Handy tips and features for the message board.

[hfdsadmin]

Geez! This new message board software has more bells and whistles than anything I've dealt with before. So many that it can seem overwhelming even for a computer professional like myself.

So, I thought I'd start up a thread for folks to post up about how to use certain features, or to talk about features that you might not even know about.

I encourage everyone to share their knowledge and "discoveries" with your other message board users.

[ChingLizard]

Each user should have two options for uploading photos -

1. Avatar - shown on every post. The picture file must be smaller than 64 KB and it looks like it must be 100 x 100 pixels or smaller.

2. Profile picture - A photo displayed whenever someone clicks on your screen name to views details about the poster.

NOTE: The first time I tried to upload my tiny photo of a lizard, the system told me that the upload failed for some reason. I carefully walked through the steps a second time, and the photo uploaded correctly. Go figure! All I can say here is that if you get a failure notice, try it again. If you still have problems uploading your photo or avatar, then send me a note and I'll take a look at it.

Larry

[ChingLizard]

Polls can be another way to communicate useful information.

There are two ways (that I've found so far) to create a poll.

You can create one when you create a new thread by scrolling down under the post and preview buttons, there are a few more options there - one of them being to Add a poll to this thread.

The other way is when you are reading a thread, you can click on the Thread Tools pull-down and choose Add a poll to this thread.

The rest of it seems pretty self-explanotory. Of note however is that you can add or subtract questions once you have typed in a couple of them and the number of boxes changes without erasing ones you've already filled out. (One of the cool little features that comes with AJAX.)

[ERicJ]

Originally Posted by ChingLizard

Polls can be another way to communicate useful information....

Also be aware, I think there is a limit of one poll per thread in vBulletin 3.7.

ERic

[TBender]

Originally Posted by ChingLizard

Each user should have two options for uploading photos -

1. Avatar - shown on every post. The picture file must be smaller than 64 KB and it looks like it must be 100 x 100 pixels or smaller.

If you still have problems uploading your photo or avatar, then send me a note and I'll take a look at it.

Larry

On my Edit Avatar page, I've only got an option for Do Not Use an Avatar. No upload option at all. I guess only the cool kids get them.

[ChingLizard]

Nah Tony...you're special. Everyone is supposed to be able to use an avatar. Please let me know if you have any problems...I'll see what I can do, but I promise that I didn't set anything special up for me or ERic.

You have to go to the User CP area (left-most main menu selection at the top of the screen.

About halfway down the navigation buttons on the left side of the screen, you should see Edit Avatar - click on it. (Sounds like you already found yourself there...)

Somewhere in the center of the screen you should see a couple of radio button boxes choose the one that says Custom Avatar. Once you've enabled that, you have two options: 1. Use avatar that is already out on the web somewhere by specifying its URL or 2. Browse for and upload one from your local machine.

[derek]

normal members dont see that option

[Midnightbiker]

My avatar control will not let me use an avatar.

[ChingLizard]

Hmmm....

I checked over all of the main message board settings, and as far as I can tell, it looks like if you are a registered user, then you should be able to upload an avatar. I think that they might have to be 100 x 100 pixels or smaller though...

I'll keep looking to see if there is something else that I have missed.

In the meantime, shoot me a PM if you want to use an avatar and I'll see if I can get your permissions adjusted manually.

[ERicJ]

I think I've corrected the Avatar settings. Please try again now.

ERic