Board Controls

This post is about the controls that you as a member of Tom Coyote have available. Please look at the screenshots and follow the instructions for setting up the forum so that you get the most from your experience here.

At the top of every page within the forum when you are signed in you will see a clickable link for My Controls. It looks like this:

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When you click the link to My Controls, many settings become available to you. The following will be the first page you see when clicking the link to My Controls

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On theLeft hand side of the page are links to all of your controls. The right hand side of the page will have your email address that is registered at Tom Coyote, the number of threads you have posted, the date you joined Tom Coyote, a list of attachments that you have posted in the forum, links to the most recent topics you have read, and a small notepad area in which to keep notes.

Now the settings that are the most important, starting with the Board Settings:

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In the board settings please make sure that your time zone is correct and the time correct above the setting. If the time is not correct, then you probably need to put a check mark in the box marked "Daylight Savings Time"

Next please setup the Board Display Settings according to what you want to see and receive. A notification when a PM arrives means that when one arrives you will have it appear at the top of the page you are on so that you know it is there.

Email Settings are also very important so that you receive notification when someone responds to a thread you have started. When you click the link to Email Settings you will see the following:

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On the right hand side of the page:

The first item is Hide my email address from other members this prevents other members from contacting you by email or getting you email address. A check mark is often put in this one for security. People can still contact you by PM here in the forum.

Second item "Send me any updates sent by the board administrator" should be checked in case there is information about the forum that you should know

Third item Include a copy of the post when emailing me from a subscribed topic is optional. If this is checked the emails you receive from the forum about replies to a topic you are interested in, will contain the actual post that was written.

Fourth item Send a confirmation email when I receive a new private message is also optional but you will receive an email when you have received a PM here in your mail box.

Fifth item Enable 'Email Notification' by default? should always be checked so that you receive an email when someone replies to your topic

Higher up on the left hand menu you will see Personal Profile. Under this you will see
. Edit Profile info
. Edit Signature
. Edit Avatar Settings

If you click on Edit Profile Info you will see:

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Here is where you record person information, the OS you are running and details about your computer, nicknames for other Instant Messaging programs, what general area of the world you live in, your birthdate so we can say Happy Birthday, your gender, and what forum you consider to be your home forum

If you click on Edit Signature you will be able to add something that will show in every post you make.

If you click Edit Avatar Settings you can either choose one of the ones available there or upload your own (size restrictions). It will appear under your name in every post you make.



The next setting that is important is listed a little higher up on the left , under Subscriptions.

Please click on View Topics to see the following:

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On the right hand side of the page you will see a list of threads that you have either started, responded to, or clicked "Track This Topic" at the top of a thread so that you receive email when someone responds to it later.

You will also see a box at the right of each post. If you put a check mark in it, you can unsubscribe from the topic so that you receive no further email for that topic. There is a button at the bottom of the list, and a drop down box to choose unsubscribe,or change to another type of email notification.

If you choose View Forums instead of View Topics from the left hand menu you will see a similar page for entire forums that you have subscribed to.

Last on the list is the Personal Message System that we have here at Tom Coyote. This is available to members with 15 posts or more at this time. Please note the information on the right hand side of the following page. At the top is a perventage meter to show you how full your boxes are in total. When the meter shows over 90% full they have to be emptied. See below for how to empy. The name of each mailbox is also at the top right. Below that is shown each PM that you have stored in that box.

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At the top left if you click on Compose New Message you will be able to send a PM to another member of this forum.

PM's that you receive will appear in your Inbox and PM's you send may appear in your Sent Items box if you put a check mark in the PM you sent to save a copy of it.

You have the ability to add mailboxes to hold PM's that you wish to keep.

However, there is a limit to the total number of PM's that your box can hold. You may have PM's that you wish to save for any number of reasons. On the left hand menu under Messenger you will see a clickable link to Archive Messages. Put a check mark beside each post that you want to archive. You also have the choice of what file type to have the archives delivered in. You can choose either an Excel database, or and HTML file. When you click this link you will see:

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Use the drop down menus to specify what you have to archive and the settings for each mail box. You will receive an email with an attachment containing all of the posts in that box that you have checked.

If you have any questions about the controls or how to use any parts that are not mentioned, please feel free to ask.