The Options Manager interface allows the board administrator to configure a discussion board to their own needs and specifications. It is in the Options Manager that e-mail notification is configured, basic settings regarding posting and access are set up, and over 150 other choices can be made to invoke or disable program features.

Because of the number of options available, the Options Manager has been divided into two separate "views" -- basic and advanced.

The basic view, which is presented in all new Discus installations, allows the board administrator to accept defaults for many more advanced options, while providing the ability for the administrator to access and change many of the most commonly changed items. For most administrators, the basic view will suffice for a very long time, if not indefinitely.

The advanced view presents all possible options settings that are available within Discus and Discus Pro. All 150+ settable options are available within the advanced interface.

Upon the very first access to a Discus board running version 4.0, the Options Manager screen gives two choices, which are to configure defaults and begin, or to switch to advanced view. DiscusWare strongly suggests that new board administrators begin with the basic view.

To get started, click the "Configure Defaults and Begin..." button. This will put you in the Basic tab.