print or save threads as text files?

Is there a way to print or save threads as text files? If not, what is the easiest way to read a lengthy thread online/off?

If there isn't a way to just get all the text, I'd love to see this implemented. Seems like it would be fairly painless with xml tags on posts and a link to get to the text.

The "printer friendly" link, for individual posts, may satisfy your needs.

If not you can always (if using IE) use the print function at the top of your browser window.

Hope this helps! ... if not u2u for specifics?!

You will see the following on every post. Click is and it will take you to that post where there is an option to view the entire thread.




EDIT: nope guess that "full thread" link takes you back to the main board thread.

[edit on 23-1-2006 by kinglizard]

It's a little tricky, and maybe a bit of an overkill considering you don't just get the post text, but you can copy everything into notepad and print or save it. Just place the cursor immediately to the left of the first poster's name, and click and drag all the way down the thread until you've selected all the post text. If you go too far down though, or too far right, you'll get all the extra stuff too--ads, extra non-thread text, etc. You'll still need to go through each page--that'd be fun on the Serpo thread...

I don't know how much of a strain accessing a full thread in one whack would put on the server, but from a user stand point that would be a fairly nifty feature.

As some threads get up to 50+ pages, a way to get an entire thread in the way the "printer friendly" works for individual posts would be incredibly awesome. That would work great using a browser's "save as text" command.

Trying to follow long threads, sometimes with only a handful of posts (long ones) per page, and going back to find earlier points that are referenced throughout is hard (even with links in posts...still a lot of flopping around...and painful on dial-up). Searching a text file would be valuable for studying a thread. My retention isn't that great. I'd kill for a photographic memory.

As noted in the previous post, I don't know how a server would be effected either. But all the graphical content must take up a lot of juice. Maybe it would even out what with not so much full page reloading if this were worked out?

EDIT: Mccory1 said it'd be "nifty'. I strongly second that!

[edit on 23-1-2006 by 2nd Hand Thoughts]

[edit on 23-1-2006 by 2nd Hand Thoughts]

[edit on 23-1-2006 by 2nd Hand Thoughts]

I thought this was a soon to be implemented function coming soon.

Did I misinterpret what I read in another thread?

A feature that would allow you to download an entire thread as a text file would be GREAT! I have gone through the laborious task of highlighting all the text in a thread and pasting into notepad so I could have a text file... er.. not that much fun.

I often do this so that I can download the thread into my PDA so I can read it when away from the computer.

I wish there was a way to view and print an entire thread. I also often print out threads for others to read or me to read later. I have long since gave up trying to get it into my pocket pc.

It is not that large of a task to code, so I also am requesting that this feature could be included in the near future - please. A printer friendly page that shows the entire thread - that would make me have NO issues with ATS.

I created this a while ago to take advantage of the "text to speech" engine in opera.

*snip*

Thinking about it lots of use could be detrimental to ATS so i'll remove the link.

Basically it strips the page down and just shows you the text of each post.

If you want it send me a u2u






[edit on 2-2-2006 by Burgess]

There is still no way to properly save an entire multi-page thread as a single text file?
I coulda sworn there was a way? No one?

well there is the link at the top of the thread " Send to a Friend"
I would assume you could email it to your self and just save the email in text form and print it?

No, that only sends a link, not the entire text of the thread. I kinda vaugely remember a 'printer friendly' version of an entire thread, but perhaps that was only of a single page, not the whole thread.

Yes it appears that it used to be that way, looking at kinglizards post above...

The only way I can think of is to save each page seperately, and join them manually.

Originally posted by watch_the_rocks
No, that only sends a link, not the entire text of the thread. I kinda vaugely remember a 'printer friendly' version of an entire thread

Nope, I just checked using the "way back machine" archived ATS pages (October 2006, before Dark Matter) ...
web.archive.org...

I checked a couple of big threads (more than one page) in BBQ forum, and they only show a single post, when clicking on "Printer Friendly"

hope this helps.. ( I have a feeling it won't, it only verifies that "full thread" printing was not an option at that time, either)

edit = add date of archive

[edit on 6/26/2007 by Mechanic 32]