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    • Registering lets you take full advantage of the community, enabling you to:
      • Post new messages and reply to other members' posts
      • Receive email when someone responds to a specific post or topic
      • Exchange private messages with other members
      • Personalize your community experience
      • Post comments on blogs that don't allow anonymous comments
      • Post ideas, vote on the ideas you like best, and post comments
      If you don't register, you can only browse, search for information, and read posts. You won't be able to give kudos, vote on ideas, interact with other community members, or set customization preferences.
      Close

    • Changing your avatar is an easy way to personalize your community identity. You can change your avatar as often as you like. Your current avatar appears at the top of the Avatar page.


      To change your avatar:

      1. Sign in to your community account.
      2. Go to My Settings > Avatars.
      3. Choose a new avatar in one of these ways:
        • Choose an avatar from the Community collection. (Choose an avatar collection and click the avatar your want.)
        • Use an image from your Image Gallery. (Click From Image Gallery and click the image you want.) You can only use this option if you have uploaded images that have been approved.
        • If you have been granted permission, use your Facebook profile photo as your avatar. (Click From Facebook and click Set Avatar.
        • If you have been granted permission, use an image from the web. (Click From the Web and enter the URL for the image. Then, click Set Avatar.
      Close

    • You can tell other community members as much or as little about yourself as you want. You can enter a short biography, your location, your interests, or anything else (within community guidelines, of course).

      To tell other community members about yourself:

      1. Sign in to your community account.
      2. Go to My Settings > Personal Profile > Personal Information.
      3. Enter information about yourself in the Biography field. You can also enter your name, location, company info, and any other information you want to share.
      4. Click Save.

      By default, all community users can see this information.

      To display your info only to people on your Friends List:

      1. Click Preferences > Privacy.
      2. Set show private information in profile to to friends only.
      3. Click Save.
      Close

    • Your Friends List is a way to create your own community within a community.

      Depending on your privacy settings, the people on your Friends List can see your biography, other personal information, or online status. If you send private messages, you can choose friends from a list instead of typing their user names.

      Note: Your Friends List is available only if your community supports private messages.

      To add people to your Friends List:

      1. Sign in to the community.
      2. Click the user name of a friend to see the friend's About user name page.
      3. Click Add user name to Friends.

      Note: You can remove a person from your Friend's List by clicking "Remove from Friends". Additionally, you can click "Ignore" to prevent specific users from contacting you.

      Close

    • You can customize the look and behavior of the community in many ways, including time zone and language preference, text size, menu behavior, message order, and privacy settings.


      To set your viewing preferences:

      1. Sign in to the community.
      2. Go to My Settings > Preferences.
      3. Click through the various preference tabs and make the changes you want.
      4. Click Save on each tab where you make changes.
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    • To post a message:

      1. Go to the board where you want to post.
      2. Click the New Message link.
      3. In the Subject field, enter your message title.
        Tip: Make your subject clear and concise, as it's the only part of the message that shows up on the message-listing page.
      4. In the Body field, type your message. Be sure to include all necessary details, especially for technical topics.
      5. Format and spell check your message, as needed.
      6. Click Submit Post.
      Close

    • Click Reply to respond to a particular post.

      The Reply Message screen is similar to the Post Message screen, with these differences:

      • When you reply to a post, the subject line is filled in automatically. You can change it if you want.
      • You can paste the message to which you are replying into the body of your reply by clicking Quote Message.

      Your reply is added to the existing thread. It won't create a new thread.

      Close

    • A blog is an online journal written by one or more authors. Blog articles usually appear in reverse-chronological order, so you see the most recent article first, followed by earlier articles. Some blogs have comments from readers, which you can read by clicking the Comments link at the bottom of the article.

      Close

    • Posting a comment on a blog is a lot like replying to a message on a board. If the blog is open for comments, you'll see a post a comment link or a comment count link at the bottom of the article.

      To post your comment:

      1. Click Comment or Post Your Comment.
        You can post a comment to an article or to someone else's comment.
      2. Type your comment in the comment area.
        You can use simple HTML and quote the article you're commenting on.

        Tip: Unless you have special permissions, you can't edit or delete a comment after it's posted, so be sure to preview your comment and spell check first.
      3. Click Post Your Comment.

      Some blogs display new comments almost immediately. Other blogs don't display new comments until the blog author or a moderator approves them.

      Close

    • No, you can't. Be sure to check your spelling and preview your comment before you post it.

      Close

    • An idea exchange is a collection of ideas posted by community members. Ideas can include anything from new product requests to suggestions about how to improve a product or service. Everyone in the community can see and vote on the ideas. Idea exchanges offer 3 types of ideas:

      • Hot ideas (popular right now)
      • Top ideas (received the most kudos)
      • New ideas (most recent)

      Adding an idea is just like posting a message on a board, and voting for ideas is like giving kudos. You can post comments on ideas the same way you do on blog articles. Your community might use labels to help organize related or similar ideas, and assign a status to each idea so you know which ideas might be considered or implemented

      Close

    • Posting an idea is just like posting a message on a board.

      To post your idea:

      1. Go to the idea exchange where you want to post an idea.
        Tip: It's a good idea to search the idea exchange first to make sure that someone else hasn't already posted the same idea.
      2. Click New Idea.
      3. Type an Idea Subject and the body of your idea.
        You can use simple HTML, format the text, or add links or images. You can also preview your idea and check your spelling before you post the idea.
      4. To receive email when someone comments on your idea, click E-mail me.
      5. If labels are required, enter or choose one or more labels.
        The labels you can choose from are listed below the Label entry area. Click a label to choose it. Labels make it easy to find related or similar ideas.
      6. (Optional) Add one or more tags.
      7. Click Post.
      Close

    • You vote for an idea by giving it kudos. Just click the Kudos! button next to the idea. If you change your mind, you can revoke your kudos later.

      Close

    • To post your comment:

      1. Go to the idea exchange where you want to post an idea.
        Tip: Search the idea exchange first to make sure that someone else hasn't already posted the same idea.
      2. Click New idea.
      3. Enter your idea.
        You can use simple HTML, format the text, or add links or images.
      4. Preview and spell check your idea, if needed.
      5. To receive email when someone comments on your idea, click Email me.
      6. If labels are required, enter or choose one or more labels. The label options are listed below the Label entry area. Labels make it easy to find related or similar ideas.
      7. (Optional) Add one or more tags.
      8. Click Post.
      Close

    • No, you can't. Be sure to check your spelling and preview your comment before you post it.

      Close

    • You can insert images from your computer (this uploads the image to your gallery), from your image gallery (if the image has been approved), or from another location on the web.

      To insert an image in a post:

      1. Start a new post.
      2. Click Photo in the editor’s toolbar.
      3. Choose one of the image source options and follow the on-screen instructions.
      Close

    • An Accepted Solutions is a way for you to choose the reply that best answers a question that you've posted. When you accept a solution, both the question and the solution get special icons and links that take you directly from the question to the answer.

      An Accepted Solutions icon also appears on boards and in search results so you can see which messages have solutions.

      You can mark a solution as accepted only for questions that you've posted (you started the thread). Community moderators can also mark one of the replies to a message as an accepted solution

      Close

    • To mark a message as a solution, click Accept as Solution on the reply.

      If you change your mind or if another reply provides an even better answer, you can revoke the first selection and accept the second reply.

      To revoke an accepted solution, click Options > Not the Solution.

      You can choose another solution or leave the question unsolved.

      Close

    • Kudos is a content rating system that lets you vote for the messages you think are the most useful or important.

      When you give kudos to a message, you are giving a thumbs-up for good content and a pat on the back to its author. Your kudos help to boost the value of certain messages and enhance the reputation of their authors.

      Giving kudos is as easy as a single click, but the impact of kudos ripples across the community.

      Close

    • You can give Kudos to any posts in the community except your own.

      To give kudos to a message and its author, click Kudos on the message.

      If you change your mind about the quality of the message, you can revoke your kudos.

      To revoke kudos you've given, click the Kudos button again.

      Close

    • There are a few reasons why you might not be able to give Kudos to a post.

      • You've already given Kudos to this message (you can only give them once).
      • You wrote the message (you can't Kudo your own messages).
      • Your community manager wants you to give Kudos only to a message that starts a thread and not to replies.
      • Your community manager has turned Kudos off for a message or a forum.
      • Your community manager has frozen Kudos for this message. You can still see how many Kudos the message has received, but you can't Kudo it any more.
      Close

    • A tag is a single keyword or phrase that describes the topic, theme, or subject of a post. You can add as many tags as you want and so can other community members.

      For example, in a post about a mouse, you might add these tags: mouse, USB mouse, optical mouse, wireless, DPI.

      Be sure to use commas between tags.

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    • Tagging is a way to help other users discover interesting posts. It's also a way to organize content in the community that you think is related. When you apply tags to a post, you add to the value by providing another way for people to find it.

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    • Some users will tag posts for their own convenience in finding them later. Other users enjoy helping categorize interesting posts for the benefit of the community. Users who tag lots of posts gain status by appearing on Tag Leaderboards.

      Close

    • To add a tag:

      1. Navigate to an interesting post or comment.
      2. Click in the Add field and type your tags (separated by commas).
      3. Click Add Tag.
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    • Labels are used within a community to help categorize articles in a variety of discussion styles; forums, blogs, Q&A, ideas, TKBs. Labels enable you to categorize the content you write based on the themes or content in the article. For example, in a support Q&A for troubleshooting connectivity issues with your smart phone, you might apply labels like "iPhone", "Galaxy", "AT&T", or "Verizon".

      Unlike tags, labels are created by the Community Admin and typically controlled for consistency and need. Authors must choose/apply labels from a pre-defined list for the node in which the article appears. Tags are more freeform and can be created by authors.

      Close

    • To add a label:

      1. Navigate to the post you authored.
      2. Open the post to edit it.
      3. In the Labels field, start typing the label or choose one from the list. If you add multiple labels, you must separate them with commas.
      Close

    • Private Messenger enables you to send private notes to other community members. Private Messenger has two big advantages over email:

      • You don't have to know the other member's email address to send the note. (Also, you don't have to reveal yours.)
      • You can read and send private messages without leaving the community, making it easy to a quick conversation with another community member.

      To use the Private Messenger, you must be registered and signed in. You'll see a Private Message icon at the top of your page. If you have any new messages, you'll see the number of unread messages next to the envelope icon.

      Click the message count or envelope icon to go to your Private Messages Inbox.

      Close

    • To send a private message:

      1. Sign in to the community.
      2. Click the message count or envelope icon to go to your Private Messages Inbox.
      3. Click Compose New Message.
      4. Enter the recipient's name in the Send to area.

        Note: Depending on your role in the community, you might be able to send a message to a group of users based on their role or rank in the community. If so, you can choose a role or a rank.
      5. Enter the subject for the message in the Message Subject area.
      6. Type the reply in the Message Body editor.
      7. Click Send Message.
        You can look for the messages you've sent in the Sent tab.
      Close

    • To read a private message:

      1. Sign in to the community.
        If you have any new messages, you'll see the number of unread messages next to the envelope icon.
      2. Click the message count or envelope icon to go to your Private Messages Inbox.
      3. To read a message, click the message subject.
      4. To reply to a message, click Reply. Type the reply and click Send Message.
      Close

    • To reply to a private message:

      1. Sign in to the community.
      2. Click the message count or envelope icon to go to your Private Messages Inbox.
      3. To read a message, click the message subject.
      4. To reply to a message, click Reply.
        The recipient and subject are automatically entered for you, but you can edit them.
      5. Type the reply in the Message Body editor.
      6. Click Send Message.
      Close

    • You can delete messages one at a time as you read them, or in bulk from your Inbox.

      To delete a private message:

      1. Sign in to the community.
      2. Click the message count or envelope icon to go to your Private Messages Inbox.
      3. To delete a single message, click the message to view it and then click Delete.
      4. To delete all messages, click the Options menu and click Delete All.
      Close

    • To see the private messages you've sent:

      1. Sign in to the community.
      2. Click the message count or envelope icon to go to your Private Messages Inbox.
      3. Click Sent Messages.
      Close