By now you will have seen the new tool bar at the bottom of BANDA, this is to give you better access to BANDA features, as well as integrating with other social sites like FaceBook.

You should see this at the very bottom of your screen, please read this post to see how it works, if you have any problems let me know.




Here is the list of current features:

• Clicking this will take you back to the forum menu
  

• Social Connect: You can connect onto sites like FaceBook, Twitter...even update your FB status without leaving BANDA! Connecting here
  allows you to use the chat feature and create bookmarks for threads.
  

• This shows if you haven't connected yet - you can just click it to open the connection box
  

• Social Chat: when connected via FB etc you can use the Chat on here.
  This may replace the Main Chat Room once the private room functions
  have been tested. It will not replace the ShoutBox, which is popular and at just over £1 a month I think it should stay.
  

• Search: Use the icon on the left to select our site, google
  search or to search Wiki.com - this is replacing the other two search options. The blue icon is the default for BANDA, it shows a G if it is set to Google. Useful for Quiz night!
  

• Our Facebook Fan Page
  

• Our Facebook Group page
  

• Forum Links - to the main sections of the forum and some other useful links
  

• Share - you can share pages/threads on social network sites, add it to website 'ratings' like Digg and StmbleUpon, or email the link to a friend
  

• Popular Thread: Shows the most popular threads at the current time, including how many people are reading them now (http://www.babiesandall.com/post?f=1&mode=newtopic if you see this it means the number of people are creating new posts!)
  

• Latest Posts - does not include posts in restricted forums as this is for all users, including non members
  

• User Bookmarks: You can create Bookmarks to access threads quickly (requires social network login)
  

• Donations - this is replacing the side box, it still accepts forum donations via paypal
  

• This is where BANDA news etc will be displayed. You can hover over it
  to see a quick description, or click the title on the tool bar to go to the thread.
  

• Scroll to Top of Page
  

• Notification: When you log on you get a little pop up to say just Hi,
  or to draw your attention to something. You can click it at any time to
  see the latest notification.
  

• You can minimise/maximise the bar using this button
  

How the Chat Works

• Once you have signed in through Facebook/Twitter etc you see this screen where you can chat with people who are signed into chat on BANDA.
  
• You can also chat to anyone of your friends on Facebook.
  

• On the right 'Chat with Friends' is where you find your online FB friends (not just online in BANDA, but online FB - just like using the actual FB chat)
  

• To chat to someone click the to open your list, you can search for a friends name, when you see who you want to chat to just click their name.
  

• If you want to add a status update to your FaceBook then Click , type in your post and press
  

• To change your online status click and select Online or Offline
  

BANDA Private Chat

• If you'd like to have a Private Conversation Chat with someone on BANDA click their name and it sends an invite which the other person needs to accept (I will add screen prints later when I can get someone to invite me )