Discussion settings

Access Discussion tool settings

Do one of the following:

• Click the Settings link at the left of the main discussions page or the top of the message list within a topic.
• From the Welcome Widget on My Home, click Preferences then the Discussions tab.

Discussion Org Unit Settings

Org unit settings apply to all users and all forums and topics in your course.

Shared Display Settings  Controls whether shared forums and topics are displayed in the discussions list in your course offering. If you clear this option, users cannot access shared forums and topics from within your course offering.

Message Ratings  Turns the message ratings control on or off for all topics within the course offering. See Rating Messages.

Topic Descriptions  Controls whether topic descriptions are displayed in the message list. You might want to turn off this feature to save space for users with small screens. Consider using pinned messages to provide explanations or instructions instead. See Pinned messages.

Discussion Personal Settings

Personal settings control the way you view messages inside a topic. These settings apply to all course offerings wherever you access discussions but do not affect other users.

Display Settings  The following display settings are available:

• Show the discussion topics list  Use this setting to show or hide the list of topics. Hide it to save space or show it to switch between topics quickly.
• Show the search bar  The search bar allows you to search for messages. You can also show or hide the search bar by clicking Show Search or Hide Search on the action bar inside a topic.
• Show the preview pane  If you are using the Grid Style message list, you can choose to open messages in a preview pane at the bottom of the screen or in a pop-up window. Select this option to use the preview pane, clear it to use a pop-up window.
• Display deleted messages  Displays deleted messages in the message list. This option is only available if you have permission to see deleted messages.

Default Message List View  Controls whether messages are displayed in threaded or unthreaded view when you enter a topic. In threaded view, messages are grouped together with their replies, allowing you to follow the thread of a conversation. In unthreaded view, messages can be sorted by author, date, subject, message ID, or average rating.

Message List Style  The following message list styles are available:

• Grid Style  The Grid Style message list resembles a traditional email reader where each message’s subject, author, and date appear in a list without the full text of the message. To read a message, you click the subject; the full text is displayed in a separate area.
• Reading Style  The Reading Style message list shows the full text of all messages in a single view. You read messages simply by scrolling through the page, without having to select messages and read them one at a time in a dedicated reading pane or a pop-up window.

Message Fields to Display  You can choose to display the following fields:

• Org Defined ID  Select this option to see ID numbers beside author names.
• Message ID  Select this option to see ID numbers when viewing messages.

Character Limits  If you are using the Grid Style message list, you can choose to display only the first few characters of each message’s subject to save screen space. Select the check box and enter the maximum number of characters of each message’s subject you want to see.

Reply Settings  Select this option to automatically include the text of any message you reply to when composing a reply.