To post a new topic, follow these steps:

1. Select a conference by clicking the conference name or expansion box (+ to the left of the conference name).

2. Choose from one of these two ways to display the Post form:

   • From the WebBoard menubar, click Post.

   • From an open message, click Post on the message menu.

3. Enter the new topic name in the Topic field. Keep the topic name short.

4. Choose any of the following options by checking the appropriate boxes in the menu at the top of the message posting form:

   • Convert line breaks to HTML breaks to automatically turn line breaks into carriage returns or blank lines. If you deselect this option, all lines in your message are run together.

   • Watch this Topic to have WebBoard send you an email when someone posts a message in this topic. You will be alerted to any message posted to the topic thread (not just messages responding to your message). To manage watched topics, see Watching Topics and Conferences.

   • Anonymous to post anonymously. Your name is not attached to the posting.

   • Preview message to review your message before you post it. For details, see Previewing Your Message.

   • Preview/Spell check to review and spell check your message: this is a default setting. For details, see Spell Checking Your Message.

   • Attach File to attach a file to your message. For details, see Attaching Files and Pictures to Your Message.

5. In some cases, you see an Attn: field that you can use to alert specific users to your post. Click to select a name; hold down CTRL while clicking to select more than one. For details on how this feature works, see Alerting a User to Your Message.

6. Type in your message. Note that:

   You can include HTML tags for formatting. (Because browsers interpret HTML tags, you must use the normal escape characters for angle brackets if you want HTML tags to appear as text—or substitute square brackets for angle brackets as a shortcut.)

   On most boards, you can include links to other web pages and images. Note that any links you include must have the full URL, such as http://www.myserver.com/linked.html. Some boards may not allow active links in messages. If you have a question about this feature, contact the WebBoard administrator.

7. When you complete your message, click Post. Depending on which options you have selected, WebBoard either posts your message immediately or allows you to preview it (with or without spell checking). Previewing and spell checking are discussed in the following sections.

Note In a conference requiring message verification, your message may not be posted until the moderator reviews and verifies it.

Previewing Your Message

You can preview messages before you post them to ensure that they say what you really intended. Message preview comes in two flavors: without spell checking and with spell checking. Previewing without spell checking allows you to read your message once more before posting it, while previewing with spell checking allows you to catch and correct misspelled words as well.

To preview your message without spell checking, follow these steps:

1. Check Preview on the Post message form.

2. Enter the topic name and your message, and click Post. WebBoard displays your message exactly as it will appear to other users on WebBoard.

3. If you are dissatisfied with your message and want to change it, click Back on your browser. You can also right-click your mouse, and click Back to get to the previous frame. Note that your browser must have a sufficient value set for memory cache for this feature to work.

4. Once you are satisfied with the appearance of your message, click Post. Your message is immediately posted to the conference, and WebBoard displays it in the Message window.

Spell Checking Your Message

You can spell check any message you post on WebBoard by using WebBoard’s built-in dictionary. To spell check your message, follow these steps:

1. Check Preview/Spell check on the Post message form.

2. Enter your message and click Post. The Message Preview window opens. Your message is spell checked, with occurrences of misspelled words flagged as hypertext links.

3. Click each flagged misspelled word to see WebBoard’s suggestions for corrections. You can either select a word from the list or enter a new one in the textbox.

4. Click Done to return to the message preview. The corrected word is shown in the message. Repeat Steps 4 and 5 if necessary.

5. If you are dissatisfied with your message after correcting the spelling errors and want to change it, click Back on your browser to redisplay the original Message form.

6. Once you are satisfied with your message, click Post. Your message is posted to the conference.

Attaching Files and Pictures to Your Message

Attaching files to your WebBoard messages is a handy way to give users ready access to information that doesn’t fit well in a text message. You can also attach digital pictures, which display in the message. Your browser must support file attachments (Netscape Navigator 2.0 or higher; Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 with plug-in, or Internet Explorer 4.0 or higher) for uploading files. Almost any browser can download file attachments. Additionally, those who want to open the files must have the same or similar applications to open them.

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Note File attachment is not available for all conferences. The WebBoard administrator determines whether or not file attachments are allowed, and can also restrict the number of attachments per posting and the size of attachments. If you have difficulty, contact the WebBoard administrator.

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To attach a file to your message, follow these steps:

1. Check Attach file on the Post message form.

2. Type in your message and click Post. If you selected Preview/Spell check or Preview, complete the preview and click Post. The Attach a File form opens.

3. Click the appropriate Category radio button for the file you want to attach. The category you select causes WebBoard to display the corresponding icon next to the file-attachment link in your posting, which gives other users a quick idea of the file type. The categories are as follows:

   • Application if this is an application.

   • Audio if this is a sound file.

   • Document if this is a text file.

   • Image if this is a graphics file.

   • Multimedia if this is a multimedia file.

   • Inline Image if this is a digital image file (such as JPEG or GIF).

   • Unknown if you do not know what type of file you are uploading.

4. Enter the name and path to the file in the File to upload field;

   – OR –

   Click Browse to select the attachment you want to upload from your computer. A File Upload dialog opens. Navigate through your folders to select the attachment. Click Open to continue or click Cancel to return to the file attachment form. If there is no Browse button, your browser doesn’t support file attachments.

5. Enter the description of the file attachment in the File description field.

6. If you want to attach more files, click Yes for Upload another.

7. Click Upload Now to attach the file to your message. Depending on the size of the file and speed of your connection, this process may take a few minutes. Your message is immediately posted to the conference. The attachment appears as a hyperlink at the end of the message. If the attachment is an image, it should display in the message body (although the administrator can configure a board so that images also appear as links). An icon indicating the file type and the size of the file in kilobytes follows the filename.

8. If you clicked “Upload another,” the Attach a File form appears again. Repeat Steps 3-7 for each file attachment you want to upload.

Alerting a User to Your Message

The Attn: field tells WebBoard to notify specific users of your message. When those users next log in, the message is flagged as being posted to their attention. Before you can use this feature, you must add names to your address book, as described in Keeping an Address Book.

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Note Attention messaging is not available on all boards; it can be turned off by the WebBoard administrator.

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To post a message to a user’s attention, follow these steps:

1. On the Post message form, select the names you want from the Attn: list box as follows:

   Click a name to select it.

   Hold down CTRL and click to select multiple names. To deselect one of multiple names, hold down CTRL and click the name again.

   To select all names in the list box, click the first name on the list and hold down Shift as you click the last name.

2. Complete your message in the normal way and click Post. The message is posted publicly to the conference with the Attn: field showing the names you selected from the list box. Users whose names you selected see the Attn: icon (!) next to the message.

Posting a Reply

You can post a reply to any message within a topic. For example, if a topic has 10 messages, you can reply to the first message or to the tenth message. Whenever you reply to a message, your new message is indented under that message in the Conferences list to show other readers the thread of the conversation. Replies are displayed chronologically within each topic.

You can alert specific users to your message by addressing it to their attention. You can also reply to a posting privately, by sending an email message to the original message poster.

Replying Publicly

To reply publicly to the message you are currently reading, use one of the following options:

• Select Reply from the menu at the top of the message you want to respond to.

• Select Reply/Quote from the menu to include text from the original message.

WebBoard displays a message-creation form for you to complete. The form is the same as the one for posting a new topic except the topic from the current message is displayed. You can use this topic or change it. Otherwise the form works the same as described in “Posting a Topic Message” above. Please refer to that section for details.

Replying with an Attention Message

Sometimes you may want to give a public reply to a post but need to be sure a certain user reads it. Before you can use this feature, you must have names in your address book. See Keeping an Address Book.

To post to another user’s attention:

1. Select Reply or Reply/Quote from the menu at the top of the message you want to respond to. WebBoard displays a message-creation form for you to complete. The form is the same as the one for posting a new topic except the topic from the current message is displayed. You can use this topic or change it.

2. In the Attn: field, select the users you want to alert to the message from the list box as follows:

   Click a name to select it.

   Hold down CTRL and click to select multiple names. To deselect a name, hold down CTRL and click the name again.

   To select all names in the list box, click the first name on the list and hold down Shift as you click the last name.

3. Complete the message as described in “Posting a Topic Message” above. The message is posted publicly to the conference with the Attn: field showing the names you selected from the list box. Users whose names you selected see the Attn: icon (!) next to the message.

Replying Privately

Rather than post a reply to the whole conference, you may prefer to send a reply only to the individual who posted the message. WebBoard lets you reply privately to the message author by email. If a message was posted anonymously or the author has checked Hide my email address on his or her user profile, you can’t send a private response.

To reply privately to the author of the message you are currently reading, use one of the following options:

• Select Email Reply from the menu at the top of the message you want to reply to.

• Click the poster’s email address link in the From field of the message.

WebBoard starts the email program associated with your browser with the recipient’s email address included (but not the topic or any text from the message posting). You must enter a subject and your response. You may also want to cut and paste the WebBoard posting to provide context for the recipient.

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Note Sending email replies uses your web browser’s email capability. Your browser must be set up to send email; WebBoard itself does not provide this capability.

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Editing Your Message

You can edit messages you have posted. For example, if you want to add or remove information from a message--including removing file attachments--you do so by editing it. Or, if you want to change the topic for a message, editing it is the way to do it. Note that if you posted a message to a board that does not require authentication (that is, you did not have to give a username and password to log in), the editing feature is unavailable.

To edit your message, follow these steps:

1. From the Conferences list, locate the message you want to edit. Click its name to display it in the Message menu. Click Edit from the message menu. An Edit Message form opens.

2. Make the desired changes to the topic, Attn: field, or text.

3. Choose any of the following options by checking the appropriate box(es) in the menu at the top of the message-posting form.

4. Make edits to the message body.

5. To remove a file attachment, check the box next to the attachment.

6. When you complete your edits, click Post. Depending on which options you have selected, WebBoard either posts your message immediately or allows you to preview it (with or without spell checking) and/or attach a file. Previewing and spell checking are discussed earlier in this chapter. If this conference is moderated, the message is not posted until the moderator verifies it.

Deleting Your Message

Once you have posted a message, you can delete it from the conference. If you posted a message to a board that does not require authentication (that is, you did not have to give a username and password to log in), the delete feature is unavailable. If you want to delete a message you posted, contact the WebBoard administrator.

To delete a message, follow these steps:

1. From the Conferences list, locate the message you want to delete and click its name.

2. Click Delete from the message menu. WebBoard displays a message asking if you are sure you want to delete the message. Once deleted, a message cannot be retrieved.

3. Click Yes if you want to delete this message. Your message is immediately deleted from the conference.

4. Click No if you want to keep this message in the conference.

Watching Topics and Conferences

If you like, WebBoard will notify you by email when new messages are posted to topics or conferences you want to watch:

• For topics, a notice is sent whenever a new message is posted in the topic you are watching. Remember that a topic is a message thread, including a topic message and all responses.

• For conferences, a notice is sent once a day whenever one or more new messages is posted to the conference you are watching. The time the email is sent is determined by the WebBoard administrator.

To Watch a Topic

You can tell WebBoard to watch a topic in ond of two ways:

• When you create a message, check the Watch this Topic option on the message creation form.

• When you read a topic, check the Watch this Topic option at the end of the topic (if you are reading in full topic view, this option is at the end of the entire topic).

To Stop Watching a Topic

You can tell WebBoard to stop watching a topic in ond of two ways:

When you read a topic, check the Stop Watching this Topic option at the end of the topic.

Review a list of all topics you are watching and change their status on the My Watch Lists page:

1. Click More on the WebBoard menubar. The More Options menu opens.

2. Click My Watch Lists. The page displays all topics you are currently watching as well as all the conferences on the current board.

3. To stop watching a topic, remove the check from the box next to the topic.

4. Click Save when you complete your selection(s). The topic(s) you deselected are removed from the list.

5. To return to the More Options menu, click More Options.

To Watch or Stop Watching a Conference

To start or stop watching a conference, follow these steps:

1. Click More on the WebBoard menubar. The More Options menu opens.

2. Click My Watch Lists. The page displays all the conferences on the current board as well as all topics you are currently watching.

3. To watch a conference, the check the box next to the conference.

4. To stop watching a conference, remove the check from the box next to the conference.

5. Click Save when you complete your selection(s).

6. To return to the More Options menu, click More Options.

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