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The technical forum has been designed to give the users an experience of sharing
their knowledge online. Users can sort their queries by eliciting help from
their colleagues. A central databank for all the queries/replies posted under
all the forums will be maintained. A comprehensive search facility has also
been included to enable the user to search through the databank for the required
information. The help facility would act as an expedient guide for the user
throughout the forum.
Toolbar
A toolbar is available to the user in his journey through the technical forum
to perform the tasks of posting the queries and replies and to facilitate his
movement through the forum. Specific icons have been associated with the identified
functionalities. Here is a brief description of the same:
- Forum: This link would take
the user to the main screen of the Tech Forum which contains a list of the
various forums that are available to the user for his convenience. It is
represented by the icon:
- Help: This link would take
the user to the Tech forum help which would enable the user to clarify any
doubts and also to have a look at the various options available in the Tech
Forum.
- Search: This link would
take the user to the search screen where the user can perform a comprehensive
search on the available data to view the topics and messages according to
his needs.
- New Query: This link would
take the user to the Post New Query Screen where he can enter his query
in the selected forum.
- Post Reply: This link would
take the user to Post Reply Screen where the user can post his reply in
response to the posted query.
The Tech Forum has been organised into a number of screens in accordance with
the information each one of them displays. The following is a list of all the
screens:
Welcome Screen:
The welcome screen for the Tech Forum is displayed on selecting the option Tech Forum from the list of options available to the employees.
Toolbar options available on this screen:
Forum:
This screen consists of a list of forums. The forum names are links to the Topics screen. The user can enter a particular forum by clicking on the forum name. The contents displayed on this screen are:
- Forum: Name of the forum.
- Number of Posts: Number of topics posted in this forum.
- Last Post: The date of posting of the most recent topic in the forum.
Toolbar options available on this screen:
Topic:
The topic screen displays a list of all the queries posted in the forum. The topic names are links to the messages screen which lists down the query and the response details for the topic. The contents displayed on this screen are:
- Topic: Topic of the query.
- Replies: Number of replies received in response to the query.
- Last Post: Date on which the query was posted.
- Posted By: Name of the person who has posted the query
Toolbar options available on this screen:
Messages:
This screen will give the user a hierarchial view of the queries and replies associated with that topic. The contents displayed on this screen are:
- Author: This field gives the name and email id of the person who has posted this query/reply. The email id is a link which would open up the default mail client on the user’s machine such that the user can directly correspond with the author through mails.
- Message: This field will specify the query or reply in detail.
New Query:
The user can post his query using this screen. The various fields available on this screen are:
- Username: The user should enter his name here.
- EmailId: The user should enter his Email Id in this field.
- Topic: The user should enter the topic on which the query is being posted.
- Message: The user should enter his query here.
Toolbar options available on this screen:
Acknowledgement Screen:
An acknowledgement screen appears after the query has been submitted to confirm the posting of the query. This screen has three navigation buttons:
- Back: to move to the Post New Query Screen.
- Topics: to move to the topics screen.
- Forums: to move to the Forums screen.
Toolbar options available on this screen:
Post Reply:
The user can post the reply using this screen. The various fields available on this screen are:
- Username: The user should enter his name here.
- Email Id: The user should enter his Email Id in this field.
- Message: The user should enter the reply here.
After filling in all the details specified above the user should submit the entire data by clicking on the Submit button provided at the end of the form.
Toolbar options available on this screen:
Acknowledgement Screen:
An acknowledgement screen appears after the reply has been submitted to confirm the posting of the reply. This screen has three navigation buttons:
- Back: to move to the Post Reply Screen.
- Topics: to move to the topics screen.
- Forums: to move to the Forums screen.
Toolbar options available on this screen:
Quick Search:
The search screen consists of various fields that would help the user in specifying the search criteria for the desired information. The various fields available on the Search Screen are:
- Search Words: The user can specify the words or the text that should be present in the messages/Topics returned as a result of search. This option has two sub-options associated with it:
- Match all search terms above: This would enable the search for all the words specified in the search words i.e the search facility would look for all the messages that contain the whole of the search string specified above.
- Match any of the search term above: This would enable the search for any or all of the search terms specified in the search string.
The user can enter the forum he would want to be searched for the required information. The default value for this field is "All Forum" i.e. the search would look for the information in all the forums by default.
The user can specify a time frame for which he would like to view the information. The various options available for the time frame are:
- Any Date: Default value. The search facility would search for the required information in all the messages irrespective of the date on which they have been posted.
- Since Yesterday: The search facility would search for the all the information that has been posted in the last one day.
- Since 5 Days Ago: The search facility would search for the all the information that has been posted in the last five days.
- Since 10 Days Ago: The search facility would search for the all the information that has been posted in the last ten days.
- Since 30 Days Ago: The search facility would search for the all the information that has been posted in the last thirty days.
- Search In: This field has two values:
- Entire Message: This would cause the search to be performed in the entire message.
- Subject Only: This would cause the search to be performed on the topic name only.
The user can specify the username in this field if he wants the information to be searched on the basis of the name of the user who has posted the query/reply.
Search Results:
The result of the search is displayed on this screen. The contents displayed on this screen are:
- Forum: The forum in which the message is present.
- Message: The message in which the search string is found if the user had specified the Search In field as Entire Message else if the user had specified the Search In field as Subject Only all the messages present in the topic whose name matches the search string will be displayed.
- Post Date: The date on which the message was posted.
- Topic: The name of the topic in which the message is present. This field is a link that would take the user to the Topic screen where he can view the rest of the topics to see if any of them match his requirement. In case he finds a topic which meets his requirement the user can view the sequence of queries and replies associated with that topic by clicking on the topic name and thus going on to the messages screen
Note: In case no match is found for the search criteria specified the search result screen displays a message "Sorry No Match Found".
Example:
We can consider a situation where the user has a query on Generating a SQL query for finding the duplicate rows in Oracle.
Step1: The user can enter the forum Oracle from the Forum screen of the Tech Forum by clicking on the forum name Oracle. This link would take him to the Topics screen. The user can either scroll through the topics to see if the answer to his query is available there.
Step2: Alternatively he can go in for the search by clicking on the Search icon in the toolbar above.
Specifying the Search Criteria:
- Search Words: The user can specify Query for Duplicate rows in the Search Words field.and can use the option match all the search terms above.
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Search Forum/Archive: The user should select the forum Oracle in Search Forum/Archive.
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Search By Date: The user can either select any date if he wants to view all the messages that have been posted in this forum and that match the search criteria. Alternatively he can select any of the pre-definedvalues to specify the time frame for which he wants to view the information.
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Search In: The user can enter either Entire Message or Subject Only in the Search In field.
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Search By Username: The user can either enter a specific username in the Username or leave it blank.
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The user can then submit the criteria by clicking on the Submit button. The results can be viewed on the Search Resultsscreen.
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In case the user does not find the information he requires through the search option also, he can enter his query in the forum Oracle by clicking on the New Queryicon in any of the screens.
Tips and Troubleshooting:
- The message length for both the Post New Query/Post
Reply option is not more than 500 characters.
- All the fields should be entered on both the Post
New Query/Post Reply screen.
- Leaving a field blank on the search screen would give
results taking into account all the values of the field.
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Post Query
Search
Forum 
Help