Threads

Threads will be where your primary forum content is posted. Each thread will be created within a particular forum, though they can be moved by moderators if needed.

At its simplest, a thread is created by a user with a title and the text that will make up the first post. All replies will consist of additional text (without a ticket). However, there are various ways to add additional structure and functionality to threads.

Prefixes

Thread prefixes allow you to apply pre-defined options to individual threads which is displayed before the thread title. This text can be styled in various ways to allow users to easily identify groups of threads based on their prefix.

Thread prefixes can be setup in the control panel under Applications > Thread Prefixes.

When viewing a forum, users can filter based on individual prefixes. This makes them very powerful and able to fulfill many roles. For example, on the XenForo community, we use prefixes for:

• Allowing users to select the version their question relates to.
• For tracking the status of bug reports and suggestions.
• Allowing users to select the type of resource they're looking for (add-on, style, etc.).

The prefix is essentially part of the thread title. It will be displayed with the title in virtually all contexts and will be indexed by search engines.

A thread may only have a single prefix at any time.

When configuring a thread prefix, you can control who can use it and where it can be used.

1. If you select specific groups in the Usable by User Groups option, only a user who is a member of any of the selected groups will be able to create a thread with this prefix.
2. A prefix will only be usable within the forums chosen in the Applicable Forums option.

RSS feed importer

The RSS feed importer allows you to automatically create threads by importing the content of RSS feeds. This can help generate new content for discussion on your site.

The RSS feed importer can be setup via Applications > Registered Feeds.

When creating a feed, you must choose the forum the thread will be posted into and the user that the thread will be created by. If you select the guest option, the name associated with the thread will be the author value provided by the feed.

The Message Template option controls hows the feed content will be formatted within the thread. Any placeholder tokens used in this option will be replaced with values from the feed before posting.

Batch updates

At times, you may need to take the same action against a large number of threads. For example, you may want to move a large number of threads to a different forum or delete all the threads started by a user. To do this quickly, you can use the Applications > Batch Update Threads system.

When entering this system, you must first identify the criteria for the threads you want to take action against. If you want to filter these threads manually, on the next screen, click "View or filter matches". Once you've selected the threads you want, click "Batch Update Selected".

Once you have only the threads you want selected, you can choose what action you want to take. This includes moving the threads, setting a prefix, and deleting the threads. When you have the action(s) that you want selected, click the appropriate button and the changes will be applied immediately. Depending on how many threads you're updating and the action taken, this may take some time to execute.