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Forums

The Forums feature is a platform for informal discussions between Service Desk Users, and if enabled, between Users and Customers.

Forum List Features

The Forum List displays a list of Forums that are currently active in the system. Within this screen the User has the ability to:

• Create new Forums

• Search Forums

• Edit Forums

• Move to bookmarked Forums.
  
   

  Forum Fields	Description
  Forum	Includes the Forum title, the Forum description and Moderator details.
  Topics	The number of topics included in the Forum.
  Last Post	Date of last posting.
  Visibility	Defines the visibility set for this Forum, i.e., who can view it.
  	Click the icon to Edit the Forum details or to Delete the Forum. This permission is only available to Users assigned the Moderator privilege. Note: The General Forum can only be re-named and not deleted.
  	Click to display Forums that have been bookmarked.

Creating a Forum Topic

A Forum can consist of an over-arching header with sub-categories or Topics.

To create a Forum:

1. Select Knowledge>Forums

2. Click New
   

3. Enter the Forum Name

4. Select the Forum Moderator from the drop-down list
   This list is generated from Users that have been assigned the Moderator privilege in their User Details form.

5. Define the Visibility:

   Visibility Options	Description
   Users	Viewable by internal Users only (i.e., not Customers).
   Users & Customers	Visible to internal Users and Customers logged into the application.
   Everyone	Available publicly, without logging into the system.

6. Enter a Description for the Forum

7. Click Save

8. Click Done to return to the Forum list.

Editing Forum Details

Users with Moderator privileges can edit Forum details and delete them.

To edit a Forum:

1. Select Knowledge>Forums

2. Click to open the Forum
   The Forum Editor screen is displayed.

3. Click Edit
   Fields within the screen move into Edit mode.
   
   

4. Enter the required changes
   Or, select Delete to discard the Forum.

5. Select Save
   The updated information is saved.

Joining a Forum

Users can participate in a Forum by adding sub-categories for discussion called Forum Topics. Or, they can reply to an existing Topic by adding Posts.

To participate in a Forum:

1. Select Knowledge>Forums

2. Click on the Forum name link
   The Topic Title screen is displayed.
   
   
   
   Inside a Forum the following Topic options are available:

   Topic Title Buttons	Description
   	Allows User to add a Forum sub-category called a Topic.
   	Allows the User to return to the Forum list.
   	Indicates that the Topic has posts that are no older than 2 days.
   	Indicates that the Topic has posts that are no older than one week old.
   	Indicates that the Topic has no posts or that the posts are older than one month.
   Edit	Allows the User to edit Topic details.
   Filters	Description
   Active Topics	Only displays all the Active Topics.
   All Topics	Displays all Topics within the Forum, including Cancelled and Moved Topics.
   Cancelled Topics	Displays only the Cancelled Topics.
   Moved Topics	Displays the Topics that have been moved to another Forum.

3. Click on a Topic Title to view the thread
   The following buttons are available:
   
   

   Topic Screen Buttons	Description
   	Allows the User to reply to the topic by adding a new post. Enter reply and Save.
   	Returns User to the Forum's Topic Title listing.
   	Lists the forum on the Forum Bookmarks page. Click Bookmark and the Forum is automatically recorded within the Forum>Bookmarks screen. If a forum has been bookmarked, the Bookmark button is not available.
   Show Hide	When selected the option  displays post content to User. When is selected the post content is collapsed and no longer visible on the screen.
   Move	Allows the User to move the current topic to another Forum. When selected the option to move just the current post or all trailing posts is displayed. Select the appropriate option, select the new Forum Category, enter a reason for the relocation  and select  Move.
   Delete	Allows the User to delete the Topic title. This option is only available to Users with Forum Moderator permissions, which is configured within the User Information screen. When selected, the system prompts for the User to enter a reason for erasing the topic before selecting Delete.
   Edit	Allows User to modify a post to the Forum. When selected, the Comments field is opened in edit mode, which allows the User to make amendments before clicking Update.

Forum Search

To search the Forums:

1. Go to Knowledge>Forums

2. Click Search
   The Forum Search screen is displayed.
   
   

3. Enter the relevant search option
   For more information regarding using the Keyword search option, see Full Text Search information.

4. Click Search
   The table of results will be displayed with related Forum details.

5. Click on a Forum Topic name to display the Topic screen.

Forum Bookmarks

To view a list of Topics that have been flagged for easy access use the Bookmarks button within the Forums list. Within the Flagged Topics list, Users can set the Email Notification option to Yes for the system to send an email when a new post is added to a Topic.

The Delete option link allows the User to remove the Topic from the Flagged Topics list.