Use a profile to connect a person's basic information with the articles they authored, the articles they favorited, and the relationship between your profile and theirs.
What a profile is
A profile is the place to view basic user information and the article lists associated with that person. The authored list contains articles created by the profile owner; the favorited list contains articles that person has favorited.
| If you need to… | Go to |
|---|---|
| Understand the profile and its article lists | Read profile information and articles |
| Open a person's basic information | View a profile |
| Follow or stop following another person | Follow other users |
| View articles a person has favorited | View favorited articles |
| Choose an authored or favorited article list | Choose authored or favorited articles |
Before you start
Before choosing a profile action, identify the profile username and whether the profile belongs to you or to another person.
Prerequisites
| Before you begin | What you need |
|---|---|
| Profile username | The username in the profile address or the author's username or image in an article preview |
| Profile ownership | Whether the profile is yours or belongs to another person |
| Article purpose | Whether you want to inspect authored articles or favorited articles |
The profile address uses the username you want to view. Your own profile has Edit Profile Settings; another person's profile can show a control for the relationship between your profiles.
Find a profile
Use the profile address or an article preview to open a person's basic information and related article lists.
Prerequisites
- You have the username for the profile or an article preview for that person.
Steps
-
Choose how to open the profile.
If you are starting from… Use… A known username Open the profile address for the username An article preview Select the author's username or image in the article preview
Result: The person's profile opens with their basic information and an article list.
Read profile information and articles
A profile screen presents the person's image, username, bio, and the article list you
selected. Article lists can contain previews and pagination; while the list is loading,
the article area displays Loading.... When the list contains no articles, it displays
No articles are here... yet.
| Profile area | What you can read or use |
|---|---|
| Profile header | The profile image, username, and bio |
| Authored list | Article previews for the person's created articles |
| Favorited list | Article previews for the person's favorited articles |
| Article list navigation | Pagination for the current list |
| Article preview | The article title, description, author information, date, tags, favorite count, and Read more... |
To change the article relationship you are viewing, continue with the profile tabs.
Choose authored or favorited articles
Use the profile tabs when you want to change which article relationship you are viewing.
Prerequisites
- You have opened a profile.
- You know whether you want the person's authored articles or favorited articles.
Steps
-
Select the tab that matches the article list you want.
If you want to… Select… View articles created by the profile owner My Articles View articles the profile owner has favorited Favorited Articles -
Review the article list that opens.
Result: The selected article list is active: My Articles in the profile's authored-articles view, or Favorited Articles in the profile's favorited-articles view.
To change the relationship with the profile owner, use the relationship control in the profile header.
Follow another user
Following connects your profile with another person's profile. The relationship control appears on another person's profile and changes between Follow and Unfollow.
| Profile situation | Control shown |
|---|---|
| You do not follow the person | Follow followed by the profile username |
| You already follow the person | Unfollow followed by the profile username |
| You opened your own profile | No follow relationship control |
Prerequisites
- You have opened another person's profile.
- You can see the relationship control in the profile header.
Steps
-
Select the control that matches the relationship you want to set.
If the profile shows… Select… You do not follow the person Follow You already follow the person Unfollow -
Check the profile information.
Result: The profile reflects the relationship action you selected.
If the article list is loading or empty, use the messages in the next section to identify its state.
When profile content is loading or empty
The article area uses short messages to distinguish a list that is still loading from a list that has no articles.
| Message | Meaning |
|---|---|
Loading... | The article list has not arrived yet. |
No articles are here... yet. | The current article list contains no articles. |
After choosing the article list, use the next section to open an article or move to a related profile view.
Continue from a profile
After you identify the profile and choose an article list, continue with the related task that matches what you want to do next.
Prerequisites
- You have opened a profile.
- You have selected an article list.
Steps
-
Choose the next destination.
If you want to… Select or use… Open an article Read more... in the article preview Return to the profile owner's authored articles My Articles Open the profile owner's favorited articles Favorited Articles Read profile details View a profile Change the following relationship Follow other users Read the favorites list View favorited articles
Result: You are on the article, profile, following, or favorited-article view that matches your next task.
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