My Views
By Richard Rost

4 years ago

My Views - Pages, Courses, Videos, Comments, etc.

S M L XL FS | Slo Reg Fast 2x | Bookmark

I made a little upgrade to the website today. The My Views page will now show you the last comment or video you viewed, in addition to the page you were on. Use this with Bookmarks to track your viewing activity.

Links

Of course if there are any features you'd like to see added to the website, feel free to comment below.

Comments for My Views

Age	Subject	From
4 years	Bookmark	Scott Axton
3 days	Learners Overview	Daniel Krzyzanowski
4 years	Wish List Save for Later	Helen Renaud
4 years	Like Means Watched	Lars Schindler

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Intro

This page introduces a recent upgrade to the website that makes it much easier to track which videos and pages you have viewed. You will learn how the updated Views page now displays not only the website pages you have visited, but also the specific videos you have watched, along with access to individual forum comments and TechHelp extended cuts. The tutorial also covers how bookmarks are automatically saved as you watch videos and how to use manual bookmarks to mark important spots for future reference. Additional features like the views bar and tips for navigating your viewing history are also discussed.

Transcript

Hey there folks, this is Richard Rost. I just wanted to take a minute to explain a new upgrade that I just made to the website today.

A lot of you have asked me for an easier way to track what videos you've watched in the past. We've had this views page before, but it only showed you the actual page you went to. For example, one of my blog entries, a TechHelp video, or a course page is considered just a page. So it did not track the individual videos that you watched on there unless you went to the bookmarks feature.

Let me show you what I mean.

There are a couple of different ways you can track what you're watching. Here I am logged into my account. The first thing is under the What's New page. You'll see anything that's new for you right here. It says new. It will also say new over here for things you have not read. This is my other account. I have looked at a lot of this stuff. All the way down, a little bit behind on the forum posts, but that's a different topic altogether.

You can click this little button up here to collapse that big bar across the top. I like to leave it on sometimes. It gives this cool little stuff up there too. But the views page is right here. Go to views and it will show you the last few things that you've looked at.

This is all we had before, just the page itself. You can see the course listing, the moderators page, etc. You can click on this over here and it would take you right to that page. If you're in the forums, for example, each one of these is a separate comment, which is basically a whole separate page.

What I added was, over here you can click on these to actually go to that exact comment. If I click on Access Forum and come over here, I can click on this and it will take you right to that conversation that you were at.

Let's go back. In addition to being able to view comments, if you're viewing a course, it will show you the video you were looking at. If I go to my courses and pick something like Access Developer 1, this loads the page. Let's say I watch video three. In lesson three, we're going to learn about the... that's enough. Then let's say I watch video five in lesson five.

If I go back to my views page, you'll see right there I watched Developer 1, video three and video five. These will, for now, just bring you back to that page. I am working on a way - my next upgrade - to actually mark these bold if you've watched them already, because you can see here, it's got a history of what you've watched.

It will bring you to that page and then also play that video. That's coming, a little bit at a time, one thing at a time. At least now you will know which videos you've actually watched on which courses.

This data right now is a maximum of the last 50 things you've viewed, which is a lot, and it's kept for 90 days. I am going to be increasing this in the future once I get everything working properly, so you can go back a month or two in case you have not been on the site and have not watched your videos in a while.

Another thing for TechHelp, if you guys are TechHelp members, let me just go to the homepage here. Let's watch the Crosstab video. Fast step, and then I am extending... back up, back up. Here is a TechHelp: Transposed Data, the extended cut. Members, how are you doing? Now, if I go to my views page, that will show up there as the extended cut. You will watch the regular one, and then the extended cut.

These do not indicate whether you have finished the video or not. I am working on that too, because that brings me to the next thing here: bookmarks. I know a lot of you are not using bookmarks. The bookmarks are really helpful.

What happens is whenever you play a video or you let the video play for a while, you are going to see a lot of the content. I think I've got it set to every 20 seconds. An auto bookmark is saved. I think I did a video on this a while back. Here is a bookmarks video. Watch this too. That explains how the bookmarks work. Every time you watch a video, an auto bookmark is saved.

You can see right there, Transposed Data Extended Cut EX at time index two. If I click on this - oh no, I'm sorry - this takes you to the page. This takes you to that auto bookmark. Should load up. Let's have some more fun with this budget database... I don't want to hear myself.

If I come out here, for example, see how it says auto right there, you can make a manual bookmark by clicking on the bookmark link right there. If you say, oh, that's an interesting spot, I want to save it, click on the bookmark link and it just saved the bookmark.

If you want to go to your bookmarks, now go to the bookmarks page. There's one you just saved 14 seconds ago. There is the auto one, and there is the 14 seconds ago manual one that I changed. You can edit it, you can change the name of it. All kinds of cool stuff you can do.

There are cool features on the site to help you find stuff like my search box. I work on this every couple of days, for example, trying to make the search results more interesting and better. I have some other upgrades for that coming too.

So that's my views upgrade. It will show you all the stuff you've viewed. It will go back a while and you can click over here and all that stuff.

Oh, the views bar too. This views bar over here will turn on this little guy up here, which just shows you the last few pages that you viewed. I really do not use that much. This is what I had first and only until I decided this was not enough and I built this whole page. I figured I might as well keep the views bar, but I turned it off. I do not use it, but it's still there.

If you have any questions or comments, you can't post them on this page because this is a special page. Most pages on the site, as you know, all you have to do is scroll down to the bottom and you can post a comment there. If you have any questions or comments about this, just drop them in one of the forums, maybe like the Customer Service forum or the General Discussion. I figured it would be like a website question, but put them anywhere you want.

That's views - website feature. I'm off to record some more interesting stuff today. Bye-bye.

Quiz

Q1. What was the primary upgrade discussed in the video?
A. Tracking which individual videos you have watched
B. Adding a new login system
C. Improving payment features
D. Upgrading video quality

Q2. Previously, what did the views page only show?
A. Individual videos watched
B. Pages you visited, not specific videos
C. Number of comments posted
D. Only forum posts

Q3. Where can you find new content that you have not seen yet?
A. On the home page only
B. Under the What's New page
C. In the bookmarks section
D. In the course listings

Q4. What does clicking on an entry in the views page do?
A. Deletes the entry
B. Takes you to your profile
C. Takes you back to that exact page or comment
D. Starts a new video from the beginning

Q5. What is planned for the future upgrade to the views page?
A. Ability to print the history
B. Mark videos as bold if already watched
C. Add color-coding to views
D. Enable exporting to Excel

Q6. How many past items are currently saved in your views history?
A. 10
B. 20
C. 50
D. Unlimited

Q7. For how long are items kept in the views history as of now?
A. 7 days
B. 30 days
C. 90 days
D. 180 days

Q8. What is the purpose of bookmarks, as discussed in the video?
A. To mark your favorite forum posts
B. To track your video watching habits at specific time points
C. To subscribe to new content
D. To share videos with friends

Q9. After how many seconds does an auto bookmark save while watching a video?
A. Every 10 seconds
B. Every 15 seconds
C. Every 20 seconds
D. Every 30 seconds

Q10. What is one feature you can do with manual bookmarks?
A. Disable auto-play on videos
B. Change the name of the bookmark
C. Schedule video recordings
D. Sync with your calendar

Q11. What does the views bar do?
A. Highlights unread messages
B. Shows the last few pages you viewed in a small bar
C. Notifies you of new comments
D. Plays the next video automatically

Q12. Can you post comments directly on the special views page?
A. Yes, always
B. Only as a member
C. No, but you can post in the forums
D. Only with admin approval

Answers: 1-A; 2-B; 3-B; 4-C; 5-B; 6-C; 7-C; 8-B; 9-C; 10-B; 11-B; 12-C

DISCLAIMER: Quiz questions are AI generated. If you find any that are wrong, don't make sense, or aren't related to the video topic at hand, then please post a comment and let me know. Thanks.

Summary

Today's video from the Computer Learning Zone covers a recent upgrade I made to my website that many of you have requested. Over time, I have received a lot of feedback from users asking for a better way to keep track of which videos you have already watched. Previously, the site offered a views page, but this only logged the pages you visited, such as a blog entry, a TechHelp video page, or a course page. It did not keep track of the specific videos watched on those pages unless you used the bookmarks feature.

Now, with this upgrade, there are multiple ways you can keep an eye on what you have viewed. When you log into your account, you will notice on the What's New page there is a clear indication next to anything you have not read yet. For those who like a streamlined interface, you can collapse the top navigation bar, although I personally like to leave it visible since it provides some handy features.

On the views page, you can see a history of your most recently visited pages and activities. Until now, this included only which pages you looked at, such as which course listings or moderator pages you accessed. For forum use, each individual comment you read counts as a separate page. I have added functionality so that you can click directly on individual comments and be taken straight to that specific conversation thread, rather than just the main forum page.

A key improvement comes when watching course videos. If you access a course and view certain lessons, your views page will now show exactly which course videos you watched. For instance, if you watch lessons three and five of Access Developer 1, this activity will be tracked and displayed on your views page. At the moment, clicking these items on the list simply brings you back to the relevant page. I am currently working on further enhancements, such as marking videos in bold once you have watched them and having videos auto-play at the correct spot when you return.

Currently, your views history records up to 50 previous activities and saves them for 90 days. I plan to extend both the number of items and the retention period after thoroughly testing all the new features, so you will be able to keep track of your progress over a couple of months, especially if you have been away from the site.

There are additional improvements for TechHelp members as well. When you watch a video, such as the regular and extended cut versions of a TechHelp topic, both histories will appear in your activity log. At present, the system only records that you have viewed the video, not whether you finished it. I am working on implementing a feature to track completion status in the future.

One powerful tool that many aren't taking full advantage of is the bookmarks feature. Whenever you start playing a video, the site automatically saves an auto bookmark every 20 seconds to mark your place. There's a separate video explaining all the details about bookmarking. Auto bookmarks help you pick up where you left off, but you can also add manual bookmarks if you want to save a specific spot for later reference. This makes it much easier for you to return to exactly where you stopped or locate an important part of a lesson without searching.

From the bookmarks page, you can see all your saved bookmarks, both automatic and manual. You can also rename them and manage them however you choose.

The website's search functionality is being regularly enhanced as well, so searching for videos and posts will become more robust and useful over time.

In summary, the new views upgrade provides a much more comprehensive log of your activity on the site, making it easier for you to keep track of what you have watched and where you left off. Additional features, like the optional views bar and the improved comment tracking, offer extra ways to navigate your content history. While I do not personally use the views bar often, it is still available in case you prefer it.

If you have questions or feedback about this new feature, you can post in the Customer Service forum, the General Discussion forum, or whichever forum fits best. Comments are not available on the upgrade announcement page itself, but I always welcome your input elsewhere on the site.

That covers the new website views feature. For a complete video tutorial with step-by-step instructions on everything described here, visit my website at the link below.

Live long and prosper, my friends.

Topic List

This is a video update and walkthrough of a new website feature that lets users more easily track which videos they've watched, along with explanations of the Views page, bookmarks, and related navigation tools.