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FAQ: Private Messages (PMs)

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FAQ: Private Messages (PMs)

Postby Forum Admin » Fri Jun 17, 2016 9:33 am

Private Messages -- you can PM someone by clicking on the envelope icon below their avatar/username or via the Private Messages option under MY CONTROL PANEL > Overview menu.
Screen Shot 2016-06-17 at 09.30.15.png

The MCP button/link only shows in the grey nav bar above the top of the Forum when you are logged into the site.
Screen Shot 2016-06-17 at 09.28.29.png

Sent vs Outbox PM folders -- how they work
For the record, whenever you send someone a Private Message, it remains in your Outbox. Once that person has read your message, it automatically moves to your Sent folder.

You can leave it in Sent, move it to a different user-created subfolder, or delete it. Everyone has a limit of 2000 PMs, so it's worth clearing them out every now and then.
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Re: Forum FAQ: Private Messages > Board Preferences

Postby Forum Admin » Fri Jun 17, 2016 9:40 am

It's a good idea to check your current settings for Private Messages available under the MY CONTROL PANEL>Overview>Board Preferences screen, as shown below (click for larger image).
Screen Shot 2016-06-17 at 09.10.34.png
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Private Messages - Inbox

Postby Forum Admin » Fri Jun 17, 2016 10:08 am

Screen Shot 2016-06-17 at 10.02.00.png


It's perhaps not obvious that those two grey buttons across the top actually open drop-down menus, and that when you select the left grey button the options on the right button's menu change in context (with your left button menu choice).

The Inbox option is located under 'Compose message'.
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Private Messages: export CSV/XML/Excel

Postby Forum Admin » Fri Jun 17, 2016 11:04 am

And one beautiful additional feature that you may or may not find useful, is the ability to Export your PMs in the following formats:

1. CSV
2. XML
3. CSV (Excel)

You'll find the options on the drop down selector when on the PM pages.
Screen Shot 2016-06-17 at 10.50.02.png


It's a great way of keeping offline archives (not possible in the old forum) as PMs are limited here to 1,999 Inbox, Drafts and Sent/Outbox messages. You can also easily PM multiple members by adding them as Friends. The XML export is searchable in any text editor/Word processor. Very useful. :D

You can create rules too to auto-move incoming PMs to folders you create, or to an archive folder so that your Inbox doesn't get overly cluttered.
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Re: FAQ: Private Messages

Postby Eddy Deegan » Sat Jul 02, 2016 2:34 am

Sorry if I've missed something here, but what's the difference between 'Outbox' and 'Sent Messages'? In a mail client, the former usually means messages pending for sending that haven't been sent yet.

I've sent a couple of PMs from the new forum which steadfastly remain in 'Outbox' and show as 'sent' in the message header so I'm guessing they did get sent, but still a little bemused by the presence of 'Out' vs, 'Sent', especially as 'Outbox' contains at least one message I sent significantly prior to the forum change, but all the rest are in 'Sent Messages'.

Can we get a clarification?

Cheers :)
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PM Outbox vs Sent ?

Postby Forum Admin » Sat Jul 02, 2016 9:31 am

Eddy, I can't give a definitive answer. But there could easily have been a glitch in the massive re-import sync process from the old forum and at any point when the forum was having code pushes.

I suspect that the Outbox is a holding folder for unfinished/unsent PMs that you've started and saved as a 'Draft PM'.

I too have just one 'sent' PM reply in my Outbox and all the rest in the Sent folder. I'll bookmark this topic and try to find out a better answer for you.
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Re: FAQ: Private Messages

Postby Jumpeyspyder » Sat Jul 02, 2016 9:52 am

I have two messages in my Outbox
(one is pre new site, one post changes)

I assumed outbox is where PMs sit until they are read by the recipient.
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Re: FAQ: Private Messages

Postby Forum Admin » Sat Jul 02, 2016 10:48 am

You win the prize Jumpeyspyder. :clap: :clap:

Here's the official explanation from the software manufacturer:

  • The INBOX is your default incoming message folder. All messages you receive will appear in here.
  • SENT MESSAGES will appear in either the OUTBOX or the SENT MESSAGES folder. As long as the recipient(s) have not yet read the message, it will stay in the OUTBOX. As soon as someone reads the message, it will be archived to the SENT MESSAGES folder.

It could be that a PM sent in the old software, hasn't been read yet, if members have not discovered the PM functions? Might be worth cutting and pasting the contents into a new PM and re-sending, if still relevant?
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Re: FAQ: Private Messages

Postby desmond » Sat Jul 02, 2016 11:59 am

Yes, it's a fairly standard thing on forums - sent PM's first go to the Outbox, and when the recipient has read them, they move to the Sent box.

So Outbox is stuff that's still going "out", Sent is stuff that has finished going "out" and has been read.
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Re: FAQ: Private Messages

Postby Eddy Deegan » Sat Jul 02, 2016 2:09 pm

Makes perfect sense .... thanks all!
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