The message box is grayed out on my ipad and I am on the desktop to type this. How can I fix this?

Several Members have found this. I don't use the app myself but I've been told that, before you are able to type into the message box on the iPad Forum app, you need to choose a font first of all!!

See if this works for you but, if it doesn't, get back to us...

Tim

The entire message part is grayed out and I can't ever type in it. I tried to select a font, but it won't let me select the font or size

The easiest first way to try to solve ‘unexplained’ or ‘unusual’ problems with the iPad are:-

Force the offending app to close. If you have iOS 4.2 or 4.3 double-press the ‘Home’ button to bring up the multi-task bar at the bottom of the screen. Press *and hold* any icon until they start to ‘jiggle’. Then tap the top left-hand corner of the app that you want to close. It will ‘disappear’ from the list. Don’t panic - you’ve not deleted it, just closed it. Now tap the Home screen and the multi-task bar will disappear. Re-open the iPad’s app and see if the problem has resolved itself. If not, it’s on to possible solution number two!!
Restart the iPad. Press *and hold* the Power button. After a couple of seconds a slider control will appear asking you to confirm that you really want to switch the iPad off (this is all you’ll be doing). Slide the control to accept. A rotating white ‘bezel’ will appear in the iPad screen as the iPad powers down (it takes a few seconds, just like it would if you were shutting down your PC). When the screen of the iPad has gone completely blank, press *and hold* the Power button for a couple of seconds until the white Apple logo appears and the iPad starts to power up. This takes several seconds, so be patient. During the power up the automatic screen orientation function is disabled, so don’t panic. A few seconds before the power up is complete, the iPad plays a little ‘jingle’ and then you’re back to the Home screen. Restart the iPad’s app and see if the problem persists. Apple (and Forum members) recommend that you power down your iPad at least once a week, just as you might regularly completely switch off your PC. The normal procedure of just briefly pressing the Power button of the iPad merely puts it to ‘sleep’. Most Forum members have found that one of the two methods I’ve mentioned here cure a whole bunch of unexplained problems and are an easy first step to resolving most anything that happens on the iPad.

Tim
Scotland

nope still nothing after all that

OK - a summary of what we've tried so far....

(1) Tried to select font, but app will not let you do this.
(2) Closed Forum app by double-tapping Home key and closing the app in the multi-task bar
(3) Turned the iPad completely off and then on again.

And still the app won't allow you to type into the message area of the iPad Forum app.

Do you have problems typing into other message boxes - for example in the iPad's native Mail app can you type into the body of an email there?

Tim

I just sent an e-mail to myself and it worked fine. I haven't found any other problems other than this app.... Of course the one that is supposed to help me

OK - as I mentioned, other Members have had problems with this app too - exactly the same problem that you're having - but they seemed to have cured it by selecting the font to begin with.

I don't use the iPad Forum - I use Safari and the ipadforums.net website, which I find much more convenient. Hopefully other Members will come up with some other suggestions because I've run out of ideas for the time being...

OK - one last (clutching at straws) suggestion. Delete the app and then re-install it....

Tim

I will try that too. I appreciate all your help. Thanks

I just hate not being able to solve a problem - it's going to bug me all day....so I'll be thinking of other possible solutions too..

Good Luck with the re-installation. It should only take a minute or two.

Tim

Do you recommend a certain screen protector that is really good or the best in your opinion? I am still working on the re-install

Here's a discussion by Members...

http://www.ipadforums.net/ipad-accessories/21971-ipad-2-screen-protectors-any-suggestions.html

Tim

so when I restarted this app and tried to reply to the thread and select the font this is what it does. When I tried to remove it it won't let me type if it is not there, but at least it let's me type something

Then when I see the thread nothing shows up before my text. Crazy app! Pretty annoying

I am still experimenting with this...I think it is getting better

It is strange because while, as I've said, some Members definitely have the same problems as you do, others have no problems at all....very strange.

Let us know how you get on - you are clearly on your way to becoming the iPad Forum expert on the iPF app....

Tim

The IPF app will not let you enter text (except the subject line for some reason) until you are logged in. To log in choose the Forum icon at the bottom. There should be a blue login button at the bottom left, if memory serves. Tap it and enter your user info.

When in Safari and visiting the site you may have problems entering stuff in the text box also. This can be cured temporarily by tapping the icon at the top left of the text editor. It looks like a couple of A's overlapping. This switches the the editor between WYSIWIG (What You See Is What You Get) and HTML. The WYSIWIG editor is the one that usualy causes problems.

You can change the default editor by going to User CP on the site (via a browser) and Edit Options. The default editor setting is at the bottom of the page.

Thanks, poet. I learnt two things today

(1) you need to be logged in the iPF app before you can enter text and

the one I really had absolutely no idea about


(2) the switch between WYSIWYG and HTML in Safari. That one is sheer genius.....thanks...

Tim

Don't be too impressed. I was wrong about what the double A icon does.

It removes text formatting. If you've made some text bold, changed the color, or some other thing, you can highlight it again and click on the double A icon to clear that formatting. It's a bit quicker than manually deleting the tags.

I thought it changed the editor because someone else noticed that if you couldn't edit in the box and clicked on it, then the problem went away. This still may be worth trying.

I'd have known better if I'd only spend a tiny amount of time checking my theory. All you have to do is hover the mouse over the icons to get a description of what each icon does.

You can still avoid the idiosyncrasies of the WYSIWIG editor by changing to the standard editor as a default, but it has to be done using Edit Options on the Use CP page. You almost have to do this for third party browsers, at least that is what it took to make Atomic play nice with the forum.