Forum Screen - Indication of thread previously browsed

How to use the discussion board. Post usage questions here.
#1
Wiles  
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I really do like the "Unread Posts" indicator that this new board provides. That is very useful.

There is a similar feature that was on the TA board that I am missing on this board. On TA, after you read a thread, the title of the thread would change from blue to purple on the Forum page that lists all the threads. I liked this feature because it gave me an indication that this was a thread that I had previously browsed.

I am not sure if this type of formatting is possible here on TPT, but I thought I would ask.
 

#2
makbo  
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I'm pretty sure that's a feature of your browser, not the web page you are browsing. [EDIT] correction, it is a feature of the HTML/CSS coding of the web page, as the next reply states, my mistake.
Last edited by makbo on 24-Apr-2014 11:12am, edited 1 time in total.
 

#3
chris  
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Actually it is a component of the underlying design of the page...and yes I can fix that for you (will put it on the list)...it's not hard to dial in.

What it does is it changes the font color, size, typeface - whatever you want, based on the link having been visited before or not. Typically, the font color would change based on if you ever clicked the link that the text represents.

The only shortfall of that is if you rely solely on that as an eye-catcher, all it does is tell you which topics you ever visited. That's why this forum also has that little 'page' icon next to each topic title that has a new post that you have not yet read.
Site admin and software developer for TaxProTalk.com and https://TheSiteFactory.com
 

#4
FLAcct  
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I have to agree with Wiles and would love to see the color of the topic change once I have read it. The color change in addition to the "page" icon will make it super easy for me to follow the topics that are interesting to me. Whenever you have a chance Chris... :D
 

#5
Wiles  
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I really do like that little 'page" icon. That is a very nice feature. It is great to be able to instantly pick up a discussion from where you left off.
 

#6
makbo  
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Yes, the "new post" indicator is great. I almost posted a comment that it was suddenly missing, but then I remembered you have to be logged in for it to work. Most users probably don't realize that for this to work, it means that there is a database that keeps track, for every user and every post, whether or not that user has seen that post. Over time the size of this database will grow in proportion to number of users times number of posts, but I suppose the board software has been optimized over the years to handle the load adequately. There is a link near the top that lets you jump directly to the first unread post, will save a lot of scrolling.
 

#7
chris  
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I set the visited topic font color to a different shade of blue/purple, so an eyecatcher now for topics you have previously clicked on.

I also created a "Bookmarked Topics" link up at the top of the forum listing on the main board page. Another way to keep tabs on important topics is to bookmark the topic (look way down at the footer of any topic page) -- then you can see a list of those bookmarked topics via that new "Bookmarked Topics" link.
Site admin and software developer for TaxProTalk.com and https://TheSiteFactory.com
 

#8
Wiles  
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Awesome. Thank you, Chris. You can take today off from this site and work on your extensions.
 

#9
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I totally love the unread hints. The little mark next to a thread with stuff inside and then once inside the indicators of which items within the thread that have been read.
 

#10
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Now... if we could just get an "I totally agree with this post" checkbox! 8-)
Jim
Pettit Financial Services
 

#11
chris  
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I am not ignoring you guys on this...but I have to really think it through and determine what the most efficient, meaningful and consistent incarnation of that would be.

It's on the list, but both from a design point and implementation point, it ain't an easy layup if you get my drift...
Site admin and software developer for TaxProTalk.com and https://TheSiteFactory.com
 

#12
Wiles  
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Chris, Did this changed font color feature get turned off?
 

#13
chris  
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Drat. Yes I broke it accidentally with this weekend's updates. I fixed it but you may need to clear your browser's cache to see it again (on a Windows machine use CTRL-F5 to do that). Thanks for catching that!
Site admin and software developer for TaxProTalk.com and https://TheSiteFactory.com
 

#14
Frankly  
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The orange unread topic indicator is great. Can a similiar indicator be added to the Board Index? Meaning that that five forums (Taxation, General Accounting, etc.) don't indicate whether there are new posts. One must open that forum first to see if there is any new activity.
 

#15
chris  
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that shouldn't be too tough...let me look into it...
Site admin and software developer for TaxProTalk.com and https://TheSiteFactory.com
 


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