How do I control the formatting of the messages I send?

Key combinations to let you control how your message is sent

Here is a handy table of the key combinations you can use to control whether your message is sent as 'text' or as a 'paste'.

No idea what all that 'text' and 'paste' stuff is about?

That's okay, here's some background. Campfire has two distinct types of message you can send.

The 'text' message

A text message is formatted as a single paragraph. Any URLs you include in your message will be turned into hyperlinks. If the text message only includes a URL ending in .jpg, .jpeg, .gif or .png then Campfire will convert the URL into an image for display in the chat.

The 'paste' message

A paste message is displayed as an unformatted block, exactly as you typed it. URLs are not turned into hyperlinks or images and any line-breaks in your message are preserved.

You would typically use a paste message to share snippets of source-code or other information where it's important to display the message exactly as you typed it.

How does Campfire decide whether it's a 'text' or a 'paste' message?

The default rule for deciding if a message is text or a paste is:

If your message contains line-breaks, it will be sent as a paste.

In Propane you can insert a line-break by pressing shift-return (that is, holding down the 'shift' key and pressing the 'return' key). The input box will grow a little taller and place the cursor on the next line, ready for you to continue typing. When you're ready to send your message, just press the return key as normal.

Propane has additional key combinations you can use to control how your message is sent. They are listed in the table at the beginning of this document.