Announcements - HL Vanilla Community
<main> <article class="userContent"> <p>When creating or editing a discussion post, you can flag it as an <strong>announcement</strong>. Doing so causes it to be "pinned" to the top of all discussions in the Category (and even on the <em>Recent Discussions</em> page, if desired).<strong> </strong></p><p><strong>📝 NOTE: </strong>Newer announcements will display above older announcements.</p><h2 data-id="what-they-look-like">What they look like</h2><p>As shown below, an announcement is indicated by the <strong>Announcement </strong>icon below the discussion title.</p><div class="embedExternal embedImage display-large float-none"> <div class="embedExternal-content"> <a class="embedImage-link" href="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/DTHDXYICTOKT/annc-example.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener ugc" target="_blank"> <img class="embedImage-img" src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/DTHDXYICTOKT/annc-example.png" alt="annc._example.png" height="365" width="1273" loading="lazy" data-display-size="large" data-float="none"></img></a> </div> </div> <h2 data-id="how-they're-used">How they're used</h2><p>Most communities contain important information they don't want to become overlooked or buried as more and more discussions are posted. Flagging specific discussions as Announcements ensures this doesn't happen. </p><p>Typical use-cases include:</p><ul><li>Welcome posts</li><li>Community rules/guidelines</li></ul><h2 data-id="manage-announcements"><strong>Manage announcements</strong></h2><p><strong>📝 NOTE</strong>:<strong> </strong>By default, only admins and moderators can flag a discussion as an announcement. However, this permission can be given to any Role. Learn more about this in the <strong>Who can make an announcement?</strong> section below.</p><h3 data-id="make-an-announcement">Make an announcement</h3><p>There are two ways to flag a discussion as an announcement:</p><ul><li><strong>When creating a discussion </strong>- Select one of the radio buttons shown below to either limit the announcement to just the Category or also include it on the <em>Recent Discussions</em> page.</li></ul><div class="embedExternal embedImage display-large float-none"> <div class="embedExternal-content"> <a class="embedImage-link" href="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/HEXQU5KMFKPS/make-annc-creation.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener ugc" target="_blank"> <img class="embedImage-img" src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/HEXQU5KMFKPS/make-annc-creation.png" alt="make_annc_creation.png" height="263" width="754" loading="lazy" data-display-size="large" data-float="none"></img></a> </div> </div> <ul><li><strong>Edit an existing discussion via its (...) menu</strong> - Select <strong>Announce </strong>to display a dialog where you can select the same options shown above.</li></ul><div class="embedExternal embedImage display-large float-none"> <div class="embedExternal-content"> <a class="embedImage-link" href="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/JFFXGQLMEUU2/make-annc-edit.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener ugc" target="_blank"> <img class="embedImage-img" src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/JFFXGQLMEUU2/make-annc-edit.png" alt="make_annc_edit.png" height="298" width="842" loading="lazy" data-display-size="large" data-float="none"></img></a> </div> </div> <h3 data-id="remove-an-announcement">Remove an announcement</h3><ol><li>Click a discussion's <strong>(...)</strong> menu and select <strong>Announce</strong>.</li><li>In the dialog,<strong> </strong>select <strong>Don’t announce</strong>.</li><li>Click <strong>OK </strong>to apply the change.</li></ol><div class="embedExternal embedImage display-large float-none"> <div class="embedExternal-content"> <a class="embedImage-link" href="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/NDMXV3WZKARI/remove-annc.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener ugc" target="_blank"> <img class="embedImage-img" src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/NDMXV3WZKARI/remove-annc.png" alt="remove_annc.png" height="226" width="589" loading="lazy" data-display-size="large" data-float="none"></img></a> </div> </div> <h2 data-id="dismiss-announcements"><strong>Dismiss announcements</strong></h2><p>All users can <strong>dismiss</strong> announcements from their own personal view, <em>but only after they have read it </em>(this action is unique to each user and does not affect what other users see). </p><p>While announcements are important, many users may want to dismiss them from view after reading them to make it easier to see other discussion content. To do so:</p><ol><li>Click the discussion's <strong>(...)</strong> menu and select <strong>Dismiss</strong>. No confirmation is provided; this action is immediate.</li></ol><div class="embedExternal embedImage display-large float-none"> <div class="embedExternal-content"> <a class="embedImage-link" href="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/DI3ZG2JY9FOM/dismiss-annc.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener ugc" target="_blank"> <img class="embedImage-img" src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/DI3ZG2JY9FOM/dismiss-annc.png" alt="dismiss_annc.png" height="336" width="916" loading="lazy" data-display-size="large" data-float="none"></img></a> </div> </div> <p><strong>✔️ TIP</strong>: Once dismissed, announcements are not gone forever: they can be brought back by clearing your cookies or clearing your browser cache.</p><h2 data-id="communication-is-key-but-don't-overdo-it">Communication is key, but don't overdo it</h2><p>While announcements and other messages are an easy and effective way to share critical information with your community, you can also just as easily frustrate your members by <em>sharing too much at one time</em>. </p><ul><li>You should regularly review your announcements and keep only the most recent and important ones. Consider the poor user experience of having user content buried by an entire first page of official announcements. </li><li>As your community grows and matures, you should also regularly keep these announcements up to date.</li></ul><h2 data-id="who-can-make-an-announcement"><strong>Who can make an announcement?</strong></h2><p>All Roles with the <strong>Default Category Permissions > Discussions > Announce</strong> permission. </p><div class="embedExternal embedImage display-large float-none"> <div class="embedExternal-content"> <a class="embedImage-link" href="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/6ROHF2P9MTB7/annc-permission.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener ugc" target="_blank"> <img class="embedImage-img" src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/6ROHF2P9MTB7/annc-permission.png" alt="annc_permission.png" height="266" width="705" loading="lazy" data-display-size="large" data-float="none"></img></a> </div> </div> <p><strong>✔️ TIP</strong>: This can also be controlled on a per-category basis by enabling the <strong>this category has custom permissions</strong> option for a Category.</p><p>Check out the following article to learn more about Roles & Permissions, and how to access and manage them. </p><div class="js-embed embedResponsive" data-embedjson="{"body":"Two of the most important aspects of your Higher Logic Vanilla (Vanilla) community are Roles and permissions: Roles are like high-level categories in which your users are grouped. Each Role can be customized with a unique set of permissions to control what users with that Role can see and do in your community. 📝 NOTE:…","photoUrl":"https:\/\/us.v-cdn.net\/6030677\/uploads\/VWGAXAF5OFCO\/microsoftteams-image.png","url":"https:\/\/success.vanillaforums.com\/kb\/articles\/39-roles-permissions","embedType":"link","name":"Roles & Permissions - Vanilla Success"}"> <a href="https://success.vanillaforums.com/kb/articles/39-roles-permissions" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc"> https://success.vanillaforums.com/kb/articles/39-roles-permissions </a> </div><h2 data-id="advanced-settings">Advanced settings</h2><ul><li>If you would like to change the verbiage from "Announcement" (see below) to something else, contact your CSM or Vanilla support. </li><li>Announcements also have their own CSS class, and can be custom-styled to help them standout or align with your community branding.</li></ul><div class="embedExternal embedImage display-large float-none"> <div class="embedExternal-content"> <a class="embedImage-link" href="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/183AROQT96VS/annc-tag-highlight.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener ugc" target="_blank"> <img class="embedImage-img" src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/183AROQT96VS/annc-tag-highlight.png" alt="annc_tag_highlight.png" height="251" width="452" loading="lazy" data-display-size="large" data-float="none"></img></a> </div> </div> <h2 data-id="additional-resources">Additional resources</h2><p>Click the link below to access a video expanding on what you learned in this article.</p><div class="js-embed embedResponsive" data-embedjson="{"body":"For more information, please see:","photoUrl":"https:\/\/us.v-cdn.net\/6030677\/uploads\/GXW21TRYG1JP\/share-imagevanilla-community.jpg","url":"https:\/\/success.vanillaforums.com\/kb\/articles\/444","embedType":"link","name":"B. Front End Advanced [video] - HL Vanilla Community"}"> <a href="https://success.vanillaforums.com/kb/articles/444" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc"> https://success.vanillaforums.com/kb/articles/444 </a> </div><p><br></p> </article> </main>