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View Full Version : Only show unread messages in threads?


Pats
June 15th, 2005, 09:13 PM
Is there a way to look at a thread and see only the messages in it that you haven't already seen before?

I look at the threads in the view where the messages are all there and you scroll down through them ("hybrid" mode). Some of them are starting to get pretty long, and there are an awful lot of messages to scroll down through before finding anything I haven't already seen. That gets really tiresome really quickly.

In the "old" Tapcis, once you looked at a message it was marked as "read" unless you specifically marked it as "unread." When you went through the threads, you would just see the "unread" (both new and the ones you had re-marked) messages.

I tried searching the FAQ with "read and unread messages" and "mark messages as unread" and such but got no hits. It would be really great if that feature could be replicated in the new Tap.

Thanks for information on how to set that up if it is here or for considering it as a future enhancement if it's not.

Pat

Lindsey
June 15th, 2005, 09:28 PM
Patsy! Hi!! It's great to see you here!!!

Yes, there is a way to get to unread messages quickly, but it requires that you give up the thread tree. When viewing messages in Linear Mode, a link appears in the left hand corner of the title bar above the first message in the thread that is labelled "View First Unread". (See attached screen shot.) If you click on that, it will take you directly to the first new message in the thread.

I've set my default view to "Linear Mode," and I only use Hybrid mode when I need to see the thread tree to figure out what message is being responded to.

--Lindsey

Judy G. Russell
June 15th, 2005, 11:00 PM
Hiya Pats! I think something along those lines may be coming in a future release of the software we're using.

Guerri Stevens
June 16th, 2005, 06:20 AM
I am using the hybrid view too. In addition to what Lindsey told you, within the hybrid view I think the colors of the symbols to the left of the names tell you whether you've read the message or not, and if the symbol is orangey, you haven't.

Unfortunately, when you click on one of those, you only see messages in that particular branch, which sometimes means just a single message.

Pats
June 16th, 2005, 04:51 PM
Hi Lindsey! It's great to see you here too!

Thanks for the information (and especialy for including the neat little graphic, which showed exactly what you were talking about). That answers my question about the current state of affairs. I will give it a try with Linear Mode. (I had started out using that but switched to the hybrid so I could scroll through the whole thread rather than having to keep clinking links to get to the next level -- I still have prehistoric technology: Windows 98 and dialup, so it takes a while for the links to come up!).

Thanks again,

Pats

Pats
June 16th, 2005, 04:53 PM
Hi Judy! Thanks very much. Please do put this on the list for future enhancements.

Thanks to all of you who have set this new Tapcis forum up. Looking really great so far.

Pats

Pats
June 16th, 2005, 04:55 PM
Hi Guerri, thanks very much. That's more information that answers my question and will be very useful, especially for the longer threads. I will give this a try too.

Pats

Lindsey
June 16th, 2005, 05:15 PM
I love being able to tack on screen shots. I'm using dial-up too, when I'm at home (albeit with Windows XP), but I don't find this board to be too bad even on dial-up. It helps that there are no ads to clog up the pipeline.

--Lindsey

Pats
June 17th, 2005, 07:14 PM
Right about the no ads!

Pats

BettyB
June 18th, 2005, 11:42 AM
I love being able to tack on screen shots.

--Lindsey

Is there a FAQ somewhere that explains how to capture and add on screen shots here?

And is there one for including avatars?

I really need to spend some time here exploring.

BB

Lindsey
June 18th, 2005, 10:23 PM
Is there a FAQ somewhere that explains how to capture and add on screen shots here?
To be honest, I really haven't looked at the FAQ file, but since capturing screen shots is outside the purview of the vBulletin software, I would guess that no, there's nothing there about doing the capture.

For that, I'm using a program called "SnagIt (http://www.techsmith.com/products/snagit/default.asp)," but you can also use IrfanView (http://www.irfanview.com/) , which has the advantage of being free.

Once you have the capture file, you can upload it by using the "Manage Attachments" button that is in the "Additional Options" window underneath the reply window. (If you're using "Quick Reply" and don't see such a window, then click on the "Go Advanced" button at the bottom of that reply window. I would think there probably is something about that in the FAQ file, but as I said, I haven't read it.

And is there one for including avatars?
Perhaps. That's one of the options available to members under "UserCP" on the main menu bar at the top of the page here. In UserCP, click on "Edit Avatar" in the Control Panel on the left hand side of the screen, and you can upload a graphic that you wish to use as an avatar. (That option will also allow you to link to a graphic on a web page, but I would not advise that; that can cause heavy hits on servers that aren't set up for it, and it's really better to save the graphic to your hard drive and then upload it here.)

Member avatars are limited to 50x50 pixels, I believe. If you don't have a file available that you want to use or that you can edit (with IrfanView, for example), you can find free avatars available on the web. Just do a Google search on the terms "avatar free".

--Lindsey

Nick Parkin
June 19th, 2005, 12:58 AM
I recommend using Avant - a Browser just like IE, but better. It's actually an add-on to IE, & it has 1001 improvements, the relevant one here being - mine is set to filter out ads & pop-ups.

It helps that there are no ads to clog up the pipeline.
--Lindsey

BettyB
June 19th, 2005, 10:24 AM
Thanks Lindsey. I do have Irfanview but have only used it to reduce pix for including as attachments on "that other service". Have to investigate it's other features to see if or how I can use it for screen captures.

And thanks for the info on avatars. It's helpful to know the size limit (g) and I'll certainly have a try with google for free avatars.

BB

Jeff
June 19th, 2005, 01:37 PM
I recommend using Avant - a Browser just like IE, but better. It's actually an add-on to IE, & it has 1001 improvements, the relevant one here being - mine is set to filter out ads & pop-ups.

What kind of bandwidth do you have, Nick? I used WebWasher with dialup, and all was well. I tried it with this new 4meg pipe and it slowed web page loading to the speed of dialup. Why I don't know and the WW people won't talk to me about it. Also, Avant's site refers to it as a "browser", not an add-on (?)

- Jeff

Bill Hirst
June 19th, 2005, 01:39 PM
Thanks Lindsey. I do have Irfanview but have only used it to reduce pix for including as attachments on "that other service". Have to investigate it's other features to see if or how I can use it for screen captures.

BB

Start Irfanview, and in the menu under "options" click on "capture/screenshot." (or just press "C") Then return to the screen you want to capture and press [Ctrl]-[F11] (there's also a timer option.) I'm not sure how to copy the image into the message. All I can seem to get is a placeholder for the graphic. Aha! Reading the FAQ it says to use "manage attachments" and it will appear after posting. Ok, now I've cropped and saved from IrfanView, let's see what happens.

Nick Parkin
June 20th, 2005, 02:58 AM
I'm on 512K ADSL with 50:1 contention.

Yes, I think in it's marketing Avant blurs the distinction between being a browser & an add-on, & I don't blame them, I am sure 99% of users don't understand or care about the difference.

Technically it uses the IE browser engine, & it's own interface. I don't know if techies might consider this a vulnerability, but personally I found it an advantage as I am familiar with IE's options & settings. It's been going quite a while & gradually other products & toolbars have been copying it's bost useful features such as blocking pop-ups. I love the ability to run multiple browser windows, & follow links opening new windows (or not).

I don't really notice a difference in browser speed with ads blocked or not. I would expect things to load quicker without the adverts, as there is less to load.

What kind of bandwidth do you have, Nick? I used WebWasher with dialup, and all was well. I tried it with this new 4meg pipe and it slowed web page loading to the speed of dialup. Why I don't know and the WW people won't talk to me about it. Also, Avant's site refers to it as a "browser", not an add-on (?)

- Jeff

Jeff
June 20th, 2005, 01:47 PM
Thanks Nick. I have PopStop to deal with those, but ads are a problem. Do you know if there would be a problem uninstalling; reverting back to plain IE, from Avant?

- Jeff

Afterthought.

>>I'm on 512K ADSL with 50:1 contention.

What means 50:1 contention? I have a 4 meg incoming pipe, with about 3.25 megs arriving at the machine via a cable modem / wireless router link.

Nick Parkin
June 20th, 2005, 02:14 PM
I've not done it, but I am sure that you can uninstall Avant like any other application. I love it, my only reservation is that I can't understand why they do it - i.e. how they get paid!

The contention ratio is the number of people that you share the connection with. For ADSL the 2 common ratios are 50:1 & 20:1. I would guess that you get 3.25 from your 4M connection because of your own contention ratio. To be honest I don't really understand what difference the contention ratio makes in practice, I just know that my connection works fine as it is. I guess if I were running a busy network, then the network would need to connect more, & would need to make it's connection more private.


Thanks Nick. I have PopStop to deal with those, but ads are a problem. Do you know if there would be a problem uninstalling; reverting back to plain IE, from Avant?

- Jeff

Afterthought.

>>I'm on 512K ADSL with 50:1 contention.

What means 50:1 contention? I have a 4 meg incoming pipe, with about 3.25 megs arriving at the machine via a cable modem / wireless router link.

Lindsey
June 20th, 2005, 09:47 PM
the relevant one here being - mine is set to filter out ads & pop-ups.
Mozilla will filter out pop-ups, too, and you can also set it up to filter out ads. And it is a tabbed browser, which is a feature I find very helpful when working online message boards.

--Lindsey

Lindsey
June 20th, 2005, 09:51 PM
I see Bill has told you how to capture the screenshot with Irfanview. You can also use IrfanView to crop the shot, though it's a little less easy to do it with IrfanView than with a dedicated graphics editor.

--Lindsey