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[REL] GTAForums Table Code Generator


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I've just finished creating this program that lets you create and manage tables for use on these forums without having to understand the table code or worry about missing out a tag and screwing up an entire topic. I made it to help me maintain this topic after I 'misplaced' the formatted version of the code which made it very difficult to update. Given the number of PMs I receive asking how to code tables I'm hoping it'll prove useful to other members as well as myself. It's still a little rough around the edges (the program code especially) but it does the job pretty well.

 

The program is written in C#, so you'll need to have the Microsoft .NET Framework installed to use it. Hopefully most people have this already since it is a pretty big download at roughly 23MB. To check whether or not you have it installed, click Start > Control Panel > Add / Remove Programs. If the item Microsoft .NET Framework is listed then you already have it installed, if not you can download it from here.

 

I realise there are better / more appropriate platforms that this could've been written for, but it was primarily an exercise for teaching myself C#. I should also point out that this is only the second program I've written in this language - the first being a Notepad clone. This, coupled with the fact that it took just three days to finish means you shouldn't expect too much from it.

 

Instructions

 

Most of the program should be fairly self explanatory. Right-click any cell on the table to access the menu that allows cells, rows and columns to be inserted, deleted and highlighted. After selecting a cell, the text box at the bottom of the form can be used to edit the contents. You can resize the rows and columns of the table, although this is purely for convenience when designing the table - as with any table on these forums, the rows and columns will size themselves once posted.

 

Once the table is ready, select the 'Generate Code' option from the Table menu. Click the 'Copy to Clipboard' button to copy the code which can be pasted into your post. At the moment, there are just two formatting options for the table code. You can switch between the bordered and un-bordered tables with the 'Borders' checkbox, and also remove any whitespace (ie. carriage returns) from the end of the cell contents with the 'Trim trailing whitespace' checkbox.

 

Hold the CTRL key down to select multiple cells or hold the SHIFT key down to select a region between one cell and the currently selected cell. You can also combine the CTRL and SHIFT key to make more complex selections. Whenever multiple cells are selected, operations will affect all of the selected cells. For example, if two cells in different columns are selected, and you click the 'Delete Column' option, both of the columns will be deleted. The same goes for the highlight and resize column / row options.

 

Existing table code can be imported via the 'Import Code' option which can be found in the File menu. The limitations of this option can be found in the Import Code dialog, but it should be capable of importing most tables found on the forum.

 

Downloads

 

 

Binary Source
Version 2.0 Download (37KB, ZIP) (Link updated: 15/10/2012)) Download (88 KB, ZIP) (Down)
Example Table File (2 KB, XML) (Down) An example table file which is shown in the screenshots below. This can be loaded via the File menu.

 

Screenshots

 

 

Version 2.0 Interface Code Preview
user posted image user posted image
Questions, Comments, etc. Edited by Barguast
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https://gtaforums.com/topic/185638-rel-gtaforums-table-code-generator/
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GTA3Freak-2001
Well this is probably the most useful tool on the forums, I can't stand trying to understand the table codes so this for me is great. I am sure there are hundreds others like me who avoid the table codes thus making this an extremly useful tool.

Wow, thanks for the positive feedback everyone.

 

I've made a few minor alterations since I first posted this topic but they are mainly cosmetic. I can't stress enough how much of a rush job this program was. I'm thinking of re-doing it all from stratch - next time I might actually plan or design some of it before I start coding tounge.gif

 

@Segosa - I've added the source code download to the first post smile.gif

Wow man, this is a good program. I just downloaded it and tried it. Very usefull. I myself know tableing, but the amount of people that ask me to do thier coding for them gets stressfull, but I remember back when I couldn't do it.

 

Anyway, i'm rambling on, good work Bargaust. smile.gif

Very nice work man, wil help great with my tabling needs.

 

But, could you ad the 'color tag system' and bold different typos and image insertion, please?

Oh and Table into TAble would be nice too..

 

Nonetheless, great work.

Edited by Stefaan

This would have been nice to know oh say... 3 weeks ago before I gave up my sanity tableing the GTA4 board Index!!! tounge.gif

 

 

*whispers* Thanks for your help on that BTW..

But, could you ad the 'color tag system' and bold different typos and image insertion, please?

Oh and Table into TAble would be nice too..

I was planning on adding color / link / img / bold buttons, etc. That certainly won't be difficult to do. There are many parts of the code that I'm not happy with at all and I've already started rewriting most of it.

 

Thanks again for all your comments, I'm glad you like it smile.gif

 

@vAL - That'll probably be the .NET framework - once it's loaded into memory it's shared between all programs that use it so it shouldn't really be a problem.

 

@Octember - I used C# to code it.

Any change of a Linux version? E.g. a text based version?

This is a tool designed to help people who are new to the forums or don't understand how HTML tables work and therefore probobly don't understand the table tags here on GTAForums, making a linux version wouldn't honestly benefit that many people, since it's not the most popular OS, by far...

 

On the same subject though, can programs written in C# would need the .NET Framework even run on Linux, since .NET is a Microsoft thing?

Any change of a Linux version? E.g. a text based version?

This is a tool designed to help people who are new to the forums or don't understand how HTML tables work and therefore probobly don't understand the table tags here on GTAForums, making a linux version wouldn't honestly benefit that many people, since it's not the most popular OS, by far...

 

On the same subject though, can programs written in C# would need the .NET Framework even run on Linux, since .NET is a Microsoft thing?

I understand, but making it work in a textbased area would be kind of cool.

Any change of a Linux version? E.g. a text based version?

This is a tool designed to help people who are new to the forums or don't understand how HTML tables work and therefore probobly don't understand the table tags here on GTAForums, making a linux version wouldn't honestly benefit that many people, since it's not the most popular OS, by far...

 

On the same subject though, can programs written in C# would need the .NET Framework even run on Linux, since .NET is a Microsoft thing?

I understand, but making it work in a textbased area would be kind of cool.

You're in luck.

 

http://www.mono-project.com/Main_Page

 

.NET Framework for Linux.

But, could you ad the 'color tag system' and bold different typos and image insertion, please?

I've added 'Bold', 'Italics', 'Underline', 'Text Colour', 'Link', and 'Image' buttons which do pretty much what you'd expect - nothing special.

 

The cells will still only display their contents and not format them (e.g. even if you change the text colour to red, the cell will still display '[color=FF0000]Text[/color]' rather than 'Text').

 

@Svip- I wouldn't have a clue about converting this to / compiling it for Linux, I'm afraid.

Edited by Barguast
PresidentKiller
little help?

pic

 

I have frameworks... what else I should get?

Do you have the .NET Framework 1.1? Is it correctly installed?

 

Some "buffer-overflow protection" programs make the .NET Framework do weird things. If you have any of those, you should disable them.

Should really have edited my above post, but whatever.

 

This is a great program Barguast, it does everything you could want it to do, and seemingly more through handiness. Props to you for taking the time and putting the effort into making this for the community, it's appreciated. Even I'll use it smile.gif

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