Trish's "How Do I?" Series

Welcome to the Member Ideas area! This community feature is where our members can post their own ideas. These posts are unedited and not necessarily endorsed by the National Gardening Association.
Posted by @dave on
A couple years ago, Trish set out to write a series of "how-tos" where she explained a dozen or so concepts about the site. We present them in their entirety here for your enjoyment!

Seeing the New Posts

Viewing new posts has never been quicker or easier.

There are 3 ways of seeing new posts on ATP:

1) scroll down on the homepage until you see what's newly posted

2) click on the "First Unread" link at the top right of every post

3) Use your site preferences to automatically skip to the new post on each thread that you view. This method is the fastest way to view all of your posts, and is very easy to set up. Click on the "your profile" link at the very top of any page. Click on your "site preferences". The sixth option is "Automatically jump to the first unread post in threads?" with a yes/no option. The default option is "no". Changing it to "yes" will automatically skip you to new posts in both the forums and tree-mail. Don't forget to click on the "save your changes" button at the bottom of your page!

Customize the Number of Posts You See

ATP allows you to choose the number of posts you see in each thread.

Our forum system breaks apart threads into pages to prevent very long threads. The number of posts you see before the next page begins is customizable through your site preferences.

First, go to your "Profile" page at the very top of every page, then click on the "Change Site Preferences" link.

Look for the "Show how many items per page field" and change the number to your preference..

Click the Save your changes button at the bottom of the page.

Forums, and How To Watch Them

There are dozens and dozens of forums on ATP - that's a lot! What's the best way to manage them?

Most of our members are not interested in every single forum on the site. You can customize your homepage by "watching" only the forums that you are interested in. Go to the Forums Tab to find the complete listing of the forums. Click on the ones that you are interested in. On the right hand blue bar you will see an option to "watch this forum". Click on that. Repeat this process for all of the forums that you are interested in. Now your homepage will only show your preferred forums.

Don't worry about missing anything, because at the bottom of the homepage is a list of the latest threads from all of the forums. Also, new forums are announced in the Site Talk forum.

Starting New Threads

Starting new threads for each new topic keeps our forums easy to navigate and easier to chat with others about different topics.

To start a new thread, scroll down to the bottom of the forum's main page and enter a subject for your thread, then post your message in the message box.

To upload an image to your message click the "Upload an image" button and select the image from your computer files you wish to upload. To preview your thread entry, click the "Preview" button.

To post the thread, click the "Finished" button.You will automatically be watching this thread, and it will appear on the homepage when another member has responded ( unless you previously have disabled the autowatch feature in your preferences.)

Watching Threads

Use the "watch threads" feature when you are interested in the topic, when you start a new topic, or when you reply to a thread.

Your site preferences default to watching any thread you start or reply to. You can change these settings by going to your "Profile" page and clicking the "Change site preferences" link.

To watch a thread you didn't post or reply to, click the "Watch" link at the top left of the thread, or at the end of every thread.

When a "watched thread" has a response, you will be notified on the homepage.

What Does the Red "Yes!" Mean?

When viewing the list of forums or threads in a forum, you will see either a red "Yes!" or a grey "No" in the box to the left of the forum or thread name.

This indicates if there is anything new for you to see. If the red "Yes!" appears in the list of forums, there are new threads and/or posts. If the red "Yes!" is in front of a thread, there are posts you have not read.

There will not be a red "Yes!" if the latest post is from you because there is nothing new for you to see.

Searching

Searching is an important part of a site as large as ATP.

If you want to search the entire site, go to the homepage and use the search box on the navigation bar. Doing so will yield results site-wide and display the results by feature (Ideas, Blogs, Database, etc)

You can also search each area individually. If you are in the forums, your search query will only search the forums. If you are in your tree-mail, the query will only search the tree-mail. Same with the database. This function works site-wide in all of the features of ATP.

Finding Other Members

You may wish to find other members to send them a tree-mail, acorns, or to view their profile page to see their database contributions or view their plant list.

To find a member, scroll to the bottom of the page and click on "Memberlist." You can search the member list in the first box. As you begin typing in the box, the system will automatically show the available choices that match. You can then click on the username.

How Do I Return to My Home Page?

The homepage of ATP is where you will find your tree-mail threads, your watched threads (when they have new replies) and your favorite watched forums. How do you get back to the homepage?

*On every screen, the "All Things Plants" logo at the top is a click-able link that takes you back to your home page.

*On the bottom of every screen the words "All Things Plants" in small print is a click-able link that takes you back to your home page.

*On the last page of every thread click the All Things Plants homepage link on the left side of the bottom of the screen. If the link isn’t showing that means there are more pages for you to view.

Your Profile

The "Your Profile" link at the top of every page contains the area in which your profile details are located.

To change your avatar, signature line, or public profile:

Click on the Profile icon located on the upper left of the screen. (It looks like a person icon.)

Under Your Actions section Click on the Change your public profile link

On the next screen fill in the fields you wish to be public.

To create an avatar click on the Choose file button to upload a photo

Click "Save your changes" button.

Change Your Email or Password

Your email is used on ATP to send you the newsletter and any notifications that you have received a tree-mail, if you signed up for that in your preferences. Your password is used to log you into ATP.

To change your email or password:

Go to your Profile page and click on the Change your account info (email, password, etc) link

On the next screen make your changes then click the "Save changes" button.

Finding Out About New Features

ATP is a busy and active place. Stay involved and up-to-date to gain the most out of your ATP experience!

The best way to stay on top of things is via the Site Talk forum. Members can go here to request features, report bugs, or read announcements from the owners (Dave and Trish). For items relating directly to our database of plants, the Plant Database forum is where those discussions take place.

For those who like to get the up-to-the-minute updates via Facebook, Trish tries to remember to post all news on our Facebook page Don't forget to be friends with ATP there! You can also now "like" ATP and let all of your friends know this is your favorite gardening social media site!

Additionally, our newsletter goes out in the wee hours of Saturday for your weekend enjoyment. There you will see any important news and updates as well as some of the interesting happenings from the week.

How Do I Make My Text Bold, Italicized, Underlined, etc?

ATP uses BB code, and all members have access to use them. The list and directions on using BB codes to bold, underline,link, lists, and more can be found HERE

Blogs

A "blog" is a web log, or diary. You may create your very own here on ATP and use it for whatever purpose you'd like: keep up with your gardens, trades, or use it as a personal diary.

Get started with your blog by clicking on the "Blogs" tab at the top of the screen. On the upper right hand side of the screen click the "Create your own blog!" link. Click the "Make your first blog post" link located in the paragraph on the next screen. Enter the title of your blog post then click "Next Step".

Enter your blog post on the next screen then click the "Save your changes" button. Your blog post will not be published until you click on the "Publish the blog post" link.

Using the Quote Box

At the bottom right of every post, you'll find a blue word that says "quote". Find out how to use it!

By clicking on the word "quote", the system automatically inserts the BB code to form a box around the post that you want to reference in your own post.

You can also quote multiple people in your own post by simply clicking on the "quote" on all of the posts you wish to reference. You may want to make your own reply in between the quoted areas.

Remember, you can always preview your post and change things if it doesn't look quite right before you post it live.

The Newsletter

ATP has a weekly newsletter that is mailed out in the wee hours of Saturday morning; ready for your weekend browsing.

If you missed out on subscribing to the newsletter when you signed up, you can still subscribe.

Go to your "Profile" page.

Click the "Change your preferences" link.

Make your change and then click the "Save your changes" link.

You can also unsubscribe, or change the email address of your subscription in your profile area.

Past issues of the newsletter are located in the "newsletter" link at the bottom of every page.

In the newsletter, you will find recap of the happenings on ATP, along with any news from Dave or Trish. Don't miss out!

Acorns

Acorns are the currency of All Things Plants. Find out how to get them and what to do with them once you have a stockpile.

You can earn acorns by contributing various content to the site. Exact details are found here.

You can spend them by giving them to your friends or buying badges for your profile. From time to time, we offer merchandise like t-shirts in exchange for acorns. We also have a monthly drawing that you can use your acorns for ticket purchases.

To view your acorns, click on the "Profile" tab at the top of the page.

Microbadges

You've seen the little icons on the top right of each post. Find out what they are and how to get your own.

Microbadges are a small icon that identifies you with your favorite interests and forums. We have lots of badges available: states, specific flowers, specific gardening interests, and some speciality recognition badges that can be earned instead of bought.

Badges cost 5 acorns each. There is no limit to the number of badges that you have, although only 12 are visible in the forums. All of your badges can be viewed on your profile page.

You can also choose what order you want your badges displayed. The purchasing and manipulating of the microbadges can be handled in your profile. To change the order, simply drag and drop them in the order you would like them displayed.

If you click on the microbadge, you'll see a list of people who also have that microbadge. You can hover your mouse over a microbadge and see what the badge stands for.

Join the fun and populate your badge area!


 
Comments and Discussion
Thread Title Last Reply Replies
How to have more BB codes available by ausrpned Nov 26, 2023 12:28 PM 6
New rose in the garden by DRZZZZ4 May 22, 2021 12:54 PM 0
Great for newbies, but... by ctcarol Jun 6, 2015 2:54 PM 9
would be nice to access this periodically by Ecscuba Jan 12, 2015 6:20 PM 0
Thank You, THANK YOU!!!!!! by donnabking Jan 10, 2015 5:10 PM 2

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