I am totally lost on navigating these forums...Reloading Acrobat, Bridge, and Photo Shop Elements

Similar Messages

• Some help please navigating these forums and a little discussion as well?

  There are a few questions I’d like to post, but first I need to determine how to use this newer style of user-to-user forum. Yeah, it’s been around a few years or so, but I’ve seen it take over the more traditional message board systems like v-bulletin and phpBB. Those boards were easy to navigate, as the forums, categories and topics were presented in a typical directory tree structure (even though the built-in search functions leaved a lot to be desired).
  Now the trend has shifted to formats such as this. While some retain some semblance of categories and topics (discussions), others seem to abandon this altogether in favor posts or discussions being related via tags or keywords. Google is the worst offender – forcing the user to select up to 4 pre-defined descriptors when creating a new post.
  Also confusing is how the terminology has changed. The forums are now calling topics, discussions. But they end up containing even less actual discussion on the topic and have de-volved into simple questions and answered. This is reinforced by the use of buttons to compel the original poster to designate responses as helpful or correct answers. This I would guess is in response to the myriad of answer seekers posting questions, receiving several helpful replies and never going back to say thanks, thus, the threads become all but useless for others who experience and seek out solutions to similar issues.
  The new format also usually starts out with “ask your question here” which is just another way to say, “hey, how about at least giving the search a try before asking a question that’s been covered before”.  Because many self-contained search features just don’t work, I can see why users just skip over it. But, what they may not know is that you can use Google to search a specific site. Forum, or blog which usually works pretty well. I’ve done this on a number of occasions, only to find the response as “this question has been answered here a hundred times – try searching”. If the responder is feeling generous that day, he or she may also present a link – a google search link that includes keywords.
  So, here I do see the initial ask your question box, then underneath that, a bunch of icons that represent particular products/topics. I start searches using more keywords, the reduce them If there are too many results. This gradual decline works well for Google, but here at Apple Support, I went from over 700 results to just two by eliminating all but the two mandatory keywords. I will do some more searches and post in the appropriate section, but my gut reaction is that it would be hard to believe that I’m the only person who has ever had this question.
  So, then – what’s the best and right way to use this new forum?
  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  A BRIEF HISTORY OF ONLINE MESSAGE BOARDS
  I’m turning the double-nickel this year, so I’ve earned the right to gripe a bit. I don’t know everything, but for those of you youngsters, do yourself a favor a read up. If you truly are a techno-phile, you’ll find it at least somewhat interesting, at least enough to do a little research. Plus, this information isn’t all that old.
  The first online community I was exposed to was the BBS – Bulletin Board System. I had just bought my first PC, a Tandy, and the sales guy sold me a modem and gave me a number to call to connect to his BBS. I installed the modem, dialed the number and for the first time heard the annoyingly beautiful sounds of modems connecting. The, almost like “Do you want to play a game?”, text appeared on my monitor and I was hooked. The BBSes were local – to avoid long distance calls – and operated by those who could afford a second, dedicated computer and phone line. Usually, only one person could connect at a time – browse the discussion topics, leave a post to add to the discussion, check private messages (email) then log off.
  News Groups were the next form on online interaction I was introduced to. These required a special server running a dedicated protocol and a new reader, usually integrated in with an email client like Outlook Express. Each group was a specific topic – for example, Microsoft groups may have had a couple dozen or so groups covering topics like Windows 95 or networking, other commercially sponsored groups, or self-created groups. Like a BBS, you would log on, catch up on unread messages, respond to some and move on. It was in the News Groups where I learned how to program web pages to connect to a hosted database and many other things, thanks to the expertise and kindness of strangers. These groups soon became the territory of spammers, not to mention the real ugly recesses of the internet – international folks sharing “content” that the work obscene can’t even begin to describe. ISP’s soon dropped news groups from their services and they went away.
  By this time however, the world-wide-web was now in full swing. We no longer needed AOL or Prodigy to get on the Net, just an ISP and browser. Broadband was becoming available in select markets. Web-based bulletin boards sprang up all over, filling the void that the news groups left behind. They evolved, but kept to the simple structure and format for a good long while. As the cost of web hosting came down, and the availability of online databases went up, and open source application became better and more robust, anyone could incorporate a forum into their site with little time or expense.
  Social Media was on the rise. Sites came and went. From Friendster, to Myspace, then finally facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. The net also settled in to a short list of other content sharing sites – YouTube, Flickr, Instagram. These took over the social discussion aspects of the online forum sites. That left the forums to take the only remaining role of software and product support – both as an extension of a company’s support solution or user-to-user help and support.
  On more than one occasion, I’ve tried to engage other users in topical and conceptual discussion in these groups, but it seems that they’ve already used their energy for that keeping up with their social media obligations. Facebook groups get lost in the multitude of pages. So end user support groups have settled into Q & A, mark the answer as correct them move on. Then another person comes along with the same question, enters it into the box, sees the first ten “pertinent” results that don’t answer the question, posts the question, and the cycle continues.
  If anyone has read this far, I commend you! Reading is fast becoming a lost art. I know it’s hard to read off a computer screen, easier on a tablet. And while I live my gizmos and gadgets, I have to still at least once in a while pick up a real book. I’m perfectly satisfied with my iTunes system with the only issue being the quality of any downloaded music. It’s better than it used to be, but CD’s have superior sound. Blu-ray Disc has superior sound and picture.
  I did purchase several books from the iTunes Book Store. But why? I could have bought them anywhere and read them in iBooks, but not the other way around. I had to sell my iOS devices. And now I can’t read my books. But that’s another story, for another day.

  Slip Jigs
  Contributors here so far are the cream of the crop...
  As an overall reaction to your treatise, I agree. I also judge that you - like me - may have some experience and skill at UX design (User eXperience - usability design, for the unwashed masses).
  First, let me commend your use of the WHITE SPACE that Apple graphic designers have so kindly provided. Looks very much like a paper page full of easy-to-read-SERIF-FONT text - it is clear you have experience with design concepts.
  As a tribute, I will post in your style - although our compose pane here is not quite WYSIWYG, I am hoping that line spacing will sort itself out, if not I will remove my attempt at bucking the system - but it may time for you to get some new optics
  you said:
  " ... v-bulletin and phpBB. Those boards were easy to navigate, as the forums, categories and topics were presented in a typical directory tree structure... "
  Agree that vBulletin, etc. WERE easy and familiar - but what is this structure but lipstick on that pig - see SITEMAP | ASC  (tt2's excellent UserTip). The digital directory tree is merely an adaption of the familiar Fileroom of old... a room for files(computer), file cabinets w/ file 'folders'(folders) and files(files). Apple in the form of Jobs/Wozniak (actually Xerox, but I won't quibble) was groundbreaking in the introduction of the GUI to the masses. [see your comment on being forced to learn a new way of working... has always been thus]
  Let me add that the lack of Apple's implementation of the stock features of "Sticky" threads - Announcements, Hot Topics, etc., is a miscalculation. The CATEGORIES above the Using ASC list of threads - "Announcements" and "Community Events" - baffle me as to their usefulness as I can see neither when I click 'em, only some "filtering" of what is in the "Feedback about Discussions" (?Feedback ?about? Disscussions?) Category.
  you further said:
  "... the trend has shifted to formats such as this. While some retain some semblance of categories and topics (discussions), others seem to abandon this altogether in favor posts or discussions being related via tags or keywords... "
  Kids these days... => iDevices (generic for handheld smarty-devices of any stripe) are responsible for the VISUAL graphic design conventions... no more teensy-weensy cursor - but BIG FAT FINGERS.
  A good suggestion to submit at Support_Feedback  might be to improve the 'Smartness' of the search capabilities by REQUIRING tags to be attached by the OP (offer suggestions if they wish) AND FURTHER, allowing other users of status to ADD tags (see your ¶ #2) - my estimation of the ACTIVE SEARCH is that it is looking for matching terms in the title of a thread, but I have no proof - anecdotal or by documentation at JiveSoftware.
  additionally you said:
  "... the use of buttons to compel the original poster to designate responses as helpful or correct answers. This I would guess is in response to the myriad of answer seekers posting questions, receiving several helpful replies and never going back to say thanks, thus, the threads become all but useless for others who experience and seek out solutions to similar issues. "
  I have no experience with other enterprise solutions, but the scuttlebutt on Jive is that it is the best in the business at Community Collaborative WorkFlow Software for Big Enterprise. We here unfortunately have been given use of a mere pittance of Jive's features. Apparently the MARKUP buttons have a really valuable purpose in the complete package of Jive workflow management. Here, merely a system for rewarding helpers. The green icon goes un-noticed by most and the OPost is likely irrelevant to most individual's issue. Regarding the latter portion, you can't change human nature. Some folks just aren't team players.
  you continued:
  "... The new format also usually starts out with “ask your question here” which is just another way to say, “hey, how about at least giving the search a try before asking a question that’s been covered before”. Because many self-contained search features just don’t work, I can see why users just skip over it. But, what they may not know is that you can use Google to search a specific site. ... "
  This particular issue of "Why do folks not go to the dadgum forum related to their device/software?" has plagued me since actively taking part here. My maladies prompted ME to go directly to the forum/sub-forum where they belonged. Clearly "My iPhone is a BRICK - how do I UN-BRICK IT?" does not belong in this forum - Using ASC - but thousands of similar questions land here - it MAY be because the DEFAULT forum for un-PRE-visited forum at SUBMIT.
  The WELCOME page has the preferred path - a "Search or ask a question" field and the teeny -> New to the Community? Start Here.  link (actually Tutorials )
  -- neither of which content does anything to coach the new user in "How Do I Use This Joint?"
  Something akin to "Pick the Device or Software in which you are interested below" might at least get the visitor to the right place to BROWSE their issue. Many folks are unable to craft a TITLE to their question that even resembles their problem, much less explain it in the bodytext.
  This is explained  in the javascript:; link "How to write a good question"  - e content of which I leave open AND hi-lited in a text file ready to copy/paste, for example:
  Quoted from  Apple's "How to write a good question"
     To help other members answer your question, give as many details as you can.
  Include your product name and specs such as processor speed, memory, and storage capacity. Please do not include your Serial Number, IMEI, MEID, or other personal information.
  Provide the version numbers of your operating system and relevant applications, for example "iOS 6.0.3" or "iPhoto 9.1.2".
  Describe the problem, and include any details about what seems to cause it.
  List any troubleshooting steps you've already tried, or temporary fixes you've discovered.
  Here is how obscure that information is
  It's almost as if the confusion is by design.
  HOORAY! - another fan of the Google workaround. I get pooh-poohed by some for even suggesting going off the reservation, but it works WONDERFULLY and is FAST AS LIGHTNING with even more useful post-result filtering.
  you concluded your evaluation with:
  " So, then – what’s the best and right way to use this new forum? "
  Learn the system just like you did when you first started using a computer instead of paper. It is what it is. I have a comfortable WorkFlow established using browser bookmarks and Add-ons + Google for all searches + email notifications to sort the wheat from the chaff. Not adopted of my choosing... but at least it's MINE!! Be advised that the SiteWare employs some "we will save you from yourself, helmet-law-like features" that may frustrate you from time to time - until you discover (or are told) how to circumvent them.
  Some definitions:
  Apple Support Communities = Bulletin Board Software Site
  Community = Forum
  Category = Sub-Forum
  Question = Thread
  Reply = Reply
  Your not so "Brief History..." is clearly a good evaluation and Executive Summary. Are you SURE you're not an interactive developer?
  best regards
  CCC

• I keep trying to get MS to fix these forums

  For the 4th time in a week MS has lost my email.  These forums are getting worse and worse to deal with and posting in the forum that is supposed to about these problems is met with a deafening nothingness from MS!
  Is there anyone monitoring this forum that can get to someone at MS that cares?
  Or does anyone at MS care?
  Lloyd Sheen

  Hi Lloyd,
  Thanks for letting us know your pain when using MSDN forums.
  I just reviewed few of your previous post about forum issues. Thanks very much for posting them which are definitely helpful for us to improve the platform.
  I do understand your feeling, and I think I will also feel bad if I encounter this kind of issues. However, I would like to let you know that the development team for forum platform is trying to make the site more useful and stable, since I've been engaged
  to collect user's feedback.
  Customer is always our first priority, so we do care about users on the platform and user experience when we working on this platform. I will send your feedback(including previous ones) to the PM who is driving this directly.
  To well manage the WPF forum, I will ask our moderators to move this thread to forum platform support queue. I will keep monitoring on this.
  Thanks again for your feedback and cooperation!
  <THE CONTENT IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED>
  Thanks
  Alan Yao
  MSDN Community Support
  Please remember to "Mark as Answer" the responses that resolved your issue. It is a common way to recognize those who have helped you, and makes it easier for other visitors to find the resolution later.

• Has etiquette in these forums worsened? Or is it just me?

  Hey,
  So it's been about a year since I've been at these forums. I've been working on something non-java related for a while.
  But anyway, I was just browsing over the posts and noticed that the level of etiquette is lower than what it was.
  I'm seeing a lot more arguments or unrelated discussions going on in someone's question thread.
  I just read over a student post who posted a simple legitimate question about operator precedence. And the responses were so over-the-top arrogant. And then two posters started discussing and arguing over something completely unrelated on the OP's thread!
  I remember a year ago, that arrogance in these forums was VERY rare, and not tolerated by anyone. Under-researched questions or commonly asked questions were responded to with a link to a relevant page, or a few terms that the OP could look for. Nothing more was needed.
  And if the attitude of the OP doesn't appeal to someone, they just ignored it.
  Has it always been this bad? or is it just me?
  -Cuppo
  PS: And what happened to the Watercooler forum?

  I remember a year ago, that arrogance in these forums
  was VERY rare, and not tolerated by anyone.
  Under-researched questions or commonly asked
  questions were responded to with a link to a relevant
  page, or a few terms that the OP could look for.
  Nothing more was needed.
  And if the attitude of the OP doesn't appeal to
  someone, they just ignored it.
  I am sorry but you are wrong. This is not the way it was a year ago, or five years ago or eight years ago.
  Has it always been this bad? or is it just me?In some ways things are better. Less Goldie for one thing.
  In other ways things are worse. Look at this thread http://forum.java.sun.com/thread.jspa?threadID=5176699&start=0&tstart=0
  I would say it's fairly typical to have several of these a day.
  Here's another example from this week http://forum.java.sun.com/thread.jspa?threadID=5176013
  I mean. Come on. Vague questions. Lazy, lazy, lazy, lazy people with no clue seeking "teh codes". It's not surprising to me that there's off-topic chatter in some threads when this is the quality of so many of the questions.
  But it isn't just getting worse here, it's getting worse everywhere. More and more lazy nitwits think the answers to much of life's problems can be found for free on the internet without their having to work one iota to actually learn or do anything.
  -Cuppo
  PS: And what happened to the Watercooler forum?You've been gone longer than a year I guess. Sun axed the water cooler (aka the forum that shall not be named although the thought police are less active then they used to be) around 2002.

• Forum Glitch with copy and paste

  So I've discovered a glitch with the forums that I'm not sure if anyone else is experiencing...
  If you copy anything from the posting window while creating a new discussion or if you paste anything into this window, it causes a message to be displayed saying "are you sure you want to navigate away from this page? Your content will not be saved." when you press the Post Message button.
  I have a habit of hitting select all and copy when I'm making posts just incase anything goes wrong. If I do that on these forums, I cannot post and loose all of my info.
  If I try to paste in a link from the clipboard, the same thing happens.
  I thought this is something quite serious that I should bring to everyone's attention.
  This happens in both IE 8 and Firefox 3.5.7

  function(){return A.apply(null,[this].concat($A(arguments)))}
  John Joslin wrote:
  TorQue[MoD] wrote:
  Also, where's the Logout button?
  Top of the page.
  Not always. The one at th
  e right of this page is always there
  , and works:
  http://forums.adobe.com/index.jspa
  Extra linefeeds kindly provided by the software.

• These Forums Make IE Navigation go SLOW

  I am not talking about going to new forum pages, or to a link in a page
  I am talking about navigation within IE itself
  When I first start IE (have to use Internet Explorer due to work support policy) I can click the Favorites link at the top and my list of saved links appears INSTANTLY
  As soon as I go to any of these Adobe forums, IE slows to a crawl and there is a noticeable lag between click on Favorites and the drop down list showing
  Whatever script is running at these Adobe forums is evidently taking up a LOT of computer cycles... enough to make IE's internal navigation run slow
  It is really too bad that the webx software could not keep up with the message volume and had to be replaced (per a FAQ note before the change)
  I really don't care (much) about the new format... but the scripting to MAKE that new format seems to be using up a lot of computer time

  Phos says much the same thing here http://forums.adobe.com/thread/426384?tstart=0
  For everything to work, scripting must be active
  With scripting active, the forum is SLOW
  Since that seems to just be part of what Jive is doing, I don't think these forums are ever going to get any faster

• I used to champion these forums. Now I don't give a gnat's...

  I was a contributor, a corrector, a clarifier.
  I'd write 1,500 words explaining every possible angle on the simplest of topics, sometimes revealing tricks to people who have far more experience with Photoshop than I do. I exercised painstaking detail in choosing the proper terminology and phrasing when answering questions, and I'd test everything to make sure what I posted was correct. I was an obsessive re-editor of my posts if I noticed the wording was wrong, or didn't flow well. I'd craft screen shot composites so clean you couldn't tell they weren't monitor images that could occur natively. I added arrows, and numbering, and translucent, colored-box paragraph backgrounds for descriptors, colors chosen for the best clarity I could muster. I'd bodge together difficult GIF animations and QT Movies if it would help a user understand a concept more completely.
  I was a defender, a protector, an evangelist.
  I took it personally when newbies and spammers would come in and muck the place up. I was sometimes brusque, other times gentle in trying to bring people into line with how to get the most out of their time here. I beat up on troublemakers ruthlessly, and without remorse.
  I brought the "How to Get Help Quickly" mantra to this forum after reading it elsewhere, because it was the best exposition I'd ever seen on the subject of efficient information exchange.
  I'd take the time to help troubleshoot forum problems.
  Now, I don't give a crap about what happens to this place. I'd been hoping for the best, as I had during past attempts at major forum changes.
  It's clear to me now that the planning, preparation, roll-out and fine tuning has been doomed from the start.
  Every single person involved in ramming this new system through is to blame.
  And I'm only one person. I'd guess there are hundreds of people who feel the same way I do.
  Too bad, Adobe. You totally and completely screwed up.
  I'll still visit once in awhile, because there are people here that I like.
  But as for all that content I was giving away for free—and happily, I might add—and all the cheerleading I did for this place?
  You can shove all that right up that gnat's arse and then go sit on your own thumbs and spin.
  It feels to me like you are intentionally doing almost everything in your power to discourage the type of participation I used to revel in. From slow bug fixes and promises unkept (EFF you very much, Jive–shysters) to the mere trickle of ongoing feedback and update info offhandedly tossed to us, Adobe have become slumlords, slapping paint on a building that fails to meet standard-of-living code. Sure, there are some decent new features, but they either don't work, work only part of the time, are cumbersome, and generally regarded as so slow as to inhibit any sort of lively momentum.
  I'd be ashamed and embarrassed to be the captain of this rotting ship. As a fully vested, ranking mate on this vessel, I hereby resign my commission.
  You don't deserve my help anymore.

  Phos, although I am answering your opening message, I'm not really addressing this message to you, but to everyone.
  Almost exactly a month ago, I accepted the first important job I have been offered in more that two years. I did although it had a 30 days deadline and I knew it was very difficult, if not impossible, to complete it in that time. Well, I did manage to finish it not long ago, and one of the first things I did was to come back to my once beloved forums, full of hope of being met with some important changes introduced in these 30 days.
  I am sorry to say that, so far, I have noticed only these two changes:
  1. The "Report spam..." link in the stickies now points to the correct thread, not to a locked one, something I had been asking for weeks before this 30 days interlude; and
  2. The problem for which I offered a suggestion in this post
  http://forums.adobe.com/message/1968406#1968406
  and which had received a very good solution as I reported two days later, is back here. Plus, the "Next" button doesn't work (I don't remember if it worked before the change that was reverted).
  As this forum is full of so many easy to fix complaints, seeing only these two changes in 30 days -one of which can hardly be called an improvement- was really very discouraging. However, what really got me down was reading the opening post of this thread.
  Those who haven't followed Phos' trajectory in these forums may think that he is making false pretences, or at least exagerating, about his contributions to these forums. I am one of those who can testify that he is doing neither.
  To make it short: over these so many years trying to give whatever modest help I'm capable of in the Acrobat and Reader forums, I lost count of the times I asked Phos, somewhat jokingly, to please leave the easy questions for me to answer. Each time I saw a just published easy one, I rushed to try to answer it, only to find he had done a much better job than my attempt, and had replied a several other more recent questions in the meantime. He showed an infinite patience to answer the same questions over and over again, which I admired because I don't have it and just refered the questioner to the appropriate FAQ instead -when I did manage to post before he did.
  And he did everything else he writes in his OP, never boasting about what he did and accomplished. That's why I am sorry he had to do it now, I imagine that in an attempt to put some weight to his words. Not for us, of course, but for those responsible for this unbelievably large fiasco they have so stubbornly refused to acknowledge. And we used to call a fiasco the previous one, which was nothing compared with this mess, and which was rectified!
  I am afraid that I am feeling my age, and so I'm finding that the enormous effort that too many very capable users have being putting in suggestions to improve these new forums, since the last "little fiasco" until now, to be such an gigantic waste, that I also don't feel like continuing. Had I not had this 30 days interlude with no noticeable changes, I would probably have continued by inertia for much longer, hopefully waiting for the improvements that never come, but this has opened my eyes. However, just logging in, or moving from one forum to another, is so excruciatingly slow that I find I simply do not have enough time to waste in just waiting for things to happen.
  I will miss the group spirit of the old forums, and the many persons I got to know and like and care for, although knowing that I would never meet them. But then, I am missing more of them everyday and, after all, such is life.
  Just a final thought. It is most probably true that JC has spent this week in the moutains. I would be happy to be corrected if I'm wrong, but I would say his presence has hardly been noticed, if at all, for quite a lot longer than a week. Another one of those many not at all encouraging signs.

• Posting script code in these forums

  OK, it looks like there are some (new) formatting issues with these forums when people try to post their scripts. I have been using a formatter script that converts the text on the clipboard to HTML and then wraps it in a pre tag, but there still seems to be some issues with certain characters. The following script has worked for me so far (although I don't post that much) - what other scripts or methods work for you?
  <pre title="this text can be pasted into the Script Editor" style="font-family: Monaco, 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 10px; padding: 5px; width: 720px; color: #000000; background-color: #E0E0E0; overflow: auto">-- script formatter
  property TempFile : "SF_TempFile" -- a temporary work file
  property TheWidth : "width: 720px; " -- a width attribute (deprecated in HTML 4.01)
  try
  set TheClipboard to (the clipboard) as string
  set MyOpenFile to open for access ("/tmp/" & TempFile & ".txt" as POSIX file) with write permission
  set eof of MyOpenFile to 0 -- empty the temp file
  write TheClipboard to MyOpenFile
  close access MyOpenFile
  -- convert to HTML - see man textutil
  do shell script "cd /tmp/; textutil -convert html -excludedelements '(html, head, title, body, p, span, font)' -encoding US-ASCII " & TempFile & ".txt"
  -- strip the first line (<?xml ?>) and add the <pre>...</pre> wrapper
  set TheText to rest of (paragraphs of (read ("/tmp/" & TempFile & ".html" as POSIX file))) as text
  set TheText to "<pre title=\"this text can be pasted into the Script Editor\" style=\"font-family: Monaco, 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 10px; padding: 5px; " & TheWidth & "color: #000000; background-color: #E0E0E0; overflow: auto\">" & TheText & "</pre>"
  set the clipboard to TheText
  display dialog ((count TheText) as text) & " characters placed on the clipboard" with title "Script Formatted" buttons {"OK"} default button "OK" giving up after 4
  on error ErrorMessage number ErrorNumber
  display alert "Error " & (ErrorNumber as string) message ErrorMessage as warning buttons {"OK"} default button "OK"
  end try</pre>

  Hello red_menace,
  Indeed a pre-processing code like yours is always an option for us, but from my point of view, the correct solution is for the discussions' admins to disable this meddlesome formatting feature of the new fora software.
  This new feature affects not only new posts but also the existing messages in the fora, that means it has rendered quite a few useful messages totally useless. This is actually serious data loss caused by the thoughtless software. And for what?
  After all, these discussions' boards are not chat rooms where people might want some simple input methods for fancy text formattings, but technical support fora where people frequently post programming codes, computer outputs and so forth that have many reserved symbols and notation.
  I really wish they may fix this promptly.
  Best regards,
  Hiroto

• New to mac, iphoto and totally lost

  Hi,
  Just got two macs, one ibook and one imac.
  transition from windows is not as easy as I thought. We have different users in the imac. Imported some pics in my user and some in my wife's. Set to share, but the pictures do not show in the source folder. Try everything: totally lost. When I go to the user's folder, there is a little -, and tells me i have no privilege to open the folder. How do we share the pics? is there an easy way?

  Hi bemusdan,
  follow brians advise and you should be set to go. I will give you some info to add to brian's.
  SHARING IPHOTO LIBRARIES
  Sharing libraries between users on the same local network
  You can also share a library on the same machine between users the same way.
  Sharing libraries between users on the same machine...
  -both users must have sharing enabled in their iPhoto Preferences
  -both users must be logged in and have iPhoto running
  -Remember that you can only view the other library. You can't edit the photos or play the saved slideshows or view the made books or burn them to CD or DVD. The books and slideshows will show up as an album. You can play that album as an "on the fly" slideshow. You can drag images from the sharing library to your library in the source column to import them to your library. You can then edit, add to albums, books, slideshow, etc.
  Sharing links from Apple....
  Sharing your photos between computers
  About shared photos
  Turning off photo sharing
  Looking for shared photos
  SHARING ONE IPHOTO LIBRARY BETWEEN USERS ON SAME MACHINE
  You can try one of these three methods:
  1- Use iPhoto Library Manager-the paid version
  The documentation page will give instructions on how it is done.
  2- Sharing one iPhoto library between several users on one machine
  3- Share an iPhoto Library in tiger Using ACL's
  4- I have also read about ShareAlike
  There is no other info on the site about how it works.
  I strongly urge anyone wanting to try any of the methods for sharing one iPhoto Library folder among more than one user to backup all iPhoto Library folders before attemptin anything.
  Lori

• Problem with these forums

  I don't know that this is necessarily a Safari issue, but I wasn't sure where to post it. I've got an odd display problem on these forums. When I click the My Posts link, I see odd formatting problems if one of my posts included a link or a smiley in the first few lines. Take a look at the screen shot below for an example:
  !http://web.mac.com/thomasareed/forum_issue.png!
  If I look at the source for this, it looks like the href attribute for the link gets cut off and is not properly closed, meaning that everything until the width="1%" attribute on the td for the next post's number is lost.
  I've also noticed a couple times where one page of posts will end with a number like 28 and the next page picks up with 30, but where was 29? I suspect it's probably related to the above problem.
  Is anyone else seeing this? I find it hard to believe that Apple would have left a problem like this for as long as I've been seeing this, yet I am not sure what other possible explanations there could be. Any ideas? If it's a forum bug, how do I report that? I can't find any way.
  Thanks in advance!

  ali brown wrote:
  To check for activity, instead of My Posts, you can open Your Subscriptions, where Threads with new entries are marked with a .
  Well, the problem with that is that I don't want to subscribe to every thread I post to... I don't want to get e-mail notifications that the thread has been updated.
  And Thank You, for extending the courtesy, of awarding in  Discussions, as this is not a requirement, nor mandatory, but is much appreciated!
  LOL, no problem! I sometimes wonder how some of you guys have gotten up to level 4 and 5, given how infrequently people actually assign stars...

• Totally lost about N95 GPS. Help!

  Hi. I just recently bought a N95 and I know nuts about the GPS thing. When I open maps, I see this picture of a globe with a small icon of a satellite with a cross on it (I presume I am not connected to it). When i view satellite info, I am able to pick something up.
  When I rotate the globe and then press the GPS pos button, it focuses on Europe which Im not at (not zoom in).
  Btw, Im from Singapore and im using Starhub network.
  Can anyone help me? Im totally lost.

  Hi frostshardz
  Firstly if you are using v12.0.013 or later software on your N95 it is a lot quicker to obtain fix with A-GPS feature, although an active connection via WLAN or Network is needed.
  Go outside away from buildings and tress with clear view of sky. Open slider and hold phone at 45degrees, don't cover "#" key as GPS antenna beneath it. Low cloud or rain will make satellite acquisition a lot longer.
  If you go to Menu > Tools > GPS data > (searching for + calculating data) > Position > Options > Satellite status
  This shows any number of satellites up to five - empty rectangle = not locked on - black filled rectangle = signal acquired; you need a minimum of 3 solid bars for lock-on and triangulation to work.
  Once satellites are locked on you should be able to zoom into your position provided that active connection has been set to "as needed" rather than "never" in options > settings in Maps application, to allow download of sufficient map detail.
  Happy to have helped forum in a small way with a Support Ratio = 37.0

• Off topic: posting XML/HTML in these forums

  How do you post XML to these forums? Encoding the < as > just gets interpreted as a literal, but using straight XML doesn't work because if there's overlap with HTML, the XML gets formatted as HTML. Here's an example -- if you have an XML tag called "s" (< s n a m e = " f o o " > b a r < / s > ), look what happens (because of the strikethrough HTML tag): <s name="foo">bar</s>.
  Sorry to post off-topic!
  Chris Bucchere | bdg | [email protected] | www.bdg-online.com

  Hello red_menace,
  Indeed a pre-processing code like yours is always an option for us, but from my point of view, the correct solution is for the discussions' admins to disable this meddlesome formatting feature of the new fora software.
  This new feature affects not only new posts but also the existing messages in the fora, that means it has rendered quite a few useful messages totally useless. This is actually serious data loss caused by the thoughtless software. And for what?
  After all, these discussions' boards are not chat rooms where people might want some simple input methods for fancy text formattings, but technical support fora where people frequently post programming codes, computer outputs and so forth that have many reserved symbols and notation.
  I really wish they may fix this promptly.
  Best regards,
  Hiroto

• Help on these forums

  Hi,
  Can anyone direct me to a webpage with instructions on how to use the search capability of these forums?  I just don't understand the results I'm getting following a search which seems to yield totally unrelated topics.
  Ron

  The search functiionality of the forums is a crap shoot, so don't expect much until someone that pays the bills decides some repairs are in order.  The last time I tried to use them it just gave a title list where the links only led to the first page of that forum.
  The correct place to pose questions about the functionality of the forums (or the lack of functionality) is in the Forum Comments forum, where you will probably find this topic has been raised...
  http://forums.adobe.com/community/general/forum_comments

• I have followed all the steps to fix this problem, but I do not receive texts on my new Galaxy 4 from iPhone users.  I tried everything I was told and found in these forums.  Still no luck.

  I switched to Verizon in March 2014, from AT&T.  I traded in my old iPhone4 for a Galaxy 4.  Ever since, I am not getting text messages from anyone who has an iPhone unless they WORK for Verizon.  I have deleted my phone from my apple profile and I don't own any other apple products.  I switched to an Android because I was tired of Apple's proprietary ways.  It seems not matter what I do, and I have done EVERYTHING suggested here on these forums.  No luck. I am so frustrated.  I have a very large family and almost everyone else has an iPhone.  Even if they don't, I am not getting all their messages.  I like the new Galaxy, but believe I have made a huge mistake switching carriers and phones, even though I hate Apple products.

      Welcome to the Verizon family irishlass82! I know how important it is to stay in touch and we'll make sure that you don't regret your decision! Before trading in your device, did you turn off iMessage? In effort to correct this issue, text the word STOP to 48369.
  AshleyS_VZW
  Follow us on Twitter @VZWSupport

• Polite use of these forums

  To Apple Community Forum Moderators:
  I have owned Apples for almost twenty years and periodically have found myself in need of advice on an Apple hardware issue, network compatibility, or Apple Application issue. The Apple website “recommends” that we go to these Forums for information it seems like a good idea. It has the potential to expand technical help to those of us that have a problem with using a Mac or an Apple application. However, in every case that I have accessed the Forum I have either viewed attacks by some of what I'll call the “loyal users” against others that note problems with Apple, or have been the object of nasty responses myself:
  - Early on I engaged the Forum about the difficulty of getting Apples to work in a Windows Network Environment. When I got on I saw nasty comments about similar questions from other users chastising the user for being on a Windows network. Well there is little one can do about that. The institution's leadership decides on what kind of network will be used, not an individual user. To dismiss this problem is unrealistic at best and arrogant at worst.
  - After Microsoft moved to Office 2007 and left Mac users in the lurch I purchased iWork based upon what users in the Forum were lauding about about the Suite and what Apple said about it. I found it limited (from what I could gain from being a new user) and sought out answers to questions I had. The equation editor (the industry standard) at the time could not be used in iWork. So I pointed this out on the Forum. I got flamed by this guy that said that this was not appropriate place to point out limitations. I pointed out that Apple Developers would be nuts not to monitor these forums so it would be appropriate to point out functional limitations for future versions of iwork. All I got from the moderator was that I shouldn't have posted it. Others in this thread were flamed because they wanted more functionality from Numbers. They were told that anyone who is serious about analysis would use another database program (Excel maybe? - they didn't identify what program that might be.)
  - Just recently I sought out the Forum because I have had this laptop for two years and am having to replace my battery the second year in a row. I tried to get Apple Help on this after my first replacement and did (what I thought was) everything correct. Someone else was having a similar problem. I related my understanding of how to evaluate battery performance (cycle count), and pointed out that Apple has had a problem with defective batteries (most notably mine) and that users need to watch these metrics closely. Well apparently according to one reply post I mis-stated how to evaluate cycle count (though I think I am still correct on that – our IT people basically told me what to look for.) The reply was that I had not really read the manual on batteries. Well I did, though I could have misunderstood what the battery document was trying to say. Instead of accusing me of lying they could have elaborated on why my interpretation was mistaken.
  Now in all these cases and more there are social forum communication flaws that Apple needs to be aware of. This flaw is a social pathology that is characteristic of the medium. First attacking a frustrated user is not a constructive exercise. There is a difference between a negative comment about Apple or its applications and negative comments directed toward users. A negative comment at an Apple Inc. product should not be viewed as some kind attack on all users or a violation of a misguided religious doctrine. It should be viewed as a window into a potential improvement. Apple should be “man enough” to take those graciously. This gives Apple a window into problems in either its Help Manuals or its design. Contrary to trying to stifle comments like this Apple should encourage this. (In fact after I complained about the inability of iWork to use Mathtype - Decision Sciences - an upgrade of iWork works with Mathtype.) In a similar manner Politicians in our state regularly lambast the University I work with. I don't have a problem with their attack on the Institution. It goes with the territory. I do have a problem if they focus on a particular faculty member. Apple Inc. can handle criticisms.
  On the other hand the “loyal user's” attacks or nasty comments on users that are critical of Apple or frustrated users are another issue. We purchase the hardware or software and expect it to work based upon what we interpret from Apple advertising claims. It is not working the way it is advertised. We may not be accessing the computer correctly, accessing the Help Manuals correctly, using the Apps correctly, or there may be a problem with the product itself. That is why we go on these Forums. To get chastised or insulted by a “loyal user” does not solve our problem and it does not make us want to tell other people how great Macs are. (My experience with iWork pushed me to OpenOffice - which I am writing this letter in rather than Word or iWork.)
  More importantly though it makes us very hesitant about engaging in this social forum about a problem we have with an App or hardware. Ultimately this could mean that many technical/business users such as myself will migrate away from Apple because they can't get the solution they need and the mere size of Apples competitors (e.g. Microsoft) means that user support is much more available. We can forego the nastiness by changing products.
  Now this is not say that these issues I raise are unique to Apple Community Forums. I was just on an OpenOffice community forum and saw similar behavior so this really is a social pathology that is part of this form of communication. But moderators need to be aware of this pathology if the company wants users to rely on this medium for good advice. Apple hopefully views these forums as ways to see where they could improve products or add functionality to preserve or enhance market share as well as providing broad technical support. But moderators need to more forcefully impose politeness and gracious responses to users that may not sit well with the “loyal user” part of the community. Thanks.

  Roger Coupal wrote:
  However, in every case that I have accessed the Forum I have either viewed attacks by some of what I'll call the “loyal users” against others that note problems with Apple, or have been the object of nasty responses myself:
  "Every" time? I waste a lot of time here and I very rarely see anything that could be construed as "nasty". I read through all of your postings and I can't find any response that could be considered "nasty" or an "attack". In one case you posted some incorrect information and a couple of people called you on it. That's life and it happens to the best of us. No need to get upset about it.
  Early on I engaged the Forum about the difficulty of getting Apples to work in a Windows Network Environment. When I got on I saw nasty comments about similar questions from other users chastising the user for being on a Windows network. Well there is little one can do about that. The institution's leadership decides on what kind of network will be used, not an individual user. To dismiss this problem is unrealistic at best and arrogant at worst.
  Maybe you should increase your participation. You've only posted 17 times in 3 years. If you were at Level 2 (pretty easy to reach) you would have the ability to automatically alert the moderators about any postings that violate the Apple Terms of Use. Until then, it would be better to notify the moderators via this forum about specific posting that you think are improper. Otherwise, it is just hearsay. Perhaps those postings were from known trolls or people who are otherwise "looking for a fight". People often only start posting here when they have problems and, unfortunately, they sometimes wait until they are already very angry and upset. When they start threads with an argumentative tone, it usually doesn't end well.
  I can't really say much about Windows networking. All of MacOS X uses SAMBA, so if you can access it via xterm, you can access via the Finder. Maybe start a new thread with more details and keep trying. Windows networking is very complex and SAMBA is just an open-source reverse-engineering effort.
  - After Microsoft moved to Office 2007 and left Mac users in the lurch I purchased iWork based upon what users in the Forum were lauding about about the Suite and what Apple said about it. I found it limited (from what I could gain from being a new user) and sought out answers to questions I had. The equation editor (the industry standard) at the time could not be used in iWork. So I pointed this out on the Forum. I got flamed by this guy that said that this was not appropriate place to point out limitations.
  "Flamed"? Again, I read those messages. That was hardly being "flamed". Plus, it had nothing to do with you pointing out limitations.
  I pointed out that Apple Developers would be nuts not to monitor these forums so it would be appropriate to point out functional limitations for future versions of iwork.
  Sorry, but that is not correct. There is way too much disinformation here for developers at Apple to get meaningful information out of it. If people find bugs or limitations they are usually encouraged to contact Apple via the appropriate feedback channels to improve the products. That actually happened in your case.
  No one outside Apple really knows if Apple does or does not read these forums. The official word is that they don't and I accept that. This is a user-to-user tech support forum. It is not a place to complain, report bugs, or suggest enhancements. There are better places for that. This discussion forum is meant to help end-users, not Apple. Apple is a big, multinational corporation with lots of money. They have people whose job it is to track down complains, fix bugs, and enhance products.
  All I got from the moderator was that I shouldn't have posted it.
  There was no moderator posting in that thread. You can identify Apple employee by the Apple logo under their name.
  Others in this thread were flamed because they wanted more functionality from Numbers. They were told that anyone who is serious about analysis would use another database program (Excel maybe? - they didn't identify what program that might be.)
  You are the one who mentioned Excel. Someone correctly pointed out that if you are already a user of advanced Excel features you might not be happy with a 1.0 application like Numbers. Excel is 25 years old. No one expects Numbers to match it for functionality. But it might be easier for casual users than Excel. Again, there was no flaming going on.
  The reply was that I had not really read the manual on batteries. Well I did, though I could have misunderstood what the battery document was trying to say. Instead of accusing me of lying they could have elaborated on why my interpretation was mistaken.
  They didn't accuse you of lying and they did elaborate on why your interpretation was mistaken. You provided misinformation and suggested people take their batteries in to the Apple store for a problem that doesn't exist.
  Now in all these cases and more there are social forum communication flaws that Apple needs to be aware of. This flaw is a social pathology that is characteristic of the medium.
  I think Apple is well aware of that. That is why they have a good system of moderation that they have been working on for several years. This forum is much better than anything you will find anywhere else. I'm sorry, but you have no idea what a true "flame" really is
  First attacking a frustrated user is not a constructive exercise. There is a difference between a negative comment about Apple or its applications and negative comments directed toward users. A negative comment at an Apple Inc. product should not be viewed as some kind attack on all users or a violation of a misguided religious doctrine.
  Sometimes people just want to vent. It is pretty clear when someone starts a thread where they don't really want a solution but just want to complain. I always try to give them a solution, while at the same time tearing down all their logical fallacies. Sometimes they are just frustrated and are happy to get the problem resolved. Sometimes they take the bait and keep fighting. Either I've solved someone's problem or I have provided a solution to some jerk who then won't accept it just because it came from me. Either way I'm pleased.
  It should be viewed as a window into a potential improvement. Apple should be “man enough” to take those graciously. This gives Apple a window into problems in either its Help Manuals or its design.
  Again, you are assuming Apple reads these forums. They don't. These forums are for your benefit, not Apple's.
  To get chastised or insulted by a “loyal user” does not solve our problem and it does not make us want to tell other people how great Macs are.
  I gave up evangelizing a long time ago. At this point, everyone knows about Macs. If people are too boneheaded to use Macs, I'm content to let them suffer with Windows or Linux.
  (My experience with iWork pushed me to OpenOffice - which I am writing this letter in rather than Word or iWork.)
  Really? Safari has really nice text editing features with a built-in spell checker. Also, what's wrong with Word? You are obviously a power user, why not use Office? Microsoft got their start with Office, which started out as a Mac program and is still one of the best Mac programs you can buy.
  I was just on an OpenOffice community forum and saw similar behavior so this really is a social pathology that is part of this form of communication.
  So, in other words, you just invalidated your whole thesis?
  But moderators need to more forcefully impose politeness and gracious responses to users that may not sit well with the “loyal user” part of the community.
  Moderators really only get involved when there are violations of the terms of use. Being polite is part of that, but graciousness isn't. I think if you continue to post and start answering questions you will soon be able to easily report postings you think are "impolite". Hopefully, when you get to that level, you will be able to better identify a true "flame".