by RostKo Sat May 07, 2016 4:51 pmCreating a new thread
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Here we'll explain the process of creating a new discussion thread. Once you've logged into your account, you'll be taken to the main page of the forum and presented with a variety of boards, each defined by a unique topic of discussion. By clicking on a board, you'll be taken to the thread listing page with all of the available threads to read and reply to.
On thread listing pages, column headings will be titled Subject, Created by, Replies, Views, and Last Post. In the top right corner above the Last Post column, you will see a button labeled "Create Thread".
If this button is not displayed, forum staff may have restricted regular members from creating new threads, or you aren't yet logged into your forum account as most forums restrict non-members from creating new threads. If you do not have a member account on the forum you are visiting, you will need to create one before being able to create a new discussion thread.
"Create Thread" posting page
Once you have found and clicked on the "Create Thread" button, you'll be brought to the posting page where you will begin to create your new thread for other members to participate in. Each section of the Post Message page is explained below:
Subject: The Subject should indicate the discussion topic of the thread and is what users see when they visit thread listing pages. Subject lines can be up to 50 characters in length and can include letters, numbers and spaces.
Add Poll: This button will allow you to attach a poll to your new thread, allowing other members to vote for specific items. To add a poll to your new thread, click this "Add Poll" button and you will be presented with a pop-up window. In this pop-up, you'll be asked for the following:
Poll Question: This will be the question you ask for your poll. What you type here will depend on what you want the voting poll to be about.
Poll Answers: Here you will enter in the different options to provide to other members to vote for. You will be presented with five poll answer fields at first, but you can add more by clicking the "add more" link, allowing you to add up to fifty poll answers if needed. Your poll must have at least 2 answers to choose from.
Poll Options: In this area, you'll be able to define how many answers member's are allowed to choose when voting in the poll. You can also set a date and time for when the poll gets locked, preventing further voting in the poll, as well as when to show the results of the poll to members.
After you have everything in place, click the "Add Poll" button found at the bottom of the pop-up window and the poll will be added to your thread once it's created.
Add Event: If the forum calendar is enabled, and your account is in a member group that has permission to add events to the calendar, the "Add Event" button will be available to you. If you would like to add an entry to the forum's calendar that will link back to your thread once it's created, you can do so here. After you click the Add Event button, a window will pop up asking you for a date and time for the event, as well as an end date if needed. Once you have the details filled out, click the "Add Event" button found at the bottom of the pop-up window and an event will be created in the forum calendar after you have created your new thread.
Add Attachment: If the forum staff has attachments enabled, you will see this button on the posting page. After you click the Add Attachment button, a new window will pop up letting you know how many files you can upload at a time, along with what the file size limit per attachment is. To attach a file, click the "+ Add Files..." button, and then choose a file that you would like to upload from the Browse window that pops up. Once you choose a file, you will see a progress bar for the attachment that is uploading.
Once the attachment has been made, you can use the "Insert" button to have the attachment appear inline within your post, or you can use the "Delete" button if you decide against adding an attachment. Otherwise, you can click the "Done" button found at the bottom of the pop-up window and your attachment file will appear at the very end of your post after your thread has been made.
Post Options: To the right of the subject bar, you'll see a drop-down menu labeled with a image. This is the Post Options menu. The options you might find here will depend on what privileges your account has on the forum. Below is a breakdown of the various options along with what they will do:
Bookmark: If you choose this option, once your thread is created on the forum, it will be automatically added to your forum account's bookmarks list. If you select this option, it will change to "Unbookmark" the next time you open the Post Options menu to allow you to remove the bookmark.
Make Announcement: This option will make it so your new topic will be made as an announcement across the forum. When you choose this option, a box will pop up asking you if you would like to set an expiration date for the announcement. You can set one by clicking the "Add Expiration Date" checkbox and choosing a date from the calendar that pops up. When an announcement expires, your thread will remain on the forum, but it will only appear in the board that you have created the topic in, rather than appearing in every board available to view on the forum. Once you've added an announcement to your topic, this option will change to "Remove Announcement" the next time you open the Post Options menu if you decide against making your new topic an announcement.
Sticky: When this option is selected, your topic will be seen at the top of the topic listing at all times. If your topic is already stickied, this option will change to "Unsticky" if you decide against making the topic a sticky.
Lock: If you choose this option, regular members will not have the ability to reply to your topic once it's been created. If your topic is already locked, this option will change to "Unlock" if you decide against making your new topic as a locked thread.
Enable Falling: Choosing this option will make your topic fall down the topic listing page after other topics have been updated. Posting in a falling topic will not bump it back up the topic listing like traditional threads. If falling is already enabled on your topic, this option will change to Disable Falling the next time you open the Post Options menu.
Adding Styles to your Thread: Below the Subject bar are many buttons and menus that will allow you to change the style of your thread. These options range from changing the font style or color, along with things such as embedding a video or tagging another member. For more info on what each option does, visit the "Styling Your Posts" section of the help guide.
Once you have given your new topic a subject title along with a message, simply click the "Create Thread" button. Your thread will be created and will be able to be found in the thread listing for the board that you are visiting within a forum.
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Replying to an existing thread
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Since participating in forum discussions is the main reason to join a forum, replying to threads and posts is the primary communication activity for forum members. To create a reply in a topic, simply click the "Reply" button, which can be typically found in the top-right hand corner of the topic and you'll be brought to the posting page. For a breakdown of the features you can expect to find on the posting page, feel free to refer to the "Creating a New Thread" section of the help guide.
Another way to reply to a topic is by using the Quick Reply box. This box is typically found at the bottom of the thread, under the last reply on the page. You can simply type your message into the box provided here and then click the "Post Quick Reply" button found directly under it, and your reply will be posted to the topic.
Note that the Quick Reply box will only show if the forum staff have the Quick Reply feature enabled.
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Styling your posts
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When creating a new topic or replying to a thread, you have a variety of different ways to style your post to give it a look of its own. This is done using all of the different options available to you under the Subject area of the posting page. You can style your post to use a combination of the provided features, like you would do when typing in a word processor program. Below is a breakdown of each of the different options available, along with a description of how they are used:
Font Face: Using the dropdown menu here, select the type of font that you would like to use for the text provided in your message. This dropdown menu will display the font names within their font style so you can have a preview of what to expect. Once you have a font selected, you can start typing and you will see your text within the selected font. Otherwise if you already have text typed out in the message area, you can simply highlight the words that you want to display in a different font face, and then choose which font to have the words display as within the drop-down menu.
Font Size: The dropdown menu provided here will allow you to change the text size of the text you write in the message area of the posting page. The options provided to you range from as small as 8pt font on up to 36pt font. Much like the Font Face option, simply choose the font size you would like to use from the menu and begin typing in the message area. The text you type should appear in the size that you have selected. Otherwise if you already have text added to the message area that you want to change the size of, you can highlight the text that you want to appear in a different size and then choose the text size from the Font Size menu. Once this is done, the selected text will appear in that size.
Font Color: Clicking the provided Font Color button will allow you to change the font color to any color you would like to use. Once you click the button, a color picker will display allowing you to create the perfect font color you would like to use for your message text. If you already know the hex color code of the color you would like to use, you can simply type that into the Hex box provided in the picker. Once you have the color you would like to use, you can start typing in the message area and your text will appear in that color. You can also apply a font color to text you have already written into the message area by highlighting the text you want to appear in a different color, then using the color picker to select the color of your choice.
Bold: To make your text appear in bold lettering, click the Bold button and begin typing in the message area and your text will appear in bold lettering. You can also select text that you have already written into the message area that you want to appear in bold lettering, and then press the bold button to make the selected text appear in bold.
Italics: You can make your text appear in italicized lettering by clicking the Italic button provided above the message area. After the button has been pressed, you can begin typing in the message area and your text will appear in italics. If you already have text written, you can highlight the words that you want to appear in italics and then press the Italic button.
Underline: You can underline text with the Underline button. After you press the underline button, you can begin to type your text into the message area that you would like to appear with underlined lettering. You can also also select text you may already have written and then click the underline button to have your selected text appear with an underline.
Superscript: The Superscript button will allow you to make your text appear as a superscript. Click the superscript button and the text you type in the message area will appear as a superscript. If you have already written text into the message area, you can highlight the text you want to to appear as a superscript and then click the superscript button.
Subscript: You can use the Subscript button to make your text appears as a subscript. Once you click the subscript button, the text you enter into the text area will appear as a subscript. You can also highlight the the you would like to appear as a subscript first and then click the subscript button for the selected text to appear as a subscript.
Remove Formatting: Want to remove the style formatting from the text you have entered into the message area? Click the Remove Formatting button. Once clicked, all styling will be removed from your message.
Justify Left: Clicking the Justify Left button allows you to align your message text to the left of the page.
Justify Center: You can center your text using the Justify Center button on the posting page.
Justify Right: Using the Justify Right button, you can align your text to the right of the page.
Justify Full: Full justification will allow your message text to stretch to fit evenly on both the left and right margins of the page. You can enable this by clicking the Justify Full button.
Table: You can add a table to your message using the Table button. Once clicked, you will see a pop up asking for the following info: Columns, Rows, Cellpadding, Cellspacing, and Border. Fill out this pop up based on how you want your table to appear in the post, then press the "Insert Table" button. Once pressed, you will see your table appear in the message area.
List: You can use the List button to add a list to your post. After you click the list button, you will see a pop up window display. In this pop up, you'll be asked for the number of items you would like to list, along with a drop-down menu allowing you to choose from 8 different list styles to choose from. Fill out these options based on your needs and then click the "Insert List" button. Once this is completed, you should see a list appear in the message area available for you to edit.
Horizontal Rule: The horizontal rule button adds a horizontal line to your post. This line will extend the width of your post, often times used to separate a post into different sections. Simply click the Horizontal Rule button and the line will be added to your message area.
Link: The Link button will allow you to add a text link to your post. When you click the link button, a pop up window will display asking for "Text" as well as a "URL". The text you type will be the text that will display as a link in your message. The URL is the web address you would like the word to link to. Once you have these two options filled out, click the "Create Link" button and the link will be added to your message area.
You can also add a link to text you have already written in the message area. This is possible by highlighting the text you want to link to, and then click the link button. Once this is done, a pop up window will display only asking for a URL. This is the web address that you want the selected word to link to once it is clicked.
Email: You can add an email link to your post using the Email button. An email link is a word that links to an email address; once the email is linked, your default email application will load allowing you to quickly send an email to the linked email address. Once you click the Email button, a pop up will display asking you for text as well as an email address. In the text field, type in the text you want to display as an email link in the message area and then type in the email address you want the word to link to. Once you have these fields are filled out, click the "Insert Email" button and your email link will be added to the message area.
If you want to add an email link to text you already have typed, select the text you want to appear as an email link and then click the Email button. In the window that pops up, type in the email address you would like the selected text to link to, and then click the Insert Email button. The selected text will then appear as an email link.
Insert Image: This option will allow you to embed an image into your post using the Insert Image button. Once clicked, a pop up will display asking you for an "Image URL" as well as some "Alt Text". The image URL is the direct link to the image you want to have display in your post. The image will need to be hosted with a file host in order for it to successfully appear within your post. If you do not have a file host, you can consider using the "Add Attachment" feature on the posting page instead. You can read more about the attachments feature in the "Attachments" area of the help guide.
Once you have the image URL in place, type in some text for the image; this alt text is what will display in place of your image in the event that your image is unable to load, or will display to those who have images disabled in their browser settings. Once you have the correct info in place, click the "Insert Image" button and you should see your image in the message area.
Insert Video: With the Insert Video button, you can embed a video into your post. Once you click this button, a pop up will display asking for the Video URL, as well as be able to view a list of supported video websites. You also have the ability to link directly to a hosted video file as well. Simply paste in the URL of the video you would like to embed in your post; you can find the URL of the video either by copying directly from the web address in your web browsers address bar, or through a direct link provided by the share options of the video service you're linking from. Once you have the URL pasted in, click the "Insert Video" button at the bottom of the pop up window. Now in the posting area, you should see an image placeholder for where the video player will be positioned in your post. After you create the post, the video will display in that spot.
Insert User Link: Adding a user link to your post allows you to tag another member of the forum into your post. When another user is tagged, they will receive a notification making them aware that they have been mentioned in your post. To insert a user link, click the Insert User Link button and you'll be asked to enter a username. Type in either the username or display name of the member you would like to tag in your post, and you should see search results as you type. Once you see the member you would like to tag in your post, click on their micro-profile and you will see their tag automatically inputted into the message area, represented in an @username format. After you create your post, the @username will convert into a link, displaying the linked members display name.
Insert Code: If you have some coding to share, you can use the code box to isolate the code from the rest of your message. This code box will prevent any styling or smiley images from appearing within the code you provide, allowing your code to display as intended. To add a code box to your message, click the Insert Code button and in the message area you should see an outline of a table, with default text that reads "insert code here". Replace this default text with the code you would like to share in your post.
Insert Quote: The Insert Quote button allows you to insert a quote box into your message area. Once this button is clicked, you will see an outline of a table in the message area with the default text of "insert quote here". Replace this text with the words you want to appear inside the quote box.
Insert Smiley: By default, every forum comes with 30 standard smiley images that you can use in your posts. You can call these smiley images by adding their tags into the message area (ie.
would turn into once your post is made), or you can click the Insert Smiley button and you'll be presented with a list of all the smileys that are available to use. Simply click on the preview of the image that you want to use in your post and you should see the image appear in your message text. Also in this menu is the ability to disable smiles, which will prevent the smiley images from appearing in your post and will show their calling tags instead.
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Adding attachments to your posts
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Add Attachment: If the forum staff has attachments enabled, you will see this button on the posting page. After you click the Add Attachment button, a new window will pop up letting you know how many files you can upload at a time, along with what the file size limit per attachment is. To attach a file, click the + Add Files... button, and then choose a file that you would like to upload from the Browse window that pops up. Once you choose a file, you will see a progress bar for the attachment that is uploading.
Once the attachment has been made, you can use the Insert button to have the attachment appear inline within your post, or you can use the Delete button if you decide against adding an attachment. Otherwise, you can click the Done button found at the bottom of the pop-up window and your attachment file will appear at the very end of your post after your thread has been made.
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Quoting posts in a thread
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Occasionally, when reading through an interesting thread you'll find a specific post you'd like to respond to; this is when you'll use the quote feature. When viewing the post that you would like to respond directly to, click the Quote button that will appear in the top-right hand corner of the post. Click this quote button and when that is done, you'll be taken to the posting page with a quote automatically provided in the message area for you.
The quoted message will appear in a table in the message area. you can can click into the quote box on the posting page to make edits to the quote, such as removing unnecessary lines so that you can respond to a specific part of the member's post directly. Once the quote is to your liking, click below the bottom line of the text box so that your typing cursor will appear outside of the quote box. From there, you can begin typing the rest of your response.
While holding down the Alt key you can click on the content area of a post to select it. Clicking on multiple posts like this and then clicking a Quote button will let you multi-quote. The quoted messages will all show up in the message area. You can reply by typing a message after each one. This way multiple quotes with multiple replies will show up in the same post.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcZi6i1KxLA
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Tagging members in a thread
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One way to get a member's attention is to tag them in a post. If the member has the notification setting 'when someone tags you' checked they will receive a notification that they were tagged. Tags can also be used as a simple way to identify a specific member you are talking about or to create a link to a member's profile.
Tagging works by placing an @ before the person's username.
Important things to remember.
A new line, space or special character must be before the @ or the system will assume it's an email address and will not create the tag.
NO SPACE between the @ and the username.
A username must be used, however after being posted the members Display Name will be shown.
Tagging a display name will not work. The system will attempt to find a username matching what was typed.
A new line, space or special character will end a tag. Any name containing these is not a username.
Usernames are always entirely lowercase alpha-numeric characters. Examples: admin harry steve37
Multiple tags must be separated by a new line, space or special character or they will not render properly.
Since usernames cannot contain commas or apostrophes, adding these in your post immediately after tagging a username will not negatively affect the end result.
The member's username is used because it cannot be changed. It is a constant identifier and ensures the tag will remain accurate over time. However after the post is created the display name with proper styling will be shown. This is because people identify member's by their display name. If a member is tagged and they change their display name all tags will update to reflect their new name. A post won't become outdated and readers will know who was specifically being talked about.
After tagging someone and submitting your post, the tag becomes a display name and is clickable. This will take you to the member's profile.
Finding a member's username for tagging.
There are 3 ways to easily find out a member's username when posting.
Hover over any Display Name you see and the member's username will be displayed with the @ symbol.
If you have started typing a quick reply you can Alt + Click on any Display Name and the tag will be appended to the end of the quick reply message.
If you are on a composition page you can click the Insert User Link icon. Insert User Link Search for the member by any name and click on the micro profile in the results. The tag will be inserted into the message.
Related Note: When you Quote a post the author value is actually a tag.
Video : https://youtu.be/q0MsKMEvbNY
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Adding a poll to a thread
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Conducting polls can be fun and useful for surveying a forum community's opinion about different subjects. If forum administrators have assigned the appropriate privileges, you will find an Add Poll button when creating a new thread and you will be presented with a pop-up window. In this pop-up, you'll be asked for the following:
Poll Question: This will be the question you ask for your poll. What you type here will depend on what you want the voting poll to be about.
Poll Answers: Here you will enter in the different options to provide to other members to vote for. You will be presented with five poll answer fields at first, but you can add more by clicking the add more link, allowing you to add up to fifty poll answers if needed. Your poll must have at least 2 answers to choose from.
Poll Options: In this area, you'll be able to define how many answers member's are allowed to choose when voting in the poll. You can also set a date and time for when the poll gets locked, preventing further voting in the poll, as well as when to show the results of the poll to members.
After you have everything in place, click the Add Poll button found at the bottom of the pop-up window and the poll will be added to your thread once it's created.
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Adding a video to your posts
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If you found a video on the internet that you would like to share with other forum members, you can embed the video into your post. When this is done, a video player will appear in a thread after your post is made. The forum software supports a variety of video services to embed from, as well as supports direct links to video files you have hosted with a file host.
When creating a new thread or post, find the Insert Video button on the posting page to begin embedding a video to your post. Once you click this button, a pop up will display asking for the Video URL, as well as be able to view a list of supported video websites. Simply paste in the URL of the video you would like to embed in your post; you can find the URL of the video either by copying directly from the web address in your web browsers address bar, or through a direct link provided by the share options of the video service you're linking from. Once you have the URL pasted in, click the Insert Video button at the bottom of the pop up window. Now in the posting area, you should see an image placeholder for where the video player will be positioned in your post. After you create the post, the video will display in that spot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfB3M0GREZM
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Adding an image to your posts
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There are a couple of different ways you can insert an image to display within a post you make. One way is to have the forum host the image via the attachment system, or by linking to an image that you have hosted elsewhere.
This article will let you know how to link an image from a 3rd party hosting provider, from services like Photobucket, imgur, ImageShack, and etc. If you do not have an account with a hosting provider and would rather upload images directly to the forum instead, view the attachment help article found here for further instruction.
To link directly to an image hosted elsewhere, you'll first need to get the direct URL to the image you want to embed within your post. Direct URL's will end with the file format of the image, such as .jpg, .png, .gif, and etc. Often times you can locate the direct URL of an image from the share options when viewing the image on the hosting service. An example of a direct image URL would be something like: https://i.imgur.com/tHtwFXm.gif
Once you have the direct URL of an image you would like to insert into a post, click the Reply button to an existing thread on the forum, or create a new thread to bring up the posting page. On the posting page click on the image button found in the toolbar directly above the message area. Once clicked a pop-up window will display asking you for the Image URL, along with the Alt Text. Paste in the direct URL for the image you want to share within your post into the box provided for the Image URL option. The text you enter in the Alt Text field is what will display in your post any time the image itself is unable to load, either because the visitor has images disabled in their web browser or if your image hosting provider is having technical issues and is unable to load the image.
Once you have the Image URL and Alt Text filled out, click on the Insert Image button found at the bottom of the pop-up window and you should see a reference to your image appear in the message area of your post. Once your post is made, the image will display directly in your message.
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Here we'll explain the process of creating a new discussion thread. Once you've logged into your account, you'll be taken to the main page of the forum and presented with a variety of boards, each defined by a unique topic of discussion. By clicking on a board, you'll be taken to the thread listing page with all of the available threads to read and reply to.
On thread listing pages, column headings will be titled Subject, Created by, Replies, Views, and Last Post. In the top right corner above the Last Post column, you will see a button labeled "Create Thread".
If this button is not displayed, forum staff may have restricted regular members from creating new threads, or you aren't yet logged into your forum account as most forums restrict non-members from creating new threads. If you do not have a member account on the forum you are visiting, you will need to create one before being able to create a new discussion thread.
"Create Thread" posting page
Once you have found and clicked on the "Create Thread" button, you'll be brought to the posting page where you will begin to create your new thread for other members to participate in. Each section of the Post Message page is explained below:
Subject: The Subject should indicate the discussion topic of the thread and is what users see when they visit thread listing pages. Subject lines can be up to 50 characters in length and can include letters, numbers and spaces.
Add Poll: This button will allow you to attach a poll to your new thread, allowing other members to vote for specific items. To add a poll to your new thread, click this "Add Poll" button and you will be presented with a pop-up window. In this pop-up, you'll be asked for the following:
Poll Question: This will be the question you ask for your poll. What you type here will depend on what you want the voting poll to be about.
Poll Answers: Here you will enter in the different options to provide to other members to vote for. You will be presented with five poll answer fields at first, but you can add more by clicking the "add more" link, allowing you to add up to fifty poll answers if needed. Your poll must have at least 2 answers to choose from.
Poll Options: In this area, you'll be able to define how many answers member's are allowed to choose when voting in the poll. You can also set a date and time for when the poll gets locked, preventing further voting in the poll, as well as when to show the results of the poll to members.
After you have everything in place, click the "Add Poll" button found at the bottom of the pop-up window and the poll will be added to your thread once it's created.
Add Event: If the forum calendar is enabled, and your account is in a member group that has permission to add events to the calendar, the "Add Event" button will be available to you. If you would like to add an entry to the forum's calendar that will link back to your thread once it's created, you can do so here. After you click the Add Event button, a window will pop up asking you for a date and time for the event, as well as an end date if needed. Once you have the details filled out, click the "Add Event" button found at the bottom of the pop-up window and an event will be created in the forum calendar after you have created your new thread.
Add Attachment: If the forum staff has attachments enabled, you will see this button on the posting page. After you click the Add Attachment button, a new window will pop up letting you know how many files you can upload at a time, along with what the file size limit per attachment is. To attach a file, click the "+ Add Files..." button, and then choose a file that you would like to upload from the Browse window that pops up. Once you choose a file, you will see a progress bar for the attachment that is uploading.
Once the attachment has been made, you can use the "Insert" button to have the attachment appear inline within your post, or you can use the "Delete" button if you decide against adding an attachment. Otherwise, you can click the "Done" button found at the bottom of the pop-up window and your attachment file will appear at the very end of your post after your thread has been made.
Post Options: To the right of the subject bar, you'll see a drop-down menu labeled with a image. This is the Post Options menu. The options you might find here will depend on what privileges your account has on the forum. Below is a breakdown of the various options along with what they will do:
Bookmark: If you choose this option, once your thread is created on the forum, it will be automatically added to your forum account's bookmarks list. If you select this option, it will change to "Unbookmark" the next time you open the Post Options menu to allow you to remove the bookmark.
Make Announcement: This option will make it so your new topic will be made as an announcement across the forum. When you choose this option, a box will pop up asking you if you would like to set an expiration date for the announcement. You can set one by clicking the "Add Expiration Date" checkbox and choosing a date from the calendar that pops up. When an announcement expires, your thread will remain on the forum, but it will only appear in the board that you have created the topic in, rather than appearing in every board available to view on the forum. Once you've added an announcement to your topic, this option will change to "Remove Announcement" the next time you open the Post Options menu if you decide against making your new topic an announcement.
Sticky: When this option is selected, your topic will be seen at the top of the topic listing at all times. If your topic is already stickied, this option will change to "Unsticky" if you decide against making the topic a sticky.
Lock: If you choose this option, regular members will not have the ability to reply to your topic once it's been created. If your topic is already locked, this option will change to "Unlock" if you decide against making your new topic as a locked thread.
Enable Falling: Choosing this option will make your topic fall down the topic listing page after other topics have been updated. Posting in a falling topic will not bump it back up the topic listing like traditional threads. If falling is already enabled on your topic, this option will change to Disable Falling the next time you open the Post Options menu.
Adding Styles to your Thread: Below the Subject bar are many buttons and menus that will allow you to change the style of your thread. These options range from changing the font style or color, along with things such as embedding a video or tagging another member. For more info on what each option does, visit the "Styling Your Posts" section of the help guide.
Once you have given your new topic a subject title along with a message, simply click the "Create Thread" button. Your thread will be created and will be able to be found in the thread listing for the board that you are visiting within a forum.
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Replying to an existing thread
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Since participating in forum discussions is the main reason to join a forum, replying to threads and posts is the primary communication activity for forum members. To create a reply in a topic, simply click the "Reply" button, which can be typically found in the top-right hand corner of the topic and you'll be brought to the posting page. For a breakdown of the features you can expect to find on the posting page, feel free to refer to the "Creating a New Thread" section of the help guide.
Another way to reply to a topic is by using the Quick Reply box. This box is typically found at the bottom of the thread, under the last reply on the page. You can simply type your message into the box provided here and then click the "Post Quick Reply" button found directly under it, and your reply will be posted to the topic.
Note that the Quick Reply box will only show if the forum staff have the Quick Reply feature enabled.
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Styling your posts
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When creating a new topic or replying to a thread, you have a variety of different ways to style your post to give it a look of its own. This is done using all of the different options available to you under the Subject area of the posting page. You can style your post to use a combination of the provided features, like you would do when typing in a word processor program. Below is a breakdown of each of the different options available, along with a description of how they are used:
Font Face: Using the dropdown menu here, select the type of font that you would like to use for the text provided in your message. This dropdown menu will display the font names within their font style so you can have a preview of what to expect. Once you have a font selected, you can start typing and you will see your text within the selected font. Otherwise if you already have text typed out in the message area, you can simply highlight the words that you want to display in a different font face, and then choose which font to have the words display as within the drop-down menu.
Font Size: The dropdown menu provided here will allow you to change the text size of the text you write in the message area of the posting page. The options provided to you range from as small as 8pt font on up to 36pt font. Much like the Font Face option, simply choose the font size you would like to use from the menu and begin typing in the message area. The text you type should appear in the size that you have selected. Otherwise if you already have text added to the message area that you want to change the size of, you can highlight the text that you want to appear in a different size and then choose the text size from the Font Size menu. Once this is done, the selected text will appear in that size.
Font Color: Clicking the provided Font Color button will allow you to change the font color to any color you would like to use. Once you click the button, a color picker will display allowing you to create the perfect font color you would like to use for your message text. If you already know the hex color code of the color you would like to use, you can simply type that into the Hex box provided in the picker. Once you have the color you would like to use, you can start typing in the message area and your text will appear in that color. You can also apply a font color to text you have already written into the message area by highlighting the text you want to appear in a different color, then using the color picker to select the color of your choice.
Bold: To make your text appear in bold lettering, click the Bold button and begin typing in the message area and your text will appear in bold lettering. You can also select text that you have already written into the message area that you want to appear in bold lettering, and then press the bold button to make the selected text appear in bold.
Italics: You can make your text appear in italicized lettering by clicking the Italic button provided above the message area. After the button has been pressed, you can begin typing in the message area and your text will appear in italics. If you already have text written, you can highlight the words that you want to appear in italics and then press the Italic button.
Underline: You can underline text with the Underline button. After you press the underline button, you can begin to type your text into the message area that you would like to appear with underlined lettering. You can also also select text you may already have written and then click the underline button to have your selected text appear with an underline.
Superscript: The Superscript button will allow you to make your text appear as a superscript. Click the superscript button and the text you type in the message area will appear as a superscript. If you have already written text into the message area, you can highlight the text you want to to appear as a superscript and then click the superscript button.
Subscript: You can use the Subscript button to make your text appears as a subscript. Once you click the subscript button, the text you enter into the text area will appear as a subscript. You can also highlight the the you would like to appear as a subscript first and then click the subscript button for the selected text to appear as a subscript.
Remove Formatting: Want to remove the style formatting from the text you have entered into the message area? Click the Remove Formatting button. Once clicked, all styling will be removed from your message.
Justify Left: Clicking the Justify Left button allows you to align your message text to the left of the page.
Justify Center: You can center your text using the Justify Center button on the posting page.
Justify Right: Using the Justify Right button, you can align your text to the right of the page.
Justify Full: Full justification will allow your message text to stretch to fit evenly on both the left and right margins of the page. You can enable this by clicking the Justify Full button.
Table: You can add a table to your message using the Table button. Once clicked, you will see a pop up asking for the following info: Columns, Rows, Cellpadding, Cellspacing, and Border. Fill out this pop up based on how you want your table to appear in the post, then press the "Insert Table" button. Once pressed, you will see your table appear in the message area.
List: You can use the List button to add a list to your post. After you click the list button, you will see a pop up window display. In this pop up, you'll be asked for the number of items you would like to list, along with a drop-down menu allowing you to choose from 8 different list styles to choose from. Fill out these options based on your needs and then click the "Insert List" button. Once this is completed, you should see a list appear in the message area available for you to edit.
Horizontal Rule: The horizontal rule button adds a horizontal line to your post. This line will extend the width of your post, often times used to separate a post into different sections. Simply click the Horizontal Rule button and the line will be added to your message area.
Link: The Link button will allow you to add a text link to your post. When you click the link button, a pop up window will display asking for "Text" as well as a "URL". The text you type will be the text that will display as a link in your message. The URL is the web address you would like the word to link to. Once you have these two options filled out, click the "Create Link" button and the link will be added to your message area.
You can also add a link to text you have already written in the message area. This is possible by highlighting the text you want to link to, and then click the link button. Once this is done, a pop up window will display only asking for a URL. This is the web address that you want the selected word to link to once it is clicked.
Email: You can add an email link to your post using the Email button. An email link is a word that links to an email address; once the email is linked, your default email application will load allowing you to quickly send an email to the linked email address. Once you click the Email button, a pop up will display asking you for text as well as an email address. In the text field, type in the text you want to display as an email link in the message area and then type in the email address you want the word to link to. Once you have these fields are filled out, click the "Insert Email" button and your email link will be added to the message area.
If you want to add an email link to text you already have typed, select the text you want to appear as an email link and then click the Email button. In the window that pops up, type in the email address you would like the selected text to link to, and then click the Insert Email button. The selected text will then appear as an email link.
Insert Image: This option will allow you to embed an image into your post using the Insert Image button. Once clicked, a pop up will display asking you for an "Image URL" as well as some "Alt Text". The image URL is the direct link to the image you want to have display in your post. The image will need to be hosted with a file host in order for it to successfully appear within your post. If you do not have a file host, you can consider using the "Add Attachment" feature on the posting page instead. You can read more about the attachments feature in the "Attachments" area of the help guide.
Once you have the image URL in place, type in some text for the image; this alt text is what will display in place of your image in the event that your image is unable to load, or will display to those who have images disabled in their browser settings. Once you have the correct info in place, click the "Insert Image" button and you should see your image in the message area.
Insert Video: With the Insert Video button, you can embed a video into your post. Once you click this button, a pop up will display asking for the Video URL, as well as be able to view a list of supported video websites. You also have the ability to link directly to a hosted video file as well. Simply paste in the URL of the video you would like to embed in your post; you can find the URL of the video either by copying directly from the web address in your web browsers address bar, or through a direct link provided by the share options of the video service you're linking from. Once you have the URL pasted in, click the "Insert Video" button at the bottom of the pop up window. Now in the posting area, you should see an image placeholder for where the video player will be positioned in your post. After you create the post, the video will display in that spot.
Insert User Link: Adding a user link to your post allows you to tag another member of the forum into your post. When another user is tagged, they will receive a notification making them aware that they have been mentioned in your post. To insert a user link, click the Insert User Link button and you'll be asked to enter a username. Type in either the username or display name of the member you would like to tag in your post, and you should see search results as you type. Once you see the member you would like to tag in your post, click on their micro-profile and you will see their tag automatically inputted into the message area, represented in an @username format. After you create your post, the @username will convert into a link, displaying the linked members display name.
Insert Code: If you have some coding to share, you can use the code box to isolate the code from the rest of your message. This code box will prevent any styling or smiley images from appearing within the code you provide, allowing your code to display as intended. To add a code box to your message, click the Insert Code button and in the message area you should see an outline of a table, with default text that reads "insert code here". Replace this default text with the code you would like to share in your post.
Insert Quote: The Insert Quote button allows you to insert a quote box into your message area. Once this button is clicked, you will see an outline of a table in the message area with the default text of "insert quote here". Replace this text with the words you want to appear inside the quote box.
Insert Smiley: By default, every forum comes with 30 standard smiley images that you can use in your posts. You can call these smiley images by adding their tags into the message area (ie.
would turn into once your post is made), or you can click the Insert Smiley button and you'll be presented with a list of all the smileys that are available to use. Simply click on the preview of the image that you want to use in your post and you should see the image appear in your message text. Also in this menu is the ability to disable smiles, which will prevent the smiley images from appearing in your post and will show their calling tags instead._______________________________________________________________________
Adding attachments to your posts
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Add Attachment: If the forum staff has attachments enabled, you will see this button on the posting page. After you click the Add Attachment button, a new window will pop up letting you know how many files you can upload at a time, along with what the file size limit per attachment is. To attach a file, click the + Add Files... button, and then choose a file that you would like to upload from the Browse window that pops up. Once you choose a file, you will see a progress bar for the attachment that is uploading.
Once the attachment has been made, you can use the Insert button to have the attachment appear inline within your post, or you can use the Delete button if you decide against adding an attachment. Otherwise, you can click the Done button found at the bottom of the pop-up window and your attachment file will appear at the very end of your post after your thread has been made.
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Quoting posts in a thread
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Occasionally, when reading through an interesting thread you'll find a specific post you'd like to respond to; this is when you'll use the quote feature. When viewing the post that you would like to respond directly to, click the Quote button that will appear in the top-right hand corner of the post. Click this quote button and when that is done, you'll be taken to the posting page with a quote automatically provided in the message area for you.
The quoted message will appear in a table in the message area. you can can click into the quote box on the posting page to make edits to the quote, such as removing unnecessary lines so that you can respond to a specific part of the member's post directly. Once the quote is to your liking, click below the bottom line of the text box so that your typing cursor will appear outside of the quote box. From there, you can begin typing the rest of your response.
While holding down the Alt key you can click on the content area of a post to select it. Clicking on multiple posts like this and then clicking a Quote button will let you multi-quote. The quoted messages will all show up in the message area. You can reply by typing a message after each one. This way multiple quotes with multiple replies will show up in the same post.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcZi6i1KxLA
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Tagging members in a thread
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One way to get a member's attention is to tag them in a post. If the member has the notification setting 'when someone tags you' checked they will receive a notification that they were tagged. Tags can also be used as a simple way to identify a specific member you are talking about or to create a link to a member's profile.
Tagging works by placing an @ before the person's username.
Important things to remember.
A new line, space or special character must be before the @ or the system will assume it's an email address and will not create the tag.
NO SPACE between the @ and the username.
A username must be used, however after being posted the members Display Name will be shown.
Tagging a display name will not work. The system will attempt to find a username matching what was typed.
A new line, space or special character will end a tag. Any name containing these is not a username.
Usernames are always entirely lowercase alpha-numeric characters. Examples: admin harry steve37
Multiple tags must be separated by a new line, space or special character or they will not render properly.
Since usernames cannot contain commas or apostrophes, adding these in your post immediately after tagging a username will not negatively affect the end result.
The member's username is used because it cannot be changed. It is a constant identifier and ensures the tag will remain accurate over time. However after the post is created the display name with proper styling will be shown. This is because people identify member's by their display name. If a member is tagged and they change their display name all tags will update to reflect their new name. A post won't become outdated and readers will know who was specifically being talked about.
After tagging someone and submitting your post, the tag becomes a display name and is clickable. This will take you to the member's profile.
Finding a member's username for tagging.
There are 3 ways to easily find out a member's username when posting.
Hover over any Display Name you see and the member's username will be displayed with the @ symbol.
If you have started typing a quick reply you can Alt + Click on any Display Name and the tag will be appended to the end of the quick reply message.
If you are on a composition page you can click the Insert User Link icon. Insert User Link Search for the member by any name and click on the micro profile in the results. The tag will be inserted into the message.
Related Note: When you Quote a post the author value is actually a tag.
Hello
Video : https://youtu.be/q0MsKMEvbNY
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Adding a poll to a thread
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Conducting polls can be fun and useful for surveying a forum community's opinion about different subjects. If forum administrators have assigned the appropriate privileges, you will find an Add Poll button when creating a new thread and you will be presented with a pop-up window. In this pop-up, you'll be asked for the following:
Poll Question: This will be the question you ask for your poll. What you type here will depend on what you want the voting poll to be about.
Poll Answers: Here you will enter in the different options to provide to other members to vote for. You will be presented with five poll answer fields at first, but you can add more by clicking the add more link, allowing you to add up to fifty poll answers if needed. Your poll must have at least 2 answers to choose from.
Poll Options: In this area, you'll be able to define how many answers member's are allowed to choose when voting in the poll. You can also set a date and time for when the poll gets locked, preventing further voting in the poll, as well as when to show the results of the poll to members.
After you have everything in place, click the Add Poll button found at the bottom of the pop-up window and the poll will be added to your thread once it's created.
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Adding a video to your posts
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If you found a video on the internet that you would like to share with other forum members, you can embed the video into your post. When this is done, a video player will appear in a thread after your post is made. The forum software supports a variety of video services to embed from, as well as supports direct links to video files you have hosted with a file host.
When creating a new thread or post, find the Insert Video button on the posting page to begin embedding a video to your post. Once you click this button, a pop up will display asking for the Video URL, as well as be able to view a list of supported video websites. Simply paste in the URL of the video you would like to embed in your post; you can find the URL of the video either by copying directly from the web address in your web browsers address bar, or through a direct link provided by the share options of the video service you're linking from. Once you have the URL pasted in, click the Insert Video button at the bottom of the pop up window. Now in the posting area, you should see an image placeholder for where the video player will be positioned in your post. After you create the post, the video will display in that spot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfB3M0GREZM
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Adding an image to your posts
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There are a couple of different ways you can insert an image to display within a post you make. One way is to have the forum host the image via the attachment system, or by linking to an image that you have hosted elsewhere.
This article will let you know how to link an image from a 3rd party hosting provider, from services like Photobucket, imgur, ImageShack, and etc. If you do not have an account with a hosting provider and would rather upload images directly to the forum instead, view the attachment help article found here for further instruction.
To link directly to an image hosted elsewhere, you'll first need to get the direct URL to the image you want to embed within your post. Direct URL's will end with the file format of the image, such as .jpg, .png, .gif, and etc. Often times you can locate the direct URL of an image from the share options when viewing the image on the hosting service. An example of a direct image URL would be something like: https://i.imgur.com/tHtwFXm.gif
Once you have the direct URL of an image you would like to insert into a post, click the Reply button to an existing thread on the forum, or create a new thread to bring up the posting page. On the posting page click on the image button found in the toolbar directly above the message area. Once clicked a pop-up window will display asking you for the Image URL, along with the Alt Text. Paste in the direct URL for the image you want to share within your post into the box provided for the Image URL option. The text you enter in the Alt Text field is what will display in your post any time the image itself is unable to load, either because the visitor has images disabled in their web browser or if your image hosting provider is having technical issues and is unable to load the image.
Once you have the Image URL and Alt Text filled out, click on the Insert Image button found at the bottom of the pop-up window and you should see a reference to your image appear in the message area of your post. Once your post is made, the image will display directly in your message.
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