This article provides information on the process of creating a topic, and the various options available when doing so.
This is done by first opening the Forum tool (found under the Communication suite) and then clicking on the name of the forum that the new topic should be created in. From there, clicking the New Topic tab will reveal a form for creating the new topic.
Options
- Topic – The main reference given to this topic, this is the label that forum participants will see when viewing the list of topics in the forum. This should ideally be a brief text that gives viewers an idea of the subject of the conversation.
- Rich Text Editor – Below the Topic field is a rich text editor that allows you to enter the contents of the opening post in the topic.
- Notify me of replies – Turning this option on will ensure that any future replies made in this topic trigger a notification email, as well as a mobile push notification to the poster's mobile device. For this functionality to be effective, either an email address must be listed in the poster's profile, or the mobile app must be installed on their mobile device, with notifications turned on.
- Attached files – This section contains file upload fields, allowing the user to include files in the topic, e.g. images. Adding a file will reveal subsequent file upload fields, allowing for multiple files to be uploaded. If a file is uploaded mistakenly, simply check the Remove checkbox to its right, and the file will not be included upon topic creation.
- Poll – Using this option will include a poll in the topic. This is an interactive feature of the Forum tool that allows the topic creator to pose a question, providing several possible choices to choose from. Forum participants will then be able to submit their vote when viewing the topic.
- Allow ratings – Turning this option on will include a series of 10 buttons with every post made in this topic. Forum participants will be able to click these buttons to rate the message out of 10. The resulting average of all votes on the message are immediately displayed on the post.
- Sticky – Turning this option on will keep this topic at the top of the topic list when viewing the forum, making it easier for participants to access. This option is only available to users with administrative privileges.
- Locked – Turning this option on will prevent forum participants from be able to reply to this thread, excepting administrators. This option is only available to users with administrative privileges.
Once these details have been entered, click the Save button to create the topic.