Getting Answers

There's a good chance that someone has already asked the question you have in mind, and that someone's answered it. Before you post a question, search for it first.

Select "Find answers" in the search area, and type in your question, or a keyword (like an error number).

Click the search button , and then look through the results for your answer.

Absolutely. There are a number of ways to narrow your search:

• At the top of the screen, click Forums, and then select a product or solution to search in that category.

  

• Use the drop-down menu on the Search button to refine your search by product or forum.

  

• Go to any forum page, and select a version and or topic in the dropdowns, and then search. You'll be searching within your selections. If you don't find what you need, you can remove search scoping in the search results windows to widen your search.

  

If you find the same question you wanted to ask in the forum, but it hasn't been answered yet, click the Me Too button. That way you'll be notified via email when your question has been answered.

Note: You can click Me Too even if the question is answered, to get updates on that thread. You have to be signed in to click Me Too.

Posts that actually contain the correct answer to the question will be marked "answer" by a trusted community member or Microsoft representative.

You can also look for posts with a high number of "helpful" votes, even if they haven't been marked as answers yet. These may appear with the designation "Most Helpful Reply"

If you've searched the forum and you can't find a question that is the same or similar to yours, it's time to post your own question.

1. Select Ask a question in the Search area, or click Post a Question on the search results page.

   

2. Type in your question.
3. Click the search button. A short list of possible answers to you question is listed and following the list is the place to Post your question.
4. The "Title" field automatically displays the question you typed in. You can rephrase the question if you want to.

   

5. Type in any details about your question that you think would be helpful. Details like what you are trying to do, what you have already tried, and your computer type are helpful to those trying to answer.

   

6. From the Forum dropdown list, select the forum or product you're asking about. This may generate other dropdowns. For example, if you picked the Office forum, you may see a "Office Version" dropdown and a "Office Topic" dropdown. Use these to make your question as specific as you can.

   

7. Select "Notify me when someone replies to this question" if you want to.

   

8. Click Submit. Your question has been posted.

   

Note: You have to be signed in to post a question.

Yes. Just check the "Notify me when someone responds to this question" box. If you didn't provide an email address at sign-in, you'll have the opportunity to provide one when you check "Notify me."

Yes. Just click the Email updates option on any question. If you didn't provide an email address at sign-in, you'll have the opportunity to provide one when you click Email updates.

If you clicked Me Too, Email updates, or checked the "Notify me when someone responds to this question" box, a Stop emails option will appear at the bottom of the question. Just click the Stop emails option.

If you posted the original question, you can mark the question as answered yourself. Just click the Mark as Answer button.

If you didn't post the original question, you can still mark the post as "helpful."

You can go to the response and click Unmark as Answer.

1. Go to your question.
2. Click the Edit option and make your changes.

   

3. Click Submit when you are done.

   

Yes, if no one has replied to it.

1. Go to your question and click the Edit button. The "Edit" screen opens.

   

2. Click the Delete Post button.

   

If other users have posted replies to your question, you can't delete the question unless the other users delete all of their replies first.

No. Posting questions multiple times is disruptive to the forums. Just wait-someone will answer your question, and you'll be notified when it happens.

Your Profile

Click your screen name anywhere it appears on the forums (for example, in one of your posts or questions, or at the top of any page) to go to your profile.

• Your username
• Your picture (if you decide to upload one)
• Your title, if you have one (for example, Community Moderator or Guardian)
• Your stats (private to you)
• A text blurb (if you decide to write one for your profile)
• Your accomplishments and badges
• Any weekly awards you may have won
• Your access to advanced user options
• If you've contributed to the forum, you'll see a list of your posts and threads. You can sort your relevant content by My Questions, My Answers, Marked Helpful as well as seeing All Threads and Notifications.

  

• The All threads, Notifications, and Private Messages tab are seen only by you and forum moderators.
• Use the Forum dropdown list to filter your posts by the forum they were posted in.

  

• Use the sort options to put your posts in a desired order.

  

• Helpful Votes: Sort posts by the most "helpful" votes
• Me Too Votes: Sort posts by the most "me too" votes
• Replies: Sort posts by the highest number of replies to a thread
• Latest: Sort posts by most recently posted
• Views: Sort posts by the number of times a thread has been viewed

Click the Edit Profile button on your profile page.

From here you can:

• Change your profile picture
• Change your display name
• Write or edit your bio
• Add a link to your profile
• Add a signature that will be displayed with your posts
• Update your email address
• Choose to get email notifications or not
• Select advanced user options

When you've finished editing your profile, click Update.

No. You can use a picture that you own (for example, a picture of your cat or dog) or a picture in the public domain, like license-free clip-art or photographs.

Please read our Code of Conduct to make sure your profile picture is appropriate.

See "Building your reputation," below.

Click another user's screen name to see his or her profile.

Private messages come only from Microsoft representatives. Click the link to read it.

Contributing to the forums

If you know the answer to a question, you can post it in the question thread.

1. Click the Reply option.

   

2. Type in your reply.

   

3. Click the Submit button.

   

   Note: You need to be signed in to post a reply.

When you click this link, your reply will be posted with the original question at the top of your reply window.

1. Go to your response, click the Edit option and make your changes.

   

2. Click Submit when you are done.

   

1. Go to your response and click the Edit option. The "Edit" window opens.

   

2. Click the Delete Post button. The "Are you sure you want to delete your post?" window opens.

   

3. Click OK.

   

No. Forum users can't mark their own posts as an answer. Only the person who posted the original question or a forum moderator can do that.

Yes. Please read our Code of Conduct for using the forum.

If someone has posted content that is abusive, offensive, threatening, or otherwise violates the Microsoft Community forum Code of Conduct, you can report it.

1. Click any "Report Abuse" link.

   

2. A pop-up menu opens. Select the type of abuse you're reporting.

   

3. An "Abuse type" window opens. Briefly describe the abuse you saw.

   

4. Click Submit.

   

An internal moderator will review your report and decide how to proceed.

Yes. Advanced user options can help you find and review threads more efficiently.

• Use the advanced search filters to find threads that are waiting for an answer. Select one or more advanced filters to help locate questions that contain no replies, have Me Too votes, contain no replies marked as helpful, or were asked within a defined timeframe. Advanced search filters appear in addition to other forum filters.

  

  Advanced search filters must be activated through your user profile.

  1. Open your profile by clicking your screen name anywhere it appears on the forums.
  2. Click Edit Profile.
  3. Under Advanced user options, select Show advanced search filters.
  4. Click Update.

     

• Use thread preview to read posts without leaving the thread list. To open thread preview, click the chevron to the left of the thread name. The full question, up to two answers, and up to five recent replies appear, along with the option to reply or open the full version of the thread. Click the chevron again to close the preview.

  

  Thread preview must be activated through your user profile.
  1. Open your profile by clicking your screen name anywhere it appears on the forums.
  2. Click Edit Profile.
  3. Under Thread Preview, select Show thread preview in thread list to the inline preview and select the number of replies to display.
  4. Click Update.

     

Building your reputation

Community Star: The Content Creator badge

Each time one of your posts is marked as helpful or as an answer, you get a vote toward your Content Creator badge. When you have a high enough percentage of posts marked as "helpful" or "answers," you'll get your badge.

Benefits of being a Content Creator:

• Your profile will be featured in the rotator
• You'll be awarded space for 5 additional links in your profile
• A Content Creator badge is added to your profile

This is an ongoing, dynamic process. Note that this badge can be lost if enough of your posts are not voted as helpful or marked as answers.

Community Star: The Content Curator badge

When you vote a post as helpful, you have started on the path to a Content Curator badge. If enough of the posts you have voted as helpful end up being voted "most helpful" or being marked as answers, you'll get your badge.

Benefits of being a Content Curator:

• Unlimited votes per day (ordinary users get up to five votes per day)
• Your profile will be featured in the rotator
• You'll be awarded space for 5 additional links in your profile
• A Content Curator badge is added to your profile

This is an ongoing, dynamic process. Note that this badge can be lost if enough of your helpful votes are not voted most helpful or marked as answers.

The Guardian badge

Every time you report legitimate abuse on the forums, you get a vote toward your Guardian badge. When you have reported enough actual cases of abuse and accurately pointed out the type of abuse, you'll get your badge. Reporting content that is not actual abuse will not get you votes.

Benefits of being a Guardian:

• A Guardian badge will be added to your profile
• Content the Guardian reports as abusive is automatically hidden until moderated.

This is an ongoing, dynamic process. Note that this badge can be lost if you don't accurately report enough actual cases of abuse.

The First Answer badge

The first time one of your posts is marked as an answer, a First Answer badge will appear in your profile. This badge cannot be lost.

The Quickest Answer badge

This badge is awarded to the person who posts in the shortest amount time after a user asks a question and which is marked as an Answer either by the person who asked the question or by a moderator in the past week.

The Helpful Post of the Week badge

This badge is awarded to the person whose post gets the most "helpful" votes in a given week (minimum 5 votes). Every week this badge will be awarded to a poster in each forum. This badge cannot be lost.

The Most Important Answer of the Week badge

This badge is awarded to the person whose post gets the most "Me Too" votes in a given week, and is subsequently marked as an answer. Every week this badge will be awarded to a poster in each forum. This badge cannot be lost.

The Most Answers for the Week badge

This badge is awarded to the person who creates the greatest number of posts marked as answers in a given week. This badge cannot be lost.

Who's who in the forums

These are volunteers who are here to help the community. Community moderators answer questions, and work to keep the community healthy and fun.

Community moderators are members of the community, not Microsoft employees. People who make extraordinary contributions to the community may be asked to be community moderators.

Support engineers are experts who are engaged by Microsoft to answer your questions.

Forum moderators are experts engaged by Microsoft to mark the best answers, manage abuse, and maintain community health.

These are Microsoft employees in charge of a particular forum. Forum owners are ultimately responsible for the health of the forum.

MVPs

Most Valuable Professionals are independent experts who are offered a close connection with people at Microsoft. They can often answer your most challenging questions. Find out more about the MVP program.

MCCs

Microsoft Community Contributors are independent forum participants whose voluntary contributions have enhanced the online experience for others.

Microsoft Employees

Microsoft employees participating in the forums have a badge that says Microsoft. These community members may work in the forums, or they may be general employees participating by asking or answering questions.

Content Creators

Content Creators are community members who have consistently contributed excellent content to the forums. Their posts are often marked as answers. For more about Content Creators, see "Building your reputation," above.

Content Curators

Content Curators are community members who have consistently identified good, helpful content on the forums. Many of the posts they've voted as helpful end up being voted "most helpful" or being marked as answers. For more about Content Curators, see "Building your reputation," above.

Guardians

Guardians are community members who have consistently identified and reported cases of abuse on the forums. For more about Guardian, see "Building your reputation," above.

Microsoft Community Code of Conduct

This Code of Conduct applies to all users of the Microsoft Community forums.

The Microsoft Community forums are designed for individuals 13 years of age or older.

As a participant of these forums you agree that you will uphold this Code of Conduct, and are responsible for all activities and content you post/upload.

In addition to upholding this Code of Conduct, you are responsible for adhering to all applicable local and national laws.

These are your forums. Help us to keep it safe, friendly, fun and helpful.

• Be polite and respectful in your posts, and in your replies to other people.
• Keep conversation threads on track. It's okay to disagree with another user's post, but don't take the thread off track to do so. Always address your comments to the person who asked the initial question, not the other posters. In-depth discussions can be held in the feedback forum if necessary.
• Cite the source of anything you post or upload, if it isn't your own original content. Be honest about your sources.
• Keep it clean. No profanity, obscenity, insulting or bigoted comments please.
• Search to see if a question you'd like answered has already been posted by somebody else. Posting the same question repeatedly and starting multiple threads on the same subject can be confusing.
• Report any kind of abuse you find in the forums. You will find "Report abuse" links in every post and in every profile.

• Divert or change a thread for your own purposes; just start a new thread with the subject you want to discuss.
• Post questions that are the same or similar to questions you have already posted. When someone has an answer to your question, that person will respond to you.
• Threaten, stalk, insult, victimize or intimidate anyone (or group of people) for any reason; including on the basis of age, gender, disability, ethnicity, sexual orientation, race or religion.
• Incite other users to threaten, stalk, insult, victimize, or intimidate another person or group of people.
• Harass, insult, tease, or correct other users about the grammar used in their posts. Good or bad grammar isn't the point-the forums are about getting questions answered.
• Post content depicting nudity of any sort, including full or partial photographic human nudity, or nudity in cartoons, fantasy art or manga.
• Post chain letters.
• Link to websites that require payment to access information.
• Post links to external sites that violate this Code of Conduct.

• Posting content that is intended to harm or exploit minors in any way, including collecting the personally identifiable information (PII) of any minor (anyone under18 years old), including, but not limited to: name, email address, home address, phone number, or the name of the minor's school.
• Invading anyone's privacy by attempting to harvest, collect, store, or publish private or personally identifiable information, such as passwords, account information, credit card numbers, addresses, or other contact information without that person's knowledge and willing consent.
• Posting content or links to content that is illegal or violates any applicable local or national laws.
• Posting or spreading viruses, worms, malware, or other software intended to harm another user's computer.
• Impersonating a Microsoft employee, agent, manager, host, administrator, moderator, another user, MVP, or any other person through any means.
• Pirating Microsoft software or products, or offering pirated software or products for sale, including posting product keys.
• Specifically violating Microsoft licensing or terms, such as posting content or links that will install a 3rd party kernel, or evade security measures built into the software.
• Promoting or otherwise facilitating the purchase and sale of ammunition or firearms.
• Posting 'spam,' 'pyramid schemes,' 'affiliate marketing,' or unsolicited commercial advertisements of any kind, including advertising for money making schemes, discount cards, credit counseling, online surveys or online contests.
• Attempting to manipulate the forums, including ranking and reputation systems, by violating any of the provisions of this Code of Conduct, colluding with others onvoting, or using multiple profiles.
• Offering to make international money transfers for amounts exceeding the asking price of an item, with intent to request a refund of any portion of the payment.
• Using any form of automated device or computer program that enables the submission of postings without the express written consent of Microsoft Corporation.

• Be very cautious about accepting direct help from another user. If that user suggest she use Remote Assistance to help you, be aware that he will have access to your computer, and that your computer could be hacked.
• If you volunteer to help another user through Remote Access, be very careful not to harm their computer in any way, or to access information that is not openly made available to you. Abuse of Remote Access will not be tolerated, and will result in your being banned from the forums.
• Please be careful with your personal information. If you post your email address in any forum, it may be used for any purpose by the general public, as this is a public forum.
• Don't post information that could be used by others to steal your identity, like your street address, your phone number, your social security number, or your credit card number.

Microsoft reserves the right, at its sole discretion, and without any obligation to do so, to review and remove user-created services and content at will and without notice, and delete content and accounts. Microsoft reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to permanently ban participants or terminate access to the forums.

• We encourage you to not share information that others could use to harm you. We encourage parents to be aware of and help exercise control over content posted by and activities of their children to keep them safe online.
• Microsoft is not responsible for the content of any user-created posting, listing or message. The decision to view content or engage with others is yours. We advise you to use your judgment.
• You are responsible for protecting your computer against interference, spyware or viruses that may be encountered. We recommend you install a virus protection program on your computer and keep it up to date.
• You may use the Report Abuse link to report violations of this Code of Conduct.
• Microsoft reserves the right to amend or change the Code of Conduct or any service at any time without notice. We encourage you to periodically review these guidelines to ensure you are in compliance.
• Some information you provide or upload to the service may be stored outside of the country in which you reside.
• All activity on the service is also governed by the Microsoft Terms of Use and the Microsoft Privacy Policy.
• You acknowledge that you are a volunteer participant in the Microsoft Community forums and that you may discontinue your participation at any time. Nothing related to your participation will be construed as creating an employer-employee relationship, a partnership, joint venture, association, or agency relationship, or as a limitation upon Microsoft's right to terminate your access as foreseen above, or upon Microsoft's discretion, to terminate your access as provided herein. You assume all risk for your use.
• You understand that posting content or submitting material is voluntary, and you are under no obligation whatsoever to provide any submissions or contributions. You are solely responsible for your dealings with any third party that relates to your use of the forums, or any information or materials you obtain from a third party.
• No Compensation. Microsoft shall not be obligated to provide, and you have no expectation of receiving, any compensation in any form for your voluntary participation in the forums, or for your submissions or contributions.