TWMB Help

I - INTRODUCTION

TWMB is an internet-based application written in various scripts implementing Microsoft's ASP (Auto Server Page) technology, which in turn requires Windows NT/2000 servers with IIS 4.x installed. Microsoft is planning to release its version IIS on servers other than Windows NT/2000, until then, you'll have to make sure with your web hosting company if this technology is supported for your website.

TWMB does not require you to regsiter objects or DLLs to the server, a webmaster will only have to create a directory structure and copy all the files to their designated folders. After that, anyone can begin to customize all the forums, boards, color theme and identity, and start running. Click here to view the features.

Although TWMB's code is visible in scripting languages and not compiled in binary code, it is not released as an open source code software to the public, the author is only condoning any use or modifications of the code under reasonable circumstances. Contact at webmaster@tawarnolds.com for more information.

II - USER HELP

TWMB is organized into forums, each forum contains topics, each topic contains subtopics, and each subtopic contains replies; none-administration level 1 users can only generate subtopics and replies, or messages.

1 - Listing Subtopics

- The old/new status of a subtopic or thread is dictated by its latest post/reply's date/time, which means a subtopic that has been posted months ago can be resurfaced to its 'new' status if there is a new reply added to it. Sub-topics can be listed on the left frame in the following manners:

Select a forum from the top most list box.
Select a topic from the list of topics immediately below.
[Optional] Show: indicate the timeframe in which the sub-topics are to be listed.
[Optional] Sort: sort the sequential order of the listing sub-topics from oldest or newest.
[Optional] Font Size: Set the font size that will be displayed.
[Optional] Compact: Check to list only the subject line, omit additional details.
[Optional] Closed Only: Check to list only closed sub-topics, those that remain as posts from the archives. Closed sub-topics are especially isolated by administrators, they represent frequently posted content, thus, prevents further unnecessary participation of old information.

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2 - Viewing Subtopics

- Subtopics are thread separators, each of them is basically the first message in a thread that leads to replies posted by other participants.

- Left frame icons:

A subtopic with no relpies.
A subtopic with one or more replies.
Indicates as a newly created subtopic, or contains new replies (Old and new posts are marked according to your last visiting date and time, it is inapplicable that either you've read them or not).
This subtopic is locked, no more replies to this particular thread are allowed..

- Clicking on the icon will take you to a composite mode where all the posts [in that thread] are open in one single scan, this mode is quick and straightforward however contains lesser user header details.

- Clicking on the link next to the icon will take you to a more detailed viewing of the posts, however, only one post is open at a time. The icon at the bottom of the post means that you're reading a reply, clicking on it will take you back to the original sub-topic (or the beginning of the thread).

[Previous Thread] and [Next Thread] links are for navigating through subtopics by their database order.

- Right frame icons:

Hide or show all posts opposite to their current state.

Hide a post.

Show a post.

Old post editing icon.

New post editing icon.

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3 - Posting a Subtopic/Reply

Click on the icon in the left frame

to post a new subtopic (or create your own thread). Since TWMB hosts a collection of boards, after filling all the fields, you need select a board so TWMB will know where to place your post. The color-coded fields are for logged in users, TWMB will automatically fill in the information that is currently registered.

At any given time, when viewing in composite or detailed mode, you can post a reply to the targeting subtopic from the 'Reply' window below.

The 'HTML Preview' function is used to parse and preview your HTML-encoded text. Although TWMB can display HTML elements, only logged in [registered] users are able to use this feature.

4- Tool Bar

The frontpage of TWMB.
Login window.
View Administration panel.
List level 1 members.
Go to the search window.
Help page.
A link to posting a new subtopic, indicates that the current user can post subtopics or replies. This function can be locked by the Administrator.
Indicates that the current user can not post subtopics or replies. This function can be unlocked by the Administrator.

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5 - Expressive Icons

The followings are icons which you can use to express emotions in your message, you can insert an icon by entering its designated 3-character code within your message.

ICON	CODE	Meaning...	SOURCE
	}:{	...mad	icons/fmad.gif
	:-[	...angry	icons/fangry.gif
	:-]	...grinning	icons/fgrin.gif
	:@)	...kissing	icons/fkiss.gif
	:))	...laughing	icons/flaugh.gif
	:((	...sad	icons/fsad.gif
	:{}	...scared	icons/fscare.gif
	:-)	...smiling	icons/fsmile.gif
	:-o	...surprised	icons/fsurprise.gif
	;-]	...winking	icons/fwink.gif
	[+]	...in need of help	icons/shelp.gif
	[K]	...being cool	icons/sokcool.gif
	[?]	...asking a question	icons/squestn.gif
	[x]	...wishing to stop	icons/sstop.gif
	[@]	...in love	icons/sheart.gif

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6 - Search

You can search for username, email and URL addresses, subject and content in all posts by using various options and parameters in the 'Search' page.

Board: Select a board or all to search in. Each board has its own table in the database, to expedite the scanning process, select the appropriate board will shorten the waiting time.
Search in: Each post has several fields containing separate items of information such as username, email, URL, subject and content. Again, select only the appropriate field(s) to quicken the search, otherwise, leave the default 'All fields' option.
Display: Control how much content of the returning results are to be displayed in the page. Selecting 'Highlight search value(s)' will enable TWMB to highlight the searching values in the reading window.
Value: Enter what to search for. You can use a boolean operator, AND or OR, to concatenate two or more words/values to broaden the search. Do not use the combination of both, AND and OR, in one single search string.
Action: When you are done entering values and options, click 'Search...'

III - BASIC ADMINISTRATION HELP

View a list of level 2 & 3 administrators/moderators (available only to logged in users).

View a list of level 1 users.

Edit your TWMB exclusive online profile.

End/destroy your currently logged in session. When you are logged in, your online profile as well as other preferences are actively stored in the server's session object, thus, exiting your session properly will efficiently free up server's resources.

View the connection information which is being exchanged between your browser and the server.

Compose and send email. Level 1 users are allowed to send 3 emails per session and only to users that are indigenous to this board.

View a list of recently logged in users. TWMB keeps track of date/time and username of each successful login so users may know who have recently visited the board. Administrators can refresh this list.

Set personalized preferences that are to accommodate your experience on this board. These preferences are saved on your computer as cookies (cookies are stored in a tiny text file, they are pairs of key values so that a website can recall your online behaviors; contrary to popular speculations, they can not explicitly and permanently identify the user as well as cause any possible harms to their hosting computer).