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Frequently Asked Questions

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General

What is Zoho Discussions?

 Zoho Discussions is an online discussion board that helps you to create external and internal communities where problems are solved, topics are discussed and ideas are exchanged. It is commonly used as a Customer Support, Customer Research/ Insights and Employee Forums.

What browser do you recommend?

Zoho Discussions works in several browsers like Internet Explorer 6/above, Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome.

How is Zoho Discussions different from a traditional forum?

Zoho Discussions has loads of features to differentiate it from a traditional forum. The key features are listed below:

  • Hosted Solution: There is no need to maintain a separate server and keep updating it. All you need is only a web browser.
  • High Availability: Engage your user or start discussions at any time.24/7
  • Resilience to attacks: Inbuilt spam and throttle control mechanisms that help keep attackers at bay
  • Higher levels of security - Immune to XSS, CSRF and other attacks that could take your customers' data out of your system easily
  • Intuitive user experience - No more guessing the code and learning HTML or other cryptic languages for participation ( Use like use a editor do not learn BB Code!!!)
  • Topic types - Nail down your discussions to be more specific to the subject with different topic types namely Question, Problem etc.,
  • Integrated chat - Interact with your friends and colleagues through instant messaging using Zoho Chat Integration.

and, lot more at discussions.zoho.com/features.

Is it possible to import my business from other service Ex: PhpBB, vBulletein?

 Yes. We have good experience in migrating our ZohoForums from PhpBB to Zoho Discussions, but not from other services. If you want to move your business, please contact our support team at support@zohodiscussions.com

What are your customer service hours?

 We offer support via our forums and email. The support is typically on the next working day basis though we try to respond regularly within hours.

Do you provide a phone support?

 Yes. You can reach our toll free numbers (888 900 9646 / 888 204 3539) and ask for discussions support. Phone support is typically available during early morning / evening US time.

Who host the forum site? Is it possible for my company to host the forum site?

Zoho hosts the forum site. We offer world class hosting facility (refer to FAQ: http://www.zoho.com/zoho_faq.html). In addition, we strongly believe that Zoho Discussions offer far greater power, safety, security, hack proofing and performance than self-hosted alternatives. Given the continuous development, improvement and feature additions that happen in all Zoho products and especially Zoho Discussions, it might not be possible to host it in your company.

Topic Operations

Why can't I see the New Topic button after signing into Zoho Discussions ?

This problem will occur due to one of the reasons below:
  • The forum in which the topic is posted might not have "Post" permission (or)
  • The forums associated to the corresponding portal might be locked.
Please contact your administrator to post topics.

Why can't I post an announcement ?

Announcements can be posted only by the Administrators of the Portal. Please contact your administrator to proceed further.

How do I insert a video into the topic content?

 You can insert a video using the "Insert Object" option in WYSIWYG Editor.

To insert a video:
  1. Go to the WYSIWYG editor.
  2. Select Insert Object option.
  3. Specify the "HTML content" in the text-box.
  4. Click on OK.
    The corresponding video is now embedded in the topic.
How do I insert a screenshot into the topic content / response?

 You can insert a screenshot using the "Insert Image" option WYSIWYG Editor.

To insert a screenshot:
  1. Go to the WYSIWIG editor.
  2. Select Insert Image option.
  3. Browse the required image from your local machine.
  4. Specify the Image Caption and Image Title in the corresponding text-boxes.
  5. Click on OK.
    The screenshot is now inserted in the topic/response.
Can I have my own topic type?

 Currently there is no option to create your own topic type. However, it will be implemented in near future.

Can't find my draft, where do I go wrong?

 There is a chance that you might have not logged into Zoho Discussions or the particular draft might be published. Please login and check your topic list view for the corresponding topic.

I am unable to reply to a topic, what must I do?

 This problem will occur due to one of the reasons below:
  • The forum in which the topic is posted might not have the permission to "Respond" (or)
  • The specific topic, forum or the sub forum might be locked.
Please contact the topic author or the portal administrator to proceed further.

Is it possible to add a comment to a comment?

 Comment can be used only to post your views/suggestions on a specific reply. In short, you can only add your comment to a specific response, not to a comment. To learn more, refer Content Operations

I am unable to vote, what can I do?

 This problem will occur due to one of the reasons below:
  • The specific topic, forum or the sub forum might be locked
  • The corresponding topic might be linked to another type (or)
  • The topic might be an announcement.
Can I undo my vote?

 Currently, there is no option to undo your vote made for a specific topic. However, you can undo the response vote.

Why am I unable to see the "Mark Inappropriate" link?

 Mark Inappropriate link will not be available for Topic Authors, Moderators and Administrators of the Portal. Also, you cannot see this link when the moderator or administrator declares the specific post as an appropriate topic.

Can I change the topic type?

 Yes. You can change the topic type before receiving responses for the specific topic.

To change topic type:
  1. Select the corresponding topic from List View.
  2. In the Post Actions section, click on Change Topic Type (right-side menu).
  3. In the Change Topic type dialog, select the required Topic Type.
    The topic gets changed according to the     selected topic type.
 Why can't I change the topic type of an earlier topic?

 There is a chance that the specific topic would have received responses from your community.

Can I recover the deleted topic?

 Yes. However, you need to contact your portal administrator - who can recover it from the trash bin present in the moderation panel.

Why do I get a message "the content was detected as spam" when I try to post a topic/response?

 A post will be marked as spam due to the following reasons:
  • The specific post might contain words that are considered as spam by our spam engine (or)
  • The webpage corresponding to the link added in your post might contain spam words.
Please check your content or contact your administrator to post the corresponding topic.

Is it possible to see who has voted for an idea / problem / question?

 Currently, it is not possible to see who has voted for your post. However, we have added this feature in our road map list and will be implemented soon.

When I post a topic or a response, will it get auto saved?

 Currently, autosave option is not available in Zoho Discussions. But, we do have plans to implement this in near future.

How do I close a thread?

You can close a thread using the Lock Topic Feature. Zoho Discussions allows you to lock a specific topic, so that users will not be able to post any responses, comments or do any further actions in the corresponding topic. Learn more: http://help.discussions.zoho.com/Topic-Operations.html#Lock_Topic

Is it possible to freeze the forum topic at the top of the of the screen?

Currently, Zoho Discussions allow you to post announcements, so that you can freeze the particular topic permanently in the widgets section. Also, please note that announcement widget is specific to the forums, in which they are posted. Hence it will be placed at the top of your side-panel (widget area) only in the corresponding forum page.

Zoho Discussions also allows you to freeze significant topics in the widget area, using the Sticky Post feature. With this feature, you can mark a specific topic as sticky, so that it will be displayed in both Portal and Forum widgets permanently.

Settings


Is it possible to have multiple administrators for a portal?

Yes, Zoho Discussions allows you to assign multiple administrators for a portal.

To add an administrator:
  • Click on Settings > Users > Members
  • In the All Users tab, click on Manage link present next to the require user's name.
  • Choose his/her role to be "Admin" from the Portal Permissions drop-down.
    Now, the selected user can also perform the administrator actions in the portal.
Please note that the number of administrators that you can add/are allowed depends upon the plan you choose.

How does SEO Settings work?

SEO Settings allow you to optimize your portal URL and help your content be more visible to search engines. This in turn will increase the number of visitors to visit your portal.

What is Domain Mapping?

Domain Mapping is a process of mapping your own URLs with your discussions portal, so that your users will be able to access your community using the configured domain, instead of http://discussions.zoho.com/<portal domain>

To map your domain:
  • Click on Settings tab.
  • Click on Domain link to view the Domain Mapping section
  • Enter your URL in the Domain Name field. Please note that you must enter a valid domain with the www prefix.
  • Click on Save.
  • Once Configured, you need to point the CNAME entry of the specific domain to http://discussions.zoho.com
    Now, you and your users can access your portal with this domain.
Why can't I access my portal after configuring a portal domain?

You might not have mapped the specific domain's (which is configured under domain mapping) CNAME entry to http://discussions.zoho.com. So, please make sure that you have completed this setup to access your portal using the configured domain.

Is it possible to place my ads using the HTML Widget?

Yes. With the help of HTML Widgets, you can embed the HTML code of any objects, Images, Videos etc. in your portal.

To add a HTML widget:
  • Click on Settings > Widgets
  • Select the Custom Widget tab and click on Add HTML Widget button
  • Specify a Widget Name and enter the HTML Code (HTML Tag)
  • Click on Save.
    The new html widget will be listed in the Available widget section and you can add it to your portal.
Can I send an email to an id and make the email go in as a comment / response?

 No. It is not possible to post your response/comment from your email. However, you can post a new topic directly from your email using the Email2Forum feature. To learn more, refer Email2Forum

Can I migrate my business from Phpbb forums to Zoho Discussions?

 Yes. We do have experience in migrtaing our ZohoForums from PhpBB to Zoho Discussions. However, you must contact support@zohodiscussions.com to migrate your business to Zoho Discussions.

My Area

Can I reply to my watch list email and get the response posted?

 No. It is not possible to post your response by replying to the watch list mail. You must go to the corresponding topic to post your response. However, we have added this feature in our road map list and will be implemented in near future.

How do I increase the number of posts shown per page?

 You can set a maximum of 25 or 50 posts per page.

To increase the number of posts per page:
  • Go to My Area > Preferences section.
  • Set the Posts per page option to 25 or 50, as per your requirement.
  • Click on Save
How do I to set my defautl view mode to "quick view"?

 Please follow the below steps to set your default view:
  • Goto My Area > Preferences section.
  • Set the Default topic view to Quick View.
  • Click on Save
    Your topic view is now changed to quick view.

Moderation

What is moderation and what are the roles of a moderator?

Moderating is the process of controlling topics and its associated information. Zoho Discussions allows you (administrators) to assign moderators to your portal, to moderate topics and users.
  • Moderate topics: All responses and comments made to the moderated topic will be published, only if the moderator approves it.
  • Moderate Users: Any post (topics, reply, comment) made by the moderated user will be published, only if the moderator approves it. It can be in forum level and portal level.
In addition, moderators are also responsible to approve/delete spam posts, inappropriate posts, restore/delete trash items.

I am not logged in and don't see the topic I posted, what must I do?

Ans: Please log into Zoho Discussions and check for your topic. If still the same issue persists, there is a possibility that the specific topic might be pending for your moderator's approval. Please contact your moderator/administrator to get your topic posted.

Why do I see a "topic awaiting moderation" note whenever I try to respond?

 This could be due to one of the reasons below:
  • The specific topic to which you would try responding might be under moderation.
  • You might be moderated by your portal administrator or moderator (or)
  • The forum in which the topic is posted might be under moderation. In this case, all posts made for the first time by any user will be pending for moderation.

    So, please contact your administrator or moderator to get your topic posted.














 


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