What is Discussions?

Discussions enables you to start and participate in online discussions. Everyone can exchange opinions on various subjects, regardless of time or location. Discussions lets you create organized categories and topics for all threaded opinions.

1. Add New Subjects

To add a new topic to Discussions, follow these steps:

1. From the Home Page, click Discussions on the Share360 menu.

   The Discussions List window appears.

2. Click on the Discussions Category in which you would like to add a new topic.

   The list of all existing topics will appear.

3. Click Add New Topic.

   The New Topic window appears.

4. From the Author field drop-down menu, choose your user group (for reference).

5. In the Subject field, enter a subject name.

6. In the Opinion field, enter your opinion on the subject. This will serve as the introductory comment for the threaded opinions to follow.

7. If you'd like to attach a file, click Browse to attach a file.

8. If you'd like to post a notice automatically in the Bulletin Board that a new subject has been created in Discussions, click the Announcement check box.

   Note: The system administrator must activate this feature in Discussions > Admin Tools> General .

9. Using the pull-down menu, choose in which Bulletin Board you'd like to post your announcement.

10. When done, click Add.

2. Post Opinions within Topics

In order to post your opinion in an existing Discussions Topic, follow these steps:

1. From the Home Page, click Discussions on the Share360 menu.

   The Discussions Category List window appears.

2. Click a topic where an opinion will be added.

   The Topic window appears. You will see the existing thread of opinions, and there will be an Opinion Field at the top of the page.

3. Enter a new opinion, adding to the discussion thread.

4. If you'd like to attach a file, click Browse to find the file to attach to your opinion.

5. When done, click Add.

3. Search Discussions

To search the Discussions for certain topics, opinions or keywords, follow these steps:

1. From the Home Page, click Discussions on the Share360 menu.

   The Discussions List window appears.

2. Click a Discussions category with the topics you want to search.

   The Topic List window appears.

3. In the Search field, enter the keywords you want to search and click Search.

   The Discussions Search window will appear with your search results.

4. For a more advanced search, choose the search criteria (Subject, Author or Opinion).

5. When done, click Search.

4. Delete Opinions

You can only delete opinions in a topic thread if they are your own.

You must have system administrator access in order to delete opinions that are not your own.

To delete an opinion, follow these steps:

1. From the Home Page, click Discussions on the Share360 menu.

   The Discussions List window appears.

2. Click the Discussions cateogry with the topic containing the opinion you want to delete.

   The Topic List window appears.

3. Click the topic with the opinion you want to delete.

   The threaded opinions appear.

4. Find the opinion you want to delete:

   • If the opinion is yours, click Delete.
   • If the opinions is another user's, click Delete, login as Admin if you have not already done so.

5. Click Delete to confirm and delete the opinion.

5. Browse Opinions

To browse the opinions in a particular topic, follow these steps:

1. From the Home Page, click Discussions on the Share360 menu.

   The Discussions Category List window appears.

2. Click a category with the topics you want to browse.

   The Topic List window appears.

3. Click a topic you want to browse.

   The threaded opinions appear.

4. Read the thread and add an opinion to contribute to the discussion!

6. Set Discussions View on Your Home Page

(User Settings)

To personalize your Home Page, you can customize your view of Discussions. This setting will be unique to you.

1. On the Home Page, from the Discussions section, click Options next to the Discussions heading.

   Note: You can access My Options from any page; just use the left navigation in My Options to find the specific Home Page or application options.

   The Discussions My Options window appears.

2. From the Number of Topics per Category to List on Home Page drop-down menu, select the maximum number of subjects per Discussions you would like displayed on your Home Page.

3. From the Number of Characters for Topic to List on Home Page area, select the maximum number of letters for the topic names you would like listed on your Home Page.

4. Click the check box(s) next to each Discussion Category you'd like to show up on your Home Page.

5. When done, click Save.

7. General Options

(System Settings)

As a system administrator, you can modify the Discussions general options for all users.

1. From the Home Page, choose Discussions > Admin Tools.

   Note: You can access Admin Tools from any page; just use the left navigation in Admin Tools to find the specific application options.

   If you are not already logged in as Admin, enter your admin password when prompted.

   Select General.

2. Select options as desired:

   Number of Attachment Files per Opinion: Choose how many files users can attach to each opinion.

   Number of Opinions to List in a Topic: Select how many opinions to list per page for each topic.

   Number of Topics to List in Category List: Choose how many topics to list within each discussion category (one level down from the Discussions home page).

   Number of Latest Topics to List (per Category) in Discussions List: Select how many topics to list under each discussions category on the Discussions home page.

   Display attached image files (gif, jpeg etc.) in an opinion: Choose whether or not to display images within the opinions.

   Users can add an announcement in Bulletin Board when adding a new topic: Activate the feature that allows users to post an automatic notice in Bulletin Board when a new subject is added.

   Default Bulletin Board Category to Add an Announcement : Select a default location for posting new topic notices.

3. When done, click Save.

8. Set Access Permissions

(System Settings)

As a system administrator, you control the Discussions access permissions for guest users. To change permissions, follow these steps:

1. The following is the list of access permissions for Discussions. Non-registered users (Guests) are users who have not been registered in System Setting.

   Setting Items	Registered Users	Non-Registered Users	System Administrator
   Browse Opinions	Yes	Set with an access permission	-
   Post Opinions to Topics	Yes	Set with an access permission	-
   Delete Opinions	Yes (Only Author of the Opinion)	No	Yes
   Delete Topics	No	No	Yes
   Add/Edit/Delete Discussion Categories	No	No	Yes

   Note: You can set up a Group-Exclusive Discussions for a specific group in Discussions > Admin tools > Categories.

2. From the Home Page, choose Discussions > Admin Tools.

   Note: You can access Admin Tools from any page; just use the left navigation in Admin Tools to find the specific application options.

   If you are not already logged in as Admin, enter your admin password when prompted.

   Select Access Permission.

3. Choose an option:

   Check the Browse box to assign browsing privileges to guest users.

   Check the Add box to let guest users add opinions within a Discussions topic.

4. When done, click Save.

9. Add Discussion Categories

(System Settings)

As a system administrator, you control the Discussions categories for all users. To add a new Discussions Category, follow these steps.

1. From the Home Page, choose Discussions > Admin Tools.

   Note: You can access Admin Tools from any page; just use the left navigation in Admin Tools to find the specific application options.

   If you are not already logged in as Admin, enter your admin password when prompted.

   Select Categories.

2. From the Categories list box, click Add.

3. Enter a new category name.

   Set this Discussions as Group-Exclusive: Make a discussion available only to a specific group. Select a group from the drop-down menu.

4. When done, click Add.

10. Edit Discussion Categories

(System Settings)

As a system administrator, you can edit Discussion Categories. Follow these steps:

1. From the Home Page, choose Discussions > Admin Tools.

   Note: You can access Admin Tools from any page; just use the left navigation in Admin Tools to find the specific application options.

   If you are not already logged in as Admin, enter your admin password when prompted.

   Select Categories.

2. From the categories list box, select a discussion category to edit.

3. Click Edit.

   Make necessary changes.

4. When done, click Save.

11. Delete Discussion Categories

(System Settings)

As a system administrator, you can delete Discussion Categories. If you delete a category, all opinions and topics will be deleted as well, so be sure to make a back up before proceeding.

1. From the Home Page, choose Discussions > Admin Tools.

   Note: You can access Admin Tools from any page; just use the left navigation in Admin Tools to find the specific application options.

   If you are not already logged in as Admin, enter your admin password when prompted.

   Select Categories.

2. Select a category to delete.

3. Click Delete.

4. When done, click Yes to confirm.

12. Change the Order of Displaying Discussion Categories

(System Settings)

As a system administrator, you can change the display order of Discussions Categories on the Discussions home page. Follow these steps:

1. From the Home Page, choose Discussions > Admin Tools.

   Note: You can access Admin Tools from any page; just use the left navigation in Admin Tools to find the specific application options.

   If you are not already logged in as Admin, enter your admin password when prompted.

   Select Categories.

2. From the categories list box, select the category you want to reorder.

3. Change the order by clicking the Up Arrow or Down Arrows.

   To move up: With the category highlighted, click the Up Arrow to move the category up to a desired location.

   To move down: With the category highlighted, click the Down Arrow to move the category down to a desired location.

13. Delete All Discussion Topics

(System Settings)

As a system administrator, you can clean up your files by deleting Discussion Topics and corresponding opinions created within a certain category before a set date. Be sure to back up your data before deleting, as this action cannot be undone.

1. From the Home Page, choose Discussions > Admin Tools.

   Note: You can access Admin Tools from any page; just use the left navigation in Admin Tools to find the specific application options.

   If you are not already logged in as Admin, enter your admin password when prompted.

   Select Delete Topics.

2. From the Category drop-down menu, select the category that contains the topics you want to delete.

3. From the Delete All Topics Added Before drop-down menu, choose a time period to delete the topics.

4. When done, click Delete.

14. Delete a Topic

(System Settings)

As a system administrator, you can delete a Topic from a Discussion Category. Follow these steps:

1. From the Home Page, click Discussions on the Share360 menu.

   The Discussions Category List window appears.

2. Click a category with the topic you want to delete.

   The Topic List window appears.

3. Click the topic you want to delete.

   The threaded opinions appear.

4. Click Delete.

   If you are not already logged in as Admin, enter your admin password when prompted.

5. When done, click Delete to confirm.