This guide covers our old ProBoards v4 software. Click here for the ProBoards v5 Help Guide.
ProBoards mobile Android app allows you to stay connected with friends and updated on forum discussions as they develop. Offering a much simpler layout than the default web browser on your mobile device, the ProBoards mobile forum app is ad-free and only displays necessary elements for streamlined browsing.
You can purchase the Android Mobile Forum application for $2.99 USD in the Google Play store for devices running Google's Android operating system.
Installing to Android Devices
To install the ProBoards app, first launch the Play Store app on your Android device and search for ProBoards. You should see the application listed under ProBoards Inc. indicated by the PB ProBoards logo.
Press on the application listing to be taken to the ProBoards app page. Next, press the Buy button to complete your purchase. If this is your first time downloading an application from the Google Play Store, you'll be required to use a Google account to complete the transaction. If you've purchased and downloaded apps with this device before, the application will download and install automatically.
If you don't see the ProBoards application in the search results, check to make sure you spelled ProBoards correctly. If you're still not able to get a search result, you may be using a device that's not currently supported.
Re-Installing to Android Devices
Occasionally you may need to re-install the ProBoards application, either because you've done a complete restore or you've purchased a new Android device. To do this, link your device to the Google account used to purchase the application (check device instructions if you're unsure how to do this).
Once linked, open the Play Store application and search for ProBoards. When the app listing appears, select and press it to be taken to the ProBoards app page. On the next page, the Buy button should by replaced by Download or Purchased. Press either to download the ProBoards application to your device and it should automatically install after downloading.
If you're using a different Android device and don't see the ProBoards listing, you're device may not currently be supported by the application.
Browse
When browsing the ProBoards directory, the total number of forums on the directory will display at the top of the screen. Below that you'll see 15 forum categories starting with Art and Culture. Find the category that interests you, press on it and you'll be presented with a list of forums relating to that topic. When you see an interesting forum, press the listing and you'll be taken to that forum.
Search
The search tool allows you to search for forums listed in the ProBoards directory. When pressed, a search box will appear at the top of the page where you can enter the name or a description of the forum you're looking for.
For example, if you're looking for automobile forums you could enter the search term Cars then press the magnifying glass to conduct the search. You'll then receive a list of results matching the forum name or a keyword used in the description. If the results produce a forum you're interested in, press the listing to be taken to that forum or press the Back button to return to the search page.
Keep in mind this will only search forums voluntarily listed in the ProBoards directory. Due to the fact submissions are voluntary, not all forums hosted with ProBoards will be listed in the directory. If you know a specific forum you want to visit in the app, go to the My Forums area on the main page of the application.
My Forums
Here you'll find a list of visited forums. If you haven't visited a forum yet you can start by pressing the Add Forum button at the top of the screen and a box will appear asking which forum you'd like to visit. Enter the name of the forum as indicated by the forum's URL, then press OK and you'll be taken to that forum. For example, the URL to our support forum is: http://support.proboards.com - to add the Support forum within the app you would simply type in the word support and press OK.
Once you've added a forum, press the Back button on your mobile device and you should see the new visited forum below the Add Forum button. In the future, each forum you visit within the app will appear on this list to provide quick access should you want to revisit.
To remove a forum from the list, press the red -- to the right of the forum. Once a forum is removed you'll have to add it again if you wish to visit it in the future within the app.
Just In
At the top of the screen you'll see a list of icons you can scroll through by swiping your finger to the left or right. The icons represent forums recently added to the ProBoards directory with the centered icon displaying its name. To visit a forum in the Just In section, press the icon you're interested in and the app will take you there. Also, you can view the 25 most recently added forums by pressing the Just In option toward the bottom of the screen.
ProBoards on Twitter!
Pressing this will load the ProBoards Twitter feed on your mobile devices' web browser.
Viewing forums as a guest
When you first add a forum to the app, you'll be shown a default Guest View of the forum when you visit it. If you have a member account, press the Login button at the bottom left of the screen to enter your username and password. If you don't have an account, you can press the Register button to the right of the login which will open the default web browser on your mobile device and take you to the forum's registration page. Below is an explanation of forum options when viewing as a guest.
"By Category" & "By Name"
Found at the top of the first screen, these tabs are used to navigate the forum. By default, you'll be presented with the By Category view which provides a list of categories on the forum. Pressing any category name will display a list of boards within that category. You can then press a specific board name to be presented with a list of threads within that board.
Alternatively, pressing By Name will switch the view to a complete list of all boards and sub-boards on the forum. Boards are listed in alphabetical order and you can press any board name to be shown a list of threads within that selected board.
Once you've pressed a board name, the 2 tabs at the top of the page will be replaced with 3 new tabs:
Topics: This is the main list of topics in the board you've selected and threads will be sorted by most recent update. Threads are displayed 10 at a time that refresh with 10 new threads when you scroll to the bottom of the page (assuming there are more than 10 threads in the board). Press on a thread name to read posts within that thread.
Stickies: If there are any sticky threads in the board you're viewing, they'll appear under the Stickies tab. Press the Stickies tab then press the name of any sticky topic to view its contents.
Announce: If there are any announcements made on the forum, announcement topics will be listed within this tab. Simply press on the name of an announcement topic to view its contents.
Viewing forums logged in
When you're logged into a forum member account, the screen will differ slightly compared to viewing as a guest and 5 new tabs will appear at the top of the screen (Latest, Forums, Favorites, PM, More). Below is an explanation of each.
Latest
This will be the default tab displayed after logging into your account which contains 3 sub-tabs (Unread, All, Participated) as well as a list of posts. By default, you'll be viewing content in the Unread sub-tab which displays the most recently updated, unread topics. The All sub-tab will list most recently updated topics whether you've seen them or not and, lastly, the Participated sub-tab displays topics you've actually posted in with your account.
Threads on each of the above mentioned pages will display the avatar and username of members that have most recently posted to the thread as well as the title of the posted topic. The time stamp indicating when the post was made can be seen in the top right corner of each post along with a star and a set of numbers.
The number set shows total posts in a thread and the number of times that thread has been viewed. For example, 17/481 indicates there are 17 posts in a thread viewed 481 times, which will update as the thread grows. If the number box color is green, there are posts in the thread you have yet to read. If the background color is gray, it means you've already read the most recent posts within this particular thread.
The star color shows whether or not a thread is bookmarked in your account. If the star is gray, the thread has not been saved as a bookmark. Pressing the gray star will change its color to yellow and save the thread as a bookmark in your forum member account.
Forums
The Forums tab allows you to quickly navigate boards on the forum using the By Category and By Name sub-tabs. The By Category tab displays a list of top-level topic categories. Pressing a category name will take you to a list of message boards within that category. From there, select a message board to view threads within that board. Alternatively, pressing the By Name sub-tab displays all boards and sub-boards on the forum alphabetically.
Once you've selected a message board, ten threads will display per page. Scrolling to the bottom of the list will automatically load 10 new threads (if there are enough). Each thread will show the avatar and display name of the posting member and a fractional number in the top-right corner (ie: 14/120). The first number is the post count in that thread, the second is the number of times that thread has been viewed. If the number box is green, there are posts in that thread you haven't read. If it's gray, you've read all the posts in that topic.
To the right of the numbers is a star. Yellow stars show threads saved as bookmarks while gray stars indicate threads not bookmarked. Press the star to bookmark / unbookmark a thread. Below this you'll see a time stamp indicating when the most recent post was made in that thread.
You'll also see 3 sub-tabs at the top of individual message boards; Topics, Stickies, and Announce. By default, the Topics sub-tab will be active. Pressing the Stickies tab displays a list of sticky threads and the Announce tab will show all announcement topics on the forum.
Menu/forum
Pressing the Menu key on your mobile device while viewing the Latest or Forums screens will trigger a new menu that will slide out from the bottom of the screen containing the following buttons:
Refresh: Pressing this will update topics on the page you're viewing page. Refresh is particularly useful in the Unread section of the Latest tab because you can view a thread, then press the Back button on your device and hit Refresh to remove the viewed thread from the Unread list.
Mark Forum as Read: By pressing this button, all threads currently displaying as unread will change to indicate they've been read. After you refresh the Unread tab, you should have 0 unread topics.
More: The More option displays the Logout button that will log you out of the current forum; the Settings button that controls application preferences and, the Exit button that will exit you from the forum without logging you out.
Viewing threads
To view a thread, select a board from a category and press a thread name on the thread listing page. The total number of posts in that thread will display in the top-left of the screen while the total number of pages will display in the top right. If a thread has multiple pages, you may see the icons described below. However, if there's only one page, these buttons will not appear.
<< Pressing this icon will take you to the first page of a thread. For example, if you're on page 3, press this button to go to page 1.
< Pressing this will take you to the previous page of a thread.
Pages... This option allows you to jump to a specific page within a thread. For example, if you're viewing a thread that has 30 posts, you'll be presented with the following options: 1-10, 11-20, and 21-30. If you know the post you're looking for is the 15th post, press the 11-20 option and you'll be taken to the page containing the post you're looking for.
> Press this icon to be taken to the next page of a thread.
>> When this icon is pressed, you will be brought to the very last page of a thread.
Once in a thread, topic names will display at the top of posts within that thread. Posts will display the avatar of the person that made the post followed by the user's display name. Also, a time stamp will display in the top-right corner showing when the post was made.
Menu/thread:
Pressing the Menu button on your mobile device while viewing an individual thread will produce a menu displaying the following options:
Refresh: Pressing this updates the thread, displaying posts been made within the thread since you started reading it.
Reply: This option will take you to the reply page where you can post replies to specific threads.
Subscribe: Pressing this will add the thread you're viewing to the bookmarks list for your account.
Close: This will close the thread you're viewing and take you back to the thread listing page.
Create a Thread:
To create a new discussion thread within the app, navigate to the appropriate forum and login. Next, press the Forums tab at the top of the screen and select the category containing the board you'd like to post to. On the thread listing page, press the Menu button on your mobile device and a menu will slide up from the bottom of the screen. Press New Topic and you'll be taken to the new thread screen.
Once there, press on the Subject area at the top of the screen to enter the name of the topic you're creating. After you've typed your topic, press the box below the subject area to enter the body of your message. This will be the first post other members see once your topic is created. When you've completed your post, press one of the 3 buttons below the message box.
Submit: Pressing this will create your new topic which will be viewable by anyone with permission to view your new thread.
More: Pressing More will bring up a new menu with 4 options to choose from:
Upload from Gallery: Pressing this will take you to your device photo gallery to select an image to attach to your new topic. Once you've made a choice, you'll see a confirmation box displaying a preview of the image. Next, press This Forum to attach the image to your new thread or, Cancel if you change your mind. Once an image is attached, you'll see the confirmation box below the message area of the new thread. If you decide against including the image after its posted, simply press Remove to delete it. You can only make one attachment per post.
Upload from Camera: If your mobile device has a camera, use this option to take a photo and attach it to your thread. Press the Upload from Camera option and you'll be taken to your mobile device's camera application to snap a photo. If you like the picture, press This Forum, otherwise press Cancel to discard the image. If you keep the photo, you'll see a confirmation of the image appear just below the message area of the post. If you decide against keeping the image after its posted, simply press Remove to delete it.
Insert URL: This feature allows you to create a link to another website within your post. When pressed, a pop-up titled Input URL will appear. Enter the URL in the box and press Insert. Once done, the clickable URL will display in your message area once it's posted.
Insert Image Link: This option allows you to display an image in your post that's hosted on another website. Once pressed, a pop-up box titled Insert Image Link will appear. Simply type the direct URL for the image and press Insert. Once done, the URL to your image will appear inside the BBCode [IMG] [/IMG] tags thus enabling the image to appear inside your posted thread.
Discard: Pressing Discard will cancel the creation of the new topic and take you back to the thread listing page.
Favorites
This tab shows any topics you've saved as bookmarks. To bookmark a topic, visit a thread you'd like to bookmark and press the Menu button on your mobile device. Next, press the Subscribe button on the pop-up at the bottom of your screen. Once done, the topic will be added to your account bookmarks and can be viewed in the Favorites tab.
To remove a thread from the favorites tab, press the yellow star in the top-right corner of the thread. Once pressed, the star will turn gray indicating the thread is no longer bookmarked. To update your favorites (bookmarks) list, press the Refresh option in the menu that appears at the bottom of your screen.
PM's
You can view Private Messages for your account by visiting the PM tab. The top of the page will show the number of unread messages and the total number of PM's you've received from other forum members. By default the page will open to the Inbox. Press Sent to view messages you've sent to other members.
PM's in your Inbox will display avatars and display names of members that sent you private messages along with the title of the PM and a preview of the message. You may see a green vertical line next to a PM indicating you have not yet read that PM.
Sent Items content is similar to Inbox content. The top-left corner will display the avatar and username of the member you sent the private message to, along with the title of the PM and a preview of the message. A green line to the left of a sent PM indicates the recipient has not yet read your message.
Sending a PM
You can send a new private message to another member by pressing the Menu button on your mobile device. On the slide out menu at the bottom of your screen, press New PM and you'll be taken to the PM posting page which is separated into three parts: To:, Subject and the message area.
In the To: field, enter the username (not display name) of the member(s) you're sending the message to. Add a semicolon between usernames to send to multiple members. Next, type the subject of the PM in the Subject line. Finally, press the message area to bring up the keyboard and begin typing the message of your PM. Press Submit to send the PM or Discard to cancel and be returned to the PM tab.
More:
The More tab at the top of the screen has 3 additional features: Profile allowing you to view your account profile, Who's Online which allows you to see which members are currently online on the forum, and Search which enables you to search for posts on the forum.
Profile: Pressing this option will take you to your account profile which is split into three parts. The top displays your avatar as well as your display name.
The middle area, labeled Statistics, displays 2 options: View (Your Display Name)'s Posts, and View (Your Display Name)'s Topics. Pressing the first option will take you to a page displaying the twenty most recent posts you've made on the forum. The second takes you to a page displaying the twenty most recent topics.
The bottom area, labeled About Me, displays your total post count on the forum as well as the date you created your account. Once you’re done viewing your profile, press the Back button to be taken back to the More tab.
Who's Online: Displayed at the top of the screen is a count of members online as well as the number of guests visiting the forum. Below this you'll see a complete list of these members along with their avatars and display names. Press on member listings to be taken to specific user profiles.
On the member's profile page, you'll see their avatar and display name at the top of the page. If the member is currently online, a green dot will display before the member's display name. In the center of the page, you'll see a link to both posts and topics created by this member. At the bottom of the page is the total post count created by them member and the date they registered their account. Press the Back button on your mobile device to be taken back to the Who's Online page.
Search: When pressed, a search bar will display at the top of the screen. Type in keywords you'd like to search the forum for and press the magnifying glass icon. You'll receive results back for any posts containing the terms you seek.
Settings:
The ProBoards Android Mobile application has it's own Settings page to allow you to customize the app more to your liking. Accessing Settings depends on where you are within the application. From the main screen of the application, where the Proboards on Twitter! option is, press the Menu button on your mobile device and a Settings button will pop-up from the bottom of the screen.
Alternatively, if you're browsing a forum, you can access Settings by first pressing the Menu button on your mobile device, then the More option on the menu that appears at the bottom of your screen. A new screen will appear displaying the Settings option. Press this to access the application's Settings page.
Once on the settings page, you'll see a variety of options in 6 categories labeled: General Settings, Layout, Download Location, Signatures, Threads, and Miscellaneous. Below is an explanation of each option.
Display Style: The Display Style option changes the look of the app when viewing forums. By default, forums will display in the Light style with a white background and black text. Changing the style to Dark will render the background in black with white text. If you switch styles, you'll need to restart the application before changes take effect. To do so, press the Back button on your device until you exit the application. Re-launch the app and visit a forum and you should see the changes.
Default View: Here you can set which default tab will display when you load a forum within the app. By default, the Latest tab will display allowing you to see the most recent posts made on the forum. You can change this to Forums and browse categories first, or Favorites” to see your bookmarks, you could also set the default to PM to check private messages before browsing the forum.
Search History: If you've made any searches and want to clear the search history from the app, simply press on Search History, then OK. Press Cancel if you wish to keep your search history.
Font Size: If the default font size is too small, change the font setting from Normal to Large. This will make forum threads appear in a larger font size which should make posts easier to read.
Enable Smilies: Here you can set whether or not to display smiley images that appear in forum posts. By default, smiley images will display. Un-checking the box will disable smiley images within posts but emoticons :-) will still appear.
Show Avatar: This option allows you to disable avatar images that appear next to member display names when browsing forums within the app. By default this box is checked allowing avatars to display. Press the box to un-check the option and disable avatars.
Due to the large file size of avatar images, you may want to disable avatars if you have a limited data plan with your mobile provider. Also, if you experience frequent crashes within the app when browsing forums, your device may be low on memory. Disabling avatars should help prevent further crashes.
Use 24-hour Format: By default, the time stamps displayed on a forum will be listed in the AM / PM format (ie. 1:00 P.M.). Check the box if you prefer the 24-hour format (ie. 13:00). Once checked, time stamps for posts will display in the 24-hour format.
Save Files To: This option is in reference to downloads you make within the application, such as saving attachments found in member posts. Here you can specify a folder you'd like files to download to on your mobile device for later viewing. Leave this option at it's default setting if you're not sure which folder to choose.
Signature: Signatures are text that's automatically added to messages you submit to forums. There are 4 different Signatures to choose from: None disables the feature and no text will be added. Sent from (your mobile device model name) using ProBoards is the application's default message. Alternatively, Sent from (your mobile device model name) can be added. Or, Customize allows you to add your own personalized message.
If you opt for a personalized message, press Customize and a text box will appear. Type in your message, press OK and your custom message will be added to posts you submit to the forum.
Posts Per Page: Here you can set how many posts per page appear in forum threads you visit. By default, this is set to 10 Posts per Page, but you can change this in increments of ten up to 50 posts per page.
Loading Behavior: This setting allows you to choose the display order of threads when viewing a forum. Selecting Show Oldest Post will display oldest posts first then scrolling down to the newest. The Jump to Newest Post option will automatically display the most recent post and, Jump to First Unread, the default setting, will always display the first unread post.
3G Compatibility Mode: By default, the box for this option is un-checked. Check this box if you can't connect through your mobile provider but can connect using a WiFi connection. This may correct issues with your mobile connection. Leave the box unchecked if the app connects using your mobile provider's data connection.