Printable version and option to show more posts per page

[ramthrou]

I can’t seem to find a way to display more posts per page or to view a clean, printable version of threads on this forum.

Am I overlooking something?

If not, I’d like to suggest adding these features. They would make it much easier to read and search through long threads, such as Firmware Release discussions.

Both options should be easy to implement and quick to toggle in any modern forum platform.

 

[ramthrou]

Anybody home...?

 

[Tech9]

No one replying to your post most likely means there is no interest in such feature from both users and administrators.

 

[RMerlin]

Your request should be sent to the Xenforo developers, not to us...

 

[Crimliar]

There may not be a means to increase the number of replies per page, but the right click screenshot ability in Firefox works great IMHO. Dunno about the state of play in other browsers though!

 

[ramthrou]

Xenforo

Seems that there are plugins that can be used:
ChatGPT-4:

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Question:​

Is it possible to activate "more posts per page" and/or "printable view" in XenForo?

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Answer:​

Yes, it's possible to enable both "more posts per page" and a "printable view" in XenForo, but it may require some configuration and/or add-ons.

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More posts per page​

Default setting:

• XenForo displays 20 posts per page by default.
• You can change this for the whole forum under:
  Admin Control Panel (ACP) > Options > Messages > Messages per page

Limitations:

• The maximum value for "Messages per page" is 100.
  Trying to set a higher value results in an error:
  "value must be less or equal than 100."
  Source – XenForo forum

User-specific customization:

• XenForo does not allow individual users to change the number of posts per page by default.
  This is due to technical reasons involving page numbering and URL structures.
  Discussion

Solution via add-on:

• You can use an add-on like [tl] Threads, posts and conversations per page to allow users to configure their own settings.
  Link to add-on (paid)

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Printable view​

Default behavior:

• XenForo does not have a built-in printable thread view like some older forum software.
  This has been a popular feature request.
  Reference

Solution via add-on:

• The Print friendly add-on by AndyB provides a clean, print-optimized version of threads, conversations, and resources.
  It adds a print icon that opens a stripped-down view for printing.
  Link (paid)

Alternative:

• The Export Thread add-on lets you export the full content of a thread, which can also be useful for printing.
  Discussion

Note:

• These add-ons are paid resources and require a valid XenForo license.

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Summary​

Feature	Built-in?	Customizable?	Add-on Available?
More posts per page	Yes	Only globally (max 100)	Yes: [tl] Threads, posts...
Printable view	No	—	Yes: Print Friendly / Export Thread

By using the mentioned add-ons, you can extend XenForo to offer more flexibility and features to your users.

 

[ramthrou]

Then you have your answer.

Perfect. Any ETA on the install?

 

[Ripshod]

Perfect. Any ETA on the install?

My bad. I thought those were browser plugins.
It won't be happening. Adding hooks and scripts to a working forum can break things. You are but one person asking.

 

[ramthrou]

My bad. I thought those were browser plugins.
It won't be happening. Adding hooks and scripts to a working forum can break things. You are but one person asking.

I might be the only person annoyed enough to actually go through the trouble of finding this subforum and submitting a request, but I seriously doubt I’m the only one who would appreciate it. I’ve never checked this subforum before, even though I’ve browsed the forum occasionally for years, so I would have missed any previous posts about the same request or topic.

Everything can potentially break things, but that’s exactly what backups and testing are for.

If nothing else, my post also included a way to increase the default number of posts per page in XenForo with just a few clicks. I doubt that would significantly increase server load on an almost entirely text-based forum in 2025. In fact, the only reasonable explanation I can think of for the default 20 page limit is early 2000's hardware and bandwith constraints, mostly on the client side. Because even back then, most major forums had the option of viewing at least 40-60 etc posts per page, and a printable version. As such XenForo seems like a relic.

Edit: Just to shed some light on what pushed me over the edge: I was trying to input several release threads into ChatGPT to analyze reports recurring instabilities I've experienced in the post-3004.388.7 firmwares. This required me to click "next" and meticulously select and copy-paste (because the formatting isn’t copy-friendly, which is why I wanted a clean "printable" version) over 20 pages per thread for at least three different firmware versions, adding up to a considerable amount of labor. I'd also like to do this in future threads, firmware release-threads among them to scan for relevant reports. (So what I'd ideally like is the ability to view the whole thread in as simple formatting as possible, and ideally-ideally a "Copy" button that exports the whole thread in simple text formatting + attachments/pictures/screenshots.)

I’ve also navigated these threads manually before, and it’s a pain to scroll back and forth through pages just to find the relevant posts and get an overview of the conversation.

 

[bbunge]

Edit: Just to shed some light on what pushed me over the edge: I was trying to input several release threads into ChatGPT to analyze reports recurring instabilities I've experienced in the post-3004.388.7 firmwares.

Analyze in ChatGPT?
What a waste! You need another hobby.

 

[Ripshod]

I don't get it. Why not just read the threads yourself - and asus' release notes - and analyze it yourself.
There are always going to be bug reports on this forum when the cause is actually misconfiguration.
And don't get me started on the dumbness of AI.
I'm out.

 

[ramthrou]

Analyze in ChatGPT?
What a waste! You need another hobby.

And you really need an AI to check your ignorance at the door. Because you've clearly got no insight into what I'm trying to accomplish, which means you've no experience with solving firmware related problems with respect to Asus.

 

[ramthrou]

No one replying to your post most likely means there is no interest in such feature from both users and administrators.

How so? Is clicking "Next" and wading back and forth in a sea of pages to try and find the relevant information a hobby of yours? I actually think most people are like me, the've always wanted to view more posts per page but do not follow this subforum.

 

[dave14305]

More posts per page might lead to fewer ads being loaded/shown. Don’t underestimate the financial impact of tinkering with the current configuration (even if Xenforo made it easier to do).

If you want a rundown of any release thread, it goes like this:

• LETS GO!
• Working great after 4 minutes of uptime!
• No issues to report
• Everything broke! Help!
• Everything broke! I reverted to the older version.
• Things feel faster.
• Things feel slower.
• My special iot device can’t connect.
• Temperature seems hotter.
• Are all the most recent Asus vulnerabilities fixed?
• Did you factory reset?
• My Addon doesn’t work

It’s almost always the same items for every release. I wouldn’t want to train AI on these release threads, nor rely on any intelligence coming from it. But that’s besides the point.

 

[ramthrou]

If you want a rundown of any release thread, it goes like this:

• LETS GO!
• Working great after 4 minutes of uptime!
• No issues to report
• Everything broke! Help!
• Everything broke! I reverted to the older version.
• Things feel faster.
• Things feel slower.
• My special iot device can’t connect.
• Temperature seems hotter.
• Are all the most recent Asus vulnerabilities fixed?
• Did you factory reset?
• My Addon doesn’t work

It’s almost always the same items for every release. I wouldn’t want to train AI on these release threads, nor rely on any intelligence coming from it. But that’s besides the point.

My plan is to use AI to address exactly the issue you’re describing—by identifying the few golden nuggets of useful information and presenting and comparing them across multiple firmware versions.

As any experienced Asus router user will tell you, things break all the time after upgrading the firmware for no good reason, because Asus does little to no internal quality control.

You then have a few options: spend a good chunk of your life endlessly tweaking settings (or just throw away a perfectly functional router because some SNBForum users have a fetish for yelling “hardware failure”), but this usually leads nowhere since the real problem is firmware-related on a deeper level, and you'll reduce performance trying to work around a problem that might be fixed in the next release. The best option is to revert to the last working firmware and watch for users with similar setups who report success with future releases—or, if you have the time and interest (of which I in this instance, have neither), you can test the new versions yourself and risk having your/your users activities interrupted by a buggy network in the process, which you then have to flash back to the old firmware.

This is especially true for AiMesh setups on AsusWRT-Merlin.

More posts per page might lead to fewer ads being loaded/shown. Don’t underestimate the financial impact of tinkering with the current configuration (even if Xenforo made it easier to do).

Good point. So we should all enable our ad blockers in order to discourage sacrificing user experience just to show more ads.

 

[RMerlin]

So we should all enable our ad blockers in order to discourage sacrificing user experience just to show more ads.

Great way to just cause these forums to simply shut down because it's no longer viable to operate.

 

[thiggins]

Ok guys, let's keep it civil.
@ramthrou In the future, if you have something requiring forum admin attention, @thiggins or send a direct message.
I can increase the # of posts per page, but what # are you looking for?
I can look into the print add-in. But you might check into browser extensions. I've tried Firefox Reader Mode but it wasn't great. Maybe other browser platforms have better options.