Bulletin Board

Using this Portlet

Use this portlet to post and read messages on one or more general topics. All that have the same topic selected can see all messages posted for that topic. Use more than one bulletin board portlets if you want to view several topics at the same time.

Adding Topics and Users

A new topic and its users can be added to the Bulletin Board from the Bulletin Board Topics page, which can be reached by clicking on the New link on the initial interface of the Bulletin Board portlet (when a current topic is not selected) or the Create/Modify Topics link which appears on the interface when a current topic is selected. The Bulletin Board Topics page is a master-detail page that contains the topics in the master section and the users for each topic in the detail section.

Managing topics and users

Adding, removing or modifying topics can be done using the master section's command bar buttons and adding or removing users or changing user levels can be done using the new button of the detail section and the popup menus on each row.

Adding, removing or modifying users and deleting/modifying topics can be done only by the creator (owner) of the topic. Hence the links on the portlet - related to these operations will be available only to the owner of the topic.

Note: More than one instance of the Bulletin Board portlet can be displayed in the same portal page with different current topics on each portlet.

Adding / Removing / Editing Messages

A new message can be posted to the Bulletin Board by simply typing it in the Add Message text box and clicking the Save button next to it.
If the Add Message text box cannot be seen then select Show Message box. Then the text box will come in to view.
Even URL's (links to new web pages) could be given in messages. If  the URL is given with the protocol (i.e.: http:// ; ftp:// ; https:// etc. ) then it will be automatically identified as a URL, and a link will be created to the given site.

If a user wants to edit or delete his or her own messages he or she can do it in the Bulletin Board Messages page which is opened by clicking on the Add/Modify Messages link.

Bulletin Board Messages page

Messages can be edited or deleted using the popup menus on each row. A new message can be posted using the new button on the command bar.

Prerequisites

Before you use this portlet for the first time, the administrator will need to make sure you are allowed to post messages.

Viewing the Search Results

This portlet displays your search results, the messages in your chosen topic, in a list format, with no labels. 

The following items appear in the search results: 

Sender: The person who wrote the message.

Entered at: The date the message was written.

Content: The content of the message.

Customizing this Portlet

Using the Customize page, you can define search criteria and customize the layout of your portlet. You can select the topic for the Bulletin Board portlet from a list of all topics you have access to. The number of messages that are displayed in the portlet at a time can also be specified here.

Search Criteria

The following search criteria are available in this portlet:

Choose your Topic: The currently selected topic.

Layout

The following layout options are available in this portlet:

Number of Messages shown in this portlet: The maximum number of messages that will be shown.