Manage discussions in myCourses

In this article:

Edit a forum or topic

1. Click Discussions on your course Navigation Bar.

2. Click the arrow beside the name of the forum or topic you want to edit and select Edit.

3. Make your changes.

4. Click Save.

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Edit a thread or message

1. On the main Discussions page, click the name of the topic containing the message you want to edit.

2. Click the arrow beside the name of the thread and select Edit Thread.
   OR

   Click the name of the thread containing the message you want to edit. Then click the arrow beside the name of the message author and select Edit Post.

3. Make your changes.

4. Click Update.

Click the arrow beside the name of the message author and select View Post History to view a log of all edits made to the message.

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Pin a thread

You can pin a thread at the top of a forum so that it remains in place; all new threads posted will appear below the pinned thread. To pin a thread:

1. Select the dropdown arrow beside the message or thread to be pinned.

2. Select Pin Thread.

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Edit the availability and release conditions of a forum or topic

On the main Discussions page, click the arrow beside the name of the forum or topic and select Edit.

Availability

1. Under the Restrictions tab you can select Hide from Users or in the Availability section add a Start Date and  End Date. You can display the Start and End Dates of the Discussion post by selecting Display in Calendar.

2. Click Save and Close.

Release conditions

Under the Restrictions tab in the Release Conditions section you can create or select existing release conditions and associate them to the Forum or Topic.

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Lock a forum or topic

Locking a forum or topic restricts students ability to post messages but they can still view messages.

1. On the main Discussions page, click the arrow beside the name of the forum or topic and select Edit.

2. Under Locking Options, click Show locking options.

3. Select Lock forum/topic (or select Unlock forum/topic for a specific date range and choose an End Date when the forum or topic will be locked).

4. Click Save and Close.

To unlock a forum or topic, repeat the steps above and select Unlock forum/topic.

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Copy a forum

Copying a forum creates a new forum with the same properties as the original one. You can choose to copy the forum’s topics as well as any pinned messages (a message that has been pinned will always be displayed at the top of the list of messages). Copying a forum does not copy messages inside the forum’s topics. However, you can copy or move individual messages from existing topics once the new topics are created.

1. On the main Discussions page, click More Actions and select Copy.

2. Select Copy a Forum.

3. From the Forum to Copy drop-down menu, select the forum you want to copy.

4. In the New Forum Title field, type a name for the new forum.

5. Select the options you want:

   • Copy topics: Select this option to copy all of the topics inside the forum; new topics are created with the same titles and properties as the existing ones.

   • Copy pinned messages: If you choose to copy topics, select this option to copy pinned messages within those topics. If you use pinned messages to post information about a topic (e.g., rules, evaluation criteria), you might want to copy these messages along with the topics.

6. Click Copy.

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Copy a topic

Copying a topic creates a new topic with the same properties as the original one. Links to grade items are not copied. You can choose to copy pinned messages along with the topic. Copying a topic does not copy messages inside the topic. However, you can copy or move individual messages from inside the existing topic once the new topic is created.

1. On the main Discussions page, click More Actions and select Copy.

2. Click Copy a Topic.

3. From the Forum to Copy drop-down list, select the forum containing the topic you want to copy.

4. From the Topic to Copy drop-down list, select the topic you want to copy.

5. In the New Topic Title field, type a name for the new topic.

6. From the Copy Destination list, select the checkbox beside each forum you want to copy the topic into. If you select multiple forums, multiple copies of the topic will be created.

7. Select Copy pinned messages if you want pinned messages to be copied into the new topic. If you use pinned messages to post information about the topic, you might want to copy these messages.

8. Click Copy.

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Copy or move a message

You can move a message by copying it and choosing the option to delete the original message. If a message is applicable to more than one topic, you can copy it into as many other topics as you want. Message replies cannot be copied.

1. On the main Discussions page, click the name of the topic that contains the message you wish to copy or move.

2. Click the arrow beside the name of the thread and select Copy Thread.
   
   OR

   Click the name of the thread containing the message you want to move or copy. Then click the arrow beside the name of the message author and select Copy Post.

3. In the pop-up window that appears, select the Destination Forum and Topic to which you want to copy the message.

4. To move the message from the current topic into the selected one, select Delete original message after copy completes.

5. Click Copy.

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Reorder forums and topics

When you create Forums and Topics, they will appear in the order in which you created them. To re-order Forums and Topics:

1. On the main Discussions page, click More Actions and select Reorder.

2. From the drop-down lists in the Sort Order column, select the position in the list where you want each forum or topic to appear. 

3. Click Save.

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Delete a forum or topic

1. On the main Discussions page, click the arrow beside the name of the forum or topic and select Delete.

2. In the pop-up window that appears, click Yes.

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Delete a thread or message

1. On the main Discussions page, click the name of topic that contains the message you wish to delete.

2. Click the arrow beside the name of the thread and select Delete Thread.

   OR

   Click the name of the thread containing the message you want to delete. Then click the arrow beside the name of the message author and select Delete Post.

3. In the pop-up window that appears, click Yes.

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Restore a forum or topic

1. On the main Discussions page, click More Actions and select Restore.

2. Click Restore beside the forum or topic you want to restore.

3. In the pop-up window that appears, click Yes.

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Restore a thread or message

1. On the main Discussions page, click Settings in the top-right corner of the page.

2. Select the checkbox beside Display deleted posts and click Save.

3. Navigate to the location of the deleted thread or message you want to restore. Deleted posts will appear with a blue background.

4. (Optional) Click Show deleted post to review the text of the deleted message.

5. Click Restore Thread or Restore Post within the deleted thread or message.

6. In the pop-up window that appears, click Yes.

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