A poll is a question with a set of possible responses. A poll, once created, automatically provides a simple running count of the number of votes received for each response.

To use the Poll content creation tool:

• You will need to be logged in as an Authenticated user or a sma2web2 member.
• Once logged in you should be able to see your user menu in the left sidebar. Click on Create content and note that there is summary information about each of the content types that you can create.
• Select Poll - the "Create Poll" form should load. Take some time to familiarise yourself with the different sections of the form. Note that some sections are collapsed and will need to be expanded to reveal their fields.
• When creating content using the "Create Poll" form there are 5 sections that I would encourage all users to get into the habit of always filling in:
  • Question^* - Entering a question for your Poll is mandatory. The Poll question should be worded carefully and objectively in order to minimise the possibility of ambiguity or suggestive bias towards a particular choice.
  • Choice - These are the response options that are presented to people taking the Poll. Once again care with wording is extremely important in order to avoid influencing the results. Note that you are not limited to the creation of 2 choice options - the Add another choice button can always be used to add more options.
  • Poll settings - Use the Poll settings to set whether or not the Poll is Closed or Open, and how long it should last (Poll duration).
  • Tags - Tags are optional, but are a fantastic way to help categorise your content and allow users to filter and search through content and posts. When entering tags use "keywords" or "keyphrases" that help define the content of your post, and seperate each tag with a comma. In thinking of what tags to use, ask yourself what subject or topic words would you use if you wanted to search for the post.
  •  URL path settings - You will need to click on the Url path settings title to expand this section. Generally, Drupal uses an address format that includes the term "node" and a reference number for the node's content. A typical Drupal URL might read as http://soundhouse.org.au/node/155 , making it an "unfriendly" URL. By entering a "friendly" name in the URL path settings, addresses become easier to remember and track and make more sense when viewed by other users. For example, I have entered HowToPoll into the URL path settings field for this node of information so, instead of the web address showing up as http://soundhouse.org.au/node/155 it shows up as http://soundhouse.org.au/HowToPoll. Note that both URLs will lead you to the same page, but the second one is easier to understand and is friendlier.

One other section of the Create Poll form that will appear to all users (i.e. - both Authenticated users and sma2web2 members) is:

• Notifications - are messages sent to users who have set up their accounts to receive notifications of new posts in general or users who have subscribed to any of your posts. If you specifically don't want anyone to be notified of your new Blog entry you may tick the Do not send notifications for this update box, otherwise you can leave it unticked.

Additional sections of the Create Poll form that are exclusive to sma2web2 members only are:

• File Attachments - This section can be used to upload and attach any type of file that may be related to your Poll. This file will appear as a hyperlink allowing registered users to download and save it to their own computer. Notice that it is possible to upload and attach more than one file to a post. To help minimise the amount of file pool allocation that is eaten up by file uploads, larger files or collections of files should be zipped.
• Post to twitter.com - All new posts by sma2web2 members are automatically listed on the soundhouse.org.au twitter profile - SMA_Tweeters. A "tweet" is sent listing the title of the post as well as a link to the post shown as a "tinyurl". If you do not wish your post to be published to SMA_Tweeters, please be sure to un-tick the Post to twitter.com tick box.

Finishing Up - All Registered Users

Once you have filled in all the sections of the Create Poll form that you wish to, you can use either of the Preview or Save buttons found at the bottom of the form to continue. Preview will show a preview of the Poll in a yellow coloured section at the top of a preview page with the option to make further editing changes beneath the preview section. Save will publish your Poll for viewing, depending on the Closed or Open settings of the Poll.

If you are the creator/owner of a published Poll you will be able to Edit or even delete it at a later stage via the Edit option which will be found in the title area of any of your Poll. As well as the Edit option being available to you as the owner, all other registered users will be able to view various statistics related to the poll depending on whether they have already voted or not, accessible via the menu options in the title area of the poll when viewing the poll.

It is important to note that the Votes section lists user votes by user name and voting choice.