Some helpful tips for using the "new-look" GW-PC forum

[Sylvia]

I thought I'd post a few things here that might be helpful to people who've never used a forum running the Simple Machines software before.

Anything new can be a bit puzzling at first, but it hopefully shouldn't take too long to adjust to the small changes. There are certainly some benefits which come with these changes, which you will probably notice after a little while.


Return to topics after posting by default

Turn notification on when you post or reply to a topic

How to use the Personal Message system

[Sylvia]

In the old GW-PC forum which was running phpBB software, whenever you made a post, you would be given the option to click on a link taking you to the post you had just written. This was handy because sometimes we could pick up small mistakes we made and change them if needed.

SMF does not include that "re-direct" page, but you can alter something in your personal preferences which will do something similar.


If you would like to be automatically returned to your post, immediately after it is posted, simply follow these steps:

First, go to your Profile area via the button in the menu at the top of the page.
Click on "Look and Layout Preferences" in the side menu under Modify Profile.
On the next page you will see a list of options. Check the one titled "Return to topics after posting by default" and click the Change profile button at the bottom.

This way you will always have the opportunity to see what you have posted right after you've posted it, without needing to hunt around for it.

[Sylvia]

The notification system for SMF is a little more advanced and slightly different to phpBB.


First, if you want to be notified by default every time someone replies to a topic you have created (as most people generally do), you will need to enable this feature by "turning it on".  Otherwise, you will probably start to wonder why you are not receiving any topic notifications anymore.

Once again this is done through the individual user's Profile section.
Click on the "Notifications and Email" link under Modify Profile.
On the next page, check "Turn notification on when you post or reply to a topic." and click the Save settings button.

If you only want to be notified for the first reply to your topic - and not each subsequent one - then you should also check the "Receive reply notification only for the first unread reply." option. (Personally, I prefer to get an e-mail for every reply as it is quite easy to miss responses to your topics the other way, so I have left that particular option unchecked. )

[Sylvia]

I think this is quite similar to phpBB, but I will put it here just in case new members can use the information.


If a member has chosen to receive PMs, the easiest way to send them one is by clicking on the small green scroll symbol situated at the bottom of their Profile window on any given posting page of a topic. If you go into the more detailed page of their Profile by clicking on the member's name, you will also see a text link which has the same function near the bottom of the Summary, under "Additional Information". Another way to send PMs is by going into your Messages area and clicking on the "new msg" button, top right.

If you have a new PM, it will be visible to you after logging in, via the announcement at the top of the forum page, just above the main menu. It will say something like "Hey, krystal, you have 25 messages, 1 is new." The quantity of messages is always highlighted in blue. This is a link which when clicked will take you directly to the in-box where your Personal Messages are located.

You can elect to have a pop-up window announce your new Personal Messages while you are logged in, or you can select to have e-mail notification. If you want to cover all bases, enable both!

By default, a copy of all received messages is saved in your Inbox (of course ), but if you want to save the messages you send, you should click the option bottom left on the Personal Message screen (Save a copy in my outbox) before sending it.

However, if you want ALL sent messages to be automatically saved in your Outbox - which is definitely the easiest way - you can configure this (and add the above notification methods) via the "Personal Message Options" page which is linked in your Profile area. You simply check the option "Save a copy of each Personal Message in my outbox by default."

[Yoyei]

THANK YOU VERY MUCH, KRYSTAL!!!

[Richard]

And, a BIG thank you from me too, Krystal ...

Richard

[Sylvia]

No problem!
I will do a brief explanation on attaching images when I get a moment to make some screen shots, since this is another area causing slight confusion at the moment.
You might want to sticky this topic until everyone is familiar with the new stuff.

[Sr. Inad]

very thank´s for your work