How to leave large Scratch studios

Studios on Scratch are fun. Being able to chat with others, find (sometimes) interesting projects, and just being part of a group is a great experience.

But sometimes, the experience wears off after a while. Maybe your interests are changing, or you’re just trying to get that weird Shrek is God meme studio off of your profile. So, you open the studio, and the curators tab looks like this:

From my Fans and Followers studio

Yep. We’ve all been there, just trying to figure out where the heck our username is in the pit of names and profile pictures.

Well, there is an easier way to leave the studio without having to scroll for hours. Using the magic of JavaScript, it’s easy as making a bookmark and clicking on it.

First off, triple-click and drag the below code to your bookmarks bar:

javascript:fetch("/site-api/users/curators-in/"+location.pathname.split`/`[2]+"/remove/?usernames="+document.querySelector`.profile-name`.innerText,{headers:{"x-csrftoken":/en=(\w+);/.exec(document.cookie)[1]},method:"PUT"}).then(()=>location.reload())

Like this:

Then, navigate to the studio you want to leave, and click the bookmark. Reload the page, and you have successfully left the studio.

How to post images on the Scratch Forums

You know what you clicked on. You want to know how to post images on the Scratch forums.

Well, you have to use an image host. There are tons, however, Scratch only supports a select few. A full list can be found here. I’m going to be covering two: cubeupload and ScratchAssets.

cubeupload

cubeupload is one of the best image hosts out there, and the best that Scratch supports. Most forumers (myself included) use it. It’s easy to use, offers unlimited storage, and is completely free, unlike some other hosts that have a limit on how many images you can upload before you have to pay up. One downside is that it has an issue with downtime, although it is pretty rare.

To get started, visit the cubeupload website and make an account. After that, make sure you’re on the upload screen (if you’re not sure, click on the cubeupload logo) and press “Select Images”. Then, pick your images and press Upload.

After all the images have finished uploading, the image links will appear. Copy the first link (the one with the piece of paper next to it) and switch over to the Scratch forum thread you want to post the image in. Click on the Image icon, paste the link in the pop-up that appears, and press OK/the Enter key on your keyboard to insert the [img] tag.

And done!

ScratchAssets

If you don’t want to make an account or just want a simple way to quickly upload images, then ScratchAssets is a great option. It uses Scratch’s asset server, which is used for fetching costumes and sounds in projects. Using it manually is complicated, but there are simpler options. I’m going to explain how to use a bookmarklet.

First off, drag this code to your bookmarks bar:

Scratch Assets image uploader

Like this:

Now you’re ready to upload images! You’ll have to be on a Scratch Forum thread for the bookmarklet to work.

When you’re typing in a forum reply box, to upload an image you just need to click the bookmark and pick your image. The bookmarklet will upload your image (if it doesn’t work, it’ll tell you, just try again) and it’s even kind enough to insert image tags for you.

And that’s all there is to it!


Set an Ocular status

Have you ever used Jeffalo’s Ocular tool to look up a certain post and noticed some text below the user’s post count?

Or perhaps you’ve visited a user on the forum leaderboards and notice a similar thing, below their username.

That text is called an Ocular status, and it’s set using the My Ocular dashboard. Want to know how to set your own? Read on!

Note: You need a Scratch account with Scratcher rank to set a status. If you have a New Scratcher rank, message Jeffalo on their profile to have them set your status for you.


The first step is to log in to My Ocular. Visit the Ocular website (https://ocular.jeffalo.net/).

Once you’re there, click on the “Dashboard” button to go to the login screen.

You should be directed to the Scratch Auth website. Just follow the instructions to sign in with your Scratch account.

Now you should be taken back to Ocular.

If you receive an error message, check your Scratch account’s status on your profile page (it has to be a Scratcher rank to sign in). If you are a New Scratcher, message Jeffalo to have them set your status for you. Otherwise, try again.

However, if all goes well, you should be greeted with a screen showing your profile picture and username. If the profile picture and username are yours, click on “confirm”. If not, click on “deny” and repeat the sign-in process with your Scratch account. Using an account that is not yours without the account owner’s permission violates part 2.2 of the Scratch Terms of Use!

After you have signed in, you should be taken back to the Ocular homepage, and your username should be in the upper right corner.

Click on the “Dashboard” button to visit your Ocular profile settings.

You should be taken to your Ocular dashboard. Enter the status you want into the “status” box. You also have the option to set your Scratch Forum Leaderboards profile color as well, by clicking on the “favorite color” selector. When you are happy with your settings, click on the “update” button.

When you see a “user updated” message, your changes have been saved. You can check out your new status and color on Ocular and the Forum Leaderboards using their respective links on the dashboard.

That’s all there is to it!


Keep the Scratch Cat Blocks!

The Cat Blocks. There’s nothing more elusive (or cute) than the Scratch April Fool’s Day Cat-styled Hat blocks. These folks appear for a day or two and then disappear, without a trace. And we all miss them.

Well, what if I told you that you can keep the Cat Blocks? You can get them in GarboMuffin’s TurboWarp mod. Let’s start!

Note: I was on mobile when I took the screenshots for this tutorial. Don’t worry, it’s the same instructions for desktop.

The first step is to go to the TurboWarp website (turbowarp.org)

Once the page has loaded, click on the “Addons” tab. It should open up a new page in your browser.

On the Addons page, scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the Dango (next to the version number).

Once you’ve done that, all of the other toggles should disappear, and you should see a toggle for the Cat Blocks. Turn that on, and hit the “Reload Now” button that should appear after that.

Close the addons tab, and when you open the TurboWarp editor, you should see that all the hat blocks will be Cat Blocks!

That’s all you have to do. Just remember that if you clear your browser data, you’ll have to re-enable the Cat Blocks again. Have fun!


Get Scratch 3.0 blocks in the Forums!

Have you ever noticed that the blocks in the Scratch Forums look old and outdated? Well, we can change that with a simple workaround in your posts.

You can also use this method to get block images for tutorials and such as well as the forums.

Note: I’m not going to go in-depth on the [scratchblocks] syntax. If you need a guide, check this Scratch Wiki page.

To start, head on over to the scratchblocks page. It looks like this after loading:

Once the page has loaded, in the box on the right, enter the [scratchblocks] code you want to make your blocks. A preview of your blocks will appear on the right side.

When you’re done and happy with your scripts, hit the “Export PNG” button below the “scratchblocks” logo.

Once you’ve saved it, you should resize the image to make it smaller, and crop out the extra space.

Now, head to an image host like cubeupload and upload your block image.

Grab its link and head to the topic you want to post the blocks on. (I’m using the official scratchblocks testing topic), and insert the image using the image button.

Then share your post!

That’s it! Thanks for reading!

Play Adobe Flash games after 2020

If you’ve followed the online game scene for a while, you probably know that Adobe is killing their Flash player, which powers games like Learn to Fly. But, you can still play your old content. Today, we’ll look at an app you can use to enjoy your favorite Flash content.

It is a little hard to use, but it pays off in the end. To use it, you’ll need to know how to rip a game’s SWF link.

First, find a game site that has the title you want to play. Right-click the Flash element and click Inspect.

If you did it right, the Inspect app will open and you should see a link ending with “.swf” That’s the game! Right-click on it and select “Copy link address”.

Tip: Make a list of your favorite games using this method so you can access them later.

Now, let’s download Adobe Debugger. Head on over to the download site and find your OS’s projector content debugger. Click on it and save it.

Once it’s done downloading, find it and open it. To launch a game, select Open from the File menu.

This will open a new popup where you can paste in a URL. Paste in the link to the game you want to play (see above for more instructions) and press Enter or click OK.

The window morphs into the game’s shape, and it loads. Enjoy!


When Stop Sign Clicked Tutorial

Have you ever wanted a When Stop Sign Clicked block in Scratch? Well, we can’t make that block, but we can code a workaround! These workarounds use the timer.

You could use these to do things like show a thumbnail or your outro when the stop sign is hit.

Note: The screenshots shown were taken in the TurboWarp editor. The colors of the Scratch editor and TurboWarp are slightly different.

Method 1

This method is the easiest to code, but you can’t use the timer for anything else.

First, create this script:

Now, create this stack:

Snap the blocks you want to run when the project is stopped, and that’s it!

Method 2

This method is slightly more complex but allows you to use the timer for other things.

First, make a new variable and call it “timer2”.

Now, build this stack:

Then, add this code:

Snap the blocks you want to run when the stop sign is hit.

That’s it! I hope you find this useful!

Host a website with GitHub Pages

Hey everyone! Today, I’m going to show you how to host a website using GitHub Pages!

So, let’s start. You’ll need a GitHub account and a website builder that can export in HTML/knowledge of the HTML code language. This tutorial will only show you how to launch a site.

The first step is to make your site. You can code it yourself or use an HTML-export-compatible website builder like Mobirise or Pixel Together. Then, export your site as an HTML file, like I did (check your builder program on how to do that, or just save your HTML code if you wrote it yourself.)

Now, find the website file in your device’s files app and rename it index. (it has to be EXACTLY index or GitHub won’t recognize it)

Now, go to GitHub, and create a new repository. Name it what you want the end part of your URL to be (or choose GitHub’s randomly generated name).

Now, let’s import your website. Select the Add file button and click Upload files.

Then, upload your index file, and commit it to the main branch (write a message if you want).

Now, hop into the settings and scroll down to the GitHub Pages heading. Select the main branch, and click Save.

And you’re done! Go to yourusername.github.io/repositoryname/ and enjoy!

Ear Bleed Sounds Tutorial

Hey everyone! Today, I will show you how to make “ear bleed sounds” or, as it’s better known, earr**e. I’ll use the TwistedWave audio editor for this.

Now, let’s start. Open TwistedWave and open a new file.

The TwistedWave homepage.

Once you’ve done that, the TwistedWave app will open itself in a pop-up window.

Note: If you don’t see it, your browser might be blocking pop-ups. You’ll have to allow TwistedWave to open pop-ups to use the app.

The app looks like this (with my file):

Edit your sound (if you think you need to). Now, let’s add the ear bleed effect!

Open the Effects menu and select the Amplify option.

Tip: To add the effect to a certain part of the audio, select the portion and then open the Amplify subscreen.

This will open a little subscreen where you can add or remove decibels (dB) from the track. We want to add decibels, so move the slider to the right. To add your changes, click the Apply button.

The Amplify subscreen.

My waveform looks like this after I applied the effect:

Now, play your track. If it sounds good to you, congratulations! If not, press the Undo button (Ctrl+Z/Command+Z) and open the Amplify screen again. Repeat that process until you it sounds good. Now it’s time to save the file!

Open the File menu and select Download.

A save menu will open. Set the audio format to WAVE Audio, and then download it.

Then, press Download.

Ok, that’s all for now. See you soon!

TheGlassPenguin