By using the View and As options found just above the messages within the topic/thread, you can choose between six different possible formats for reading topics/threads.

There are three possible views:

• Simple: Displays only the subject line of each message.
• Summary: Displays the subject of the messages as well as a short snippet of the message body.
• Expanded: Displays each message in the topic/thread in full for easy scanning.

Each topic/thread can be seen in either Threaded or Msg List format. Both of these formats can be used in combination with the three views outlined above.

• Threaded: Displays the topic/thread so you can see the relationship between messages with only the subject lines displayed. Clicking a message subject displays the complete message at the top of the page.
• Msg List: Ignores the parent/child relationship of the thread and simply displays the messages in a sorted list. The default sort order is reverse chronological by posting date, but you can sort any of the columns by clicking the heading of each column. Clicking a message subject displays the full message at the top of the page.

Try out different combinations of views until you find the one that suits you. You can even save your favourite combination in the Message Boards Settings.