Posting Messages
You have three options for posting messages on a topic:
• Post a simple message in which the text is not formatted and you have no attachments or other special requirements.
• Post a message in which you have formatted text, attached a file, and/or requested email notification when the message has been posted.
• Post a message in response to part of another message on this topic.
Posting a More Complex
Message
Responding to a Specific
Message
Posting a Simple Message
65 To post a simple message without formatted text, attachments, or other special requirements, access the forum and topic you want and follow these steps:
1 At the bottom of the screen, click Quick Reply.
Location of Quick Reply
2 The CLE displays a Quick Reply text box.
Quick Reply display
3 Enter text in the box and click Submit. The CLE displays your message below the other messages on this topic.
Posting a More Complex Message
66 To post a message with formatted text, attachments, or other special features, access the forum and topic you want and follow these steps:
1 Click the Post Reply button above or below the messages. The CLE displays this screen:
The top part of the screen contains a text entry area. The bottom part of the screen contains messages already posted for this topic.
2 Enter your message in the large box. In the formatting options area of the screen, click formatting icons and select from pulldown lists to format text as desired. For information on using these options, see Using the Rich Text Editor.
Notice: If you are attaching files, you must also include text in the text entry area (even if that text says nothing more than “See attachment.”
3 In the Options list, click the options you would like to apply.
• To disregard HTML formatting and display plain text, click Disable HTML in this message.
• To add your electronic signature at the bottom of the message, click Append Signature.
• To receive an email when this message is posted, click Notify when a reply is posted.
4 To attach one or more files to your message, click Attach Files. The CLE displays the File Attachment Panel.
Each post may include up to three attachments of up to 5MB each. Files with the following suffixes are permitted: .bmp, .jpg /.jpeg, .gif, .png, .psd, .tiff, .swf, .midi, .mov, .wav, .mp3, .aac, .doc, .pdf, .xls, .ppt, .pps, .htm/.html, .gz, .tar, .zip, and .sit/.sitx. These file extensions are not allowed: .exe, .bat, .pif, and .bin.
To make images easy to view, resize images before posting so they are no larger than about 600 pixels wide.
5 Browse and select the file you want to add. For information on uploading files, see Uploading a Local File. To attach another file, click Add another file. You may attach up to three files. To remove a file before submitting your message, click Remove.
6 To submit your message, click Submit. The CLE displays the message below the other messages on this topic.
Responding to a Specific Message
67 Sometimes you may want to reply to all or part of a specific message that has been posted on a topic. Since other messages may have been posted in the meantime, other participants can easily lose track of the content of the earlier message. To help others stay oriented to the subject of a discussion, you may quote all or part of the message to which you are responding. To do so, access the Discussion Forums tool and follow these steps:
1 Access the message to which you want to reply and click the Quote button.
Location of the Quote button
2 The CLE displays the Post Reply message area with the quoted message inserted between the delimiters [quote= and [/quote].
Quoted text in Post Reply area
3 Delete any parts of the quoted message that are not important to your reply. Be sure to leave the specific text to which you want to reply along with the delimiters [quote= and [/quote].
Replying to a quoted message
4 Enter your reply and click Submit. The CLE presents the quoted text in a box above your reply.
Quoted text followed by a reply