Creating forum topics

A forum topic is the high-level topic that you and other users can post responses to. Groups of these topics are called forums. Participate in forums to discuss assets with other users of the repositories.

About this task

Repository administrators, forum administrators, and asset owners define the types of forum discussions for each asset. These forum topics can vary from general discussions, to implementation questions, to executive strategy.

Procedure

To participate in discussions by posting topics:

  1. On the General Details page of an asset, in the sidebar, click Discussion.
  2. In the Forums section, click the name of a forum where you want to participate.
  3. Optional: If the community has a connection to a Jazz server running change management software such as Rational Team Concert or Rational ClearQuest®, configure the forum to automatically use the connection and to populate the project area and work item type:
    1. In the Change Management Configuration area, click Configure. The Configure Change Request Management window opens.
    2. In the Connection list, select the connection to the change management server. If you are not logged in to the Jazz server, a new browser window opens with the login page for the Jazz server. Type your User ID and Password for the Jazz server.
    3. In the Project Area list, select the project area to use on the change management server.
    4. In the Type list, select the type of work item to link to on the change management server. For example, on a Rational Team Concert server, select Defect, Plan Item, Task, or Requirement Change Request.
    When you click Add Resource Link in step 8.a, the configured connection is used, and the project area and work item type are populated.
  4. Click New Topic.
  5. Enter a name for the topic title.
  6. Enter a description in the rich text editor.
  7. Optional: Browse and select any attachments from your system to include in the discussion.
  8. Optional: If the community has a connection to a Jazz server, add links to existing resources or create new resources on the Jazz server:
    1. Click Add Resource Link. This link is below the Attachment field, and it might be more specific such as Add link to defect if an administrator has limited the type of resource you can create.
    2. From the Friend Servers menu that appears, select the connection to a Jazz server to use.
    3. If you are not logged in to the Jazz server, a new browser window opens with the login page for the Jazz server. Type your User ID and Password for the Jazz server. Rational Asset Manager uses your credentials to access information about the resources on the Jazz server. The user account that you use to log into the Jazz server must have a Client Access License for the Jazz server. After you log in, the list of project areas for the connection refreshes.
      Tip: Due to a known issue with Jazz servers, after you successfully log in, the new browser window might not close. To continue, close the new browser window, select the empty option from the Friend Servers list, and then re-select the connection that you logged in to.
    4. Move your mouse over the connection name and in the fly-out menu from the connection, click the Project Area where you would like to find or create a resource.
    5. Next:
      To create a link to an existing resource:
      1. From the fly-out menu from the project area, select <Resource type> Selection. The types of resources that you can search for will depend on the Jazz server and project area. A window will open.
      2. From the Type list, select or change the type of resource to search for.
      3. In the Use Work Item ID or Words Contained in the Text field, type the resource number or any part of the title. The search results are updated as you type.
      4. From the search results, select one resource; then, click OK.
      To create a new resource such as a defect in Rational Team Concert:
      1. From the fly-out menu from the project area, select New <Resource type>. The types of resources that you will be able to make will depend on the Jazz server, the project area, and your permissions.
      2. Type or select out any required or optional information for the new resource. The types of information you will have to provide will be depend on the Jazz-based server program you are connecting to, how the project area on the server has been configured, and what type of resource you are creating.
      3. After you have entered all the required information, click OK.
    6. You can only add a link to or create one resource at a time. To add more than one link, repeat steps 8.a through 8.e.
    7. To remove any links to work items, click the X next to the name of the work item.
  9. To add the topic to the forum, click Create.

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