Miscellaneous Features:
The software we're using for the forums is incredibly robust. There are a number of additional features that you might want to be aware of, though you may not ever use them.

• You can search through the forums by clicking on search on the top navigation bar. The search page has options to search by user name or by keyword, as well as options that let you specify which forum to search.
• Icons designate forums with new postings. A yellow indicates new posts in a forum. Icons also show activity in threads, as indicated below:
• Custom titles. After you've made 10 postings in the forum, you can have a custom title attached to your user name. You can set your title (such as "Super Poster") in the Edit Profile section of the user control panel.
• There are even more options with this software. We invite you to explore and try them all.

Private Messages:
Private Messages (pm) are messages sent to other members that only they can view. To use Private Messages, you need to have them turned on. To turn them on, edit your profile options in the user control panel. See the main forum handout for more information on the user control panel.

Sending a Private Message:
There are various ways to send a private message to another member. The first is through your personal control panel:

1. From the Forums home page, select user cp to access your personal control panel.

2. On the right side of the page, click on Private Messaging.

3. Near the bottom of the page, click on the new message button. This will take you to a page similar to the post thread page.

4. Type the name of the person you would like to send a private message to in the Recipient field or find their name by clicking on Find user names.

5. When you are done writing your message, click on the Send Message button near the bottom of the page. After clicking on Send Message, you will be taken to your own Private Message inbox.

6. Note: If you would like to send a private message a multiple recipients on your buddy list, click on pm to buddies instead of new message. Select the names of all your buddies you would like to write, and click Compose Message to write your private message.

The second is from the user list:

1. From the Forums home page, select members near the top right corner of the page. This will take you to a list of registered forum members.

2. Find the name of the member you wish to private message and click on their name. This will take you to their member profile.

3. Click on Send "username" a Private Message! where "username" is the person's name. You will now see a page similar to the post thread web page.

4. Follow the same procedures for posting and click on the Send Message button when done. After clicking on Send Message, you will be taken to your own Private Message inbox.

The third is from a post:

1. From a post, select pm from the buttons at the bottom of a post to private message the post's author.

2. Follow the same procedures as you would to post a message and click on the Send Message button

Checking Your Private Messages:
To check your private messages, click on user cp from the Forums home page. You will be taken to your user control panel.

Under the first heading, you will find all of your new private messages. To view all of your private messages, click on view all private messages on the right side of the page or click on Private Messages from the blue links. This will take you to your private messages inbox.

New messages will have a yellow message symbol ( ), while read messages will have a blue message symbol ( ). Click on the private message you would like to view.

To view private messages that you have sent, click on the Jump to folder: drop down menu and select Sent Items. You will be taken to a list of all your sent private messages.

Deleting Your Private Messages:
To delete a private message, go to private messaging in your user control panel to access your private messages inbox. Check the check box to the right of the message you would like to delete and click on the yellow Delete button.

If you are viewing a specific private message and would like to delete it, check the Delete? check box near the top left corner of the message and click on the Delete button.

Replying to a Private Message:
When viewing a specific private message, click on the send reply button near the bottom of the message. Type your message as you would a regular post, and click on the Send Message button. You will be taken back to your private messages inbox page. The message you replied to will now have a blue message symbol with an arrow over it ( ) to indicate that you have sent a reply.

Message Tracking:
Message tracking lets you find out if your sent private messages have been viewed by their recipients. From your private messages inbox, click on the pm tracking button near the bottom of the page. You will be taken to the Message Tracking page.

All of the private messages you have sent that have not yet been viewed will be shown. Here, you can cancel any messages that you do not want sent so long as the recipient has not yet read them. You can also restore any messages that you have cancelled so that they will be sent again.

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