View source for Category:00 User Guide to Standing Trials

{{#pagetitle: A User Guide to Standing Trials}}[[File:MainOne.jpg| 600px | right]]

=Overview=
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This is a guide for players on the aspects / areas of ST which impact your posting on the boards. It is broken down into sections with relevant links in each one.

==Guides In This Series==
If you click on "Subcategories" down at the bottom of the page, or the blue triangle next to the name of this page on the left hand menu, it will list all the sub-pages in this guide. They are:

* [[:Category: Advanced Guide to the UCP| Advanced Guide to the UCP]] - This is a guide to all aspects of the User Control Panel '''except''' the UCP Character.
* [[:Category: A Guide to the UCP CS | A Guide to the UCP CS]] - This is a guide specifically focusing on the User Control Panel CS.
* [[:Category: Advanced Guide to the Header Bar | Advanced Guide to the Header Bar]] - this gives the specifics of what's on the Header Bar.

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= Site Overview =
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This section gives you a basic overview of the site itself.  

'''Please note'''  
* Not all users have access to all features. If something isn't there for you that you think should be - then please post in our [https://www.standingtrials.com/viewforum.php?f=116 Bugs & Suggestions] forum. Thank you! 
* I use Dark Mode, so my examples are in Dark Mode. If someone wants to create mirror Light Mode images and upload them to the site, I'll happily include them here.
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== The Front Page ==
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'''Introduction To The Front Page: Click "Expand" to open this!'''
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[[File: FrontPage00.PNG |600px|right ]] The Front Page is also called the Home Page or the Portal. They all mean the same thing. It is our introduction / home page to the site. It's what you see when you visit our [https://www.standingtrials.com web address]. 

'''Very''' briefly, the sections identified here are:
* '''In The Central Section'''
* Viewing the Top Menu Bar (A)
** Accessing all the forums via the Breadcrumb Menu (B)
** Viewing information in the "Welcome to Standing Trials" box - this is the current cycle, the link to the latest cycle change information (C)
** Seeing the most recent posts (E)
** Accessing the IC Forum, OOC Forum and Support Forum (just below the recent posts)
** A list of who is online (down the bottom) 
* '''On the right-hand side'''
** Accessing your personal information. (F)
** Accessing the "vote for Standing Trials" information (G)
** Seeing information on Word Count (H)
** Viewing a list of current Prophets (I)
** Donating to the site (lower down, not on the image on the right)
** Viewing overview statistics for the site (lower down, not on the image on the right)
** Seeing who is celebrating a birthday today!  (lower down, not on the image on the right)

'''How To Find It'''
* Click the "House" icon in the far left of the Top Header Bar
* On any page, just under the header there will be a "breadcrumb" list of the forum you are in. A breadcrumb list is a list going left - right which shows the "path" to the forum you are currently in. In the example below, I'm in our "Creating the World" forum. The first "breadcrumb" of that list will always be "Portal" and you can click it to go back there. 
[[File:Portal 01.PNG| 500px| center]]
* Type in the [https://www.standingtrials.com site web address] into your browser.
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==The User Control Panel==
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'''Introduction To The UCP: Click "Expand" to open this!'''
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The UCP has a number of areas. This is the terminology that this guide uses:
[[File:UCP00.PNG| 500px| right]] There are four areas / parts to the UCP. 

I've colour - coded them for ease of access. 

*<span style="color:#80FFFF; background:#434343">Tabs - these are across the top </span> ~ these tell you the different topics in the UCP. Click on a tab to see it's sections and content. 
*<span style="color:#80FF00; background:#434343">Sections - these are down the left hand side </span> ~ these tell you the sub-topics in each tab. Clicking a section shows you the section content. 
*<span style="color:orange; background:#434343"> Content - this is in the center of the screen </span> ~ this is where you amend your UCP, making the choices for how things look and put information in. 
*<span style="color:#FFFF40; background:#434343"> Information - this is at the bottom of the screen. </span> ~ this is all about you and never changes, no matter what tab or section of the UCP you are in.

Very basically, the User Control Panel (UCP) is a place where you can set preferences for the boards on Standing Trials. You can also view and update your UCP Character Ledgers here. You use it to:
* To set your own preferences for things like light / dark mode. 
* To put information in which will appear under your avatar in posts (called "Profile Fields") - things like links to your Character Wiki etc.
* To edit information in your profile fields as they change (eg: you go up a Wealth Tier) 
* To manage your UCP Character Sheet (Guide to that [[:Category:A Guide to the UCP CS| here]] )

The UCP is found in a number of places. Any one of these will take you to it:
 
* On the top menu, click UCP
* Via the [https://standingtrials.com portal] - under your avatar, on the right (see image in section above).
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===User Control Panel Useful Links===
* [[:Category: Advanced Guide to the UCP | Advanced Guide to the UCP]]
* [[:Category: A Guide to the UCP CS | A Guide To The UCP CS]]
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==The Top Header Bar==
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'''Introduction To The To Header Bar: Click "Expand" to open this!'''
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[[File:Top_Menu_Full.png|center]]
This is the bar across the top of all pages of Standing Trials which has links to (hopefully) useful information! 

* The House icon takes you to the Portal
* My links gives you a series of personalised links.
* Lorebook takes you to various areas of our wiki.
* OOC links you to helpful OOC forums / wiki pages.
* Posts - gives you links to a few lists of posts and is where you search.
* Season - gives you information on the current season.
* Subscription - takes you to a list of threads you have subscribed to.
* UCP - takes you to your UCP.
* The Bell Icon shows you if you have any notifications.
* The Inbox icon shows you if you have any new Private Messages.
* The triangle next to your username leads to a drop-down menu if you have linked accounts.
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===Top Header Bar Useful Links===
* [[:Category: Advanced Guide to the Header Bar | Advanced Guide to the Header Bar]]
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==The Breadcrumb Menu==
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'''Introduction To The Breadcumb Menu: Click "Expand" to open this!'''
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This handy feature allows you to access all forums and subforums from any page.
[[File:Breadcrumb Menu 01.png|500px| left]]
On every page, under the header there is the breadcrumb list of the forum you are in. A breadcrumb list is a list going left - right which shows the "path" to the forum you are currently in. In the example below, I'm in our "Creating the World" forum. The first "breadcrumb" of that list will always be "Portal" and you can click it to go back there.

To access the "Breadcrumb Menu" - you need to hover over the words "RPG Forum Index" in the Breadcrumb List- you will see that this is actually a drop-down menu. That menu will follow our forum structure and will allow you to navigate to any / every forum you have access to. Click on the forum name, and you're taken to that forum.

This is a useful navigational tool and allows you to access every area of the site.

'''Please note''' You can also navigate around the site via the "Jump To" button at the bottom right of every page. 
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=Your Character=
==Your Character Sheet==
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'''Introduction To The Character Sheet: Click "Expand" to open this!'''
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[[File: CS02.PNG | 200px| left]]When you create your account the system automatically creates a Character Sheet (CS) for you. If you're not sure about creating your account see the [[:Category: Creating Your PC | Creating Your PC Guide]]. The auto-generated CS is in the [https://www.standingtrials.com/viewforum.php?f=37 Character Sheet Forum]. In there, you'll find the Character Sheet which has been generated for you. 

Scroll down past the subforums called "Approved CSes" and "CS Limbo" and past the announcements. Then, you'll get to the section entitled Topics.

In this section, you'll see a few threads which are [note="stickies"][img]/gallery/image/22459/medium[/img][/note] and then, there will be your Character Sheet.  As per the image on the left, when you first join your username will be a grey colour. This means that you do not yet have 3 approved posts and your posts (or any edits on posts) will need approving until you have 3 approved posts.  Once you do have those three posts, your username will turn light green and you no longer need to have posts approved. 

In the example here, Tessera does not yet have 3 approved posts - but Pyrre does! 

The CS itself is a guide to how to fill it in. It has links for each section. Most of those link to the [[:Category: Creating Your PC| Creating Your PC]] section of the wiki, which has been written to take you step by step through the process of Character Creation. We're not going to repeat that information here, but instead will wish you good luck and hope you enjoy creating your PC! </div></div>

===Character Sheet Useful Links===
* [[:Category: Creating Your PC| Creating Your PC]]
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==Your UCP CS==
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In the UCP you have a specific tab entitled "Character". That stores information on your PC which would otherwise have to be kept in a ledger in the CS. It has your renown, XP lists, thread lists, etc. 

As it is an ongoing and dynamic system being developed for us by Tech Guy we  have all the information for it in the  [[:Category: A Guide to the UCP CS | Guide To The UCP CS]]

===UCP CS Useful Links===
* [[:Category: A Guide to the UCP CS | A Guide To The UCP CS]]
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=Posting=
==Starting A New Thread==
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'''Introduction To Starting A New Thread: Click "Expand" to open this!'''
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Starting a new thread follows the same process in all forums. Everything from starting a PSF ticket to beginning an IC story works the same way. 
# Navigate to the forum you wish to post in. 
# Scroll down past any subforums. 
# Just before the Announcements (which are above the existing threads in this forum) there is a "New Topic" button. Press that, and it starts a new thread in that forum. 

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==Joining An Existing Thread==
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'''Introduction To Joining An Existing Thread: Click "Expand" to open this!'''
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Joining an existing thread follows the same process in all forums. 
# Make sure that it's ok for you to posting in the thread. Is it open etc? If you're not sure what sort of thread it is, check out [[:Category: Moderation | the different types of thread]].
# Navigate to the thread itself
# Hit the "Post Reply" button 

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==Useful Links==
* [[:Category: Moderation | A Guide to Moderation on Standing Trials]] including self moderation and types of thread. 

[[Category: Basic / Quick Links]]
[[Category: New Player Information]]
[[Category: Progressing Your PC]]
[[Category: Guides]]