How to Use

The Informatica Developer Network provides discussion forums in order to facilitate collaboration and information sharing between Informatica, developer partners and the user community. As an Informatica Developer Network member, you may participate in discussion forums by reading and posting messages on various topics.

How the Discussion Forums are Organized

The Discussion Forums divided into "conferences" that contain the actual messages:

• Discussion Forums - Named for the general subject to be discussed. The various Discussion Forums are listed under the "Discussion Forums" menu link.
   
• Conferences - Named for specific issues or ideas. Upon entering a Discussion Forum, you'll be presented with a list of Conferences.
   
• Messages - Posted by participants, a message may stand alone or, if more messages are posted in response, the message becomes part of a "thread" of discussion.

How to Login to the Discussion Forums

The discussion forums are open to both free and full Informatica Developer Network members and requires a user login and password. (See the signup page to become a member.) To enter the Discussion Forums, click on any of the forums listed under the "Discussion Forums" menu on the Informatica Developer Network home page. After entering your login and password you can move freely between forums without further authentication.

Some important notes:

• Both JavaScript and cookies must be enabled on your browser to use the Discussion Forums.
• The Discussion Forums are hosted on a different web server than the rest of the Informatica Developer Network web site. Therefore, you may be asked to authenticate twice - once for each web server.
• Click "Logout" from the "Member Services" menu to exit the forums and log out of the Developer Network web site.

How to Read New Messages

Here are the steps to enter a discussion forum and read the messages:

1. Enter on any forum listed under the "Discussion Forums" menu link and provide your login and password.
2. Click on any conference to see an expanded list of messages.
3. Click on any message listing text description to see the message and any replies to that message.

How to Post a Message to a Conference

To respond to any posted message and add your message to the thread, click the "reply" button to the right of the message.

To post a message on a new topic, pick a conference within one of the forums. Then click "New Topic" button toward the top of the page.

How to Reset New Messages to Zero

As new messages are posted, they will be appear with the "New" symbol next to them. This is to help you locate messages you haven't already read. By default, messages will remain marked as new until you click on "Mark Conferences Read" from the Options" menu at the top of the page.

If you would like the "New" symbol removed automatically:

1. Click "My Profile" from the "Options" menu
2. Check the "Automatically mark new msgs read" box at the bottom of the page
3. Click "Save". Messages will then be marked as read after 30 minutes of inactivity on the discussion forums.

How to Participate via E-mail

You have the option of receiving a copy of each new posting in your email and posting replies and news messages by email as well. Here are the steps to set it up:

1. Enter on any forum listed under the "Discussion Forums" menu link and provide your login and password.
2. Click on "Options" from the menu at the top of the page.
3. Click on "My Mailing Lists".
4. Ensure that your email address is correct in your profile. If not, click the "editing your profile" link to change it.
5. On the "Mailing Lists" page, check those conference that you want to participate in by email.
6. Click "Save"

Note: The conferences are listed by discussion forum. Therefore you'll need to go through the above procedure for each discussion forums that you wish to participate in via email.