We have markdown available in the index.
Let’s do some color coding or something to show basic, intermediate, advanced?
I can see hiding stuff maybe.
Agreed!! Just answered a simple color question a few minutes ago. The available info for the Markdown card is limited and confuses a lot of folks.
Most don’t know you can add style inside the content:
Though I’ve recommended Skalavala’s guide many times, I don’t think I’d add it as-is. I think it would be better to have a few posts that cover template basics more topically. That way, when they are referenced, people aren’t being sent to a confusing, encyclopedic collection of templates.
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OK, the poll is closed.
In accordance with the will of the people, I have created a new “For More Experienced Users” section and moved a few posts into it (basically, the ones I don’t understand).
Over to you guys… 
I can work in that, sure.
@Didgeridrew
Just spotted this and it never crossed my mind to do it.
You should write up a cookbook wiki in the experienced section for this!
Integrating External Variable Files into Home Automation Automations - #3 by Didgeridrew.
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I got that from Petro…
Unlike macros it will return data types other than strings, but the template only renders on restart or if you call homeassistant.reload_custom_templates, so if the user isn’t careful they can end up with unreliable output.
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You could also create a custom_template and share it in HACS…
Then you could document it and such.
Look at mine to see what I did, and it can be shared to HACS and listed as well. Only see it in experimental.
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I’ve started a community guide intended for the cookbook, but not yet included it in the index as it doesn’t contain much yet.
Zigbee devices that don't play nice.
Additions welcome.
Design question: have you thought about putting the data into a table? I had the same problem a while ago with the list for Midea A/Cs.
I thought, it might be better readable, if people give their information in one post per device, and a list in the starting post gives the link to that post.
See here for an example:
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I did try a markdown table, but it was very tricky to edit - I was afraid that might put people off contributing.
Edit: Your table of links is impressive! Would it work in this case, do you think? A lot of the knowledge involved seems to be in the heads of Regulars, not set out in posts (see the comments in the group message).
Yep, that was my experience as well. It’s tricky to write and edit. But I took a look at the top5 posts in the wiki category, turns out, it’s just a handful of people, that actually change something in the first post. The edits are mostly done by the OPs or, as you said, by regulars.
That’s why I decided to put readability in front of edit-friendly. I went that step further and put it in a category, where only I as OP can edit the first post. But that’s me, I know I can be a strange person. 
The majority of users just want to get information, as fast as possible, and as easy as possible. So in the end, it makes my life easier, if I provide the information as readable as possible, while taking into account, that most of the changes will come from very few people, where I simply expect them to know, how to change a markdown table. 
That’s why I love the Cookbook. It’s an effort from many people, but not too much of them, to get things done. Spreads the work load, and still leaves things in an ordered manner. Uh, Monk feeling coming up.
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4 Likes
Any one know how to link to internal anchors within a post?
The cookbook index is getting quite long, and I was hoping to put a mini index at the top linking to the main headings, but I can’t make it work.
The Discourse docs suggest that anchors should be generated automatically by markdown headings (which they are). I can get a link like:
https://community.home-assistant.io/t/the-home-assistant-cookbook-index/707144#configuration-4.
But it always seems to go to the top of the post.
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Click the popup thing next to the markdown heading line. It pops to the top.click it again. The link is in the url bar now. If I use that like I just did for the zigbee thing, the title defaults to the page title but it pops into the right spot top of page.
https://community.home-assistant.io/t/the-home-assistant-cookbook-index/707144#zigbee-15
That’s what I did to get the example above. How come yours works and mine doesn’t? They look the same… 
Browser?
Firefox here because I like torturing myself, don’t know if that’s it.
OK. your link went to the top. I clickec the icon, clicked it again, copied the url and it worked.
https://community.home-assistant.io/t/the-home-assistant-cookbook-index/707144#configuration-4
The easiest way would be to ask a team member, if the Discourse TOC (table of content) component could be activated. That would do the job automatically… 
See here:
@petro @tom_l
Can this component be activated? Have no idea, if it’s even possible, or if there are costs, just asking!
EDIT:
@Stiltjack I added a TOC to the Cookbook index, hope this helps you. You’re doing so much writing for the Cookbook (thanks btw.), these copy&paste tasks are the least I can do.
Please feel free to change or delete as you like!
Btw. I found something, that could be the reason why it’s not working for you. When you tried, did you by any chance add a heading to your index, like “TOC”? If you did so, with saving the topic, all following anchors change the number at the end. You’d need to adjust them.
Original
https://community.home-assistant.io/t/the-home-assistant-cookbook-index/707144#getting-started-with-the-forum-1
By saving will get to:
https://community.home-assistant.io/t/the-home-assistant-cookbook-index/707144#toc-1
https://community.home-assistant.io/t/the-home-assistant-cookbook-index/707144#getting-started-with-the-forum-2
With the wrong number, it jumps back to the top of the post.
And now ask, how I found out!
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You’re asking the wrong people. Moderators don’t have this ability. Try contacting a forum admin.
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That was it! Thank you.
Just wanted to get a summary on a single screen - as we know, people dislike scrolling down.
Is it worth keeping? In the light of your point, if a new category is added the whole TOC will have to be manually edited, not just the entry for that item. I suppose that doesn’t happen too often.
It’s also making the whole post a bit busy.