vBulletin help and tips

[Mel]

This thread is for help using vBulletin. (the software that powers this web site). I plan to post tips in here and illustrate some helpful features of vBulletin.

This thread is closed to members so it can remain a clean reference, not cluttered by discussions. For that reason I have created the vBulletin help discussion (http://www.hockeystation.com/showthread.php?t=125) thread. That's where we can carry on discussions about various vBulletin tips and/or problems. Some items from that thread will likely make it here. I'll also be making regular updates to this page as I see fit.

Without further ado... here is the first tip. I am putting this out there because some people expressed concern about the length of the forum home page after some planned changes take effect. This tip will solve that problem for you nicely :)


Collapsing Forum Sections

simply click the arrow button http://www.hockeystation.com/images/buttons/collapse_tcat.gif to the right side of the forum section title bar. This will collapse the forum section (i.e. hide all the forums within that section). vBulletin will remember what forums you have collapsed each time you visit. Therefore you can keep the home page customized to only view the forum section which you choose. And only open the collapsed sections when you feel like it.

(Note: vBulletin will only remember your collapsed forum preferences if you keep cookies enabled and use the "remember me" utility of the login system.)

:)

EDIT: I have attached an example screen shot of keeping the home page managable using the collapse option. (the example is using the pale blue skin... but the collapse functionality works the same in all skins) the collapse button is always at the right end of the forum category bar.

[Mel]

Editing modes

There are 3 interface options available for entering posts. Which one you choose may depend on your web browser's capabilities.

Basic Editor -> a simple text entry field.

Standard Editor -> Gives additional formatting options.

Enhanced Editor -> This is a WYSIWYG editor, which stands for "What you see is what you get." It's the most advanced option. It is comparable to editing text in Microsoft Word. You will see you changes made to the text as you do the formatting.

By default, all members are assigned the Standard Editor upon joining the site. If you have a high level browser (latest version of Internet Explorer, Mozilla, Nestcape, Safari etc.) then you might enjoy the added benefit of switching to the Enhanced mode.

Likewise, if your browser version is not up to date and you have problems using the interface, switch to basic editor.

You control this setting by opening your profile (top left of the page). Click on "Edit options" and scroll to the bottom of the page to the section titled "Miscellaneous Options." There you will see choices to adjust your "Message Editor Interface."

(Remember to click "Save Changes" every time you change something in your profile.)

NOTE: it's been brought to my attention that the Enhanced mode may work better in the latest version of Internet Explorer, other browsers may experience problems. If that the case for you, just revert to standard mode.

[Mel]

Customizing page views

You can override the forum defaults for page viewing if you prefer.

To access these controls, open your profile and click on "Edit Options". Scroll down to the "Thread Display Options" settings.

Visible Post Elements - This first section allows you to turn off the viewing of signatures, avatars, and images while viewing a thread. If you are on a slow connection for example, and don't really care to see these items, then this would speed up your page loads significantly. To "turn off" any of the 3 items, make sure its checkbox is unchecked.

Thread Display Mode - This allows you to adjust what order you would like the threads displayed. Newest first or oldest first.

Number of Posts to Show Per Page - choices are 10, 20, 30 or 40. Forum default is 20.

Default Thread Age Cut Off - How far back in time you want threads displayed from. The forum default is 100 days. You can change your time frame of threads to view here. Note: There are also options at the bottom of each forum display page to change the display settings.

Remember to scroll to the bottom of the page and click "Save Changes" whenever you make changes to your profile.

[Administrator]

Skins

I have just created the first alternate forum skin. I creatively and cleverly named it........... "blue"

There are two ways to change your skin.

1) using the drop down menu at the bottom left of each page.

2) Open your profile, and click "Edit Options". Scroll to the bottom. Under Miscellaneous options, choose your skin. Don't forget to click the 'Save Changes' button.

More skins will be added in the future.

[Mel]

Frequently Asked Questions

This should have been my first helpful tip. But it's easy enough to find anyway in the nav bar. Clicking on FAQ will take you to the built in FAQ for this software. You can refer to that as well if you need help with vBulletin.

:doh:

NOTE: You may see some features in the FAQ that I have disabled in this site for one reason or another. If you wish to discuss, please feel free to send me a PM, or start a thread in the Site Feedback forum (http://www.hockeystation.com/forumdisplay.php?f=59).

[Mel]

Buddy and Ignore Lists

You have the ability to maintain a list of "buddies" and track who's online. You also have an "ignore" utility at your disposal, if there's a member who's posts you prefer not to read.

In order to add a member to either your buddy list or ignore list, you can simply go to that person's profile, and you'll see links to add that member to either list. Alternatively, you can go to your own profile and click "Buddy / Ignore Lists" on the left menu. This will allow you to edit the lists manually.

Buddy List - Keep track of your buddies, who's online and who's offline. To open your buddy list. Click on "Quick Links" in your Nav bar. in the drop down menu click "Open Buddy List". NOTE: Popup blocking utilities might prevent the window from opening, so you should disable that if you have problems. (Rest assured this site does not and never will have popup advertising, so it's safe to allow popups for this site).

If you keep your buddy list open, you may want to click the reload button from time to time, which simply updates the list as people move on or off line. You will see a plus sign (+) next to a member's name in the who's online list, if they are on your buddy list.

You may also PM (private message) up to 5 members at a time from your buddy list.

Ignore List - This is an option that if, for one reason or another, you do not wish to view a fellow member's posts, you can "ignore" them. The way it works is that when you come across a post by an ignored member, the content of the post will not be revealed to you. In it's place there will be a link for you to view the post content if you choose.

[Mel]

Birthdays

You may have noticed by now that vBulletin makes your birthday and age public knowledge on the home page, when it's your birthday. (happy birthday Amo and Daryl) :)

If you would prefer not to reveal this information, Open your profile and click on "Edit Profile". Under the "Optional Information" section, clear out all your birth date fields and leave them blank.

Alternately, you can just leave the year field blank... so vBulletin will announce your birthday, but not reveal your age.

[Mel]

RSS (Content Syndication)

http://www.hockeystation.com/images/rss.png (http://www.hockeystation.com/external.php)

What is RSS? It stands for "RDF Site Summary" (RDF stands for Resource Description Framework). HUH?

Luckily the non-geek population has hi-jacked the acronym and made it simpler and more descriptive. Nowadays, RSS is most commonly referred to as "Really Simple Syndication". In a nutshell, you can get live updated content delivered to your PC from whatever web site(s) you choose... without the hassle of surfing the web. It's most popular uses are for news sites and blogs, or any site's content which is updated often.

how do I use RSS? There are several ways. Right now the most common way is to use an RSS reader (known among geeks as a "news aggregator"). There are tons of free RSS Readers available out there as stand-alone products. Go googling for "RSS reader" and you'll see that.

The other, more exciting option is that RSS readers are starting to be integrated into web browsers, without the need for 3rd party add-ons. The increasingly popular Firefox web browser (http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/) is already equipped with an RSS reader, however it will likely soon become standard for all top browsers to have built-in RSS readers.

How do I set up RSS in Firefox? Firefox has coined the term "live bookmarks" for their built-in RSS functionality. It requires version 1.0 or higher. Here's how to set it up.

1) From the top menu click on Bookmarks, then Manage Bookmarks.

2) In the Bookmarks Manager window, from the top menu click on File, then New Live Bookmark...

3) A small dialogue box will appear.

4) In the Name field, type in "Hockey Station"

5) In the Feed Location field, type or paste the following address:

http://www.hockeystation.com/external.php

6) click OK and then close the Bookmark Manager window.

7) Back in the main browser window, open your bookmarks sidebar by pressing Ctrl + b or clicking View > Sidebar > Bookmarks from the main menu.

You should see something that looks like the attached screen shot (below). This will keep the latest threads right in your browser and you can click on them to go directly to the thread.

If you don't have Firefox, there are many add-on RSS readers that function within browser or e-mail programs such as Outlook or Internet Explorer.

Here are a few helpful links if you'd like to learn more about RSS:

More Info -> Firefox Live Bookmarks (http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/live-bookmarks)
About RSS (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS_(protocol))
Good Summary of various RSS readers (http://www.sitepoint.com/article/get-off-your-rss)
Free RSS Feed Directory (http://www.newsisfree.com/)

[Mel]

Various User Profile settings

These items were recently brought up in another thread, and I thought it would be helpful to make them a permanent fixture here. (Thanks a lot to J.R. for contributing to these explanations)

All of these items are located on the left side menu in your Control Panel (profile). Access your profile on any page from the left side of your top nav bar menu (click 'Profile').

Attachments
Located under Miscellaneous on left side menu
Like those used with email. Instead of hosting an image or file on your own, you can upload it to HockeyStation.com. When you make the post it shows up as a thumbnail that can be clicked on to enlarge. You can manage these in your Control Panel (profile). You can review the attachments that you've uploaded and delete them as well.

Subscribed Threads
Located under Subscribed Threads on left side menu
Subscribed threads are threads that you feel are important enough that you would like to receive a notification whenever a new post is made. For example, you posted a question to the membership and wanted to know when someone has replied. Then you would subscribe to that thread and once a post is made you would receive an email notifying you of such. There are various ways to subscribe to a thread, and you may also subscribe to forums... You will be prompted for your options / preferences of subscriptions when you choose to subscribe

To subscribe to a forum, click the Forum Tools drop down menu when viewing the forum page (thread listing). Click "Subscribe to this Forum" and follow the prompts.

To subscribe to a thread, click the Thread Tools drop down menu when viewing the thread page (post listing). Click "Subscribe to this Thread" and follow the prompts.

Note that you'll only be notified about updates to your subscriptions if you have not been logged in since the last update. You'll only receive a single notification, until the next time you log in.

Edit folders
Located under both Private Messages and Subscribed Threads on left side menu
You can create additional folders to organize your private messages and subscriptions... much like you can do with e-mail programs. All members have an Inbox and a Sent Messages folder by default for their private messages, and a Subscriptions folder for subscribed threads. If you wish, you can create additional folders to better organize your private messages and subscriptions.

[Administrator]

Inline Editing

One of the neat new features of vBulletin 3.5 is instant "inline" editing of your posts. This will be apparent when you click the edit button on a previous post that you made. You will not be taken to another page, but rather an editing box will appear in place of your post.

Please note that you must have a compatible browser to make use of this feature. If you do not, then editing will work the old way.

While vBulletin 3.5 is a major upgrade behind the scenes... many of the features apparent to regular members are subtle. I will write some tips in here as I come across them.

[Mel]

Live Chat


Chat integration is slightly different with vBulletin 3.5 than it used to be. There is no longer any chat live chat information at the bottom of the home page. It always appears in the nav bar next to the "Chat Room" link.

This chat application is integrated with Hockey Station's user base, meaning that only Hockey Station members can enter the chat. If you are already logged into the forums, you can go directly into the chat room. If you are not logged into the forums, you can still enter the chat, but you will be asked for your Hockey Station User name and password to gain access.

The chat can be entered either directly through the forums (Enter Chat Room) or via a popup window (Enter Chat Room (Float)). Both links are located from the drop down menu labeled "Chat Room" in the nav bar at the top of every page.

The popup window (float) method is recommended. There are minor browser issues when accessing the chat via the forum web page. The popup window method is more stable, and will allow you to keep the chat window open and while continuing to browse the forums in the main window.

"Live" chat information should update roughly once per minute, although this can vary. The "Chat Room" nav bar link will have the number of people chatting next to it (if any). Use the Who's Chatting links (under both Chat Room and Quick Links in the nav bar) to see who is in the chat.

Using the chat is fairly self-explanatory. For information regarding any of the buttons along the bottom of the chat screen, hold your mouse pointer over them and look at the status bar (bottom) of the browser window.

[Mel]

NHL Team-By-Team View


This is not a vBulletin tip per se, but rather a customization that I added in... There are now 3 ways to view the NHL Team-By-Team listings

To Select, simply click the links in the NHL Team-By-Team category bar following the word "View:"

Most Recent

This is the default choice. It's a traditional listing, the only difference being that - similar to threads - new activity pushes that forum to the top of the list, so it's a dynamic listing based on the latest posts.

Alphabetical

The team forums will always be listed in alphabetical order. Regardless of recent activity.

NHL Standings

This is a customized view, that (to the best of my knowledge) is a feature that no other forum has. Numerous webmasters have taken notice and inquired about this feature. In this veiw, the forums are listed in NHL standings with stats that are updated once per day during the regular season.

This view is our most popular, however the new post, and latest post information is displayed a bit differently, The arrow icons will be orange when the forum contains new posts. In order to see the latest thread, hover your mouse pointer over the link to the forum (team name). See snapshots below.