Tweaking Answers Box - I Need More Room

1. 92

   Sue Adamsposted 6 years ago

   When I draft a longish answer (say 300 to 500 words) to a question, I'm given a box with only 3 little lines to write the answer into. I scroll up, scroll down, can't see what I've written. I save, look, edit, look again, save again, look, etc. This is so inconvenient, it's driving me barmy (nuts/crazy) and it takes me ages to do when it could be done in a few minutes if only we had a bigger box to type into.
   Could we please have something more akin to a normal text capsule to put content in? A box the length of this one I'm typing in now (in the forum) is great. Why not give us more rooooom to answer questions please. 20 lines would be perfect.
   
   Thank you.

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      Christy Kirwanposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      I've discussed this with the engineers and we're looking at options now.

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         Sue Adamsposted 6 years agoin reply to this

         That's great Christie. Please ask the engineers to provide us with an answer box just like a text capsule as Eric mentioned with:
         bold/italics/underline
         bullets and numbered lists
         and, most importantly the option to insert links with anchor text to send readers to further info on related articles.
         
         Thank you for listening and responding.

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            eugbugposted 6 years agoin reply to this

            That's a very long Santa List.
            Hopefully we'll have it by Christmas

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               Sue Adamsposted 6 years agoin reply to this

               It's just a matter of copying and pasting the text capsule code into the Q&A program I would have thought.

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                  eugbugposted 6 years agoin reply to this

                  Hopefully! We'll keep our fingers and toes crossed. I also want the facility to add an image.

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                     Sue Adamsposted 6 years agoin reply to this

                     Yes, that would be nice! What about an explanatory video while we are at it? The web is getting more video orientated these days. Information is absorbed more quickly and efficiently by watching a video than by reading a long article. And Maven have expressed interest in video content.

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                        eugbugposted 6 years agoin reply to this

                        Sounds good! Plus the ability to add symbols as in the text capsules.
                        I think there was an issue with symbols not displaying properly. I don't know whether that was fixed.

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   Glenn Stokposted 6 years ago

   I agree with you Sue. It seems as if they haven’t thought that out very well. I hope they listen to you.
   
   In the meantime you can do what I do. I type the answer offline in notepad (Word will do too), and then copy and paste it into that tiny little answer box they gave us.

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3. 92

   EricDockettposted 6 years ago

   I've been doing like Glenn and writing my answers in Word, then moving over. But I agree that it would be nice to have a more normal text editor for the Q&A. Maybe something that allowed bold/italics/underline, bullets and numbered lists and the insertion of links too.

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   Don Bobbittposted 6 years ago

   Yeah Guys, and don't forget us with poor eyesight. The space saving small (pt.6????) font is a little challenging to edit as I type. I can see OK with a pair of readers, but is it really necessary for me to buy one of those hand-held magnifiersr?
   LOL! DON

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5. 92

   Sue Adamsposted 6 years ago

   Ok thanks I hadn"t thought of that but it all takes longer. From word (for speell check) to notepad (to get rid of word coding ) to the minuscule answer box. That all takes longer than necessary.
   Plus like Eric says, it would be nice to have a proper little text editor like the text capsules with all the formating options, especiallyii links since many questions can be answered by pointing the reader to  a related article.

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6. 83

   Marketing Meritposted 6 years ago

   Just been answering a question on my iPad and was thinking exactly the same thing Sue.
   
   The box is far too small. I've found myself answering the question and having to read it through, then go back several times to make edits. I would much prefer a text capsule, similar to those in the hubs.
   
   Although I write my articles in Word, I tend to answer questions as and when, and type directly into the text box. Also, agree with Don, regarding the text size being too small, especially when viewing on a smaller device.

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7. 92

   EricDockettposted 6 years ago

   There were also a couple of times when I wrote an answer, then tried to tweak the question before posting the answer and lost the whole thing.  
   
   That's another good reason to write your answer somewhere else and move it over.
   
   My third reason is because, on several occasions, editors have changed my answer in silly ways. (This happened on my other account.) I want to have a record of what I actually wrote so I can easily change it back if/when they mess it up.

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      Marketing Meritposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      Ordinarily, this is what I would recommend Eric. However, as I tend to answer the questions on an ad hoc basis, this isn't always practical for me to do.
      
      To avoid losing your work, you can press the answer button which saves your work. It then shows your answer above, which you can proof read. Unfortunately, you then have to go back to that small text box to edit. However, you can do this multiple times.
      
      I presume that HP was possibly anticipating the questions being answered in only one or two lines. It is a new feature, so fairly understandable that there are a few teething issues I guess.

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   eugbugposted 6 years ago

   Can't you drag the bottom corner of the pane diagonally to expand the box? That's what I always do.
   
   Edit: This can be done when commenting. I can't remember whether it's possible with Q&As, but if not, maybe the box could be altered to allow us to do so.

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      Marketing Meritposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      On my iPad, I can increase the box size, but only proportionately. Hence, the issue of width v height remains Eugbug, as everything else increases with it. The height of the text box needs to be increased quite a bit.

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         eugbugposted 6 years agoin reply to this

         Ok, but when you increase the size, are you doing the "two finger" thing on your iPad that scales everything on the page? You need to click, or tap and hold and drag on the two lines at the corner of the box. I'll try it on my tablet to see if it works. Maybe it's only possible on a desktop/laptop.
         

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            AliciaCposted 6 years agoin reply to this

            I've found a difference in the answer box on my iPad and my Windows laptop. On my iPad, I have the problems that people have mentioned in this thread. The two lines on the corner of the answer box are missing. On my laptop, the lines in the corner of the answer box are present.

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