Basic How Do You Do This Tips

[Gill]

Gosh, it's obvious when you know where to look! Thanks, Jenny.

[Greg]

Slightly off topic, but for those using Android phones, I recently figured out how to cut and paste text on the Goodreads site. Probably most people know already, behind the curve as I usually am, but this was quite useful for me. I thought I'd share it in case even one person can benefit!

TO COPY TEXT:

- Hold finger down on the phone anywhere in the text you want to copy (anywhere on the screen) until blue shapes appear.
- Two blue shapes will appear (either ploygon shaped or upside down teardrops depending on the OS level.
- Touch either teardrop and drag it to the side to select more text.
- When all text is selected, tap the button near the top of the phone screen which has one square overlapping another.
- The phone will say text copied.

TO PASTE TEXT:

Note: this will always paste the text you most recently copied.
- Tap in the edit box where you want the text to go.
- One polygon or upside down teardrop will appear.
- Try tapping on the polygon or teardrop once. If nothing happens, double tap it. Sometimes I have to do this a few times before "Copy" appears.
- A grey box with the word "Copy" in it will appear directly above the polygon or teardrop.
- Tap the grey box with "Copy" in it.
- And the copied text will now appear in place of the poygon or teardrop.

This is working for me with a Samsung Galaxy phone. No idea if it works on other phones.

I use the website, not the app - no sure if this works in the app, but I suspect it does.

[Angela M]

Greg , I use the iPhone app and an iPad mini sometimes and the same cut and paste feature works with them also .

[Greg]

Great Angela! :)

[Book Ninja]

Guys I am having problem with editing my posts. For the reading challenges on the group I want to update my list that I posted earlier but when I click edit nothing happens. This is happening since the past 2 to 3 months and I am still not able to edit them. Please help me :(

[Greg]

Rahat, are you using the website or the app?

[Leslie]

Rahat wrote: "Guys I am having problem with editing my posts. For the reading challenges on the group I want to update my list that I posted earlier but when I click edit nothing happens. This is happening since..."

:( That happens to me occassionally when my internet connection is very slow. If you are on the website (not the app), you should be able to edit your own comments.

Is there any way that you could try using a different internet connection (like from a computer at university or public library)? That should at least tell you if it is a connectivity issue.

If that doesn't help, then I'm not sure what to suggest. Perhaps contacting the GR help people? In the meanwhile, maybe you could copy the list into a new post and edit it there (which I realize isn't ideal but would at least let you get your progress updated).

[Book Ninja]

It's the website. The iPhone app doesn't have the feature of editing the posts. And I have tried using it at work and home both, it still doesn't work. Yeah maybe I will talk to the GR people.

[Leslie]

Sorry I couldn't be more help Rahat.

[Greg]

In the meantime Rahat, feel free to just create new posts on the Readalong thread to track your progress this weekend as you go instead of editing your original post. I'll remember as I'll be the one doing the counting :)

[Book Ninja]

It's okay Leslie, I don't mind reposting things I just thought it would be annoying for the people. And Greg I will do that only. Thanks!

[Albert]

If I want to copy the link for one of my reviews or someone else's reivews into a comment, I can't seem to find where I go to get the link. I know I am just missing something obvious, but would appreciate someone pointing me in the right direction.

[Leslie]

@Albert, Jean gave some detailed directions for that about 9 months ago in this thread. I am currently using the app so I can't tell you the message number but you should be able to find it if you scroll back far enough.

[B the BookAddict]

@Albert Save your review. Then go to top of screen, on left hand side your see 'http: www.goods etc' Highlight that line, press copy, then copy that wherever you want to put the review link.

To add a Review, go to just under book blurb etc, it will say My Review, press enter on that line, write and save your review in next page which shows up.

Hoping that helps, if you can't find Jean's comment.

[Albert]

So with regard to copying and pasting a link to a review: my problem was specific to using Safari on my iPad. Perhaps it a configuration issues, but on the iPad, Safari does not provide me access to the URL when browsing. When I switched over to Chrome, I did not have the same problem and was easily able to copy and paste the link. Anyone using Safari on an iPad to know if they have a similar situation? Otherwise, I will just use Chrome going forward.

[Gill]

Albert wrote: "So with regard to copying and pasting a link to a review: my problem was specific to using Safari on my iPad. Perhaps it a configuration issues, but on the iPad, Safari does not provide me access t..."

Albert, I use safari on iPad fine for this. Let me look at what I do, and try to explain/understand it.

[Gill]

Ok, this is how I do it. Go to your list of books read and click on the title to the right of the picture of the book you want to link to. That opens the page for the book, with your review a bit further down the page. Click top left of the bit to do with your review, on where it says' my review'. This brings you to a page with only your review on, and at the top, in the website details bit, it says'goodreads.com' . If you click on this it turns blue, and also says something different which now includes the specific number/details relating to your review. You are given a few options, one of which is copy, so tap on copy. Then go to wherever you want to put it on a different page, put your blue cursor where you want it to be, tap the blue cursor and choose paste.

The only time it doesn't work for me is if I add a book/author from the top of the comment box, before I paste my link in. That seems to override my link.

Now I'm going to double check this works ok, Albert. Good luck!

[Beth]

I wanted to add an author to my favorite authors, and I thought I supposed to click "follow" but they just show up as someone I'm following, not in my favorite authors. Why?

[Leslie]

Beth wrote: "I wanted to add an author to my favorite authors, and I thought I supposed to click "follow" but they just show up as someone I'm following, not in my favorite authors. Why?"

I think that they have made some changes in this area -- go to your profile (you can get there by clicking on your icon picture on the right of the top bar). Scroll down and under people you are following (and some ads), you should see a section on the right of your updates that says "Beth's Favorite Authors" and then in small light grey letters "edit". Click on edit and on the new page that comes up, you should see "find authors »" on the top right. I think that is now how you add new authors to your favorite authors list.

Seems like a convoluted way to do it but I guess it is better than nothing...

(added later)
I found a MUCH easier way! Next to the button that says "Follow Author", there is a light grey downward carat. If you click on it, a small box should pop up with several options, one of which is "Add to my favorite authors".

[Greg]

HOW DO I ADD A PICTURE TO A POST WITHOUT ADDING PROFILE PICTURES IN A WAY THAT WORKS ALSO WITH MOBILE DEVICES:

STEP 1 - get picture online

One way to get an addressofimage that works for me is to upload a picture using www.tinypic.com.

1. Go to the www.tinypic.com, click on CHOOSE A FILE button.
2. This will bring up something where you now need to choose which image file you want to upload. You will most likely have to browse to a directory and find the image file, depending on your device. On my phone, I click on documents then gallery, then scroll down to the picture I want and click on it.
3. It will go back to the original screen with your image file now listed. Click the UPLOAD NOW button.
4. An ad might pop up. If it does, type whatever text appears in the ad in the blank text box at the bottom of the pop up. Then click OK.
5. Copy the text between the [IMG] and [/IMG] tags which appears in the box marked "IMG Code for Forums & Message Boards." This will be the web address of your image.

STEP 2 - Post picture in Goodreads

1. In your message post on Goodreads, wherever you want the image to appear type:
< img src="addressofimage"> except
- don't put any space between the '<' and the 'img src'.
- replace the 'addressofimage' with the web address of your image copied in step 1.

All clear as mud yet? Not the simplest method at first, but after I got used to it, I found it to be the easiest. And I don't end up having to upload every image as a profile picture, which is nice.

Many thanks to Laura for bringing www.tinypic.com to my attention originally. I find it much less error prone than the other things I've tried. Images uploaded to tinypic always seem to load. :)

Also, I do all this on the website using my phone (no right clicking or app required!). If you can right click, I think there are easier methods.

Good luck!

[B the BookAddict]

Greg, I just use the Photobucket method described in Msg #1. Works well for me and I can add photos without having them in my Profile photo space.

[Greg]

B the BookAddict wrote: "Greg, I just use the Photobucket method described in Msg #1. Works well for me and I can add photos without having them in my Profile photo space."

Ah I missed that post Bette. I'll give it a try sometime. No right clicking required?

[B the BookAddict]

You do need to right-click just once but even so, the Photobucket method sounds a lot simpler than your version. Although I do acknowledge, we all have our preferred methods.

[Mimi]

I love this 'sharing' info. I feel like a student taking notes. :-))
Thank you all! xoxo

[Greg]

B the BookAddict wrote: "You do need to right-click just once but even so, the Photobucket method sounds a lot simpler than your version. Although I do acknowledge, we all have our preferred methods."

For sure Bette, but I can't right click on my phone :(

[B the BookAddict]

@Greg Bummer:( I don;t use my phone for GR, it's a HTC and I can't read the print well enough.

[Pam]

There are several things I used to be able to do in Goodreads, like copy and paste text, but now cannot! It has been like this for several months. I am still using Vista. Could that be the problem? Any ideas?

[Greg]

Pam wrote: "There are several things I used to be able to do in Goodreads, like copy and paste text, but now cannot! It has been like this for several months. I am still using Vista. Could that be the problem?..."

Not sure, but here's a tip that works on all Windows versions:

Highlight what you want to copy, press the Ctrl (Control Key), and then press C while still holding it down.

Click where you want to copy the text to. Then press the Ctrl key and then V while still holding Ctrl.

The Ctrl-C will copy, and the Ctrl-V will paste. It works in almost all places on a Windows PC.

Hope that helps Pam!

[Pam]

Thanks Greg! I can't even click in the text or highlight, so I don't think your suggestion will work. Rebooting doesn't help either!

[Leslie]

Pam wrote: "Thanks Greg! I can't even click in the text or highlight, so I don't think your suggestion will work. Rebooting doesn't help either!"

Have you tried using a different browser to see if the problem still exists there? I haven't had that problem myself so no words of wisdom other than to contact the GR support staff.

[Pam]

Has JavaScript become disabled on the site in your browser - quite a lot of sites rely on JavaScript to do that sort of thing.

[Chrissie]

I can no longer find my friends list! There used to be an icon on the top right hand corner. It is not there any more. I am looking for that place where you can choose top friends. There is now a scroll bar on the far right and I am worried it is under that or is it accessible somewhere else?

I would appreciate help please. Please be very explicit b/c I am very stupid with this stuff.

[Jean]

Top right corner right next to your icon. Or click your icon and friends are also listed there.

[Chrissie]

Jean, thank you. I figured out the problem. What you say shows it hasn't moved. However I had increased the enlargement on the screen.Only if I lower the enlargement do I see my profile icon which has friends listed. When enlarged you can scroll to see the right side of the screen, but you still don't see the most right part of the gray portion at the top of the screen and this is where the profile icon is placed! Thank you.

[Jean]

Chrissie wrote: "Jean, thank you. I figured out the problem. What you say shows it hasn't moved. However I had increased the enlargement on the screen.Only if I lower the enlargement do I see my profile icon which ..."

Quite welcome !

[Chrissie]

I appreciated your help VERY much Jean!!!!!

[Jennifer]

With the ability to track re-reads, I have accidentally marked that I read a book more than once when I tried to change editions of what I read. How to I remove one of the “reads”? I’m afraid to his remove from shelf for fear I will lose my review etc.

[[deleted user]]

I had this problem as well. Deleting the editions I didn’t want worked fine. To be sure I would copy and paste your review into a word document so if something does go wrong your review is safe and you can just paste it back

[bookswithpaulette]

Glad a stumbled across this, very helpful post.
I will keep referring back to this I am sure

[Jim]

I've been browsing this helpful thread. Lots of good ideas for posting in different modes on Goodreads. Thanks for the info!
I'll try the image posting on one of my reviews in a bit.

[Nancy from NJ]

Is is possible to cut and paste from Goodreads on an I-Phone. I can’t seem to do it and maybe an I phone isn’t meant for this.

[Tari]

Nancy from NJ wrote: "Is is possible to cut and paste from Goodreads on an I-Phone. I can’t seem to do it and maybe an I phone isn’t meant for this." Pretty sure you can't do it with text in general, just the page link, like if you want to share a book's page link. I've tried c/p text even using GR in Safari on my iPad or iPhone, it just won't work pressing down like usual, there's no little prompt to cut or copy. It would be great if it could be done.

[Nancy from NJ]

Thanks so much for answering my question. I always was able to do cut and paste on my PC so I will have to try this after dinner.

[Tari]

Nancy from NJ wrote: "Thanks so much for answering my question. I always was able to do cut and paste on my PC so I will have to try this after dinner."
You're so welcome, Nancy! :)

[Nancy from NJ]

Sorry but I have another question. I revived my I pad - I thought it was gone. Now when I read on my PC, at the bottom of my message are the words edit, reply, delete and post. I don’t see those words there or in the message area on my I phone. Can this only be done on my PC. I do see words there but I seldom work on this device .

Also, although I have the formula to make words become bold, it doesn’t seem to work when I try it on my I phone. Is it possible I can only do this on my PC?
I also don’t know what to do once I put in my words to the formula.

I hope some one can help me out since I really want to do both of these things.

[Leslie]

Nancy from NJ wrote: "Sorry but I have another question. I revived my I pad - I thought it was gone. Now when I read on my PC, at the bottom of my message are the words edit, reply, delete and post. I don’t see those wo..."

As far as I know, the ability to edit or reply are only on the website (PC) not the app. I have been able to use the HTML code for bold etc. using the app but it doesn't always show up in the app (if I look at a post I did with the app on the website, it does show up - that's how I know it worked). I find the app of limited utility for those reasons - it is fine for checking updates on the main feed or putting in an update on a book I am reading but even for checking the group discussions, I find it difficult to use.

Sorry I don't have better news for you Nancy.

[Nancy from NJ]

Leslie - thanks so much. When I first got my I pad I realized that it wan’t going to do certain other features. But recently I can’t remember what it can or can’t do.

[Leslie]

Nancy from NJ wrote: "Leslie - thanks so much. When I first got my I pad I realized that it wan’t going to do certain other features. But recently I can’t remember what it can or can’t do."

I think you could use the iPad's browser (Safari??) to get Goodreads website instead of using the app. That is what I do on my Kindle Fire, which is a bit like a tablet.

[Nancy from NJ]

I now realize that what I was trying to do can only be on my PC. Have learned to type in BOLD and found the messages here have the words reply, edit and delete so I am a happy camper except for the word pandemic.

[Nancy from NJ]

Thanks to all who relied to my messages.