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# SMF User Help: Introduction

Introduction
Registering
Logging&space;In
Profile
Posting
Personal&space;Message
Searching
So you've arrived at this Simple Machines Forum (SMF)! Perhaps you've been looking at the board index or a screen telling you that you need to register before you can read it and you're wondering what to do next?
Well, some forums permit guests to read and post, some permit guests to read only and some are restricted to registered members. We'd recommend registering at any forum that you see yourself using regularly because many of the most useful features will only become available to you when you do so. Since SMF, however, is such a flexible system that few forums are likely to be identical, we will start by describing four key areas that we'd normally expect to be there for you:
The Main Menu
Supposing you've arrived here as a guest (or have registered but are currently logged out), the main menu (which appears on every page) should normally comprise five or six buttons (or text links):
Home
, which takes you back to the board index.
Help
, which brings you to this guide.
Search
, which allows you to search the forums for whatever you're looking for.
Calendar
, which links to the forum calendar (if enabled).
Login
, which allows you to login if already registered.
Register
, which allows you to register (or sometimes apply for registration) when you wish to do so.
Once you've registered and logged in, however, the main menu should look a little different:
Home
(as before).
Help
(as before).
Search
(as before).
Profile
, which allows you to make changes to your profile settings.
Calendar
(as before).
Logout
, which allows you to logout again if desired.
Forum administrators should also note the presence of an additional Admin button.
The Board Index
While the board index (forum home page) is packed with all kinds of information and links, the core of the interface (at least in the SMF default theme) normally looks something like this:
Forum Name
Category Name
Board Name
Board Description
Number of topics and posts in this board
Date, time, subject and author of last post
New Posts
No New Posts
Mark ALL messages as read
The
forum name
links back to the top of the board index.
If the
category
is collapsable (shown by the little arrow symbol), clicking the category name collapses or expands the category as appropriate.
The
board name
links to the message index for that board.
The
board description
describes the board's content, and may also include links to child boards and/or specify the board's moderator(s).
The New Posts and No New Posts icons in the leftmost column show registered members whether there have been any new posts to the board since they last read it.
The Mark as Read button enables registered members to mark all posts in the entire forum as 'read'.
The Message Index
Like the board index, the message index interface is quite straightforward when reduced to its essential components:
Pages
Mark Topics as Read for this Board
Are you sure you wish to enable notification of new topics for this board?
Notify of Replies
Start new topic
Post New Poll
Subject
Started by
Replies
Views
Last post
Topic Subject
New
Topic Starter
Date, time and author of last post
Topic you have posted in
Normal Topic
Hot Topic (More than 15 Replies)
Very Hot Topic (More than 25 Replies)
Locked Topic
Sticky Topic
Poll
Jump to
Please select a destination
Another Board
go
Some forums show the
navigation tree
at the top in a space-saving horizontal mode.
The
page numbers
link to further pages of the board, and may be accompanied by Go Up and Go Down buttons linking to the top and bottom of the current page.
The Mark as Read button enables registered members to mark all posts in this board as 'read'.
The Notify button enables registered members to subscribe to email notification of replies to topics in this board.
The New Topic and New Poll buttons are for starting new topics and polls, as described in the posting help.
The Subject, Started by, Replies, Views and Last post links enable you to sort the columns by these parameters (with Last post also toggling between descending and ascending order as indicated by the little arrow).
The
topic icons
in the leftmost column are explained by the key below.
The
post icons
in the next column are sometimes used to draw attention to the mood or purpose of the topic.
The
topic subject
links to the start of the topic, with extra links for subsequent pages and new buttons to take registered members straight to their first unread post of the topic.
Where the
topic
has been started or last replied to by a registered member, their names link to their respective profiles.
The Jump to menu provides a convenient quick method of navigating the forum.
The Topic
Sometimes referred to as
threads
,
topics
are where you find the actual messages:
Reply
Are you sure you wish to enable notification of new replies for this topic?
Mark unread
Send this topic
Print
Author
Topic
Read x times
View the profile of Author
Member Group
Post Group
Post Count
Date and Time of Post
Reply with quote
Here is the text of the message, which is ultimately what we're all here for!
Smiley
Report to moderator
Logged
View Profile
Email
Personal Message (Offline)
Some forums show the
navigation tree
at the top in a space-saving horizontal mode.
Some forums may also be configured with
previous
and
next
topic links.
The
page numbers
link to further pages of the topic, and may be accompanied by Go Up and Go Down buttons linking to the top and bottom of the current page.
The Reply button enables you to reply to the topic.
The Notify button enables registered members to subscribe to email notification of replies to the topic.
The Mark Unread button enables registered members to mark the topic as 'unread', which means that it will still be listed as new and can be effectively 'saved for later'. Note that this button changes to Add Poll in the bottom button set for users with permission to add polls to existing topics.
The Send Topic button enables registered members to send a link to the topic by email.
The Print button creates a simplified, printer-friendly rendering of the page.
The author name links to the author's profile
The
author details
in the lefthand column may be accompanied by further personal information.
The topic subject links back to the start of the topic.
The Quote button enables you to quote the post.
Further Modify and Delete options are normally provided to enable registered members to edit their own posts.
Report to moderator
enables you to report abusive or wrongly-placed posts to the forum staff.
Logged
indicates that the IP of the author has been logged. The actual IP is only available to board administrators
The Jump to menu provides a convenient quick method of navigating the forum.
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