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Working with Text

In the "Discussions" area, you can post messages and read and reply to messages posted by others. You can use the Discussions area to share thoughts about your course material, ask questions, share files, or work together with your peers on assignments and homework.

Please note that your professor's may, or may not, be using the D2L discussion tool.

• Accessing Discussions
• Reading Messages
• Finding New Messages
• Posting a Message
• Saving a Draft
• Replying to a Message
• Searching for Messages
• Flagging a Message
• Changing Your Settings
• Customizing Settings

Accessing Discussions

Click the "Discussions link" on your course navigation bar.

The main discussions page lists the topics available to you, organized into forums. Click a topic name to enter the topic and join in the discussion. Please note that it is important to click on the first topic, or message, in the forum to ensure you have options to participate in the forum.

Reading Messages

There are two ways of viewing topics--using the Grid Style message list or the Reading Style message list. Click the image below to view a larger example.

In the Grid Style message list, a list of messages appears at the top of the page, showing the subject, author, and date of each message. Click the subject to read the message; the full message will appear either at the bottom of the screen or in a new window, depending on your discussion board settings. Click the image below to view an example of the Grid Style message list.

In the Reading Style message list, the full text of every message is always displayed.

With either presentation style, use the View drop-down list at the top right of the page to switch between the threaded view, where messages are grouped with their replies, and the unthreaded views.

Finding New Messages

Indicators for new discussion board postings can be found in a variety of locations in D2L:

On your course homepage, the "Updates" widget lists the total number of unread messages for all discussion topics in your course.

On the main discussions, page, the number of unread messages appears beneath each topic. To see just topics with new messages, select "Topics with Unread" from the Display drop-down list at the top of the page. Inside a topic's message list, the Discussions List at the left of the screen displays topics with unread messages in bold.

Posting a New Message

1. Enter the topic where you want to post a message.
2. Click on the Compose icon at the top of the message list.
3. Type a Subject.
4. Type a Message.
5. Set any other desired message options. (These options may not be available, depending on the course and the topic.
6. Attach files: In the attachments area, click on the Add a File icon and locate the file you wish to attach. You can attach as many files as you like.
7. Click on the Post button.

If the topic is moderated, your message does not appear until it is approved. Moderated topics are indicated by the Messages Require Approval icon beside the topic name at the top of the message list.

Saving a Draft

You can save your message as a draft instead of posting it right away. Saving a draft lets you return to the message later to edit it before posting it to the topic. Remember you MUST go back and Post your draft to the Discussions area in order for others to see it.

1. Click on the Save as Draft button instead of the "Post" button.

To find a saved draft, view the message list for the topic where you created the draft and select "Drafts" from the View drop-down list in the top-right corner of the page.

Replying to a Message

1. Locate the message you wish to reply to.
2. Do one of the following:
   • If you're using the Grid Style message list, click the subject of the message you want to reply to, and then click on the Reply icon at the top of the message.
   • If you are using the Reading Style message list, click the Reply link below the header of the message you want to reply to.
3. Type your reply in the Message field. To include the original message's text in your reply, click the Add Original Message Text link.
4. Set any other message options you want. (These options may not be available, depending on the course and topic.)
   • Attach Files:
     • In the attachments area, click on the Add a File icon and locate the file you want to attach. You can attach as many files as you want.
5. Click on the Post button.

Searching for Messages

1. Enter the topic you want to search.
2. If the Search For field is not visible at the top of the message list, click on the Show Search icon at the top of the page.
3. Enter the terms you want to find in the Search For field and click Search.
4. To perform an advanced search:
   • Click on the Show Search Options link to the right of the Search button.
   • Specify additional search criteria from the options displayed beneath the "Search For" field.
   • Click on the Search button.

To see all messages again, click Clear Search at the top or bottom of the message list.

Flagging a Message

Flagging messages is a good way to mark a message if you want to read it again later or monitor replies.

1. To mark a message, click "Flag."
2. To unmark a message, click to "Unflag."

You can quickly find your flagged messages by selecting "Flagged Only" from the View drop-down list at the top-right of the message list.

Changing Your Settings

Personal settings let you customize the appearance of the "Discussions" tool to suit your reading style and screen resolution.

To modify your settings, do one of the following:

1. Click on the "Settings" link at the left of the main discussions page or the top of the message list within a topic.
2. From the "My Settings" widget on the "My Home" (your login launch page), click on the Preferences link and then click on the "Discussions" tab.

Customizing Settings

Show the discussion topics list
Use this setting to show or hid the list of topics at the left of the screen when you're reading messages. Hide it to save space or show it to switch between topics quickly.

Message List Style
Select either Reading Style, where you can see the full text of all messages, or Grid Style, where the subject and author are listed in a grid and you select messages to read their full text. Try both to see which one you prefer. (If you are using a slow connection, Grid Style will load faster than Reading Style.)

Show the Preview Pane
If you're using the Grid Style message list, you can read messages in a preview pane at the bottom of the screen by turning this setting on. Turn it off to read message in a pop-up window.

Reply Settings
Select this option to automatically quote the original message when you reply to another user's message.