• Communities upgrade: Transfer of search string to forum thread subject seamless

    As you add a question to a forum (i.e. start a new thread)

    whatever you enter will invoke the site's search utility to see if what you are asking had been asked previously:

    In situations where no of the returned results is what you are looking for, your "search string" is used as the subject of a new forum thread:

    This ability is another thing that makes getting information you are looking for more…

  • Communities upgrade: "Search as you type" finds applicable forum threads while you type a question

    When you use Search, results appear as you are entering what you are searching for. As you start, you will see one set of results:

    and then as you enter more information, you will see a different set of results:

    Subsequently, when you enter all that you are looking for, you will be presented with content that best meets what you have entered:

    This dynamic result return helps you identify things that may help…

  • Communities upgrade: Search filters based on context

    As mentioned previously, Search results are based on the scope of where you are when you initiate your search. So if you are in a wiki, the results will default to being scoped to that community's wiki content:

    You can dynamically expand that to be the scope of the community you are in (which then returns content AND communities that meet the criteria):

    That can be further expanded (again, dynamically) to be…

  • Communities upgrade: More modern search interface

    The Communities Search function provides a better user experience by supporting "natural language" search for content, users, etc. within scope of the application (e.g. forum, community, site, etc.) that you are currently in, but with the flexibility to expand that scope should you want to do that.

    Once you start getting search results, you can dynamically refine what it is you are looking for to any number…

  • Communities upgrade: Search always present

    Regardless of the browser, device, or size of the browser window, search is always present in the interface.

    This provides continual, almost persistent reminder that search is a primary form of getting information and answers to questions.

  • Communities upgrade: Related and Recommended Content

    Something else that helps provide assistance in finding solutions to issues is a dialog that appears and suggests other content that could be relevant or recommended as it relates to what you are looking at. As you scroll down through forum threads and wiki articles:

    that results in

    The dynamic nature of this functionality makes it so you can see other content that could relate to the issue or question that you…

  • Communities upgrade: No more view original post

    In the activity streams, replies to posts and answers to posts are linked directly to the thread they are part of:

    So there is no longer any need to have to expand the "View original post" to see what the response is to.

  • Communities upgrade: Forum post options

    Something else to provide more obviousness is the elimination of tabs for options in the Forum post editor. All options are now on the same page as the editor:

    This makes it much easier to "see" all options available to you when creating or maintaining a forum post.

    Additionally, one of the more common questions asked by members was how to attach files to forum posts. This was "hidden" a bit in the Attachments…