posts were written in MS Word and seem to have been truncated down to a couple of lines.

 

Regards

 

Ray

[DonB]

 Got cut off by a site "time-out" last night in mid reply here.

 

Several entries in my blog has been truncated. the latest one almost completely gone! All were cut and past from Word

 

Are these lost for ever??

[Mikkel]

 Got cut off by a site "time-out" last night in mid reply here.

 

Several entries in my blog has been truncated. the latest one almost completely gone! All were cut and past from Word

 

Are these lost for ever??

 

Don, see: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/108043-new-skin-testing-particularly-for-anyone-whos-had-problems-with-editingquoting-etc/?p=2207347

[Silver Sidelines]

Hello Mikkel

 

It is good to have your input.

Don, see: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/108043-new-skin-testing-particularly-for-anyone-whos-had-problems-with-editingquoting-etc/?p=2207347

I see people are obsessed by 'pound' signs (or not as the case may be).  Like you the humble 'apostrophe' seems also to cause the wheels to fall off the wagon.

 

I have read the banner headline  - If you can avoid copying/pasting from Word or other websites and using the £ symbol this would be helpful.

 

I am hoping that this is only a temporary request - what do you think?

 

Regards

 

Ray

[martin_wynne]

I see people are obsessed by 'pound' signs (or not as the case may be).  Like you the humble 'apostrophe' seems also to cause the wheels to fall off the wagon.

 

Hi Ray,

 

That's because there is no convenient alternative to a pound symbol.

 

Whereas you have used the "proper" word-processing apostrophe, for which everyone else uses a single quote instead because it is easier to type, and which doesn't cause a problem. I've now used 3 of them here.

 

When IPS have completed their conversion, everything should return to normal and your missing text should reappear. Note the word "should" -- it's a complex and lengthy task, and there is plenty of scope for things to go wr

 

Martin.

[sharris]

I've noticed this occurs on C cediha (cedilla for the francophiles) in my Brazilian posts. I suspect it might be a problem throughout the continental sections with accented letters, rather than principally a pound problem.

[martin_wynne]

I've noticed this occurs on C cediha (cedilla for the francophiles) in my Brazilian posts. I suspect it might be a problem throughout the continental sections with accented letters, rather than principally a pound problem.

 

Hi,

 

The problem applies to all special characters, i.e. any which are not in this list:

 

 

Martin.

[Silver Sidelines]

Hi Martin

 

I am sure that you will be correct but the title of my second most recent Blog has been curtailed where I entered an apostrophe in Hornby's.  This is shown on your diagram as being  'not a special character'?

Hi,

 

The problem applies to all special characters, i.e. any which are not in this list:

 

7-bit_ascii.png

 

Martin.

It would be nice to think that it will all get sorted - eventuallly.

 

In the meantime I guess I will have to just add posts to my alternative Blog.

 

Ray

[Geoff Endacott]

That's because there is no convenient alternative to a pound symbol.

 

GBP.

 

Geoff Endacott

[martin_wynne]

Hi Martin

 

I am sure that you will be correct but the title of my second most recent Blog has been curtailed where I entered an apostrophe in Hornby's.  This is shown on your diagram as being  'not a special character'?

 

Hi Ray,

 

Did you type the single quote character ( ' ) directly into RMweb? Or into a word-processor program or copy and paste it from a web site or other blog?

 

When a word processor such as Microsoft Word sees a single quote character used within a word, i.e. not surrounding the word(s) as a quote, it changes it to an apostrophe character instead. Word processor programs have lots of these tricks, which is why you should use them only for stuff which will be printed, and never for stuff intended for web sites.

 

If you want to prepare content in advance, to be copied and pasted, always use a plain text editor such as Windows Notepad.

 

IPS say it will get fixed (they are the ones who broke it), but it could take a while. The original content should then reappear.

 

regards,

 

Martin.

[martin_wynne]

GBP.

 

Hi Geoff,

 

Yes, I have made that point several times. But getting everyone to type that instead of a pound symbol is all but impossible.

 

This discussion is now spread between several topics. Most of it is here, and on from: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/108043-new-skin-testing-particularly-for-anyone-whos-had-problems-with-editingquoting-etc/page-3&do=findComment&comment=2207267

 

Martin.

[Silver Sidelines]

Thanks Martin

 

There you are - I knew you would be correct.  I write and save all my Blog Posts using Word.  I then paste them as HTML because that way I find it easier to incude the links to my images (from Flickr).  I paste from the same source into 'Blogger' - so far without any hiccups.

.

Did you type the single quote character ( ' ) directly into RMweb? Or into a word-processor program or copy and paste it from a web site or other blog?....

Regards

 

Ray

[sharris]

If you want to prepare content in advance, to be copied and pasted, always use a plain text editor such as Windows Notepad.

 

It would be better to say use a plain text editors and a UK or US keyboard. Other language keyboards will allow accented (and other special characters) to be typed directly into Notepad, etc. There are few 'plain text' editors these days that limit you to 7-bit ASCII.

[martin_wynne]

It would be better to say use a plain text editors and a UK or US keyboard. Other language keyboards will allow accented (and other special characters) to be typed directly into Notepad, etc. There are few 'plain text' editors these days that limit you to 7-bit ASCII.

 

Yes, but the difference in Notepad is that you get what you type. Whereas word processors are liable to convert the typed characters to something else.

 

But in truth it doesn't matter now. RMweb is now storing text in UTF8, so special characters can be entered as required. The problem applies to special characters which were entered before the software upgrade to UTF8.

 

The main objection to word processors, which hasn't changed, is that you are liable to get scrambled formatting in the conversion to BBcode.

 

Martin.

[martin_wynne]

Hi Martin

 

I am sure that you will be correct but the title of my second most recent Blog has been curtailed where I entered an apostrophe in Hornby's.  This is shown on your diagram as being  'not a special character'?

It would be nice to think that it will all get sorted - eventuallly.

 

Hi Ray,

 

Your blog is back with the apostrophe now as a question mark -- which means it wasn't a single quote in the database, however you entered it.

 

 http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/880/entry-17352-Hornby%E2%80%99s-class-52xx-tanks-design-variation-or-qa/

 

regards,

 

Martin.

[Silver Sidelines]

Thanks Martin

.

Your blog is back with the apostrophe now as a question mark -- which means it wasn't a single quote in the database, however you entered it...

Oh that it was that simple!  The title of a recent Blog (The Times They Are a-Changin') with both a hyphen and an apostrophe has remianed intact throught the debacle.  In most other places there are as you say  'question marks' where there were both apostrophes and hyphens.

 

I have been using MS Word for technical reports since it was first made available and it would never have occurred to me to use anything else.

 

Regards

 

Ray

[martin_wynne]

Oh that it was that simple!  The title of a recent Blog (The Times They Are a-Changin') with both a hyphen and an apostrophe has remained intact throughout the debacle.

 

Hi Ray,

 

I looked at your own blog. This entry has a single quote character (not a special character) at the end of the title (because it is not within a word, so not changed by Word): http://longsheds.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/no127-times-they-are-changin.html

 

This entry has an apostrophe character (a special character) in the title (Word probably changed it because it is within a word): http://longsheds.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/no129-hornbys-class-52xx-tanks.html

 

If you compare the two characters, they are clearly different.

 

regards,

 

Martin.

[Mikkel]

Hi Ray

 

Thanks Martin

Oh that it was that simple!  The title of a recent Blog (The Times They Are a-Changin') with both a hyphen and an apostrophe has remianed intact throught the debacle.  In most other places there are as you say  'question marks' where there were both apostrophes and hyphens.

 

I have been using MS Word for techincal reports since it was first made available and it would never have occurred to me to use anything else.

 

Regards

 

Ray

 

Hi Ray, could it be that the text where the apostrophes remain intact was written directly onto RMweb, while the text bits where you now have question marks was copied in from elsewhere?

 

In my own blog entries there are several instances where *within the same sentence* an apostrophe has been replaced with a question mark in one word, then in the following word the apostrophe is as it should be. I put this down to me having copied text in (resulting in question marks), but then afterwards having edited/adjusted some sentences directly in the RMweb interface (which is why those words are still fine). Eg in the caption under the black and white pic of the crate here, you will see quotation marks that have been replaced, while others have not: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/75/entry-15607-what-really-happened-in-the-cuban-missile-crisis/ 

[Silver Sidelines]

Thanks Mikkel

 

Who knows

..could it be that the text where the apostrophes remain intact was written directly onto RMweb, while the text bits where you now have question marks was copied in from elsewhere?..

As others have said - we shouldn't need to concern ourselves.  Maybe another case of people not being able to think outside the box - I would say a failing of modern education.

 

Regards

 

Ray

[Silver Sidelines]

Thanks Martin for taking time to explain.

 

Prior to this latest episode I had marvelled at the fact that Word would automatically provide apostrophes of the correct shape at the beginning and end of a quote.  This had come to my attention because on one occasion I had deleted an apostrophe but the replacement was a different shape.

 

Now what about the hyphens - is that the same explanation?  Where I have used a hyphen within a word it has stayed put throughout all the software changes.  Where I have used hyphens as a break within a sentance, surrounded by spaces - these have been treated as special characters and currently have been replaced by question marks.

...I looked at your own blog. This entry has a single quote character (not a special character) at the end of the title (because it is not within a word, so not changed by Word): http://longsheds.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/no127-times-they-are-changin.html

 

This entry has an apostrophe character (a special character) in the title (Word probably changed it because it is within a word): http://longsheds.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/no129-hornbys-class-52xx-tanks.html..

Thanks again

 

Ray

[martin_wynne]

Now what about the hyphens - is that the same explanation?

 

Hi Ray,

 

Yes. There are at least 4 different characters -- arithmetic minus (used between numbers), hyphen (used within words) N-dash and M-dash (used between words).

 

They all have different lengths and/or have different amounts of space at each end, or space below them (minus is at the mid-height of upper case characters, hyphen is at the mid-height of lower case characters). But not all fonts reflect this.

 

Microsoft Word changes what you type to the appropriate character, according to the rules. The only one which is not a special character is minus, although in most cases it is interchangeable with hyphen.

 

For dashes in plain text I normally type 2 keyboard characters -- like this.

 

regards,

 

Martin.

[Silver Sidelines]

Well done Andy (and all of those people involved)

..now fixed....

Just checking in later on Sunday evening.  After a quick canter through some of my Blog Posts I can report that all seem to have returned to their previous unaltered state.  Somebody has had a busy weekend.

 

Thanks again

Ray

[DonB]

Just checked....an earlier recovery of blog was peppered with question marks where apostrophes etc were in the text.

 

These have now disappeared and text is back to original.

 

Thanks Andy and the gang.