We've made some changed to Competitions Time. Please see this thread.

Comping Guide - Getting Started & Other FAQs

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  • Tasuke
    Tasuke Posts: 44 Forumite
    I have a searching-related tip, if it's of any use. It's a way of checking for competitions specifically fitting one's interests, whether a given competition has already been posted, looking for things ending on a specific date, and so on, for those who prefer the interface of Google.

    What you need to do is enter your terms in quotation marks, "like so" (you can add several if you wish - you must add "competition" or "competitions" as one of them, though, to restrict the search to, well, competitions ;) ), and add site:forums.moneysavingexpert.com after your search terms. Here's an example of how this should look;

    googlesearchingan6.png

    EDIT: @Cheeky Chicken - you would be better off using tabs if you're using Mozilla Firefox - they function like multiple windows, within the same window. :) You can open a new tab by pressing CTRL and T at the same time on the Linux or Windows versions, or Command (the Apple logo key) and T on the Mac OS X version. It's possible to cycle through them by clicking on them, or using CTRL and Tab (Linux and Windows), or Command and either Tab or the arrow keys for Mac OS X (I always seem to forget this one, I'm afraid!). Also, if you see a link you like, you can click on it with your mouse's wheel or middle button (if it has one), or by holding down CTRL whilst clicking it (on a Mac, this is done by holding down Command when you click the link) to open it in a new tab, as well. I hope this is useful!

    EDIT2: Oops, I see from your screenshot that you're already using them. I have no idea how I missed that. Sorry! :)
    Kubuntu GNU/Linux user | Nintendo DS player

    (... And it's Tas-keh, not Ta-sook. ;))
  • VelvetGlove
    VelvetGlove Posts: 12,008
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    Thanks for these! :) I'll give the Guide a mini-makeover with these tips added at the weekend :)
    Sad because you don't know what to do? :sad: Comping question? Take a look in the Comping Guide to find out :smiley:
  • imagia
    imagia Posts: 174 Forumite
    For comps that require a long list of answers like those in Radio Times or the puzzles website ones, I use the Firefox extension Split Pannel. It saves a lot of faffing about moving between tabs or windows.

    I also find pop up windows to be incredibly annoying when comping. To force everything to open in tabs I use TabMixPlus and tweak the settings.
  • Tasuke
    Tasuke Posts: 44 Forumite
    Oh, I have another tip, regarding the use of tabs.

    In the current versions of Firefox, if you set newly-clicked links to always open in a new tab, when you close the newly-opened tab after finishing with it, it will usually hop right back to the tab in which you clicked the link (it sometimes doesn't if you end up being forwarded to another page in the newly-opened tab, though). I find this quite handy for entering competitions that catch my interest when I have a LOT of tabs open, and then (once finished) moving right back to the thread where I found them in order to click the relevant "Thanks" buttons therein.
    Kubuntu GNU/Linux user | Nintendo DS player

    (... And it's Tas-keh, not Ta-sook. ;))
  • hunch
    hunch Posts: 103
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker
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    nash0819 wrote: »
    One tip to speed up the ITV comps.

    Select the correct answer (A/B/C/D) and fill out your contact details before typing the text into the Captcha box. When you have correctly typed the text in Captcha, press these three keys in this order to submit your entry:
    1. TAB (moves to the I Agree tickbox)
    2. SPACE (puts a tick in the I Agree tickbox)
    3. ENTER (submits the comp entry)
    Do it slowly the first few times to get the hang of it and then you'll find you can speed up. This saves me several seconds per entry, which adds up quickly on the mutliple-entry comps.

    Just to add that you can use the keyboard shortcut to access Roboform by holding Alt and ] (beside the return key) at the same time and then hitting enter when the options box appears. I use Firefox and it saves me moving from mouse to keyboard when filling in the ITV forms. Hope it helps :o

    "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter" -
    Martin Luther King
  • thanks very much for this.I am fairly new at this and it is all still a minefield.I wanted to know how to mark a comp that i had entered so i followed all your instructions above.However, when i press the thanks button, although it dissappears from the screen,when i go back to it later it has reappeared.Also if I 'subscribe to this thread' sometimes the symbol appears on the list but sometimes it doesnt. Any tips?
  • kipper_2-2
    kipper_2-2 Posts: 56,025 Forumite
    Hi


    The thanks button will never reappear if you have clicked it, its one way of knowing for sure you have entered a competition.


    If you have subscribed to the thread to keep track of what you have entered you can track it in your user cp, that link can be found at the top of the page :)
  • Cheeky_Chicken
    Cheeky_Chicken Posts: 5,336
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    thanks very much for this.I am fairly new at this and it is all still a minefield.I wanted to know how to mark a comp that i had entered so i followed all your instructions above.However, when i press the thanks button, although it dissappears from the screen,when i go back to it later it has reappeared.Also if I 'subscribe to this thread' sometimes the symbol appears on the list but sometimes it doesnt. Any tips?
    You have to be logged in, otherwise the thanks button will seem to re-appear, as the system won't know who you are or what you've clicked :)
    Al Mac Appreciation Society (AMAS) member # 6½
    This Will Be Mine 2009 Member #5 I just want to win a new iPod please
    Member of the missing kipper club
  • kipper_2-2
    kipper_2-2 Posts: 56,025 Forumite
    The thanks button doesn't show when you are logged out? only the quote button shows
  • Cheeky_Chicken
    Cheeky_Chicken Posts: 5,336
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    kipper wrote: »
    The thanks button doesn't show when you are logged out? only the quote button shows
    Sorry! I never log out! :p
    Al Mac Appreciation Society (AMAS) member # 6½
    This Will Be Mine 2009 Member #5 I just want to win a new iPod please
    Member of the missing kipper club
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