Factbook Clinic

SillyString

SillyString

TNPer
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So... as much as I hate to admit it, I have no idea how to format a factbook nicely. Obviously I know the common bits of BBCode (aka, things used on this forum, the WFE, or the RMB), but I'm clueless on the fancier stuff - color or image backgrounds, inset images with text wrapping, etc. And this is holding me back from writing mine, because whenever I sit down to get some done, I get distracted by how to make it look better.

I figure I can't be the only one who has no idea what they're doing with factbook formatting, so I thought I might open a thread for people who know it better to help out those still figuring it out, like me.

Anybody up for this? :)
 
I'm in the same boat, shockingly enough. Despite everything, I have serious troubles dealing with the coding for dispatches/factbooks.
 
[nocode]Let's see... don't think you can have image backgrounds, but for color backgrounds you can do [background=#XXXXXX] or [background-block=#XXXXXX]. Background-block covers the whole horizontal area instead of just the areas with the text.

Inset images with text wrapping: In-line you can just do the standard . You can also float the image so that text wraps around it on the opposite side with [floatleft] and [floatright].

I can provide screenshots for all of the above if requested, since I probably didn't do the best job at explaining.[/nocode]
 
I would do one of two things:

1. Have Kalti help you.

2. Ask someone in Esquarium for help. I have Vordallia there. It's an amazing RP region. Geadland, who Madjack mentioned, is there too.
 
Darcania:
[nocode]Let's see... don't think you can have image backgrounds, but for color backgrounds you can do [background=#XXXXXX] or [background-block=#XXXXXX]. Background-block covers the whole horizontal area instead of just the areas with the text.

Inset images with text wrapping: In-line you can just do the standard . You can also float the image so that text wraps around it on the opposite side with [floatleft] and [floatright].

I can provide screenshots for all of the above if requested, since I probably didn't do the best job at explaining.[/nocode][/quote]Brilliant! :tb2:

[spoiler=Have a pie][img]http://readmoreinn.com/wp-content/uploads/meat-pie-790x443.jpg[/spoiler]
Click to expand...
 
Here's the raw code for mine, if you want to do something that looks like a Wikipedia page:

ETA: Wow, never mind, that did not go well.

If anything on mine looks like something you want to use, let me know and I'll give you the code for it.
 
As always SillyString, feel free to peruse my Factbook here: http://www.nationstates.net/nation=kalti/detail=factbook/id=main

Individual dispatch pages can be found here: http://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatches/nation=kalti

And yes, I did find a way to use a Factbook entry as the main page with nineteen other pages constituting the details of my nation. If you have any questions or want to know how I did the code for a particular page, feel free to ask here, send me a forum PM, or a telegram on the NS website.
 
Kalti:
And yes, I did find a way to use a Factbook entry as the main page with nineteen other pages constituting the details of my nation.
Click to expand...
For those wondering, there are two ways to get around the hard limit (don't remember what the exact number is) to how many Factbooks you may have:
  1. Make a puppet and place all non-main Factbooks in that puppet's Factbook, and link to those in your main Factbook. This is Syrixia's method.
  2. Categorize all non-main Factbooks as Account ? Other, as there is no hard limit to how many Dispatches you may have. This is Kalti's method.
This also, conveniently enough, ensures that visitors, when clicking your Factbook link, are immediately led to your Factbook's main page instead of a list of your published Factbooks.
 
Darcania:
Kalti:
And yes, I did find a way to use a Factbook entry as the main page with nineteen other pages constituting the details of my nation.
Click to expand...
For those wondering, there are two ways to get around the hard limit (don't remember what the exact number is) to how many Factbooks you may have:
  1. Make a puppet and place all non-main Factbooks in that puppet's Factbook, and link to those in your main Factbook. This is Syrixia's method.
  2. Categorize all non-main Factbooks as Account ? Other, as there is no hard limit to how many Dispatches you may have. This is Kalti's method.
This also, conveniently enough, ensures that visitors, when clicking your Factbook link, are immediately led to your Factbook's main page instead of a list of your published Factbooks.
Click to expand...
Shush you... that's a trade secret... :P
 
Lord Ravenclaw:
Hm, that sounds like what Lennart does.
Click to expand...
It's a long story.

And by that I mean Herrebrugh made up the idea and Lennart got it from Herrebrugh and I got it from Lennart and Kalti got it from me.
 
I thought Lennart linked to dispatches by Ava1on?

Edit: Btw, anybody who wants to share code for their factbooks can use the code tag:
Code: 
this is code! [b][list][nation][/nation][/list][/b] etc
 
This is the code Lennart sent me a while back.. and I use it in my factbook! It may require some slight changes, but I'm sure you're more than up to that ;)

Code: 
[floatright][background-block=lavender][font=georgia][align=justify][table]
[tr]
[hr]
[center][color=midnightblue][b*][Size=120]Name of your country[/size][/b*][/color][/center]
[/tr]
[hr*]
[tr][td][center][IMG]http://i39.tinypic.com/afjznk.png[/IMG][/center]
[center][size=85](Flag)[/size][/center][/td][td]
[center]link to your Coat of Arms here, I use Tinypic, but any hosting will do, using the IMG tag, as in the flag[/center]
[center][size=85](Coat of Arms)[/size][/center]
[/td][/tr]
[/table]
[table]
[tr][center][b*][color=lavender]*[/color] Motto: [/b*][i*] "your motto" [color=lavender]*[/color][/i*][/center]
[/tr]
[tr]
[center][b*]Anthem: [/b*][i*]*=your Anthem URL name of the song[/i*]* [/center]
[/tr]
[hr]
[tr][center]here's where I placed the map, most people take maps from RW[/center]
[center][size=85](Map of the Isle of Avalon)[/size][/center][/tr]
[hr][tr][td][center][b*]Ruler: [/b*][/center][/td][td][center]your ruler[/center]
[/td][/tr]
[tr][td][center][b*]Capital: [/b*][/center][/td][td][center]your capital city[/center]
[/td][/tr]
[tr][td][center][b*]Demonym: [/b*][/center][/td][td][center]blah blah[/center]
[/td][/tr]
[tr][td][center][b*]Government: [/b*][/center][/td][td][center]blah blah blah[/center]
[/td][/tr]
[tr][td][center][b*]Currency: [/b*][/center][/td][td][center]whatever[/center]
[/td][/tr]
[tr][td][center][b*]Language: [/b*][/center][/td][td][center]whatever[/center]
[/td][/tr]
[tr][td][center][b*]Allegiance: [/b*][/center][/td][td][center][region*]The North Pacific[/region*][/center]
[/td][/tr]
[/table]
[/align][/font][/background-block][/floatright]
[align=left]
[size=160][font=georgia][color=midnightblue]title[/color][/font][/size]
[tab=60]Welcome to blah blah blah. The TAB tag is for indentation[/tab]
[tab=60]Blah blah blah blah blah[/tab]
[center][color=midnightblue][size=200]?[/size][/color][/center]
[size=160][font=georgia][color=midnightblue]title 2[/color][/font][/size]
[tab=60]text2 aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa a a a a aaa a a a a a a aaaaaaa a a a whatever[/tab][/align]
 
SillyString:
Edit: Btw, anybody who wants to share code for their factbooks can use the code tag:
Code: 
this is code! [b][list][nation][/nation][/list][/b] etc
Click to expand...
Unless I'm doing a full tutorial or placing down a long code, I prefer explaining individual codes using [nocode][nocode][/nocode]. For example, [nocode][nocode][/nocode][/nocode]. Unfortunately, it doesn't work on custom BBCode tags that require JavaScript (specifically, the script that this site and likely many others use, http://z1.ifrm.com/0/2/0/p401849/bbtags31_xanik.js) like nation and region.
 
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