Engineering Biomedical, Medical imaging, Material, Chemical, Computer, Electrical, Electronics, Environmental... So you've arrived at this Simple Machines Forum (SMF)! Perhaps you've been looking at the board index or a screen telling you that you need to register before you can read it and you're wondering what to do next? Well, some forums permit guests to read and post, some permit guests to read only and some are restricted to registered members. We'd recommend registering at any forum that you see yourself using regularly because many of the most useful features will only become available to you when you do so. Since SMF, however, is such a flexible system that few forums are likely to be identical, we will start by describing four key areas that we'd normally expect to be there for you: 1. The Main Menu 2. The Board Index 3. The Message Index 4. The Topic The Main Menu Supposing you've arrived here as a guest (or have registered but are currently logged out), the main menu (which appears on every page) should normally comprise five or six buttons (or text links): * Home, which takes you back to the board index. * Help, which brings you to this guide. * Search, which allows you to search the forums for whatever you're looking for. * Calendar, which links to the forum calendar (if enabled). * Login, which allows you to login if already registered. * Register, which allows you to register (or sometimes apply for registration) when you wish to do so. Once you've registered and logged in, however, the main menu should look a little different: * Home (as before). * Help (as before). * Search (as before). * Profile, which allows you to make changes to your profile settings. * Calendar (as before). * Logout, which allows you to logout again if desired. Forum administrators should also note the presence of an additional Admin button. The Board Index While the board index (forum home page) is packed with all kinds of information and links, the core of the interface (at least in the SMF default theme) normally looks something like this: + Forum Name - Category Name New Posts Board Name Board Description Number of topics and posts in this board Date, time, subject and author of last post New Posts No New Posts Mark ALL messages as read * The forum name links back to the top of the board index. * If the category is collapsible (shown by the little arrow symbol), clicking the category name collapses or expands the category as appropriate. * The board name links to the message index for that board. * The board description describes the board's content, and may also include links to child boards and/or specify the board's moderator(s). * The New Posts and No New Posts icons in the leftmost column show registered members whether there have been any new posts to the board since they last read it. * The Mark as Read button enables registered members to mark all posts in the entire forum as 'read'. The Message Index Like the board index, the message index interface is quite straightforward when reduced to its essential components: + Forum Name |- + Category Name | |- + Board Name Pages: [1] Mark Read | Notify of Replies | Start new topic | Post New Poll Subject Started by Replies Views Last post Topic Subject New Topic Starter 0 0 Date, time and author of last post Pages: [1] Mark Read | Notify of Replies | Start new topic | Post New Poll Topic you have posted in Normal Topic Hot Topic (More than 15 replies) Very Hot Topic (More than 25 replies) Locked Topic Sticky Topic Poll Jump to: * Some forums show the navigation tree at the top in a space-saving horizontal mode. * The page numbers link to further pages of the board, and may be accompanied by Go Up and Go Down buttons linking to the top and bottom of the current page. * The Mark as Read button enables registered members to mark all posts in this board as 'read'. * The Notify button enables registered members to subscribe to email notification of replies to topics in this board. * The New Topic and New Poll buttons are for starting new topics and polls, as described in the posting help. * The Subject, Started by, Replies, Views and Last post links enable you to sort the columns by these parameters (with Last post also toggling between descending and ascending order as indicated by the little arrow). * The topic icons in the leftmost column are explained by the key below. * The post icons in the next column are sometimes used to draw attention to the mood or purpose of the topic. * The topic subject links to the start of the topic, with extra links for subsequent pages and new buttons to take registered members straight to their first unread post of the topic. * Where the topic has been started or last replied to by a registered member, their names link to their respective profiles. * The Jump to menu provides a convenient quick method of navigating the forum. You agree, through your use of this forum, that you will not post any material which is false, defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, threatening, invasive of a person's privacy, adult material, or otherwise in violation of any International or United States Federal law. You also agree not to post any copyrighted material unless you own the copyright or you have written consent from the owner of the copyrighted material. Spam, flooding, advertisements, chain letters, pyramid schemes, and solicitations are also forbidden on this forum.