Options Manager -- 'Icons' tab

The Icons tab controls the display of icons on messages and threads in the user interface. It is from this section that you can configure the up/down/top/bottom icons that can appear in messages, the cookie-based "NEW!" indication of new activity, and the ability of emoticons when creating threads.

Icons by Posts

If you want to include icons next to posts to allow readers to jump up or down in the thread, check the "Place pre-defined icons next to post" box. You can then configure any of the following icon links:

• "Top" icon: When clicked, the user is brought to the top of the page.

• "Up" icon: When clicked, the user is brought to the previous post. If clicked for the first message in the thread, the user is brought to the top of the page.

• "Down" icon: When clicked, the user is brought to the next post. If clicked for the last message in the thread, the user is brought to the top of the "Add a Message" box of the page.

• "Bottom" icon: When clicked, the user is brought to the top of the "Add a Message" box of the page.

• "Link to" icon: When clicked, this icon has no effect. Its purpose is to allow the user to right-click the icon and copy the shortcut, making it easy to link to a particular post by obtaining its URL.

It is possible to control which links are available, which icon represents each link, and what "ALT" text description is given to each link, by editing the text in the boxes next to each icon option.

• Changing the icon: Enter a file name in the "File Name" column for the icon that will be used (be sure to include the extension). This icon must reside in the "icons" directory. Most Discus skins assume that the icon will be of size 15x15.

• Changing the ALT text: Enter different text in the "ALT text" column. It is recommended that you use descriptive text for accessibility reasons.

• Hiding an icon: To cause an icon not to appear on posts, delete the file name and the ALT text entirely.

After you have saved your options, to apply the changes to all pages on your discussion board, you must go to Appearance Manager - Regeneration and regenerate your board.

Icons for Subtopics

Discus 4.0 has introduced the ability to add two different types of icons within your thread (subtopic) lists. These new icons are:

• Cookie-based "NEW" icons: When enabled, Discus will set cookies on each visitor's machine to record the last access from that machine. Upon loading a page with topics or subtopics, these cookies will be compared against the actual modification times of the items. If the items were modified after the user's last visit, JavaScript is used to display a special icon (by default, a yellow "NEW" indication) next to the recently updated thread.

  To enable this option, check the box for Cookie-based "NEW" icons and choose one of the available new activity icons. You will need to regenerate your board (through Appearance Manager - Regeneration) to apply your setting.

  Comments:

  1. These icons are supported only in certain skins. Discus 4.0 skins that support icons for new activity indication are tables2 and tables3.

  2. It is possible to change the icons by replacing the appropriate image file with an icon of your choosing. The images available on the list are, respectively, clipart/new.gif, icons/new01.gif, and icons/new02.gif. The Discus skins assume an image size of 28x11.

  3. It is also possible to change the display completely by editing the skin itself (which is beyond the scope of what these administration instructions document).

• Emoticons for subtopics: Two options related to emoticons for subtopics are available. If the emoticon functionality is enabled, in addition to the normal folder-type icon for each thread, an additional icon (by default, a series of emoticons) can be specified for each thread. This additional icon appears on the list of threads.

  To enable the emoticon functionality, you must check the "Enable emoticons for subtopics" box. Most administrators allow users to choose an emoticon for a thread at the time that the thread is created; to enable this ability, also check "Users can choose emoticons when creating conversations."

  To apply emoticon setting changes, you must regenerate your board (through Appearance Manager - Regeneration) after changing emoticon settings.

  Comments:

  1. Emoticons are supported only in certain skins. Discus 4.0 skins that support emoticons for threads are tables2 and tables3.

  2. If you do not enable the "Users can choose emoticons when creating conversations" option, moderators will still be able to choose emoticons for threads when adding pages or changing page properties in the Page Manager.

  3. Available emoticons can be added to or modified by editing the skin.