Tips for making organized lists
Jul 14, 2015 21:40:43 GMT -6
Arcueid Brunestud, Ciel, and 2 more like this
Post by jim on Jul 14, 2015 21:40:43 GMT -6
Planning the list:
Ordered and Bulletted lists are a great way to organize and present information. But without a little thought and planning they can quickly become disorganized and out of control. So here are some tips regarding their use.
Guidelines:
So as an example of these guidelines I will use a list I created from another thread. The idea I proposed for when we were briefly discussing restructuring the forums.
So here you can see that my main two topics that I wanted to cover were thing happening that were solely related to the subject of the forum and things that were related to the people here, but not related to the subject of the boards. This makes up the base of the list. Very general broad topics that can usually listed in one or two words. Here there are only two. They can easily be referenced by name, and are basically tied together as they are the Forum. So here we use bullets.
From here each has a sub-list. Now while they all have the common theme of being segments of the two main topics, they are, at their core, separate stand alone items that should be considered individually. So numbering/roman numerals instead of bullets.
Now in the first and second third-level sub-list bullets were used as these items were all meant to be broad topics that all held to a common theme, and were describing the overall content of the parent item, as opposed to specific individual parts or components of the parent item. So bullets it is.
Lastly take the third sub-list. Here I used Numbers again. This is because in part, the items do stand on their own very well, but I also wanted to emphasize that these were to be considered as individual items not as common aspects of a single whole. These did not describe content so much as they specified an explicit separation within the parent item/topic.
And that's how you plan out a good list.
Making and Building the list:
The forums provide functions for making ordered/bullet list, but their usage can be a bit tricky if you are not familiar with them.
In the full reply page tool bar you will notice a button for making these lists.
When you click on the button you will be presented with the following dialog.
Here you are allowed to enter how many items you want in your list to start with, as well as a drop down menu with choices for how you want to label your items.
From here you can choose one of three different bullet styles or you can choose an ordered list style using numbers, letter, or roman numerals.
The main difference here is that bullet styles always have the same symbol before each item. With ordered lists the first item always starts with the first element of the style chosen (1, a, I, etc.) and then increments that element for every item in the list. If you insert a new item in the list, the remaining items after it will automatically be renumbered.
So to start with we'll create a bulleted list with five items. It will show up like this:
If you want to add a new item all you have to do is move your cursor to the end of a line, hit enter, and you get this:
Now sub-lists can be a little tricky. This is done by using the list button again while the cursor is inside the list. However, the placement of the cursor DOES make a difference. Notice where the cursor is in this picture.
If you put the cursor here and use the list button it will create an indented sub-list. I'm going to do a 4 item sub-list using numbers. That creates this.
Now notice that extra space where the arrow is pointing? That extra separator is optional. You can leave it there if you like the look of it, or you can remove it by putting your cursor on that line and pressing backspace. Do be mindful that unless you want to go doing code editing, once you remove the extra line you cannot get it back short of removing the sub-list and making a new one as described above.
Speaking of code! In case you are wondering, I'll switch to the BBCode view to let you see the codes generated thus far. This is what the BBCode that the list button has generated for the two lists.
Not pretty is it? But with a little attention to detail and codes and some careful formatting we can make it look like this:
Now, know that once you switch back to "Preview" mode or submit the post the code will not retain the formatting you've given it. If you go back to preview, or edit the post the code will go back to looking like what it did when you first opened the BBCode view.
One last item of note. It is possible in the Preview pane to "Bork" the list by using the list button on an item line that is empty. So if you are in a list and hit enter to create a new item (which is blank), don't enter any text, and use the list button to insert a new list, this is what you will get.
At this point you can access the sub-list items but not the parent item. The cursor will always skip around it. Unless this is what you were going for there are only two ways to correct this. The first is to delete the entire sub-list you just created, add your text to the parent item, and create the sub-list again. The second is to go into the code and manually enter some text before the code for the sub-list. This will move the sub-list back out onto its own line.
Lastly I present to you the codes that are used.
ol = Ordered List This command starts and stops an ordered list. It is used with the type attribute.
ul = Unorderd List This command starts and stops an unordered list. It is used with the type attribute.
li = List Item This command marks the beginning and end of each item in a list.
These commands, like all BBCodes, must be inside brackets with matching termination commands preceded by a / and inside brackets.
The type attribute has several options that correspond to the items in the drop down menu of the Insert List dialog. Those options are
disc
circle
square
decimal
upper-alpha
lower-alpha
upper-roman
lower-roman
To use them, after the ol or ul command and inside the brackets simply insert type= with the option you want in quotations.
That's all I have. If XombieMike wish to add anything or anyone else has some tips or tricks feel free to add them!
Ordered and Bulletted lists are a great way to organize and present information. But without a little thought and planning they can quickly become disorganized and out of control. So here are some tips regarding their use.
Guidelines:
- Determine the number of broadest, most general headings/labels that you'll need to cover the information you wish to convey and make each of those a main point in the base list.
- For both the main (base level) list and the sub-lists it is considered good practice to use Bulletted labels for points that are aspects of the parent topic/item that all share a theme. If the things on the list or sub-list are separate items that could stand alone or have no significant association or dependency use numbered or lettered labels.
- Numbering/lettering can also be used to emphasize considering the items in the list with separation and individual focus. Bullets can be used to emphasize treating the items as a single unit that should be considered together as a whole.
- Do not be afraid to use phrases or "broken sentences" exclusively to make up the points throughout the list at all levels. Even single words are acceptable. Remember! This is a list, not an essay.
- A list does not have to be any deeper than one level. However, in practice it is a good rule to try not to exceed three levels. Four levels is ok when the information being conveyed covers or necessitates that degree of both detail and overall scope of view. It is not a good idea to exceed 5 levels. If you find yourself needing more than five levels for more than a single sub-list at that sixth level you should consider breaking your list at the top levels into individual lists.
- If you intend to reference specific items in a list later in a discussion it is usually a good idea to stick to numbered and lettered lists at all levels below the first main level.
- When making references put a period between each level's label. Dashes are also acceptable but are not commonly used.
- An example for referencing the previous list item would be to "6.b", "item/point 6.b", in the case of a list that has a title, "Guidelines.6.b" or "Guidelines:6.b"
- Bulletted lists can be used in references but it is recommended that they only be at the first and/or last levels of a given list/sub-list.
- When making a reference, if the first level is bulletted use the first word or two of the item as the start of the reference.
- When making a reference, if the item being referenced is a bulletted item in a sub-list call out the item as listed but follow or precede the item with a phrase such as "as listed in section #.x"
- You can use all Numbers or all Letters in a list. Or you can mix them as you please. There really is no hard convention on this.
So as an example of these guidelines I will use a list I created from another thread. The idea I proposed for when we were briefly discussing restructuring the forums.
- Community
- Rules & Guides - PLEASE READ RULES THREAD BEFORE POSTING
- Sticky: Forum Rules - PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING (in fact make it a sticky at the top of all forum pages
) - the welcome / FAQ's
- navigation tips
- posting tips
- feature explanations
- Sticky: Forum Rules - PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING (in fact make it a sticky at the top of all forum pages
- General
- Announcements (stickys that expire then become normal posts)
- introduce yourself thread (sticky)
- gamer tag lists (sticky)
- group name discussions
- speculation on forum stuff
- Forum Content and Structure Improvement Suggestions (Moved from the game related section)
- Community & Social Links (Non-Bloodstained Related)
- Sub-Forum: Twitch streamers
- Sub-Forum: YouTubers
- Sub-Forum: Twitter (I don't know if this one makes sense but I'll include it just the same)
- Sub-Forum: Tumblr
- Sub-Forum: DeviantArt - Please be mindful of Forum Rules and Guidelines
- Sub-Forum: SoundCloud
- Kickstarter Projects
- Forum Games
- General Off-Topic (anything goes sub-forum)
- Rules & Guides - PLEASE READ RULES THREAD BEFORE POSTING
- Army of the Night!
- Bloodstained Discussion
- Community Links (Bloodstained Related)
- Art
- Music
- External Articles
- Fan Fiction
- Non-English Language
)So here you can see that my main two topics that I wanted to cover were thing happening that were solely related to the subject of the forum and things that were related to the people here, but not related to the subject of the boards. This makes up the base of the list. Very general broad topics that can usually listed in one or two words. Here there are only two. They can easily be referenced by name, and are basically tied together as they are the Forum. So here we use bullets.
From here each has a sub-list. Now while they all have the common theme of being segments of the two main topics, they are, at their core, separate stand alone items that should be considered individually. So numbering/roman numerals instead of bullets.
Now in the first and second third-level sub-list bullets were used as these items were all meant to be broad topics that all held to a common theme, and were describing the overall content of the parent item, as opposed to specific individual parts or components of the parent item. So bullets it is.
Lastly take the third sub-list. Here I used Numbers again. This is because in part, the items do stand on their own very well, but I also wanted to emphasize that these were to be considered as individual items not as common aspects of a single whole. These did not describe content so much as they specified an explicit separation within the parent item/topic.
And that's how you plan out a good list.
Making and Building the list:
The forums provide functions for making ordered/bullet list, but their usage can be a bit tricky if you are not familiar with them.
In the full reply page tool bar you will notice a button for making these lists.
When you click on the button you will be presented with the following dialog.
Here you are allowed to enter how many items you want in your list to start with, as well as a drop down menu with choices for how you want to label your items.
From here you can choose one of three different bullet styles or you can choose an ordered list style using numbers, letter, or roman numerals.
The main difference here is that bullet styles always have the same symbol before each item. With ordered lists the first item always starts with the first element of the style chosen (1, a, I, etc.) and then increments that element for every item in the list. If you insert a new item in the list, the remaining items after it will automatically be renumbered.
So to start with we'll create a bulleted list with five items. It will show up like this:
If you want to add a new item all you have to do is move your cursor to the end of a line, hit enter, and you get this:
Now sub-lists can be a little tricky. This is done by using the list button again while the cursor is inside the list. However, the placement of the cursor DOES make a difference. Notice where the cursor is in this picture.
If you put the cursor here and use the list button it will create an indented sub-list. I'm going to do a 4 item sub-list using numbers. That creates this.
Now notice that extra space where the arrow is pointing? That extra separator is optional. You can leave it there if you like the look of it, or you can remove it by putting your cursor on that line and pressing backspace. Do be mindful that unless you want to go doing code editing, once you remove the extra line you cannot get it back short of removing the sub-list and making a new one as described above.
Speaking of code! In case you are wondering, I'll switch to the BBCode view to let you see the codes generated thus far. This is what the BBCode that the list button has generated for the two lists.
Not pretty is it? But with a little attention to detail and codes and some careful formatting we can make it look like this:
Now, know that once you switch back to "Preview" mode or submit the post the code will not retain the formatting you've given it. If you go back to preview, or edit the post the code will go back to looking like what it did when you first opened the BBCode view.
One last item of note. It is possible in the Preview pane to "Bork" the list by using the list button on an item line that is empty. So if you are in a list and hit enter to create a new item (which is blank), don't enter any text, and use the list button to insert a new list, this is what you will get.
At this point you can access the sub-list items but not the parent item. The cursor will always skip around it. Unless this is what you were going for there are only two ways to correct this. The first is to delete the entire sub-list you just created, add your text to the parent item, and create the sub-list again. The second is to go into the code and manually enter some text before the code for the sub-list. This will move the sub-list back out onto its own line.
Lastly I present to you the codes that are used.
ol = Ordered List This command starts and stops an ordered list. It is used with the type attribute.
ul = Unorderd List This command starts and stops an unordered list. It is used with the type attribute.
li = List Item This command marks the beginning and end of each item in a list.
These commands, like all BBCodes, must be inside brackets with matching termination commands preceded by a / and inside brackets.
The type attribute has several options that correspond to the items in the drop down menu of the Insert List dialog. Those options are
disc
circle
square
decimal
upper-alpha
lower-alpha
upper-roman
lower-roman
To use them, after the ol or ul command and inside the brackets simply insert type= with the option you want in quotations.
That's all I have. If XombieMike wish to add anything or anyone else has some tips or tricks feel free to add them!
