Can You Insert Quotes in an Edited Post on a Forum Thread?

[BillTre]

I most frequent thing I goof-up in posting here is making the quote from previous posts in a thread. A few times I have quoted an incorrect post and want to replace it with the proper one.

If I try going back to edit the thread immediately after posting, everything is easy to change except for the quote from previous posts. I can go back and "get" the quote from the right post by finding the correct post and hitting the quote button, but when I go back to the edit post box there is no insert quote button to put the quote into my post.
My work around has just been to copy the text and paste it into my post, but it doesn't have all the fancy quote associated visuals which I like. I have been tempted to copy the quote causing text around the quoted text, but looking for something easier, like an insert quote button in the edit box.

Am I missing something?
Is it possible to get an insert quote button in the edit box?

 

[Borek]

If you have not properly quoted the post while creating the answer, you are basically on your own (and need to look for workarounds), system was not designed to deal with such situations.

Quote button is actually for multiquotes (when you want to answer several posts at once).

 

[jtbell]

I have been tempted to copy the quote causing text around the quoted text

If you mean, insert

and

tags by hand, that's the way to do it.

looking for something easier, like an insert quote button in the edit box.

As Borek noted, the forum software doesn't have that feature, unfortunately.

 

[jim mcnamara]

Copy and paste the quote you want from the previous post using Windows (CTRL-C then CTRL-V), surround the new material with quote tags. A quote tag is (I have to add spaces so you can see it - use NO spaces): [ q u o t e ] text goes here [ / q u o t e ] Likewise you can use cut CTRL-X to remove the old text.

Oops, jtbell types faster than I do...

 

[Borek]

@Greg Bernhardt - SMF has an "Insert quote" button above each post in the thread, visible when replying. Perhaps that's a good idea for a request for a functionality, or whatever it is called?

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Is it possible to get an insert quote button in the edit box?

This is after using the multi-quote option?

 

[jtbell]

Here's another way to edit a post and insert a quote:

1. Before starting to edit the post, select the text that you want to quote. Choose "Reply" in the popup menu. The selected text appears in the reply box at the end of the thread, enclosed between quote-tags.
2. Cut or copy the entire quote, including the quote-tags, to the clipboard.
3. Hit the "Edit" button on the post that you want to edit.
4. Paste the quote from the clipboard to the appropriate location.

This requires some planning, of course. If I've already started editing a post, and then decide I need to insert a quote, I open a new tab in my browser, go to the thread, and do steps 1 and 2 there. Then I click back to the original tab and paste the quote.

 

[BillTre]

Thanks for the replies, I think I'll QUOTE some:

system was not designed to deal with such situations

That's what I was afraid of.

This is after using the multi-quote option?

Not sure what the multi-quote option is, but I use the insert quote button in replies. Its not there when editing replies.

Also, I have noticed there's another way to quote things which I like:
Select only the text you want to quote,
Use to quote button of click or the tool-tip like pop-up to capture only the text you want not the whole message.
Text selection before capturing the text removes any after-pasting-the-quote editing of the quote to remove unwanted text.

1. Before starting to edit the post, select the text that you want to quote. Choose "Reply" in the popup menu. The selected text appears in the reply box at the end of the thread, enclosed between quote-tags.
2. Cut or copy the entire quote, including the quote-tags, to the clipboard.
3. Hit the "Edit" button on the post that you want to edit.
4. Paste the quote from the clipboard to the appropriate location.

This is a nice trick!
But it requires starting a new post.

 

[mfb]

But it requires starting a new post.

It requires having some text in a textbox. Remove the text (or just don't submit it) and nothing happened.

The method jtbell described is the most convenient one if the quoted post contains non-trivial code. For text only, copying the text via the browser is easier.

 

[BillTre]

It requires having some text in a textbox. Remove the text (or just don't submit it) and nothing happened.

The method jtbell described is the most convenient one if the quoted post contains non-trivial code. For text only, copying the text via the browser is easier.

OK Point taken on the text box.
An I agree that jtbell had the most convenient approach.
Another advantage of his approach is that it includes the poster's info too, which putting the copied text between the quote tags would be lacking.

 

[Borek]

Before starting to edit the post, select the text that you want to quote. Choose "Reply" in the popup menu. The selected text appears in the reply box at the end of the thread, enclosed between quote-tags.

Sadly, it doesn't copy all the formatting (nor math), so is often useless.

 

[mfb]

"Reply" (lower right in each post) keeps all the formatting.

 

[NascentOxygen]

In the edit/reply window if you first click on the icon in the right corner of its toolbar you cause formatting codes to be displayed, so when you cut and paste from this you can capture the formatting code,$\unicode{x00a0}$too.