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    • Registering lets you take full advantage of the community, enabling you to:
      • Post new messages and reply to other members' posts
      • Receive email when someone responds to a specific post or topic
      • Personalize your community experience
      • Post comments on blogs that don't allow anonymous comments
      • Post ideas, vote on the ideas you like best, and post comments
      If you don't register, you can only browse, search for information, and read posts. You won't be able to give kudos, vote on ideas, interact with other community members, or set customization preferences.
    • Registering takes only a minute; all you need is a Google account. You have two choices when you register. Thanks to some Google magic, you can connect your Stadia account (the e-mail you use to access Stadia) with your Community Forum account. Doing so grants you a special badge on the forum -- either Stadia Player or Founder -- and grants access to different areas, such as the exclusive Founders Hub. If you prefer not to connect these accounts, simply deny the permission when you are offered the choice during sign-up, and you're good to go.


      To register:

      1. Click Sign In at the top of any page.
      2. Select your Google account. If you have multiple Google accounts, select the account you want to register with.

        Note: You must have cookies enabled in your browser to register and to sign in to the community.
    • After you've registered and confirmed your registration, you can sign in and start participating.


      To sign in:

      1. Click Sign In at the top of any page.
      2. Select the Google account you registered with.


      3. Tip: If you're the only one who uses this computer, click Keep me signed in to sign in automatically next time you visit.
      4. Click Sign In.
    • Changing your avatar is an easy way to personalize your community identity. You can change your avatar as often as you like. Your current avatar appears at the top of the Avatar page.


      To change your avatar:

      1. Sign in to your community account.
      2. Go to My Settings > Avatars.
      3. Choose a new avatar in one of these ways:
        • Choose an avatar from the Community collection. (Choose an avatar collection and click the avatar you want.)
        • Use an image from your Image Gallery. (Click From Image Gallery and click the image you want.)
    • Your signature is text that appears at the bottom of your posts.


      To create your personal signature:

      1. Sign in to your community account.
      2. Go to My Settings > Personal Profile > Personal Information.
      3. Enter your signature text in the Signature box.
        Some communities let you use HTML in your signature. Check with a moderator if you have questions.
      4. Click Save.
    • You can tell other community members as much or as little about yourself as you want.

      To tell other community members about yourself:

      1. Sign in to your community account.
      2. Go to My Settings > Personal Profile > Personal Information.
      3. Enter information about yourself in the Biography field.
      4. Click Save.

      By default, all community users can see this information.

    • You can customize the look and behavior of the community in many ways, including time zone and language preference, text size, menu behavior, message order, and privacy settings.


      To set your viewing preferences:

      1. Sign in to the community.
      2. Go to My Settings > Preferences.
      3. Click through the various preference tabs and make the changes you want.
      4. Click Save on each tab where you make changes.
    • Communities provide a place for members or participants to search for information, read and post about topics of interest, and learn from each other. Depending on how the community is set up, you'll find:
      • boards where you can post questions and answers
      • blogs where you can read and comment on articles
      • idea exchanges where you can suggest ways to improve products and vote for ideas that other community members have posted
      • and more...

      Guests (unregistered visitors) can browse or search the community for information. Members (registered users) can post messages or comments, track discussions, and get email notifications on posting activity and other community actions.

    • You are essential to the community, even if all you ever do is read messages or articles that someone else has posted. Communities offer all kinds of contributions: posting questions and sharing answers, leaving comments on blog articles or ideas, voting for ideas you like, or just searching for answers to your questions.

      We encourage you to visit often and participate. Ask your toughest questions. Chances are someone has a solution or can point you in the right direction. If you find a solution that works, let others know and pass on your own tips and insights. You might just have the answer someone else needs.

      Remember to thank community members who have helped you. Show your appreciation by giving kudos to helpful posts, accepting a solution that answers your question, or posting thank-you replies.

      We want the community to be appropriate, friendly, informative, and fun for everyone.

      Be sure to read Google's Privacy & Terms and Google Help Communities Guidelines so that you know what to expect and what is expected of you when you're here.

    • Stadia Guides are special users who have demonstrated the ability and willingness to help others find solutions to their queries. To become a Stadia Guide, it's as simple as responding to questions with helpful and accurate information, and we'll take care of the rest! - see Stadia Guides 101
    • To post a message:

      1. Go to the board where you want to post.
      2. Click the New Message link.
      3. In the Subject field, enter your message title.
        Tip: Make your subject clear and concise, as it's the only part of the message that shows up on the message-listing page.
      4. In the Body field, type your message. Be sure to include all necessary details, especially for technical topics.
      5. Format and spell check your message, as needed.
      6. Click Submit Post.
    • Click Reply to respond to a particular post.

      The Reply Message screen is similar to the Post Message screen, with these differences:

      • When you reply to a post, the subject line is filled in automatically. You can change it if you want.
      • You can paste the message to which you are replying into the body of your reply by clicking Quote Message.

      Your reply is added to the existing thread. It won't create a new thread.

    • Yes. You can use macros to create boilerplate text that you can paste into any message. You can create up to 9 macros.

      To set up a macro for boilerplate text:

      1. Sign in to the community.
      2. Go to My Settings > Macros.
      3. Enter a short but memorable name in the Macro Title field.
      4. In the Macro box, enter your boilerplate text. (You can use HTML tags if your community allows it.)
      5. Click Save.

      Tip: To add text at the bottom of your posts, you can include that text as part of your signature instead of using a macro.

      To add your boilerplate text to a post:

      1. Go to a post.
      2. In the comment area, place your cursor where you want to add the boilerplate text.
      3. Open the Macros menu and select the macro you want to add.
    • Bookmarks enable you to list community content (boards, articles, ideas, topics, or individual posts) on a special page so you can easily find it again.

      To bookmark a piece of content:

      1. Go to the item you want to bookmark.
      2. To bookmark a location, choose (Location) Options > Bookmark.
        To bookmark a specific post, go to the post and choose (Post) Options > Bookmark.

      To view and manage your bookmarks:

      1. Go to My Settings > Subscriptions & Notifications.
      2. Click My Bookmarks.
        You can click a bookmark to go to the item.
      3. To delete a bookmark, click the check box for the bookmark and click Bookmark Options > Delete Selected Bookmarks.
    • Subscriptions let you get email updates whenever new content appears in an area of the community that you're interested in. You can subscribe to a board, a blog article, an idea exchange, or any other location in the community. You can also subscribe to a specific post.

      To subscribe a piece of content:

      1. Go to the item you want to subscribe to.
      2. To subscribe to a location, click (Location) Options > Subscribe.
        To subscribe to a specific post, go to the post and click (Post) Options > Subscribe

      To view and manage your subscriptions:

      1. Go to My Settings > Subscriptions & Notifications.
      2. Click My Subscriptions to see a list of the items you've subscribed to.
        You can click a subscription to go to the item.
      3. To delete a subscription, click the check box for the subscription and click Email Subscription Options > Delete Selected Subscriptions.
    • RSS stands for "Really Simple Syndication." It is a way for you to get the latest content from this community, along with many other sites that you visit, all in one place. With an RSS feed reader, you subscribe to web sites, and those sites feed you new content so you can stay up to date.

      To use RSS, you need a feed reader, such as Google Reader, MyYahoo, or the Live Bookmarks feature of Firefox. There are many free options. After you have your feed reader set up, you can find RSS feeds in the community by going to a board, blog, thread, or message and selecting Subscribe to RSS Feed from the options menu. There you will see a preview of the feed. Most RSS readers give you a button to click at this point. After you click it, the RSS feed appears in your reader as well as new content from that section of the community whenever it becomes available

    • A blog is an online journal written by one or more authors. Blog articles usually appear in reverse-chronological order, so you see the most recent article first, followed by earlier articles. Some blogs have comments from readers, which you can read by clicking the Comments link at the bottom of the article.

    • To share blog articles with friend, you can use any shared bookmarking, social network, or other tracking service, such as Del.icio.us, Digg, Reddit, Facebook, MySpace, Google, StumbleUpon, Technorati, or Twitter. However, you must have a valid account with the service.

      To share a blog article:

      1. Go to the article you want to share.
      2. Click Bookmark.
      3. Click the service you want to use.
        The next steps depend on the service.

    • Yes. You can subscribe directly to a blog or an article, or you can subscribe to their RSS feeds. If you subscribe to an RSS feed, you can use an RSS reader to view new content that's added to the blog. If you subscribe directly to a blog or article, you receive an email alert when new articles or comments are posted.

      ToDo this
      Subscribe to a blog Go to the blog page and click Blog Options > Subscribe.
      Subscribe to an article Go to the article and click Article Options > Subscribe.
      Subscribe to an RSS feed     Go to the blog or article and click Blog Options > Subscribe to RSS Feed.
      Then, save the live bookmark or whatever you usually do to add an RSS feed.

    • You can use any approved image you've uploaded as your personal avatar.

      To use an uploaded image as your personal avatar:

      1. Sign in to the community.
      2. Go to My Settings > Avatars.
      3. Click From the Community or From Uploaded Images.
      4. Click the image to use as your personal avatar.

    • You can insert images from your computer (this uploads the image to your gallery), from your image gallery, or from another location on the web.

      To insert an image in a post:

      1. Start a new post.
      2. Click Photo in the editor'€™s toolbar.
      3. Choose one of the image source options and follow the on-screen instructions.
    • Starting from your image gallery, you choose the image and name it. There are size limitations, of course, and a community moderator must approve your image before it appears in your gallery or you can insert it in a post

      To upload an image to your image gallery:

      1. Go to your profile page.
      2. Click View Image Gallery.
      3. Click Browse and select an image file to be uploaded.
        A preview of the image.
      4. Type a title for the image.
      5. Click Hide in Gallery (Private) to make this image private.
        Private images never appear when other community members view your image gallery. They only appear if you insert the image in a post.
      6. Click Save to Gallery.
    • A private image is one that only you can see. Each time you upload an image, you can decide whether you want that image to appear in your image gallery. If you choose no, the image is private. Remember, a moderator must approve all uploaded images before your can use them in a post or display them in your gallery.

      To change the privacy setting for an image:

      1. In your gallery page, click the check box below the image you want to change.
      2. Click Image Options > Make All Checked Images Public or Private.
    • A Best Response is a way for you to choose a reply which best answers a question that you've posted. More than one response may be marked as a Best Response, and it is encouraged to mark any which provide helpful or insightful information related to your question. When you mark a response as a Best Response, both the question and the response get special icons and links that take you directly from the question to the answer.

      A Best Response icon also appears on boards and in search results, so you can see which messages have accepted responses.

      You can mark responses as Best only for questions that you've posted (you started the thread). Community moderators can and often do mark one of the replies to a topic as a Best Response.

    • To mark a message as a Best Response, click "Mark Best Response" on the reply.

      If you change your mind or if another reply provides an even better answer, you can revoke the first selection and accept the second reply.

      To revoke an accepted solution, click the three-dot button on the top-right of the message: Options > Unmark as Best Response.

      You can choose another response or leave the question unsolved.

      A response can only be marked Best Response by the original poster, Community Manager, Stadia Guide, Community Specialist, or Admin.

    • Kudos is a content rating system that lets you vote for the messages you think are the most useful or important.

      When you give kudos to a message, you are giving a thumbs-up for good content and a pat on the back to its author. Your kudos help to boost the value of certain messages and enhance the reputation of their authors.

      Giving kudos is as easy as a single click, but the impact of kudos ripples across the community.

    • You can give Kudos to any posts in the community except your own.

      To give kudos to a message and its author, click Kudos on the message.

      If you change your mind about the quality of the message, you can revoke your kudos.

      To revoke kudos you've given, click the Kudos button again.

    • To see whose given you kudos:

      1. Go to your profile page.
        Your Profile pages shows the names of community members who have given you kudos, the messages they kudoed, your top kudoed messages, and the kudos you've given.
      2. To see all of your recent kudos activity in an area, click view all.
      3. Click the tabs to see more info about your kudos activity.

    • There are a few reasons why you might not be able to give Kudos to a post.

      • You've already given Kudos to this message (you can only give them once).
      • You wrote the message (you can't Kudo your own messages).
      • Your community manager wants you to give Kudos only to a message that starts a thread and not to replies.
      • Your community manager has turned Kudos off for a message or a forum.
      • Your community manager has frozen Kudos for this message. You can still see how many Kudos the message has received, but you can't Kudo it any more.
    • Sometimes a message gets so many kudos that we run out of space to show the number. When that happens, you'll see a Hot Kudos symbol or icon instead of the kudos count on the kudos badge.

    • A tag is a single keyword or phrase that describes the topic, theme, or subject of a post. You can add as many tags as you want and so can other community members. For example, in a post about a mouse, you might add these tags: mouse, USB mouse, optical mouse, wireless, DPI.

      Be sure to use commas between tags.

    • Tagging is a way to help other users discover interesting posts. It's also a way to organize content in the community that you think is related. When you apply tags to a post, you add to the value by providing another way for people to find it.

    • Some users will tag posts for their own convenience in finding them later. Other users enjoy helping categorize interesting posts for the benefit of the community. Users who tag lots of posts gain status by appearing on Tag Leaderboards.

    • To add a tag:

      1. Navigate to an interesting post or comment.
      2. Click in the Add field and type your tags (separated by commas).
      3. Click Add Tag.

    • You can find messages you've tagged by visiting your profile and clicking the tag. You can also click on a tag on any cloud and look at the Most Tagged section.