Help with using & Navigating the forum.

[Chrissie]

Edit by Chrissie 12/03/2013

I'm slowly updating this thread due to the changes since upgrading to Proboards V5

For general Proboards navigation help -
support.proboards.com/board/74/users-members

[Chrissie]

Activation Code

When you first register, you will be sent an activation code via email. This code is sent by Proboards & unfortunately, some email services think it is spam. If you don't receive your activation code, check your spam/junk mail. Or even better - prior to registering add [e-mail] to your list of contacts.

If you need to receive the email again, log in with your username and password, & you will be greeted with -

"Please enter your activation key in the form below to activate your account. If you did not receive your activation key, then you can verify or update your email address and have a new key sent to you by clicking here".

[Chrissie]

Replying to a thread, quoting, editing & Liking

To reply to a thread you can either use the quick reply box below every thread or click on reply (bottom right of a thread) & that will take you to a full reply box where you can choose to either a visual or BBcode view.

If you want to quote a previous post, click on "quote" on the post you want to quote, this will take you to the full reply box and include the quote in your reply.

If you want to edit your own post, click on edit

If you like what someone has posted click on the thumbs up icon in their post to let them know.

For more options click the arrow next to the cog.

[Chrissie]

Adding pictures to a post

To add a photo or image to your post, you can either click on full reply & add an attachment by clicking on Browse - this will open a file upload window where you can browse for the image stored on your PC then click open. Please note that since upgrading to V5, the forum now has very limited attachment storage.

Preferably you can post an image via its url using a host like photobucket. For posting pics in threads, you need to copy & paste the IMG code.


For help with using Photobucket to post images onto the forum please have a look at this PDF that simate made for us.

[Chrissie]

Starting a new thread

To start a new thread, first navigate to the appropriate board you want to start a new thread on, for instance allaboute-cigarettes.proboards.com/board/22/absolute-beginners-new-members .Then click on "Create Thread" top right of the list of threads on the board.

[Chrissie]

Your Profile

To edit/add to your profile click on "Profile" button located in the top menu bar (just under the banner at the top of every board).

Next click on the edit button on the right. On this page you can add or change your avatar. You will also see various tabs on this page, but lets next go to "settings" tab. On this page you can set your forum preferences.

Under the "personal" tab you can amend your display name, add your gender/location & a signature etc.
Please add your location, doing so will help with advice other members can give you. Plus if you are stuck in any way, a member who lives close by, may be able to help you out. The AAE-C signature banner can be found here www.banner-links.com/AAEC/banner-maker.php

Under the privacy tab you can choose to show your gender & how your birthday is displayed etc.

After modifying any areas of your profile, don't forget to scroll to the bottom of the page & click on save settings.

[Chrissie]

PM's - sending & viewing Personal Messages

To send a PM to someone, you can either click on the P.M. link under their avatar or click on their id & on the next page click on "send message"

To view PM's sent to you, click on "messages" at top of board immediately below the banner . If you have any new messages you will see a white bubble above the Message button.

You can also change your PM & other notification preferences , by clicking on "edit" in your profile & then "notifications".

[Chrissie]

Subscribing to a thread (Bookmarks)

To bookmark a thread click on "Actions" at the top right of the thread & choose bookmark from the drop down list. When the bookmarked thread is updated, you will be notified via notifications in your profile.

If you would like email notifications to let you know that a bookmarked thread has been updated, go into your profile & click on "edit Profile" button, top right. Then click on the "notifications" tab & tick the box for emails next to "when a bookmark is updated ".

[Chrissie]

New Topics

To view the most recent activity on the forum click the "New Topics" button on the top menu bar and you'll be taken to a list of all the updated threads since your last visit.

[Chrissie]

Search

To search the forum, click on the "search" button in the menu under the banner to search the whole of the forum. To search a particular board, use the search box in the action bar, top right of the board you want to search.

[Chrissie]

Tagging

Tagging is a useful way of getting the attention of a fellow member. If you 'tag' someone in a post their name will appear in a highlighted colour in the post and they will receive a notification that you have tagged them along with a link to your post.

To tag someone in a reply to a thread they have posted on, just hold down the Alt button on your keyboard & left click on their name above their avatar & the tag will instantly show in the reply box.

If the person you want to tag isn't on the thread you want to tag them in, then either go to their profile & top right you will see their user name or hover over their display name & their user name will show. Make sure you add the @ symbol in front of their name. For instance, my display name is Chrissie, but my user name is admin, so to tag me, you would type in @ admin (without the gap). Another example is OneDay, his user name is onedayillquit. Screenshot with thanks to OneDay -