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.

After you've registered and confirmed your registration, you can sign in and start participating.

To sign in:

1. Click Sign In at the top of any page.
2. Enter your Login name and Password.
   
   Tip: If you're the only one who uses this computer, click Keep me signed in to sign in automatically next time you visit.


3. Click Sign In.

Not to worry if you've forgotten your password. If you have an email address on record, we can send your login name and password to you.

To get help with your password:

1. Click Need help with your login name or password? at the bottom of the page.
2. Enter the email address you used when you signed up with the community and click Reset Password.
   If your email address is listed, we'll send your login name and a link to reset your password to that email address.

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.

Your signature is text that appears at the bottom of your posts.

To create your personal signature:

1. Sign in to your community account.
2. Go to My Settings > Personal Profile > Personal Information.
3. Enter your signature text in the Signature box.
   Some communities let you use HTML in your signature. Check with a moderator if you have questions.
4. Click Save.

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.

Your profile card displays information about yourself and your community achievements. You can include your avatar, kudos count, community rank, post count, and latest post. You can also create badges for Blogger and Wordpress.

To create a profile card:

1. Sign in to your community account.
2. Go to My Settings > Personal > Profile Cards.
3. Click Display your profile card on your posts.
4. Choose one of the themes provided or, if you can upload images without moderator approval, click Browse to choose a background image.
5. Click the items you want to display on your card.
   The Preview shows you what your card will look like.
6. Click Save.

To create a Blogger card:

1. Sign in to your community account.
2. Go to My Settings > Personal > Profile Cards > Blogger Profile Card.
3. Choose one of the themes provided or, if you can upload images without moderator approval, click Browse to choose a background image.
4. Click the items you want to display on your badge.
   The Preview shows you what your badge will look like.
5. Click Upload to Blogger.
6. Follow Blogger's instructions for incorporating the card.

To create a Wordpress or web site card:

1. Sign in to your community account.
2. Go to My Settings > Personal > Profile Cards.
3. Click Wordpress Profile Card or Website Profile Card.
4. Choose one of the themes provided or, if you can upload images without moderator approval, click Browse to choose a background image.
5. Click the items you want to display on your card.
   The Preview shows you what your card will look like.
6. Copy the URL (for Wordpress) or code (for website) at the bottom of the page and paste it on your Wordpress or web site page.

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.

You can make a lot of changes in the way you look at community pages -- from the time zone and language, to text size, to the way menus behave, the order that messages appear, your privacy settings, ratings leaderboards, and more.

To set your viewing preferences:

1. Click My Settings to go to your My Settings page. Click the Preferences tab.
   Tip:This page has lots of tabs for the different kinds settings you can change. If this is your first visit, take a moment to click through the tabs and see what's available. If you already know, you can go right to the tab and make your changes.
2. Make your changes and click Save Changes.
   That's all there is to it!

Communities provide a place for members or participants to search for information, read and post about topics of interest, and learn from each other. Depending on how the community is set up, you will find:

• boards where you can post questions and answers
• blogs where you can read and comment on articles
• idea exchanges where you can suggest ways to improve products and vote for ideas that other community members have posted
• and more...

Guests (unregistered visitors) can browse or search the community for information. Members (registered users) can post messages or comments, track discussions, and get email notifications on posting activity and other community actions.

You are essential to the community, even if all you ever do is read messages or articles that someone else has posted. Communities offer all kinds of contributions: posting questions and sharing answers, leaving comments on blog articles or ideas, voting for ideas you like, or just searching for answers to your questions.

We encourage you to visit often and participate. Ask your toughest questions. Chances are someone has a solution or can point you in the right direction. If you find a solution that works, let others know and pass on your own tips and insights. You might just have the answer someone else needs.

Remember to thank community members who have helped you. Show your appreciation by giving kudos to helpful posts, accepting a solution that answers your question, or posting thank-you replies.

We want the community to be appropriate, friendly, informative, and fun for everyone.

Be sure to read the Community Terms of Service and the community's Rules and Guidelines so that you know what to expect and what is expected of you when you're here.

To search the Community, enter your search in the search field and click Search. A page of search results is displayed. Browse the search results in the same manner you would a message board.

To perform a more in-depth search, click the Advanced link next to the Search button. Here, you can limit your query to a specific board, specific parts of the message (subject vs. body), and other advanced parameters.

Auto-suggest accelerates your search by displaying results as you type search terms. When you see the post or user you're looking for, you can go to the post or the user's profile right from the auto-suggest results.

To turn auto-suggest off, click Turn off suggestions in the auto-suggest list.

To turn auto-suggest on, click Turn on suggestions below the search entry area.

You can refine your search using one or more filters (location, author, date).

Want to limit your search results to accepted solutions? Click the Solved check box under the Metadata filter. Want only the most recent results? Use one for the date filters to see results for a day or a week ago. You can also filter your results by individual authors or members who have the same rank.

Most search filters work together to narrow the possible results. For example, you can search for accepted solutions in the last month. However, the filters for the type of post work a little differently. If you choose Forums and Blogs, you see results from either forums or blogs (not results that are both forum and blog posts).

Active filters appear at the top of the results list. To turn off a filter, click the X to the right of the filter.

You can customise your search results to make them more meaningful in several ways:

• Use the interactive filters on the left side of the page to refine the search results based on a variety of criteria: location, author, date, and others.
• See which filters are active at the top of the results list.
• Turn an active filter off by clicking the X button to the right of the filter.

You can search for posts and knowledge base articles at any level of the community. When you type a search term, the system automatically searches at the current level. For example, if you're on the community front page, the system searches the entire community. If you're looking at a forum or blog page, the system searches that forum (and the associated knowledge base, if any) or blog.

Tip: Searches for posts always include relevant knowledge bases. However, you can also search just in knowledge bases.

To search for posts:

1. Choose the scope of the search in the drop-down list to the left of the Search button.
   You can search at the current level and above in the community.
2. Start typing the search term.
   Auto-suggest shows the topics that match the term you're typing.
   Tip: You can enter the full search term, or use an asterisk as a wildcard in your search.
3. If you don't see the term you're looking for in the auto-suggest list, click Search to see the full search results.

When you get your search results, use the filters on the left side of the page to refine your results.

You can search for community members by name or by rank. The results show you profile capsules for the users who match your criteria. The name you search for must be at least three characters long.

To search for users:

1. Choose Users in the drop down list to the left of the Search button.
2. Start typing the name of an individual user or the name of a rank.
   Auto-suggest shows the names of users who match the name you're typing. When you enter a rank, auto-suggest lists all users who have that rank.
   Tip: You can enter the full user or rank name, or use an asterisk as a wildcard in your search.
3. If you don't see the term you're looking for in the auto-suggest list, click Search to see the full search results.

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.

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.

Yes. You can use macros to create boilerplate text that you can paste into any message. You can create up to 9 macros.

To set up a macro for boilerplate text:

1. Sign in to the community.
2. Go to My Settings > Macros.
3. Enter a short but memorable name in the Macro Title field.
4. In the Macro box, enter your boilerplate text. (You can use HTML tags if your community allows it.)
5. Click Save.

Tip: To add text at the bottom of your posts, you can include that text as part of your signature instead of using a macro.

To add your boilerplate text to a post:

1. Go to a post.
2. In the comment area, place your cursor where you want to add the boilerplate text.
3. Open the Macros menu and select the macro you want to add.

A Q&A is similar to a forum, but focuses on specific questions and answers. Use Q&As to ask questions or find questions that community experts have already answered.

If you're an expert in an area, or just want to share what you know about a topic, Q&As are a great way to answer someone else's question and track the questions that are still awaiting answers.

The Ask a Question component, both on any community page or even on another website, is where you start a question. As you begin to type a question, the system suggests questions with answers that you might find useful. You can click a suggestion or continue asking your question.

To ask a question:

1. Click in the Ask a Question box and start typing your question.
   You might want to start with some key words, like product name or the type of issue you want information about.
   As you type, the system suggests answered questions that contain the same subject matter.
2. To view one of the suggested questions, click it. If none of the suggestions looks promising, click Continue to complete and post your question.
3. Edit the question subject as needed and type the text for your question.
   You can compose your question in rich text or in HTML and can include links to other websites, images, or videos (depending on your community). You can also add attachments, format the text in your question, and check your spelling.
4. When you're happy with the text and formatting of your question, click Post.

Answering a question is just like posting a reply or comment in the community. You might find a question to answer by browsing through a Q&A on a topic you're interested in, or you might click a link from a page where unanswered questions are listed.

To answer a question:

1. Click the question you want to answer.
2. Click Answer.
3. Type your answer.
   You can answer using rich text or HTML and (if your community supports it) can include links to other web sites, images, or videos
4. Add attachments, format the text in your answer, and check your spelling, if needed.
5. Click Post.

To comment on a question or an answer:

1. Go to the question or answer where you want to post a comment.
2. Click Comments.
3. Enter your comment and click Post Comment.

When other community members answer a question you've posted you get to choose the answer or answers you think are the most useful, helpful, or accurate. If you have two answers that give part of the solution, you can accept both of them.

Remember, you can only accept answers to questions that you posted. You cannot accept answers if someone else posted the original question.

To accept an answer to a question:

1. Go to the answer that you want to accept.
2. Choose Options > Accept as Solution.

You can see some of your questions and answers on your profile page, or you can view all of your questions and answers.

To view your questions and answers:

1. Click your login name at the top of the page to go to your profile page.
2. Click the View All link under the My Questions or My Answers list.
3. On the My Questions and Answers page, click tabs to see your questions and answers.
   If you're a category expert, you will also see a tab for Questions I Can Answer. This tab lists all the unanswered questions in your area of expertise.
4. To view a question or answer, click it.

Facebook Integration enables you to sign in to the community using your Facebook user name and password.

You start by connecting your Facebook account and your community profile. Then, the next time you sign in to Facebook, you can automatically sign in to the community, too. When your accounts are connected, you see a Connect with Facebook link next to the regular Sign In link. Clicking this link signs you into both the community and your Facebook account. Likewise, signing out of the community logs you out from Facebook, too.

And if you change your mind, you can disconnect your profile from your Facebook account and go back to signing into the community with your old login name and password.

To connect your Facebook account and community profile:

1. Go to My Settings > Social.
2. Click Connect to Your Facebook Account.
3. Enter your Facebook login information (the email address you use for Facebook and your Facebook password).
4. Click Login.
5. Click Allow to let your community profile access your name, your profile picture, and the public parts of your Facebook profile.

You can now log in to both Facebook and the community from the Facebook Login page. You can also choose your Facebook profile picture as your community avatar.

To unlink your Facebook account and community profile:

1. Go to My Settings > Social.
2. Click Disconnect from Your Facebook Account.

Your Facebook and community accounts are now disconnected. Use your community user name and password next time you sign in. If you were using your Facebook profile picture as your avatar, you must choose a different avatar.

Once your Facebook account and community profile are connected, you can select your Facebook profile photo as your community avatar.

To select your Facebook profile photo as your avatar:

1. Go to My Settings > Avatars.
2. Click From Facebook.
3. Click Set Avatar.

That's all there is to it! If you disconnect your Facebook and community accounts, you'll need to choose a new avatar in the community.

Bookmarks enable you to list community content (boards, articles, ideas, topics, or individual posts) on a special page so you can easily find it again.

To bookmark a piece of content:

1. Go to the item you want to bookmark.
2. To bookmark a location, choose (Location) Options > Bookmark.
   To bookmark a specific post, go to the post and choose (Post) Options > Bookmark.

To view and manage your bookmarks:

1. Go to My Settings > Subscriptions & Notifications.
2. Click My Bookmarks.
   You can click a bookmark to go to the item.
3. To delete a bookmark, click the check box for the bookmark and click Bookmark Options > Delete Selected Bookmarks.

Subscriptions let you get email updates whenever new content appears in an area of the community that you're interested in. You can subscribe to a board, a blog article, an idea exchange, or any other location in the community. You can also subscribe to a specific post.

To subscribe a piece of content:

1. Go to the item you want to subscribe to.
2. To subscribe to a location, click (Location) Options > Subscribe.
   To subscribe to a specific post, go to the post and click (Post) Options > Subscribe

To view and manage your subscriptions:

1. Go to My Settings > Subscriptions & Notifications.
2. Click My Subscriptions to see a list of the items you've subscribed to.
   You can click a subscription to go to the item.
3. To delete a subscription, click the check box for the subscription and click Email Subscription Options > Delete Selected Subscriptions.

RSS stands for "Really Simple Syndication." It is a way for you to get the latest content from this community, along with many other sites that you visit, all in one place. With an RSS feed reader, you subscribe to web sites, and those sites feed you new content so you can stay up to date.

To use RSS, you need a feed reader, such as Google Reader, MyYahoo, or the Live Bookmarks feature of Firefox. There are many free options. After you have your feed reader set up, you can find RSS feeds in the community by going to a board, blog, thread, or message and selecting Subscribe to RSS Feed from the options menu. There you will see a preview of the feed. Most RSS readers give you a button to click at this point. After you click it, the RSS feed appears in your reader as well as new content from that section of the community whenever it becomes available

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. You may also be able to post comments to those blogs.

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 will 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 cannot 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.

Yes, you can!

All we ask is that you give us your name (which we'll show) and your email address (which we won't). You may also be able to enter a website URL to display with your comment.

Then, simply type your comment and click Post Your Comment.

You won't be able to edit or delete a comment once it's posted, so be sure to preview your comment and check your spelling first. And since you're not a registered member of the community, you may be asked to take a test to prove that you're a person and not a robot.

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

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

If your comment doesn't appear immediately, check back in a few minutes. If it still doesn't appear, your comment is probably in the approval queue.

No, you can't. Be sure to check your spelling and preview your comment before you post it; you can't edit a comment once it's posted.

If you want to tell your friends about blog articles, you can use any of dozens of shared bookmarking, social network, or other tracking services, such as Del.icio.us, Digg, Reddit, Facebook, MySpace, Google, StumbleUpon, Technorati, or Twitter. All you need is an account with the service and friends to share with.

To share a blog article:

1. When you get to an article you want to share, click Share.
2. Click the service you want to use.
   The next steps depend on the service. You may need to sign in. If you don't already have an account, you'll probably be asked to register and create one. The way you share the article also depends on the service.

Just choose a service and go. That's all there is to it.

Yes. You can subscribe directly to a blog or an article, or you can subscribe to their RSS feeds. If you subscribe to an RSS feed, you can use an RSS reader to view new content that's added to the blog. If you subscribe directly to a blog or article, you receive an email alert when new articles or comments are posted.

To	Do this
Subscribe to a blog	Go to the blog page and click Blog Options > Subscribe.
Subscribe to an article	Go to the article and click Article Options > Subscribe.
Subscribe to an RSS feed	Go to the blog or article and click Blog Options > Subscribe to RSS Feed. Then, save the live bookmark or whatever you usually do to add an RSS feed.

A permalink, short for permanent link, is the URL for a specific blog article. In an active blog with lots of entries, a particular article stays on the blog's front page for a short period of time. It becomes hard to bookmark a specific blog article or to email a link when the article you want is replaced with something new.

This is where permalinks come in handy. They take you directly to an article, rather than to the blog's front page, which typically shows only the last few articles.

To use a permalink:

1. Click Permalink at the bottom of a blog article.
2. Copy the URL that appears in your browser's navigation toolbar.
3. Paste the link wherever you need it.

An idea exchange is a collection of ideas that members of your community have posted. They can be anything from new product requests to suggestions about how to improve a product or service. Anyone in the community can see and vote on the ideas you post.

The ideas in an idea exchange are organized on three tabs:

• Hot Ideas: These ideas are popular right now.
• Top Ideas: These are the ideas that have received the most ratings.
• New Ideas: These are the most recent ideas.

Adding an idea is just like posting a message on a board, and voting for the ideas you like is as easy as giving ratings. You can post comments on ideas the same way you do on blog articles.

Your community may 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.

It's easy. 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 the New Idea link.
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. If you want to receive email when someone comments on your idea, click the E-mail me check box.
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. Add one or more tags if you wish.
7. When you're ready, click Post .

It's easy. 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.

That's all there is to it.

It's easy. Posting a comment on an idea is a lot like replying to a message on a board. If the idea is open for comments, you'll see a Post a Comment link or a Comment count link at the bottom of the idea.

To post your comment:

1. Click the Post a Comment or the Comment count link.
   You can post a comment to an entry, but not to other comments.
2. Type your comment in the Post a Comment area.
   You can use simple HTML and quote the idea you're commenting on. You won't be able to edit or delete a comment once it's posted, so be sure to preview your comment and check your spelling first.
3. When you're happy with your comment, click Post Your Comment.

No, you can't. Be sure to check your spelling and preview your comment before you post it; you can't edit a comment once it's posted.

If you want to tell your friends about an idea, you can use any of dozens of shared bookmarking, social network, or other tracking services, such as Del.icio.us, Digg, Reddit, Facebook, MySpace, Google, StumbleUpon, Technorati, or Twitter. All you need is an account with the service and friends to share with.

To share an idea:

1. When you get to an idea you want to share, click Bookmark.
2. Click the service you want to use.
   The next steps depend on the service. You may need to log in. If you don't already have an account, you'll probably be asked to register and create one. The way you share the idea also depends on the service.

Just choose a service and go. That's all there is to it.

Yes. You can subscribe directly to an idea or an idea exchange, or you can subscribe to their RSS feeds. If you subscribe to an RSS feed, you can use an RSS reader to view new content that's added to the idea exchange. If you subscribe directly to an idea or idea exchange, you receive an email alert when new ideas or comments are posted.

To	Do this
Subscribe to an idea exchange	Go to the idea exchange page and choose Idea Exchange Options > Subscribe.
Subscribe to an idea	Go to the idea and choose Idea Options > Subscribe.
Subscribe to an RSS feed	Go to the idea exchange or idea and choose Idea Exchange Options > Subscribe to RSS Feed or Idea Options > Subscribe to RSS Feed. Then, save the live bookmark or whatever you usually do to add an RSS feed.

A permalink, short for permanent link, is the URL for a specific idea in an idea exchange. In an active idea exchange with lots of entries, a particular idea will only stay on the New Ideas tab for a short period of time. It becomes hard to bookmark a specific idea or to email a link when the idea you want is replaced with something new.

This is where permalinks come in handy. They take you directly to a specific idea, rather than to the idea exchange's front page.

To use a permalink:

1. Click Permalink at the bottom of an idea.
2. Copy the URL that appears in your browser's navigation toolbar.
3. Paste the link wherever you need it.

That's all there is to it.

An image gallery is a collection of images that you or another community member has uploaded (and chosen to share). Each community member who has permission to upload images has an image gallery. Your image gallery is also one of the pages from which you can upload images and is where you choose whether to share an image with other users.

You can view your own image gallery as well as the image galleries of other community members. When you look at another user's gallery, you see the approved images that the user has chosen to share.

To view your image gallery:

1. Click your user name at the top of any community page to go to your Profile page.
   A preview of your image gallery appears on the right side of your Profile page.
2. Click the View Image Gallery link.

To view another user's image gallery:

1. Click the community member's user name to go to that user's Profile page.
   A preview of that user's shared images appears on the right side of the Profile page.
2. Click the View Image Gallery link.

It's easy! Starting from your image gallery, you choose the image, give it a name and that's it. There are of course size limitations and your image must be approved by a community moderator before it can appear in your gallery or you can insert it in a post.

To upload an image to your image gallery:

1. Go to your Profile page and click the View Image Gallery link.
2. Click Browse to select an image file to be uploaded.
   If the image is small enough (the size limit is set by your community) the image is uploaded. A preview of the image appears so that you can make sure you uploaded the right image.
3. Type a title for the image.
   The image title appears above the image when you view images one at a time.
4. Click the Hide in Gallery (Private) check box to make this image private.
   Private images never appear when other community members view your image gallery. They only appear if you insert the image in a post.
5. Click Save to Gallery.

You can use any approved image you've uploaded as your personal avatar.

To use an uploaded image as your personal avatar:

1. Sign in to the community.
2. Go to My Settings > Avatars.
3. Click From the Community or From Uploaded Images.
4. Click the image to use as your personal avatar.

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.

For your protection, your community requires a moderator to approve all uploaded images before they can be displayed. Although you can see your uploaded images that are awaiting approval or flagged for review, other community members who view your images can only see the ones that have been approved.

A private image is one that only you can see.

Each time you upload an image you can decide whether you want that image to appear in your image gallery. If you decide no, the image is private.

The setting you choose depends on why you're uploading the image. If you want others to see it, make the image public (the default). If you want to keep the image secret until you insert it in a post, make the image private.

Remember, a moderator must approve all uploaded images before your can use them in a post or display them in your gallery.

To change the privacy setting for an image:

1. In your gallery page, click the check box below the image you want to change.
2. Choose Image Options > Make All Checked Images Public or Private.

There are now two versions of the image upload feature that communities can use. The choice is made by the community manager and applies to the entire community.

In communities that use Images (Version 2) you can organize uploaded images into albums and images become more like posts: you can give kudos to images you like and comment on images in your own albums and those of other community members.

Here's what's new in Images (Version 2):

• You can organize your images in albums. You start with default public and private albums that contain any images you might already have uploaded.
• When you upload an image you can place it in an existing album or create a new one.
• You change the privacy setting for images by moving them between private and public albums.
• When you view the images in an album you can use a new carousel control near the top of the page to scroll through the images.
• You can add a description and tags to an image and choose the one you want to use as the album cover.

Your Albums and Images page is a collection of photos and other graphics files that you have uploaded to the community. Each community member who has permission to upload images has an Albums and Images page. This page contains two tabs: Albums and All Images.

• The Albums tab displays all of your image albums, including the default Public and Private albums that contain any images you might have already uploaded. You can create new albums when you upload images and move images between albums as needed.
• The All Images tab displays all of the images you have uploaded.

You can view your own images as well as the images uploaded by other community members. When you look at another user's images you see the approved images that the user has chosen to share. You can also upload images and choose where to place them from your Albums and Images page.

To view your images:

1. Click your user name at the top of any community page to go to your Profile page.
   A preview of your uploaded images appears on the right side of your Profile page.
2. Click the View My Images link.
   The Albums and Images page appears, with the Albums tab on top.
3. To view all the images in an album, click the album.
   The Album tab shows the images in the album you selected. You can click an image to see more about it.
4. To view all of your images, click the All Images tab.

To view another user's public images:

1. Click the community member's user name to go to that user's Profile page.
   A preview of that user's shared images appears on the right side of the Profile page.
2. Click the View My Images link.

In communities that use Images (Version 2), the images you upload are more like posts. You can post comments and give kudos just like you would on messages or other posts. You might see a cool image in a post and want to give the author kudos. Or you might want to comment on an image and start a conversation.

To comment on an image:

1. Go to the Albums and Images page of the image's owner.
   You see this user's public albums, but not any private ones.
2. Open the album that contains the image you want to comment on and click the image.
   If the album contains more than a handful of images, use the carousel control to scroll through the images to find the one you're looking for.
3. Click the image and click the familiar kudos button to give kudos to the image.
4. To add a tag, click Add Tag, enter the tag, and click Add.
5. To add a comment, click in the comment editor, type your comment, and click Post Your Comment.
   Don't forget to check your spelling and add some formatting if you wish before you post.

It's easy! Depending on your starting point, you choose one or more images, choose the album where they'll be located, and you're done. There are size limitations, of course, and your images must be approved by a community moderator before others can see them or you can insert them in a post.

These are locations from which you can upload images:

• Your Albums and Images page
• Any of your individual Album pages
• Post Message, Answer, Comment, Article, and other Post pages

To upload images:

1. Go to your Profile page and click the View My Images link.
2. Click Add Images and then Browse to select one or more image files.
   Depending on the settings in your community, can can upload up to 10 images at a time.
   You see a preview of the images so that you can make sure you selected the right ones.
3. Click Upload.
4. If necessary, choose whether to place the images in an existing album or create a new one.
   • To use an existing album, choose one from the list.
   • To create a new album, enter an album title, choose whether it's private or public, and enter a description.
5. Click Save.

You can change the name, add a description, and apply tags to an image, but you cannot edit the actual image in the community. If you want to edit the image, you need to do that outside the community and upload the edited image.

To edit information about an image:

1. Go to your Albums and Images page.
2. Open the album that contains the image you want and click it.
3. Click Edit to change the image title, add a description, and enter tags.
4. To display an image on the front of the album, click Use this image for the album cover.
5. Click Save.

When you want to add graphical content to your posts, you can insert an image from your computer (this uploads the image before inserting it), from your uploaded images (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.
   You can insert images anywhere: in messages, replies, blog articles, ideas, or comments.
2. Click the Insert Image button in the editor's tool bar (it looks like a tree).
3. Choose one of the sources listed below.

To insert an image located on your computer:

1. Click the From My Computer tab.
2. Click Browse to select a file.
3. Type a title for the image if you want something other than the file name.
4. Click Hide (Private) to keep the image private until your post appears.
5. Choose an image size.
   • Full Size inserts the image at the full size of the original file.
   • Small, Medium, and Large insert the image at the sizes defined for your community.
     We don't stretch images, so very small images won't get any bigger regardless of the image size you choose.
6. Choose how you want the image aligned.
   • Left aligns the image on the left side of the post. Any text that comes after the image appears to the right.
   • Inline inserts the image right where the cursor is in the editor. If you add a return after the image, any text you add appears below the image.
   • Right inserts the image on the right side of the post. Text appears to the left of the image. If you add a lot of text, it eventually wraps under the image.

To insert an image you've already uploaded:

1. Click the From My Uploaded Images tab.
2. Click the image.
3. Choose an image size.
4. Choose how you want the image aligned.
5. Click Insert Image.

To insert an image from another Website:

1. Click the From Another Site tab.
2. Type the URL for the image and click Load Image.
3. Choose an image size.
4. Choose how you want the image aligned.

A private image is one that only you (and community moderators with permission) can see.

Each time you upload an image you can place it in a private album (where only you can see it) or in a public album where others can see it once it's been approved.

The location you choose depends on why you're uploading the image. If you want others to see it, place it in a public album. If you want to keep the image secret until you insert it in a post, upload it to a private album and then move it when you're ready to include it in a post.

Remember, a moderator must approve all uploaded images before your can use them in a post or display them in your My Images list.

To change the privacy setting for an image:

1. Click the image to go to the image page.
2. Choose Image Options > Move Image.
3. Choose an album as the new location for the image and click Move.
   To make an image private, move it to a private album. To make a private image public, move it from a private album to a public one.

You use image albums to organize the photos and other graphics that you've uploaded to the community. By default, you start with two albums: Private and Public. Your community manager determines the number of albums you can create.

To edit an image album:

1. Go to your Albums and Images page.
2. Choose an album.
3. Edit the album name or description or change the privacy setting as needed.
4. Click Save.

For your protection, your community requires a moderator to approve all uploaded images before they can be displayed. Although you can see your uploaded images that are awaiting approval or flagged for review, other community members who view your images can only see the ones that have been approved.

You can use any approved image you've uploaded as your personal avatar.

To use an uploaded image as your personal avatar:

1. Sign in to the community.
2. Go to My Settings > Avatars.
3. Click From the Community or From Uploaded Images.
4. Click the image to use as your personal avatar.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

To give Ratings to a message and its author:

• Click the Ratings! badge on the message.

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

To revoke Ratings you've given:

• Choose Options > Revoke My Ratings from this Message.

The Ratings count is updated and the Ratings badge shows that you can now give the message Ratings again.

Want to know who thinks your messages are Rate-worthy? Your Profile page is the place to start. You can also see Ratings activity for other community members on their Profile pages.

To see who's given you Ratings:

1. Click your login name to go to your Profile page.
   Your Profile pages shows the names of community members who gave you Ratings, the messages they Rateed, your top Rateed messages, and the Ratings you've given.
2. To see all of your recent Ratings activity in an area, click the view all link at the bottom of the list.
   Your Ratings Activity page shows the recent Ratings you've given or received.
3. Click the tabs to see more info about your Ratings activity.

There are usually two Ratings leaderboards on the community's front page — one for authors and another for messages. The author's leaderboard shows who has received the most Ratings. The message leaderboard showcases the most Rateed messages.

Links from the front-page leaderboards take you to the full leaderboard pages.

To view the Top Rateed Messages leaderboard:

• Click the view all link from the front page module.

To view the Top Rateed Authors leaderboard:

• Click the view all link from the front page module.

Want to know who thinks a message is good? It's easy to kind out which regular community members and community experts have given Ratings to a message. Ratings that comes from community experts carries more weight (literally) than that from brand new members.

To see who's given Ratings to a message:

1. Go to the message page.
2. Click the Ratings! total.
   The Who Rateed this Message page shows you all the community members who've given Ratings to the message.
3. Click the Experts tab to see Ratings given by high-ranking members of the community.
   Experts are usually moderators and other users who had a Ratings weight of more than 1 when they gave the message Ratings.
4. Click the User Name or Ratings link to sort this page by the name of the user who gave Ratings or by the Ratings count.

Your Ratings weight is the number of Ratings you give each time you click a Ratings! badge. If you're new to the community, you will probably give Ratings one at a time (your Ratings weight is 1). More experienced community members might have a higher Ratings weight, allowing them to give two, ten or more Ratings each time they click.

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

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

Sometimes a message gets so many Ratings that there is no more space to show the number. When this happens you'll see a Hot Ratings symbol or icon instead of the Ratings count on the Ratings badge.

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

For example, in a post about a mouse, you might have these tags: mouse, USB mouse, optical mouse, wireless, DPI. Be sure to use commas between tags.

A tag cloud displays tags used frequently within the community or within an area of the community. The more frequently a tag is used, the larger it appears in the tag cloud. Just by looking at a tag cloud, you can get a sense of what the hot topics are in a given area.

Tagging is a way to help other users discover interesting posts. It's also a way to organise 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.

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

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.

You can find messages you've tagged by visiting your profile and clicking the tag. You can also click on a tag on any cloud and look at the Most Tagged section.

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 predefined list for the node in which the article appears. Tags are more freeform and can be created by authors.

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.

Typically, only administrators or permissioned members can create new labels or edit the label list. When the use of labels is enforced, members must apply a label when submitting posts. Labels can be optionally predefined, giving administrators complete control over exactly which labels are used in their community.

Labels are applied at node (board) level, so different settings can be applied at different boards. One board might be mandatory with a predefined pool of labels, while another can be completely optional and enable users to create their own labels.

When you subscribe to a label, you will be notified by email when a new post is created with the label.

To subscribe to a label:

1. From a particular post with a label, click on the label to filter by that label. (You can also do this from the labels component.)
2. Click Subscribe.

Note:Your community users can configure their own subscription settings under My Settings > Subscriptions and Notifications > My Subscriptions and My Settings > Subscriptions and Notifications > Notification Settings.

One thing to note about labels is that they are applied at node level. Thus, predefined labels and subscriptions to labels exist only at the node at which they are applied. For example, if you subscribe to a label named 'contest' at board 1, it will not automatically subscribe you to an identically named label at board 2. You will have to subscribe twice, once at each board. This also applies if you add a labels component to your page to display the most popular labels, these are also designed to work at node level.

The Private Messenger allows you to send private notes to other members of the community. Private Messenger has two big advantages over email:

• You don't need to know the other member's email address to send the note. (Neither do you have to reveal yours).
• You can read and send private messages without leaving the community, making it easy to have 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 will 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.

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.

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.
5. To delete a message, click Delete Message and confirm that you want to delete it.
6. To add the sender to your Friends List, click Add username to Friends.
7. To prevent this user from sending you messages, click Ignore username.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Most users in an online community get along very well. Sometimes, however, you might encounter someone you consider a nuisance. If you are receiving messages that you'd prefer not to receive, you can add the sender to your Ignored Users list. The system blocks all messages from users on your Ignored Users list.

To add someone to your Ignored Users list:

1. Sign in to the community.
2. Click the message count or envelope icon to go to your Private Messages Inbox.
3. Click a message from the user you want to ignore and click Ignore user name.

To remove someone from your Ignored Users list:

1. Sign in to the community.
2. Click Ignored Users to see the list.
3. Click Remove from Ignored list to begin receiving messages from this user again.

You can also search for community members and add them to your Ignored Users list.

To search for a user:

1. On any page, enter a user name in the Search box.
2. Choose Users and click Search.
3. In the Search Results, click the user's user name to visit the user's About... page.
4. Click the Ignore user name link in the Contact area.