This guide covers our old ProBoards v4 software. Click here for the ProBoards v5 Help Guide.
One of the many fun features of a ProBoards free forum account is the ability to link social network accounts. This allows for the quick registration of new forum accounts, quick logins to the forum and, the sharing of forum content with social networking friends. As a forum owner this can mean additional traffic and new member sign-ups. Currently the list of supported social networking sites includes:
- Windows Live
- Yahoo!
- MySpace
- AOL
Create a New Account
Use an existing social network account to quickly create your new forum account. At your request, social network accounts can be called upon to share information with your new forum account such as your email address, birth date, and gender, leaving you with just a few items to fill out manually.
To register a new account using a social network, first navigate to the forum Register page. At the top of the registration form you'll see a list of icons for supported social networks. Click the icon for the social network you'd like to reference and a pop-up window will appear asking you to login.
Once you've logged in, the pop-up will disappear and the registration form will automatically fill with the info shared by the social network account. Any information your social network doesn't provide may need to be added manually. Once the registration is filled out, click Create Account at the bottom of the page.
Logging in
Once you've created an account using the social networking feature, click the Login button at the top of the forum. On the login page, click the icon above the username / password field that corresponds with the social network used to create your forum account.
Once clicked, a pop-up box will display briefly and the forum will refresh to the main page. You should now be logged into your forum account. However, if you're not first logged into your social network, the pop-up will ask you to do so to facilitate the forum login.
Linking Social Networks
If you already have an account on a ProBoards hosted forum, you can link your forum account to your social network account(s). This allows for one-click logins to the forum as well as the sharing of forum content with your social network friends.
To link social network accounts to forum accounts, first login to your forum account and click the Profile button at the top of the page. Next, click the Social Networks link in your profile and you'll be taken to a page to choose a social network. Click the appropriate social network icon and a pop-up will display asking you to login.
Once you login to your social network account, the pop-up window will close automatically and the Link Accounts page will refresh. You should now see your social network account listed at the bottom of the page.
Removing Social Network Links
If you've linked a social network account with your forum account, you can remove the connection by logging into your forum account and clicking the Profile button at the top of the page. Then, on your profile page, click the Social Networks link to be taken to the Links Accounts page.
The social networks linked to your forum account will be listed at the bottom of the Links Accounts page. Simply click Unlink Account to the right of the social network you'd like to unlink and the page will refresh without your social network.
Sharing Threads to your Social Network
If you've linked social network accounts with your forum account, you can share content with your social network friends. To do this, visit a forum thread you'd like to share and click the Share button in the top-right corner of the first post on the page.
nce clicked, a pop-up will appear displaying the title of the thread along with a preview of the first post. Above the preview is an area where you can include a message to your social network friends. Both the message and the preview will appear in your social network profile.
Also, there's a list of social network icons in the side-bar on the left of the pop-up box. Here you can select the social network accounts you'd like to share your forum content and message with.
Additional Sharing Options
For additional social network sharing options, you'll find a + More button on the pop-up window side-bar offering up to 40 other social networking websites to choose from. You can also share forum threads over email by clicking the email button at the bottom of the side bar. Here you'll be presented with the following fields:
To: Enter the email addresses for anyone you'd like to share forum content with. Enter multiple email addresses by using a comma to separate each address.
From: Enter your email address to let people know who to reply to if needed.
Message: Enter a personalized message here that will display in the body of the email, just above the link to the thread that you are sharing.
Once you have the information above filled out to your specifications, click the Publish or Send button in the bottom right corner of the pop-up window to share the thread using the method you've selected.