Creating Topics

To start a threaded conversation, you must first create a topic.

Open the Topic view, and click Link with Selection.
Select the folder in the Server Explorer or the Eclipse Explorers that contains the task that you want to modify.
Right-click inside the Topic view and choose New... The New Topic dialog box opens.
Click the Topic tab and type the title of your topic in the Title field.
Type the content for this topic in the Content field.
Use the Options tab if you want to send the topic to specific team members, assign a priority to the topic, or indicate a status for the topic.
1. Select the Options tab.
2. Click Add. The Select Topic Recipients dialog box opens.
3. Select the team members from the list, then click Add.
4. To assign a priority to the topic, select Low, Normal, or High from the Priority list.
5. To specify a topic status, select either Active or Inactive from the Status list. The default status is Active.
If your administrator created additional topic properties, you can access them on the Custom tab.
1. Double-click a custom property on the Custom tab to open the Edit Property dialog box.
2. Type or select a new value for the property by double-clicking on the field:
  
  integer, text, and real fields
  
  Value is a text box.
  
  enumerated types and user IDs
  
  Value is a list box.
  
  dates and times
  
  Value has a Date check box and a Time check box, each of which is followed by a date or time in the format for your locale.
  
  Tip: To enter a blank value for a GroupList or UserList property, click on a selected row to deselect it. When the item is no longer highlighted, click OK.
3. Click Apply.
Use the Attachments tab if you want to attach a file, note, or graphic with your topic.
Optionally, select the Comment tab to add additional notes or a comment in the Comment for new revision field.
Click OK.
This action enters the new topic in the upper pane of the Topics component.

If the tree format is selected, the topic title, your user name, and the time stamp display. If the list format is selected, the list displays the same information, but includes one additional column, Description, which shows the first few words in the topic text.