Welcome To FuseTalk Help.

  1. Getting Started

    I. About FuseTalk 

    FuseTalkā„¢ Inc. is the leading provider of online collaboration applications for Macromedia ColdFusion. Flagship product FuseTalk Professional Edition is the leading discussion forum solution for Macromedia ColdFusion in the world and delivers a robust, rich environment for building online communities. FuseTalk Community Edition, built in and for Macromedia ColdFusion MX, is the ideal solution for delivering powerful multiple forums across departments, partners and distributed locations. Two-tier administration, powerful APIs and enhanced database capabilities make FuseTalk Community Edition the most flexible forum solution available today.

    To lean more about FuseTalk, visit FuseTalk Inc.

    II. Forum User Guide

    Click Here for and enhanced PDF Version of the Forum User Guide.

    III. New Users

    If you are new to FuseTalk, please read through this User's manual to familiarize yourself with the features of FuseTalk.

    If you wish to contact the forum moderator, you can send an e-mail to trb@ackits.com.

  2. Using FuseTalk

    I. Joining

    This section explains how to register for a FuseTalk Forum.

    To join the forums, simply click on the menu tab labeled 'join'. To join, simply provide the necessary information on the form to create a profile of yourself. Required fields are marked with an asterisk. When all mandatory information is provided, complete your request by selecting the "Join NAMEOFFORUM Forums!" button. Once you have submitted your profile, your login information will be e-mailed to you. It is therefore important to provide a valid e-mail address.

    Field Description
    First Name* your first name
    Last Name* your last name
    Username* your username for logging in to the forums (e.g. jsmith).
    City the city in which you reside
    Province/State the province or state in which you reside; if it is not listed, choose "Other".
    Country the country in which you reside
    Time Zone for the convenience of those not in the same time zone as the forums, you can select your time zone. All topic and message times will then be displayed in your time zone.
    Web Site your website address.
    ICQ # if you have an ICQ (I Seek You) number, enter it here. ICQ is a program you can download that will let you know when friends and contacts are online on the Internet.
    AIM if you have an AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) number, enter it here. AIM is an AOL program you can download that will let you know when friends and contacts are online on the Internet.
    E-mail Address* your e-mail address.
    E-mail Address Verification your e-mail address again for verification.
    Profile Visibility if enabled, attaches an icon to each message you post allowing other users to view your profile information.
    E-mail Visibility if enabled, allows users to see your e-mail address in your profile and in other areas of the forum.
    Signature your signature block, which will appear below each message you post.

    e.g.

    John Doe
    CEO John Doe Corporation
    Author Icons you can choose to have a personal "author" icon that is associated with your username. The icon will appear above your username every time you post a message.
    Upload your own author icon you can choose to upload your own personal "author" icon that is associated with your username. Press Browse and select the image file.

    II. Logging In

    To participate in a forum you must be logged into the forum. To log in to the forum, select the menu tab labeled "login". Enter the username and password that was sent to you via e-mail, and select the 'Login' button. The checkbox, titled 'Remember by login', will store your login information in a cookie, so that you will be logged in automatically when you return to the forums the next time.

    III. Logging Out

    To log out of FuseTalk, select the menu tab labeled 'logout'. You will be asked to confirm your logout. Once confirmed, you will log out automatically.

    IV. Folder Icons

    There are three main areas of FuseTalk. The first area is the main page, which displays the categories and sub-categories in the forum. These are essentially the areas of discussion within a particular forum. On the left of each category name is a Folder icon. Below is a table of the different Folder icons that you may encounter on the main page of the forums.

    Forum Main Page (index.cfm)

    Folder Description
    No New Messages
    Plain Folder Icon - no status associated with this icon.
    New Messages
    New Messages Folder Icon - new topics have been posted in this category since your last visit.
    Locked Category - No New Messages
    Locked Category Icon - category is locked category to general users, but you have access to it. You will not see this icon if you do not have access to the locked category.
    Locked Category - New Messages
    Locked New Messages Category Icon - category is locked to general users, but you have access to it, and new topics have been posted since your last visit.
    Private Category - No New Messages
    Private Category Icon - category is confidential and private to general users, but you have access to it. Note: Administrators and Moderators are the only users who can see private categories.
    Private Category - New Messages
    Private New Messages Category Icon - category is confidential and private to general users, but you have access to it, and new topics have been posted in this category since your last visit. Note: Administrators and Moderators are the only users who can see private categories.

    The second key area of the forums is the topic listing for a particular category. Below is a table of the different folder icons used here.

    Topic Listing Page (categories.cfm)

    Folder Description
    No new posts
    Plain Topic Icon - no status associated with this icon.
    New Posts
    New Messages Topic Icon - new messages have been posted in this topic since your last visit.
    Alert Topic (no new messages)
    Alert Topic Icon - topic contains important information for you to read.
    Alert Topic (new posts)
    Alert New Messages Topic Icon - new messages have been posted in this alert topic since your last visit.
    Topic Locked
    Locked Topic Icon - topic has been locked and no further messages can be posted.

    The third area of the forums is on how to read messages. This is discussed in the "Viewing Topics/Messages" section.

  3. Customization

    On the FuseTalk menu, you will see a menu tab labeled 'profile' and within there 'personal options'. This option allows you to tailor the forums to meet your own personal needs. Once you click on the profile tab, you will see a form with a series of options. Below is an explanation of the function of each option. After setting your options and clicking the 'Customize!' button at the bottom of the page, your settings will be saved.

    Option Description
    Color Themes the default color theme for the forum. Each swatch shows a different theme color.
    Background Color Customization your background color for the forum. There are two methods of selecting:

    a) select a preset color with the paint bucket icon; or
    b) if you are familiar with the RGB color schema, select the Red, Green, and Blue values.
    Background Shade indicate if the background you selected is dark or light. This feature ensures that the displayed text and logos are suited for either shade.
    I would like to see the last (#) days of topics when I enter a category. the default number of days' worth of new topics that you would like to see when you enter a category.
    How many topics do you want listed when you enter a category? the default number of topics you want to have displayed per page upon entry to a category.
    How many messages do you want listed when you enter a topic? the default number of messages you want to have displayed per page upon entry to a topic.
    Would you like the messages sorted by date in Ascending or Descending order? By default, messages are sorted by date. Select your sorting preference.
    Would you like to see the most recent Replied To topic at the top? If you would like topics listed by most recent Replied To, set this option to "Yes".
    If you are on a slow connection, choose the Standard Graphics mode to decrease download times. the default mode that determines whether to download images. If you are on a slow connection, you could choose the "No Images" mode to decrease download times. By selecting this option, the number of graphics displayed will change, resulting in a decrease in page size and benefiting you if you have a slower connections.
    I want my topic subscriptions to be delivered to my private message box instead of by e-mail. If this is set to "yes", your topic subscriptions will be delivered by the private message system instead of by e-mail. Note: This requires private messages to be enabled in your profile.
    Default Forum View the default view for your forum. This feature allows you to select the default view you wish to view your forum in.

    --Branch View: displays one of the parent-child relationship branch only.

    --Threaded (All Messages): display of the parent-child relationship at the top of every topic, indicating the relationship of each message in the topic to its parent. Viewing all messages.

    --Threaded (Single Messages): display of the parent-child relationship at the top of every topic, indicating the relationship of each message in the topic to its parent. Viewing only one message at a time.

    --Linear: displays topics in the standard format in which a topic is started and people can reply to it but cannot alter the topic's subject.

    Category Blocking allows you to hide categories in the forum that do not interest you. Once selected, these categories will no longer be displayed when you log in to the forum.
    Category Subscription allows you to subscribe to categories. If any new messages are submitted to the category you specified, you will be notified by e-mail.

  4. Profile

    This section allows you to customize your profile. Below is an explanation of the function of each option. After setting your options and clicking the 'Update Profile' button at the bottom of the page, your profile settings will be saved.

    Field Description
    First Name* your first name
    Last Name* your last name
    Username* your username for logging in to the forums (e.g. jsmith).
    Password allows you to change your password
    Verify Password a second password field used to verify your password
    City the city in which you reside
    Province/State the state or province in which you reside; if your state is not listed, choose "Other".
    Country the country in which you reside
    Time Zone for the convenience of those not in the same time zone as the forums, you can select your time zone. All topic and message times will then be displayed in your time zone.
    Time Zone Adjust because some countries update their time systems randomly, rules for daylight savings time are not always the same. Manually adjust your offset to GMT (Greenwich Mean Time).
    Website your website address
    ICQ # if you have an ICQ (I Seek You) number, enter it here. ICQ is a program you can download that will let you know when friends and contacts are online on the Internet.
    AIM if you have an AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) number, enter it here. AIM is an AOL program you can download that will let you know when friends and contacts are online on the Internet.
    E-mail Address* your e-mail address
    E-mail Address Verification your e-mail address again for verification.
    Birth Date your birthday (MM/DD/YYYY)
    Profile Visibility if enabled, attaches an icon to each message you post allowing other users to view your profile information.
    E-mail Visibility if enabled, allows users to see your e-mail address in your profile and in other areas of the forum.
    View other users signatures if enabled, hides users signature lines in all messages.
    Current Browser displays the users browser and version they are using.
    Signature your signature block that will appear below each of your posted messages.

    e.g.

    John Doe
    CEO John Doe Corporation
    Author Icons you can choose to have a personal "author" icon that is associated with your username. The icon will appear above your username every time you post a message.
    Upload your own author icon this allows you to upload your own Author Icon image. Press Browse and select the image file.
    External Icon this allows you to use your own Author Icon image. Type in your URL to where you image file is located.

  5. Topics/Messages

    The key actions of any forum are, of course, posting, replying, and viewing messages. The process of doing each of these tasks is as follows.

    I. Posting a new topic

    To post a new topic, enter a category or sub-category in which you want to post to and click the 'new topic' tab on the menu. The Post a Message form will appear, where you can enter the message title and description. Press on the 'Post Message' button when completed. See below for the list of fields in this form and their definitions.

    Above the message box, you will see a toolbar with symbols that resemble "B" and "I". This toolbar allows quick access to bolding text, changing font to italics, underlining text, and putting links around words/sentences. For a full description of these symbols, click on the 'symbols' link at the bottom of the form.

    Field/Function Description
    Message Title the title or short description of the message.
    Message Text the body text of the message.
    Subscribe to this topic allows you to subscribe to the topic; if anyone replies to your new message, you will be notified via e-mail or private message depending on your selection in your profile.
    Topic/Message rating allows you to add an icon that best describes the mood of your message.
    Attach Code click on this button to attach formatted text to your message. Note: this option will only appear if code attachments are enabled for that topic.
    Attach File(s) allows you to attach multiple files to your message. Note: this option will only appear if attachments are enabled for that topic.
    Clear File(s) clears all the attachments in which you have attached to your message. Note: this option will only appear if attachments are enabled for that topic.

    II. Replying

    To reply to a message/topic, click the 'Reply' or 'Quote' button located in each message within a topic. The difference between the two options is that by pressing the 'Quote' button, the original message is automatically added to the beginning of your reply message. See below for the list of fields in the Reply form that will appear, and their definitions.

    Above the message box, you will see a toolbar with symbols that resemble "B" and "I". This toolbar allows quick access to bolding text, changing font to italics, underlining text, and putting links around words/sentences. For a full description of these symbols, click on the 'symbols' link at the bottom of the form.

    Field Description
    Message Title the title or short description of the message.
    Message Text the body text of the message.
    Subscribe to this topic allows you to subscribe to the topic; if anyone replies to your new message, you will be notified via e-mail or private message depending on your selection in your profile.
    Topic/Message rating allows you to add an icon that best describes the mood of your message.
    Attach Code click on this button to attach formatted text to your message. Note: this option will only appear if code attachments are enabled for that topic.
    Attach File(s) allows you to attach multiple files to your message. Note: this option will only appear if attachments are enabled for that topic.
    Clear File(s) clears all the attachments in which you have attached to your message. Note: this option will only appear if attachments are enabled for that topic.

    III. Editing

    You can edit a message that you have posted. You can only edit messages if you are the originator of the message. To do this, navigate within the forums to locate your posted message. At the bottom right of the message, there is an 'Edit' link. Click on this link and the Edit Message form will appear.

    Above the message box, you will see a toolbar with symbols that resemble "B" and "I". This toolbar allows quick access to bolding text, changing font to italics, underlining text, and putting links around words/sentences. For a full description of these symbols, click on the 'symbols' link at the bottom of the form.

    IV. Viewing

    To view messages in the forum, navigate into a category and click on a topic that interests you. A list of messages will appear. If the number of messages in that topic exceeds the number of messages that you've allowed to be displayed per page, you will see page numbers at the top and bottom of the screen. This will assist you in navigating through the page(s) of messages.

    Every message consists of the following features: the message body, the posted date, the author of the message, and a toolbar at the top right and bottom right of the screen.

    Top Right Message Toolbar
    The toolbar located at the top right allows you to perform various tasks. Following is a description of each task.

    Icon Description
    Subscribe To Topic
    Subscribe icon - allows you to subscribe to the topic; if any new messages are posted, you will be notified via e-mail or private messaging depending on your profile settings.
    Add to Favorites
    Add to Favorites icon - allows you to bookmark topics and add them to your favorites list for viewing at a later time. The favorites listing is located within the today/my forums page.
    User is logged in
    User Logged In - indicates that the user is logged in to the forums.
    User is not logged in
    User not Logged In - indicates that the user is not logged in to the forums.
    View Profile
    View Profile icon - allows you to view the profile of the user who posted the message. (This will only be displayed if the user has allowed user to view their profile.)
    Print Topic
    Print Topic icon - allows you to view text version of the topic and print it.

    Bottom Right Message Toolbar
    The toolbar located at the bottom right allows you to reply to a message, quote a message, and navigate through each message by the top, next, previous and bottom links, and edit a message (if you are the originator).

    V. Member Ranking

    Ranking
    Each author is assigned a ranking based on the number of posted messages they have made. The ranking appears underneath the user's name. Below are the current ranks.

    TitlePosts Required
    Junior Member0
    Member50
    Senior Member100

  6. Search

    In FuseTalk, you can search the forum for topics and messages that are of particular interest to you. There are two ways in which you can search for forum information; selecting the "main" button in the main navigation area for an advanced search or by using the single keyword search function available in each category.

    See below for the descriptions of the fields and their functions.

    Field Description
    Search Phrase enter your search criteria here. What is it you are searching for?
    Author filter your search by author name. You can also search for messages ONLY by the author name.
    Forum Categories select the categories that you want to search from the list.
    Date Range There are two options for selecting your date criteria:
    a) Use the drop down menu and select how many days prior to the current date; or

    b) Enter a start and end date (mm/dd/yyyy) of the message/topic.

    Date Range is a required selection for performing searches.

    Forum User Search search for a user in the forum. Search results will display the user and methods of communication, if they have enabled their profile information.

  7. Who's On

    On the main page of the forum, located above the category list to the right, is a link, "WHO'S ON", which directs you to a list of users who are currently logged in. This information is accurate to approximately 15 minutes. You can view the User profiles, send e-mail, or send a private message to any one of these users.

  8. Microsoft IE Users ONLY

    These shortcuts are only available to those using Microsoft Internet Explorer. A shortcut is a function that is shorter or saves time to do a step or operation.

    Keystroke Description
    Alt-N allows you to create a new message when you are in the categories.cfm or messageview.cfm screens.
    Alt-R allows you to reply to a message when you are in the messageview.cfm screen.
    Alt-P allows you to post a message when you are creating a new topic or replying to a topic.
    Alt-L allows you to automatically be re-directed to the login page or logout page.
    Alt-Q allows you to opens the quick reply window, if it is not docked.