Can I read only what's new since my last visit?

[Admin]

Diana said:

I'm really glad the board is up and running again so quickly. I do have a question..Is there a way to pull up just the items that have been posted since my last visit? (Like on the AAMT board?). I don't come here as much as I would like due to time restraints.. but would like a quick way to see all the posts that I have missed since I was here last. Please advise me on this whenever you get a chance!

Thanks,
Diana

While you can always scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the link for the 10 most recent posts, that won't help you if you've not visited for a while. Fortunately, there is a way to determine what posts are new since your last signed-in visit to the board. [Yet another reason to register for the board instead of just reading the posts as a guest.]

Once you've logged in and are at the top layer of the board, where you see all the category and individual board names**, you will see to the left of each board name an image of a file folder which has a dot of color by it.

If that dot is blue, it means that 1 or more posts on that board have not been viewed by you. When you've viewed everything on that board, the dot is black or gray.

When you click the board name and enter the place where you see the titles of the individual topics [I'll call this the "board level"], there is a blue oval with NEW in it next to each topic that you haven't read yet.

Once you view the topic, the "new" symbol will go away. On returning to the top level, I seem to have to refresh the page to make the colored dot next to the folder turn gray instead of blue, but if you come back to the board another time and no posts have been added, the dot will definitely be black/gray then.

You don't actually have to bring up and view each and every post to make the dot change color. If a board doesn't interest you, go to the board level and look in the upper right corner where it says "mark as read." Click this, and all the topics on that particular board will lose their "new" symbol, and it will be as if you read them all.

So, if you can't come here very often and only want to view what is new since your last visit, while on the top level look for folders with blue dots, and on the board level look for the New symbols. Make certain that you click "mark as read" for each board when you're done reading the topics that interest you.

Any questions? Please post them so I may find out the answers. I'm going to put this post on the Announcement board as well as I think it is important, so thanks very, very much for asking.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
**The "top level" of the board is what you see when you click on home or first come to the board. Here you see the categories: Announcements and Administration, Working with Text Expanders, Working with Windows, etc.

The "board level" is where you are when you've clicked the name of an individual board that is within one of the categories. For example, the boards under the category Working with Text Expanders are Word and Phrase Lists, Auto Correct, Instant Text, and SmarType. If you click on the Word and Phrase Lists Board, you are now at the board level and see the names of the individual topics: need a surgical list; another term; and help with a word, at the time I am writing this.

When you click on the topic name, you then see the individual posts and their replies, with alternating colored or white backgrounds. I will call this the "topic level."

~~~~~~~~
Why didn't I use my fancy-shmancy new way of displaying images to explain all of this? I will actually. But www.photobucket.com, where I have to upload the images in order to utilize them here, is closed to new registration until later this morning, and I can't remember whether I signed up already or not. I will come back to this post and edit it and include the appropriate images once I have saved the screenshots to photobucket.

You may not be aware, but if you are using any sort of image, you must upload it to a site like photobucket in order to be able to access the image from a post on a board like this or in email, etc.

If you link directly to an image on the site you found it, you will be inadvertently "stealing" bandwidth from that site. Here's a good discussion of the topic: www.tipz.net/Bandwidth.htm