Projectforum User's Guide
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ProjectForum User’s Guide Last updated October 20, 2006. Copyright © 2006 CourseForum Technologies http://www.projectforum.com Table of Contents 1. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................. 1 What is ProjectForum? 1 An Easy to Use Web Application 1 Basic Concepts 2 A ProjectForum Server Holds Groups 2 Groups Contain Forums 2 Forums Contain Pages 2 Everyone can Modify Pages 2 Pages Contain Links 3 No Fixed Organization 3 No Set Content 3 Common Uses 3 Task Assignments 3 Document Preparation 3 Meeting Notes 4 Group Announcements 4 Information and Policy Pages 4 Discussions 4 Interacting with Clients 4 2. QUICK START ................................................................................................. 5 Starting the ProjectForum Software 5 Pick the Server Machine 5 Launch the Application 5 Set the Site Administration Password 6 Enter a License Key 7 Select a Different Port (Optional) 8 Enabling SSL 9 Select a Group Creation Password (Optional) 9 Select a Time Zone (Optional) 9 Exiting Site Administration 9 Creating Your First Group 10 Set the Group Administration Password 11 Set the Group Name 11 Set a URL Prefix (Optional) 12 Set Passwords and Accounts (Optional) 12 Exit Group Administration 12 3. FORUM BASICS............................................................................................ 13 Basic Concepts 13 Entering the Group 13 ProjectForum User’s Guide i Group Directory 14 Group Home Page 15 Anatomy of a Forum Page 15 Title Area 16 Find Pages 16 Action Buttons 16 Key Pages 16 Recent Changes 16 Page Content 16 Last Modified 16 Other Commands 16 Post your Comments 16 Page Footer 17 Creating and Editing Pages 17 Creating a New Page 17 Editing a Page 20 Anatomy of the Edit Page 20 Previewing your Edits 21 Posting Comments 22 Weblog-Style Top Posting 24 Finding Pages 24 Tracking Changes 25 Recent Changes 26 RSS 26 Email 28 4. EDITING IN DEPTH ....................................................................................... 29 Formatting 29 Paragraphs 29 Headings 30 Italics and Boldface 30 Lists 30 Rules 30 Line Breaks 30 Preformatted Text 31 Tables 31 Links to Other Pages 31 Creating Page Links 32 Page Links for New Pages 32 Find Pages Linked to a Page 32 Links to Other Web Sites 33 Email Addresses 33 Other Types of Links 34 Including Other Pages 34 Including RSS Feeds and Forum Changes 34 Page Templates 35 Category Pages 36 ProjectForum User’s Guide ii Page Lists and Tables of Contents 36 Slideshows 37 5. WORKING WITH FILES AND IMAGES......................................................... 38 Attaching Files to Pages 38 Attaching the File 38 Downloading the File 40 Moving or Deleting the File 40 Updating a File 40 Attaching Multiple Files 41 Displaying a Different Name 41 Files on your LAN 42 Attaching Images to Pages 42 Resizing Images 43 Using Files and Images on Several Pages 43 Using Images from Web Sites 43 Using MP3 Audio Files 44 6. PROTECTING YOUR GROUP....................................................................... 45 Advantages and Disadvantages of Open Editing 45 Building Shared Knowledge 45 Easier Contributions 46 Different Voices can be Heard 46 Potential for Abuse 46 Locking Pages 47 Locking the Page 47 Editing a Locked Page 47 Unlocking the Page 48 Allowing Posts 48 Setting Group Passwords 48 Shared Group Password 49 Individual User Accounts 49 Private Project Areas 50 Page Version History 50 Editing Conflicts 52 Resolving Abuse 53 Removing Inappropriate Remarks 53 Identifying Abusers 53 7. WORKING WITH PROJECTS ....................................................................... 54 Projects and their Uses 54 Creating and Using Projects 54 Creating a New Project 55 Initial Project Setup 56 Linking Between Forums 58 Including Pages from Other Forums 59 ProjectForum User’s Guide iii 8. BEST PRACTICES ........................................................................................ 60 Information and Announcements 60 Coordinating Work 61 Meetings 61 Discussions 62 Using Groups and Projects 63 9. GROUP ADMINISTRATOR TASKS .............................................................. 64 Initial Setup 64 Other Options 65 Password Protecting the Forum 66 When to Require Passwords 66 Setting a Shared Password 67 Individual User Accounts 67 Tracking User Activity 69 Exporting to Static Web Pages 70 Page Templates 71 Key Pages 72 Managing Storage 73 Delete All Old Versions 75 Delete Older Versions 75 Delete Unused Files 75 Delete Non-Current Files 75 Clear Activity Logs 75 Compact Databases 75 Managing Pages 76 Managing Projects 77 Restricting Project Creation 77 Archiving and Deleting Projects 77 10. SITE ADMINISTRATOR TASKS.................................................................. 79 Routine Maintenance 79 Server Restarts 79 Backups 79 Group Management 80 Archiving and Deleting Groups 80 Other Configuration 82 Customizing Messages 83 Notification 84 Importing a Group 85 Custom Themes 86 Custom Link Types 88 ProjectForum User’s Guide iv 1. Introduction This chapter provides a quick overview of the ProjectForum software, explaining what it is, and how it can help you to increase the amount of communication, collaboration and coordination between everyone in your group. What is ProjectForum? ProjectForum provides professional and easy-to-use web-based workspaces for your team's work and collaboration, helping to move documents and projects forward fast. With ProjectForum, you know the latest about your team at a glance, get rapid feedback to move work forward faster, and get the right information to make better, more timely decisions. Your team can work closely together, following the latest developments, without everyone needing to be working at the same time. Build a project site or intranet where everyone can actively and directly contribute, without complex software or a full-time administrator getting in the way. Use it for creating and sharing documents, project planning, todo lists, document review, design ideas, task assignments, meeting notes, problem reports, team discussions, research, and more. An Easy to Use Web Application ProjectForum is an easy to install web application, used through standard web browsers, that lets workgroups collaborate and coordinate their work on projects. Each of your groups gets its own dedicated forum for its projects, containing any number of separate web pages. In ProjectForum, your group decides what to post, what to share, what to discuss, and how to organize it all. Create whatever new pages you need for new topics. Each page is fully editable by everyone, right from the browser. No special tools are needed, nor knowledge of complicated markup languages like HTML. It’s easy enough for everyone to contribute, adding their own material, commenting on existing material, or helping to organize it all. ProjectForum User’s Guide 1 ProjectForum is centered around simple free-form text, making it easy to understand, and easy to work with — creating or modifying content within the group is as easy as writing an email message. There's no complex interface, set procedures for working, or complex web forms to navigate. It doesn’t matter what web browser (Internet Explorer, Netscape, Safari, Firefox, etc.) they have, or if they are running Windows or Mac; ProjectForum looks and feels just like any other web application. Basic Concepts This section describes the basic concepts underlying ProjectForum, highlighting the overall structure of the system. A ProjectForum Server Holds Groups Because ProjectForum is web based, the ProjectForum software is installed on one central machine, which acts as a server. This single ProjectForum server can host a number of different groups. Each individual group does not need to worry about installing software, nor do people in the groups. Groups Contain Forums Each group consists of one or more forums, including a main forum that is automatically created and used by everyone in the group, and optionally one or more smaller project forums, that may be used by smaller subgroups, such as for project work on particular tasks. Forums Contain Pages Each forum is composed of any number of different pages, each page holding a specific discussion topic, meeting agenda, home page, etc. Pages are easily created and edited using just a normal web browser, and consist primarily of free-form text, but can also hold file attachments, images, and more. Everyone can Modify Pages Everyone in the group can create new pages, modify existing pages, and post comments to any page in the forum. There are mechanisms to prevent certain pages from being modified, and passwords can be used to protect the forum. ProjectForum User’s Guide 2 Pages Contain Links Pages contain links to other pages in the forum, and can also contain links to other information on the web. Links provide an easy-to-use but powerful means to bring in related information. No Fixed Organization The organization of each forum, including what pages are created, and how they are linked together, is entirely up to the people in the group. Forums can be structured according to the group’s unique needs, and this structure can change organically as these needs evolve. No Set Content Like the forum organization, the content of any page is entirely up to the people in the group. Contributions, comments and corrections to pages are all encouraged. Information goes where it makes sense; there’s no need to put files in the special “file” area, presentations in the “presentation” area, appointments