This is meant to provide a simple explanation of how to utilize the main tools in the posting window and what they are.
: Used to quote another user’s post. It creates a blockquote with that user’s ID as a header. You can edit the quote as normal text if you only want to quote a portion of the post. Clicking this button after a generic reply (
) the will automatically blockquote the original post in the thread. If you click the reply button a a specific post (
) , it will automatically quote that post instead.
: These 2 buttons are general font manipulators, Bold and Italics respectfully. You can highlight text already typed and click the button for the effect, or you can click them and fill in the space between the asterisks. Bold uses double asterisks, **, to open and close the section, and italics uses a single asterisk, *, on each end. You can also use the common keyboard macros (CTRL+B, and CTRL+I) to insert these.
: inserts a hyperlink to your post. You can enter a URL on the first line for links outside of SimpliEngineering.com, and the second line can be used to give the link specific text rather than appear as the URL. Another option on the first line is you can link directly to another SimpliEngineering thread. You can enter a search term and a list of SE threads will appear for you to choose from.
: Is a blockquote. This is a tool to differentiate the look of text you want to appear separated from the rest. It is commonly used to quote sources. When you click the button, > Blockquote, appears on the next line of your post. You can erase the word Blockquote while retaining the > in order to retain the change in the final post. You can enter multiple lines for a blockquote, but it automatically closes when you enter a space of two lines between text. So pressing the enter key twice will end the blockquote text and return to regular text in your post.
: Is used to enter preformatted text in a post. You can also do this by simply adding 4 spaces (pressing the spacebar 4 times at the beginning of a line) before you type. This command is used when the text you are trying to write would otherwise automatically be converted using HTML code to something other than the text. It can be used to display HTML code specifcally so it can be read as-is.
: Is for uploading files or links. You can upload a file directly from your device. Current file formats accepted are jpg, jpeg, png, gif, pdf, xls, xlsx, xlsm, doc, docx, sm, dwg, dgn, and mcd.
You can also upload a file directly from a link to another site, though that link does need to be in one of the same file formats as above.
: Simply inserts a bulleted or numbered list to your post. It adds a preformatted indent to the entire list. You can do the same by starting a line with a number and a period (or a lone asterisk for bullet point) and it will automatically indent it.
: Are the available emoticons and I’m pretty sure they don’t need any explanation here.
: Inserts a date and time or a date and time range. The popup has much of the details in it with advanced options for recurring dates and such.
: Opens a dropdown list for additonal options:
: makes your post or topic unlisted. Being unlisted mean the topic exists, but won’t show up on the thread list. So the only way to access it is by a direct link or URL. When replying to a thread, this button is 
, and it whispers a message directly and only to the person you are whispering to. It is not a public message, but will appear in the thread to that person alone.
: (AKA a spoiler in other forums) is a way to hide content in a post which can expand and collapse when the triangle, 
, is clicked on.
: Inserts a poll to your post. A guide to building polls can be found here: 10 Steps to Create a Poll
There are a lot of other tools and shortcuts in SimpliEngineering.com’s software available to us all, but those are the ones located directly in the posting window and most easily accessible.
I hope this is useful for new users and maybe some of us veterans as well.
's for that!