Your question of the week about navigating the DEFRA website should read "Can you navigate through the FWi website?"  It's not the most user friendly layout and I find myself trying to find a needle in a haystack on a foggy day in October!  Is it just me does anyone else find it confusing.  I'm not even confident that I've posted this in the right place! 

Thanks loobiloo.

Two comments:

a)  Thanks for your feedback. I really do want to hear from users about improvements they would like to see as we're part-way through a big "stock-take" of the whole site to see what areas we can improve in design and functionality.

b) Have you got any specific suggestions that would make life easier for you as now would be a good time to voice them (either here or by email julian.gairdner@rbi.co.uk)?

Thanks.

Julian - Online editor Farmers Weekly Group

Can we have a return to top or a back to thread list button on the bottom of the page if it is a very long thread with multiple pages the back button takes forever to get to the topic list.

He his-self,

When you have got the 'topic list' opened eg. Talking Point, when you want to open an individual thread eg. Navigating FWi website, try using the right mouse button then selecting 'open in new window' from the list of options which then appears.  That way you can have as many 'topic lists' and threads open as you want all at the same time.  You can even have the same thread open in two windows so that you can read other previous posts while you are composing a reply.

Of course you can also use this option in any website to make it easier to navigate, including DEFRA or in your case more likely Scottish Government!

Jacobus's suggestion is very useful. The other shortcut I often use is to hit the grey 'forums' button at the top again and then go back into the relevant area.

But these aren't the ideal solution and what you are asking for would be a definite improvement. We are in discussions about getting the latest version of the software this forums is based upon and one of the things this should bring is the function you are after. The idea is that the path you have followed will be at the top of the page so that if you want to go straight back to Talking Point you will be able to click on that bit of the 'path' and it will take you straight back there. I'm led to believe it is called a breadcrumb trail (I am learning all kinds of things these days!)

Thanks Jacobus and Isabel, I am but a simple peasant with a slow broadband and even slower vista (definitely the work of the devil) computer. I will try it.

Isabel Davies:

 I'm led to believe it is called a breadcrumb trail (I am learning all kinds of things these days!)

Isabel,

I know it's a long time ago that I was familiar with the  precise details of Hansel and Gretel, but I seem to recall that whilst dropping pebbles was a good idea for tracing back a trail, breadcrumbs tended to get eaten by birds.  Perhaps the IT specialists would like us all to end up trapped in a gingerbread house in the forest!