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Tuesday, 11 September 2007 |
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II'm sure there are people out there who like the idea of the forums but are unsure of how to use them so here's a very brief tutorial. I can expand it if people think it would help. Remember, you can't do anything "wrong". If it works, it works. If it doesn't - try again or ask for help.
How to use the forums...
1) You need to login to be able to post new threads or replies in the forums
2) Once logged in, click on the "Forum" menu option
3) Click on the forum you wish to post a new thread (discussion item) to
4) You'll see a "New Thread" button both at the top and the bottom of the current thread list - click on it
5) Enter a meaningful subject name in the field marked "Subject".
Remember, what you enter here will be the title that other people see
listed in the forum so it should make sense.
6) Click on the "Message" field and enter your question, opinion...
whatever you want to. You can use the "boardcode" tool icons above the
"Message" section very much as you would do the tool bar in any word
processing package - "B" for BOLD etc.
7) If you wish to insert an image, you can press the "Browse" button
alongside the "Select image file to attach" field of the form. There
are restrictions on image sizes - file size AND picture dimensions. You
will need to ensure the image is no larger than 499x499 pixels and no
larger than 50KB. If your image is larger, uploading will fail. This is
to stop people posting huge images and making the forum slow to
download for others. Modify / crop / compress your image in an image
editing programme if it is too large. Once you have an appropriately
sized image, all you need to do is insert the text "[img]" in your
message text - where you want the image to appear. You can also insert
"smileys" using the "Emoticons" on the left hand side of the Message
text.
8) Once you are happy with your message, you can press the "Preview"
button to check if the post looks ok before actually submitting. If
not, close the preview window and edit appropriately. If it's ok, press
"Submit". You will be told if your message was posted sucessfully and
the posted message will be displayed.
Replying to an existing thread / topic of discussion is just as easy -
simply follow steps 1-3 as above and then select the thread you are
interested in. Now press the "Reply" button and follow steps 6-8 above.
You can also post a quick reply using the appropriate button - this
allows you to post without all the formatting and image attachment
options.
Try it - have fun!
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