Discussions (Application View)

A discussion provides a virtual forum where project users can hold online conversations on subjects of interest. Since discussions are related to individual projects The common workspace for members working together on a project., members of a project team can view and participate in discussions directly related to their work.

Depending on your permissions, you can participate in discussions by:

Posting a new message
Replying to any message
Creating a new discussion for messages on a different subject
Subscribing to a discussion to receive a notification email when a new message is added (you can reply to the message directly in email)
Editing a message that has already been posted

Project leaders can create moderated discussions where new messages must be approved by assigned moderators before they are posted on the discussion.

This topic discusses:

Common Actions
Discussions Table Pane
Table View
Explorer Action Bar
Moderator Action Bar
Details Pane for the Root Folder
Details Pane for Discussions
Details Pane for Messages

Common Actions

Like other explorers in the application view, the Discussions explorer has a hierarchical navigation tree A tree of subfolders in the navigation pane of the application view. To view the contents of the navigation tree on the table pane, click on a node or folder in the navigation tree., a common tool bar with buttons that change according to the permission level of the user, a table pane Upper right section of the application view. The table pane displays all objects contained in the node you selected in the navigation tree. You can also view detailed information about the objects in the table pane by selecting the check box next to the item. Detailed information appears on the details pane., and a details pane Lower right section of the application view. You can view details and descriptions (if provided) of items selected in the table pane. You can also perform various actions, such as notifying others about the document you uploaded or subscribing to a discussion..

If you have a limited permission level, you cannot see all the buttons in the action bar. In addition, only buttons that apply to the object you have selected are enabled; until you have selected an object, many buttons are grayed out and disabled. Buttons with are context-sensitive and have submenus. What these buttons do depends on what object you have selected in the explorer.

To apply an action to a discussion, such as beginning a new subject thread, deleting a discussion, or exporting the discussion, select the discussion in the navigation tree A tree of subfolders in the navigation pane of the application view. To view the contents of the navigation tree on the table pane, click on a node or folder in the navigation tree. first.
To apply actions to a specific message, such as replying to or deleting a message, select the discussion in the navigation tree then select the message in the table pane Upper right section of the application view. The table pane displays all objects contained in the node you selected in the navigation tree. You can also view detailed information about the objects in the table pane by selecting the check box next to the item. Detailed information appears on the details pane. first. If you do not select a message, the buttons in the action bar remains grayed out.
To unselect a message, clear the check box to the left of the message.

For information on the application view banner, see About Application View; for more information about the components of the explorer, see Navigating the Explorers; for more information on permission levels, see the Permission Matrix.

Discussions Table Pane

You can view the status of discussions.

Column	Description
Discussion Name	Name of the discussion. Clicking a discussion displays all its messages. The icons of the discussion indicates the discussion format. The icons are: moderated discussion, unmoderated discussion, and closed discussion.
Created By	Name of the user who created the discussion. To see the user profile of the creator of the discussion, click the user name. If the instant messaging feature is enabled, you can click the online presence indicator to chat online with the creator of the discussion.
Messages	Number of messages contained in the discussion.
Date Modified	The date of the last posted message.

Discussion Message Table Pane

You can view messages.

Column	Description
Subject	Subject of a discussion thread.
Created By	Name of the user who posted the message. To see the user profile of the author of the message, click the user name. If the instant messaging feature is enabled, you can click the online presence indicator to chat online with the author.
Date Modified	The date of the last posted message in the subject thread.

Explorer Action Bar

If a button is disabled, you either do not have permission to perform the action or the action does not apply to your file. For more information on permission levels, see the Permission Matrix.

Click	To
New	Create a new discussion. Click the project name (the top node) in the navigation tree first. Create a new discussion. For step-by-step instructions on how to create and configure a discussion, see Discussion Properties. Post a new message in a discussion. Select a discussion in the navigation tree or table pane Upper right section of the application view. The table pane displays all objects contained in the node you selected in the navigation tree. You can also view detailed information about the objects in the table pane by selecting the check box next to the item. Detailed information appears on the details pane. first. Clicking displays the submenu.
New Discussion (New submenu)	Start a new discussion. Configure the settings in the New Discussion Properties page and click Finish.
New Message (New submenu)	Post a new message in a discussion.
Reply	Respond to a message.
Edit	Edit the properties of a discussion. Click a discussion in the navigation tree first. Change the content of a message you posted. First select a discussion and a message. Moderators can edit messages posted in discussions assigned to them. Only users with Admin access rights can edit any message. The panel above the details pane action bar for messages displays the user name of the user who most recently edited the message, if that user did not post the original message.
	Project Leaders only. Delete a discussion. Click a discussion in the navigation tree first. Delete a message you posted. First select a discussion and a message. Moderators can delete messages posted in discussions assigned to them. Only users with Admin access rights can delete any message.
QuickLinks	Add a My QuickLink A My QuickLink is a bookmark that you can create to a Collaboration object. Collaboration places this link in the object's associated My Tasks, My Documents or My Discussions portlet. To view only the objects that are accessible by My QuickLinks, click View \| QuickLinks in the My Tasks, My Documents or My Discussions portlets. or Community QuickLink A Community QuickLink is a bookmark that a Community Manager can create to a Collaboration object. Collaboration places this link in the object's associated Community Tasks, Community Documents or Community Discussions portlet. To view only the objects that are accessible by Community QuickLinks, click View \| QuickLinks in the Community Tasks, Community Documents or Community Discussions portlets. to a discussion or message to make the discussion or message easily accessible from the My Discussions or Community Discussions portlets.
Add to My QuickLinks (QuickLinks submenu)	Add the discussion or message to the list of QuickLinks on the My Discussions portlet.
Add to Community QuickLinks (QuickLinks submenu)	Community Managers only. Add the discussion or message to the list of QuickLinks on the Community Discussions portlet.
Remove from My QuickLinks (QuickLinks submenu)	Remove the discussion or message from the list of QuickLinks on the My Discussions portlet.
Remove from Community QuickLinks (QuickLinks submenu)	Community Managers only. Remove the discussion or message from the list of QuickLinks on the Community Discussions portlet.

Moderator Action Bar

The buttons in the moderator action bar are available to moderators only. Project Leaders can assign moderators to discussions in the Discussion Properties page.

Click	To
Export Discussion	Available to users with Edit access to the discussion. Archive a current snapshot of the discussion. For more information, see Export Discussion.
Approve	Allow the message to be posted on the discussion.
Reject	Forbid the message from being posted on the discussion.
	Preview the first part of each message in the table pane. Click again to hide the message contents.
	Project Leaders only. Select the columns that you want to be visible in the table pane to project users, using the Customize View Editor.

Details Pane for the Root Folder

To view the details pane for the root folder, click on the root folder (project icon) in the navigation tree.

The action bar for the root folder lets you perform the following actions:

Click	To
Subscribe	Subscribe to all discussions in the project. You will receive an immediate notification email when a discussion is created or deleted in the project. For more information on notification events, see About Notification Events. To receive summary notification emails for all discussions in the project, mouse over the Subscribe button and select Summary email. If your administrator has enabled RSS feeds, you can mouse over the Subscribe button and select RSS to add the RSS feed for all discussions in the project to your personal RSS feed. Use the Subscription Explorer to configure your summary notification email frequency or to receive more than one type of notification for discussions.
Unsubscribe	Unsubscribe from all discussions in the project. You will stop receiving all types of notification when discussions are created or deleted in the project.
Subscribe Others	Project Leaders only. Subscribe others to all discussions in the project using the Subscribe Others Editor. Users will be notified of any discussions created in the project.
	Available when your administrator has enabled RSS feeds. View the RSS feed for all discussions in the project. For more information about RSS feeds, see About RSS Feeds.

The details pane for the root folder displays the following properties:

Property	Description
Discussions Link	Link to the root folder. Click Copy to Clipboard to copy the notification link for the root folder to your clipboard. You can then paste the link directly into a document or the body of an email.

Details Pane for Discussions

To view the details pane for a discussion, select the discussion in the table pane.

The action bar of the details pane for a discussion lets you perform the following actions:

Click	To
Subscribe to Discussion	Subscribe to the discussion. You will receive an immediate notification email when a new message is posted, and can reply to the message directly through email. For more information on notification events, see About Notification Events. To receive summary notification emails for the discussion, mouse over the Subscribe button and select Summary email. If your administrator has enabled RSS feeds, you can mouse over the Subscribe button and select RSS to add the RSS feed for the discussion to your personal RSS feed. Use the Subscription Explorer to configure your summary notification email frequency or to receive more than one type of notification for the discussion.
Unsubscribe	Unsubscribe from the discussion. You will stop receiving all types of notification when a new message is posted.
Subscribe Others	Project Leaders only. Subscribe others to the discussion using the Subscribe Others Editor. Users will be notified of any new messages posted in the discussion.
	Available when your administrator has enabled RSS feeds. View the RSS feed for the discussion. For more information about RSS feeds, see About RSS Feeds.
Notify	Send an email inviting other users to view, subscribe to, or participate in the discussion. For more information about notification, see About Notification.
Attach Task Lists	Edit access level required. Attach task lists to the discussion. When the Choose Task Lists dialog box appears, select the task lists you want to attach, then click Finish.
Attach Documents	Edit access level required. Attach documents and files to the discussion. When the Choose Documents dialog box appears, select the files you want to attach and click Finish. Note: You need to have uploaded the file to Oracle WebCenter Collaboration before you can select it.
	Delete attached files or task lists.

The details pane for a discussion displays the following properties:

Property	Description
Tags	Available when Oracle WebCenter Collaboration is integrated with Pathways and when you have the Access Pathways activity right. Pathways tags that have been applied to the discussion. To apply tags to the discussion, type the tag names, separated by commas, in the text box then click Apply Tags. Click on a tag to view it within the Pathways UI. For more information about Pathways tags, see Using Pathways Tags.
Discussion Link	Link to the discussion. Click Copy to Clipboard to copy the notification link for the discussion to your clipboard. You can then paste the link directly into a document or the body of an email.
Messages	Number of messages contained in the discussion.
Moderated By	Name of the moderator of the discussion.
Discussions Status	Status of the discussion. Discussions can be open or closed.
Discussion Resolution	(Closed discussions) Resolution of the discussion.
Discussion Email	Your groupware email address must be included in your user profile. The email address in your user profile must exactly match your Microsoft Outlook or Lotus Notes email address; this is case-sensitive. Send an email to the discussion using your personal computer's email client, such as Microsoft Exchange or Lotus Notes. The email is posted as a message in a new subject thread. Files that you attach to the email are uploaded to the project and attached to the message. After you email the discussion, you receive messages from the discussion in your email client and can reply directly from your email client. Tip: This is the unique email address of this discussion. You can save this email address in your email client's address book to contribute to the discussion anytime without having to click on this link. For step-by-step instructions on how to email a message to a discussion, see Emailing a Message to a Discussion.
Attachments	Task lists and documents that have been attached to the discussion. Click next to a task list or document to remove it from the discussion.

Details Pane for Messages

To view the details pane of a message, click a discussion in the navigation pane, then select the message in the table pane. The details pane for the message displays the contents of the message. The panel above the action bar displays the user name of the user who most recently edited the message, if that user did not post the original message.

The action bar of the details pane for a message lets you perform the following actions:

Click	To
Subscribe	Subscribe to the message. You will receive an immediate notification email when a reply to the message is posted, and can reply to the message directly in email. For more information on notification events, see About Notification Events. To receive summary notification emails for the message, mouse over the Subscribe button and select Summary email. If your administrator has enabled RSS feeds, you can mouse over the Subscribe button and select RSS to add the RSS feed for the message to your personal RSS feed. Use the Subscription Explorer to configure your summary notification email frequency or to receive more than one type of notification for the message.
Unsubscribe	Unsubscribe from the message. You will stop receiving all types of notification when a reply to the message is posted.
Subscribe Others	Project Leaders only. Subscribe others to the message using the Subscribe Others Editor. Users will be notified of any replies posted to the message.
	Available when your administrator has enabled RSS feeds. View the RSS feed for the message. For more information about RSS feeds, see About RSS Feeds.
Attach Documents	Edit access level required. Attach documents and files to the message. When the Choose Documents dialog box appears, select the files you want to attach and click Finish. Note: You need to have uploaded the file to Oracle WebCenter Collaboration before you can select it.
Expand	View the entire message and all replies to it.
	Delete attached files.

The details pane for a message displays the following properties:

Property	Description
Attachments	Documents that have been attached to the message. Click next to a document to remove it from the message.
Tags	Available when Oracle WebCenter Collaboration is integrated with Pathways and when you have the Access Pathways activity right. Pathways tags that have been applied to the message. To apply tags to the message, type the tag names, separated by commas, in the text box then click Apply Tags. Click on a tag to view it within the Pathways UI. For more information about Pathways tags, see Using Pathways Tags.
Message Link	Link to the message. Click Copy to Clipboard to copy the notification link for the file to your clipboard. You can then paste the link directly into a document or the body of an email.

Related Topics:

To display the page associated with this help topic:

Select a project in the My Projects or Community Projects portlet.
Click the Discussions tab in the application view.

Discussions (Application View)

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