How to upload a formatted document as a tutorial?

I’ve written an .odt document concerning how to make a backup of a system file, how to examine two files for differences, and how to replace a system file that was replaced by and upgrade. I used LO to create it so I could easily use a terminal and search web while writing.

I test loading a pdf file [not accepted], jpg & png [too small to be read] - I’m probably missing something terribly obvious but I’m sorta at a stand still. I’ve noticed some very well written formatted tutorials posted and am curious the methods used.

Suggestions ???

Install Dropbox from the Software Boutique and create an account.

Drop your document in your Dropbox folder

Go to your Dropbox account on the Dropbox website and create a share link to the document

Paste the share link into a post on here

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Thanks! Will the document look like a link, or will the contents be visible like a written post?

It will look like a link. If you want the content to appear in the post, you will need to enter that content directly into the post. Do you need advice on formatting techniques with regards to the above? I’ll be happy to help.

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I suppose that I could use some … maybe I missed a tutorial on how to post in our Tut section.

I was hoping to leverage the 2+ hours already spent on exact syntax with screen captures and indented notes explaining the sections of a command … ie sudo cp /etc/systemd/system.conf system.conf.org .
so the intended newbie target at least has confidence in the post and quite possibly might learn.

Looking forward to your input…

I’d recommend posting tutorials for Ubuntu MATE as a post. That way, it can be easily translated by users around the world with their web browser. A PDF however is more tricky.

The tip is to master markdown formatting:

Here's another secret... "Spoilers"... ;)
<details><summary>Here's another secret...</summary>
"Spoilers"... ;)
</details>
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Thank You! I 100% agree that a tutorial post for members of this site should reside here

I don’t know exactly why a pdf is tricky - don’t most browsers read pdf files? Creating them is a breeze in LO.

I suppose lesson for me is write the document in plain text, reference file location of uploads in the text and use the formatting options you’ve provided.

Any possibility to permit pdf uploads?

Do you know of a plugin for LO that utilizes the editing help link you provided?

Many do, like Chrome/Chromium… My point is since there are many non-native English speakers here, a PDF is a bit of a barrier for them should they wish for a translation in their own language.

Instead of clicking a “Translate” button (if the browser has said feature), they’d need to use a third party tool or website. Even easier… just not bother with the PDF at all. :expressionless:

No, only images are allowed. Follow @stevecook172001’s recommendation to use an online file storage service like Dropbox for other types of files.

No. Markdown is a syntax in plain text whereas LibreOffice is a rich text editor. They’re not the same.

When you create posts, you’ll see a preview on the right. The forum saves drafts for new posts, so you could copy and paste the text for safekeeping.

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I take it you will have produced this as as formatted text and pictures in a word processing document. That being the case, if it were me I guess I would firstly copy and paste, bit by bit, the text to the post, leaving gaps for where I intended the pictures to go in the post. Once the text was all in place, it would then need to be reformatted using the formatting tools at the top of the post. See below:

Please note, the formatting icon above that looks like "</>" is very useful for putting around text that you want to look exactly as you intend it to look. I often use it when pasting text from bash scripts so that I can be sure that this forum will not mangle the text when it is posted. I am guessing it mangles it sometimes because bash scripts sometimes use special symbols which this forum interprets as html code or something like that.

For the pictures, you will need to save each of these somewhere. Then upload them using the upload icon in the formatting toolbar into the correct place in your post.

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Luke,

Thanks for the guidance and tips … I really didn’t want to learn this markdown language :smirk: but I don’t think it’ll be too bad. Copying the odt file to pluma and using some basic markdown commands was pretty painless. :sunglasses:

I’ve already marked this as a solution but have one last question.

Will this code ![alternate text](https://https://drive.google.com/file/d/ Not There Yet) display the image or just a link?

That snip of code will display a link. It’s syntax is slightly different here, since the <> brackets displays image as-is, for example:

<https://ubuntu-mate.org/gallery/Progress-201605/MATE114_GTK318.png>

The image should exist on the other server first too.

The other method is to drag-and-drop the image to the edit box for the forum to host the image. I think Discourse automatically downloads external images anyway.

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