Fixing Broken Things: ASCII Symbols & More

  • Thread starter Thread starter Hurkyl
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AI Thread Summary
ASCII symbol codes are currently malfunctioning, with users reporting issues creating specific symbols like "not equals" and "plus/minus." The discussion also highlights problems accessing journals, suggesting a permissions issue, although some users have noted new features in the journal system. Users are experiencing difficulties with LaTeX rendering in posts and editing capabilities, with some unable to edit their posts despite being within the time limit. Compatibility issues with Internet Explorer on older Mac OS versions are causing additional frustrations, leading to suggestions for users to upgrade their systems for better functionality. Overall, the thread emphasizes ongoing technical challenges and the need for patience as administrators work on fixes.
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The codes to create ASCII symbols are no longer working.

μ
π
√
∞

(while I'm on the topic, how do you make a "not equals" sign, or a "plus/minus" sign this way?)
 
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One can use ASCI code 0177 (Alt 0177, with num lock activated) to get ± .

I don't know about ≠ but it is Unicode 2260. I just copied it from the Windows Character Map.


BTW - I cannot access the Journals Index or My Journal. I get a message about "not having permission to access the page."
 
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I can access the journal ok. Ohhhhh, look at al the new features in journal! I can name the people that I want to be able to see each post I make!
 
I can't access Journals either.
 
As far as I can tell, I have access to everything that I am supposed to as a contributor, except for the journal. I cannot even go to My Journal. I suspect its a permissions issue, and presumably 'Super Mentors' have permissions set for that feature and others.
 
Also, I don't see any difference in the edit screen...other than that nothing in it works.

EDIT : This just changed. The new editing style is neato ! :approve:
 
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I was able to write a simple entry in my journal.
It appears to be trying to process the [ tex ] [/ tex ] tags.
The image is broken... but one can click it to reveal the tex-tags.
 
I can see journals now. Thanks Greg.
 
  • #10
I too can see the journals. Thanks, Greg!
 
  • #11
It seems that not being a contributor's been better in this case, because I was able to write in my journal afew minutes after upgrading! :wink:
 
  • #12
robphy,

I would like to extend LaTeX to journals, PMs, and other parts of the site. I will need a bit of time to figure out the best way to proceed on it, though.

- Warren "looking for the damn $forumid variable" Admin
 
  • #13
?

Just checking to see if inserting directly from the Mac OS character palette will work.

Edit: Looks like it doesn't. Oh well.
 
  • #14
loseyourname said:
?

Just checking to see if inserting directly from the Mac OS character palette will work.

Edit: Looks like it doesn't. Oh well.
No, and I've run into problems with trying to use Ascii characters from a Mac in the past too. If you need characters that will work, ask HRW...she's the one who figured out how I could create a non-breaking space (sort of...it still broke, but at least it created the extra spaces). :approve:
 
  • #15
chroot said:
robphy,

I would like to extend LaTeX to journals, PMs, and other parts of the site. I will need a bit of time to figure out the best way to proceed on it, though.

- Warren "looking for the damn $forumid variable" Admin

Thanks.
By the way, is there a problem with LaTeX in the standard posts? For me, I get the broken image with the "LaTeX graphic is being generated..." in the Preview.

test: \LaTeX (seems to work when posted... but not during composing/previewing)

Code: 
...added possibly useful debugging info: 
while composing/editing/previewing, the above tex-img has a URL of 
[PLAIN]https://www.physicsforums.com/latex_images/-0.png
[/PLAIN]
 
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  • #16
:confused: Something weird just happened here. Things were slow, so I deked out to Google for a while. When I came back, I had to log in again. That's never happened before. Is automatic log-out a glitch, or a deliberate change to keep me from wandering away for a couple of days and leaving my green light on?:redface:

edit: Never mind. I just did it again and didn't get logged out.:confused:
 
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  • #17
I keep getting logged out. It's been happening off and on all day.
 
  • #18
This is probably not the cause of the logging out thing but it's worth checking out anyway. When you log in, do you check off the "Remember me" box?
 
  • #19
robphy said:
Thanks.
By the way, is there a problem with LaTeX in the standard posts? For me, I get the broken image with the "LaTeX graphic is being generated..." in the Preview.

test: \LaTeX (seems to work when posted... but not during composing/previewing)

Code: 
...added possibly useful debugging info: 
while composing/editing/previewing, the above tex-img has a URL of 
[PLAIN]https://www.physicsforums.com/latex_images/-0.png
[/PLAIN]

You know guys, Greg and Warren I suppose . . . I have confidence in you to "iron out" the "minor" bugs reported. Really I do. I'm patient . . .:smile:
 
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  • #20
Wow, not just zero, but a negative zero!
 
  • #21
saltydog said:
You know guys, Greg and Warren I suppose . . . I have confidence in you to "iron out" the "minor" bugs reported. Really I do. I'm patient . . .:smile:
Yes, please have patience. :smile:

Greg and Chroot have a lot to do; there are features that got turned off with the upgrade that need to get turned back on (I'm just relaying what Greg told the mentors...some apparent bugs aren't bugs at all, just features they haven't turned on yet...please continue to report in case they were missed/forgotten), and some might be actual glitches that might take a bit longer to work on. Plus, they're still working on the rest of the wardrobe for PF's makeover.

Please, just keep reporting any hiccups, glitches, non-functioning features you run into and they'll get to it. Some may be easy fixes and can be taken care of quickly, others might take a little more time.
 
  • #22
hypnagogue said:
This is probably not the cause of the logging out thing but it's worth checking out anyway. When you log in, do you check off the "Remember me" box?
Nope. Didn't know for sure what the hell it does. I clicked it the first time that I logged on back in February or whenever, but never noticed anything. I thought that it was supposed to automatically enter my password for me, but it didn't so I forgot all about it. (Got done in with again last night, incidentally.) The next time I log in, I'll do that.
 
  • #23
Danger said:
Nope. Didn't know for sure what the hell it does. I clicked it the first time that I logged on back in February or whenever, but never noticed anything. I thought that it was supposed to automatically enter my password for me, but it didn't so I forgot all about it. (Got done in with again last night, incidentally.) The next time I log in, I'll do that.

Clicking that button sets the login cookie on your harddrive and keeps you logged in after you close the page or your browser.
 
  • #24
Very handy. Thanks.
Now... there's an embarrassing typo in one of my posts today and my 'edit' button isn't working. It was fine yesterday. Whazzup?
 
  • #25
Danger said:
Very handy. Thanks.
Now... there's an embarrassing typo in one of my posts today and my 'edit' button isn't working. It was fine yesterday. Whazzup?
Some of members aren't allowed to edit their post esp. those who wants to get the funniest member ribbon. :-p
 
  • #26
Danger said:
Very handy. Thanks.
Now... there's an embarrassing typo in one of my posts today and my 'edit' button isn't working. It was fine yesterday. Whazzup?

You have 2min to edit a thread title and 1 day to edit a post.
 
  • #27
I'm not actually pursuing any ribbons, and at any rate have probably lost any chance at it because of my much-reduced posting. On the other hand, I hate typos. I must ensure that my spelling is perfect in order to counter-act that of Hypatia.
 
  • #28
Hi Greg;
I was aware of the 1-day limit. Unfortunately, this attempt (and several that I tried with other posts, including the foregoing), was less than 30 seconds after posting. The button turns green when I click it, but nothing else happens.
 
  • #29
Danger said:
Hi Greg;
I was aware of the 1-day limit. Unfortunately, this attempt (and several that I tried with other posts, including the foregoing), was less than 30 seconds after posting. The button turns green when I click it, but nothing else happens.

What do you mean the button turns green? It is a green button. Does the quote button work for you? Both are just linked images.
 
  • #30
Greg Bernhardt said:
What do you mean the button turns green? It is a green button. Does the quote button work for you? Both are just linked images.
Well, this answers the question about the 'quote' button. I didn't know until I tried it. What I meant was that the border of the button lights up a kind of turquoise the same as usual when the cursor is on it, and if I click it stays lit up when the cursor is removed. Nothing else happens, though.
 
  • #31
Okay, here we go again. I made an error in that post and still couldn't edit it. The border doesn't light up until the button is clicked. I was getting mixed up with the way other things light up just from having the cursor on them.
 
  • #32
Got problems editing posts. This is the symptom:

Go to edit the post, make the edit, press "submit", the updated post I see does not reflect the edited change. However, if I go to "quote", and then just go back a page in my web-broser (Mozilla), the screen reflects the change.

Really, I've made two post in the HW and well, I had "typos" and couldn't manage the editing appropriately, that is, before any user or the smallest numer of users got to see it. It's unpleasant.

Hope you guys can fix this soon.

Hey, you guys don't need any help managing software updates do you? I have experience in those matters <insert smiley here that also ain't workin'>
 
  • #33
Press CTRL-F5 in your browser, see if that helps saltydog

Also it appears from other reports that Norton IS messes with some of the javascript here. Anyone using it?

Another thing is to check what your IE security setting is and see if it's too high.
 
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  • #34
Greg Bernhardt said:
Also it appears from other reports that Norton IS messes with some of the javascript here. Anyone using it?

Another thing is to check what your IE security setting is and see if it's too high.

I am using Norton Systemworks and virus protection, what is Norton IS? I can't edit at all, and can't use the "Fonts," Sizes," etc. buttons when writing my posts.
 
  • #35
Les Sleeth said:
I am using Norton Systemworks and virus protection, what is Norton IS? I can't edit at all, and can't use the "Fonts," Sizes," etc. buttons when writing my posts.

http://www.symantec.com/sabu/nis/nis_pe/

What browser are you using?
 
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  • #36
Greg Bernhardt said:
[urlWhat browser are you using?

IE 5.1.7 for the Mac. I'm also still using OS 9.2 for the Mac. I just turned off all my Norton stuff, and lowered my security level as low as possible, but it doesn't seem to help.
 
  • #37
Les Sleeth said:
IE 5.1.7 for the Mac. I'm also still using OS 9.2 for the Mac. I just turned off all my Norton stuff, and lowered my security level as low as possible, but it doesn't seem to help.

Well I'm afraid we might be out of luck. I got a hold of a developer and he wasn't sure if the new AJAX elements in the forum would work with IE on the Mac. They don't seem to support it. He said they test on OSX with Safari. :frown:
 
  • #38
Sorry Les and Danger, it looks like IE is the problem. I just opened up IE v. 5.2.3 on OS X and saw exactly what you guys are describing. That's bizarre...when you click the edit button, it's like it turns on a turquoise neon light around it. :bugeye: But then nothing happens. Exactly what Danger described.

I'm afraid you're going to have to bite the bullet and upgrade. I started having problems with IE a while ago, while still on OS 10.2, so have just kept it tucked away for the rare website that won't work properly with Safari. You'll have more and more trouble finding things that support OS 9.x. At this point, the longer you wait, the more you risk nothing being compatible when you finally go ahead and do it. If your machine can handle it, you can jump right from 9.2 to 10.4 without needing to install any of the intermediates (if you're using something less than 9.2, you have to upgrade to at least 9.2 before doing the final upgrade to 10.4).
 
  • #39
Moonbear said:
Sorry Les and Danger, it looks like IE is the problem. . . . I'm afraid you're going to have to bite the bullet and upgrade

No freakin' way. You guys are going to have to suffer my rants and raves without benefit of the 24 hour editing grace period to cool down. If you think what made it through that was bad . . . o:)

And I was just thinking about reincarnating the "Dave" thread too.
 
  • #40
  • #41
I'm with Les here. There is no way in the world that I can afford a new computer. I'm on OS 9. I have 9.1 and 9.2 upgrades, but my machine won't take them. I'll just have to live without being able to edit.
 
  • #43
yomamma said:
les, seriously

Hmmmmm. I am one of those guys who uses software, but doesn't understand its basis all that much. I just want it to work.

Your link seems only for OS X. My problem is how to make OS 9.2 serve my needs. Have a suggestion? If the solution is there but I didn't get it, please advise.
 
  • #44
Les Sleeth said:
Hmmmmm. I am one of those guys who uses software, but doesn't understand its basis all that much. I just want it to work.

Your link seems only for OS X. My problem is how to make OS 9.2 serve my needs. Have a suggestion? If the solution is there but I didn't get it, please advise.

Here you go, this is Opera 6 that works on OS9

http://www.opera.com/download/index.dml?platform=mac&ver=6.03
 
  • #45
Greg Bernhardt said:
Here you go, this is Opera 6 that works on OS9
http://www.opera.com/download/index.dml?platform=mac&ver=6.03
First, thanks for the help. :!) Second, this is embarrassing, but which US version on the download list is applicable? There are five choices, none of which I recognize.

This is a test . . .
 
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  • #46
Les Sleeth said:
First, thanks for the help. :!) Second, this is embarrassing, but which US version on the download list is applicable? There are five choices, none of which I recognize.

Any of them, those are just places where the file exists. Any of them will download quickly.
 
  • #47
Greg Bernhardt said:
Any of them, those are just places where the file exists. Any of them will download quickly.

FYI, Opera works for editing; but color, or fonts, or smiley's nor anything else works in the composition area.

Testing . . .
 
  • #48
Les Sleeth said:
FYI, Opera works for editing; but color, or fonts, or smiley's nor anything else works in the composition area.

Oh well, atleast its an improvement :smile: Opera is better than IE anyway.
 
  • #49
Greg Bernhardt said:
Oh well, atleast its an improvement :smile: Opera is better than IE anyway.

Thanks for the help.
 
  • #50
Greg Bernhardt said:
Fundraiser time! Bake Sale! :biggrin:
I'm with you on this 1. You can also ban those of us(included myself) who have problems after upgrading. :rolleyes: Just announce what I said and you can see how everyone's problems would be tackled very soon. :-p
 

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