Writing.Com 101

My Favorites and Fans

Favorites are like bookmarks—use them to privately keep track of your favorite Writing.Com items and members. Want to show public support? Click again to become a Fan! Fans appear on the Fans tab of your portfolio for others to see. (Learn more about the Fans tab: Fans Tab.

How to Use Favorites and Fans

1. Add a Favorite
When you're viewing a Writing.Com item or member, look for the Favorite Plus icon near the top right (next to the print and email icons).
Click it to add that item or member to your Favorites list.
You’ll be asked if you want to save it to a specific folder—more on that below.

2. Spot an Existing Favorite
Once something is in your Favorites, the icon changes to a Favorite (a hand with a string).
Anytime you see this icon, you’ll know it’s already in your list.

3. Become a Fan
Click the Favorite icon a second time to become a public Fan Favorite.

= Private Favorite

= Public Fan

Click again anytime to switch between the two!

Organizing Your Favorites

Your list of Favorites (called "My Favorites") can be accessed in two ways:
- Click the My Account menu under the Writing.Com logo and choose My Favorites
- Or click the icon near your Gift Point total (between Instant Messenger and Site News)

By default, all Favorites and Fans go into your Main folder and are sorted with the most recently updated at the top.

1. Creating Folders
To keep things organized, you can create folders for different types of Favorites—like Blogs, Contests, or Groups you've joined.

To create a folder:
1. Go to the bottom of the My Favorites page
2. Enter a name in the "Create a New Folder For Favorites" box
3. Click Go
Your folder will appear at the bottom of your list. Use the "Up/Down" links to reorder folders however you like.

2. Moving Favorites to Folders
You can move items into folders in two ways:

- When adding a Favorite: After clicking , a popup will let you pick a folder
- After it's added: Check the item, choose a folder from the "Move Favorite(s) to Another Folder" dropdown, and click Move!

You can move multiple Favorites at once—quick and easy!

Deleting Your Favorites
To delete Favorites, check the box next to each item and click Delete at the bottom of the page.
To delete a Favorites folder, it must be empty—move any items out before removing it.

Recently Updated Favorites
At the top of the right-hand navigation, the My Favorites list shows your most recently updated items.
To adjust how many appear, go to Edit Preferences in your Account Overview.
(For more, see: "My Account" )

More Favorites Features
At the top of your My Favorites page, under the search bar, you’ll find tools to better view and manage your list:

Recently Updated:
Shows the 15 most recently updated Favorites at the top of your page.

Favorite Authors:
Lists your favorited authors with links to their portfolios. Use the dropdown to change the sort order.

Items By Favorite Authors:
View up to 100 items by your Favorite authors.
Filter by item type (statics, forums, books, etc.) and sort by date, rating, or length.

Daily Update:
Shows daily snapshots of your Favorite authors’ activity:
- New Items by Favorite Authors
- Updates to Your Favorite Items
- Updated Items by Favorite Authors
Use the arrows to browse the past 7 days!

My Favorites Pop-Up
If you have an Upgraded Membership or higher, you can choose to open your My Favorites page in a compact pop-up window instead of a full browser tab.

You can turn this option on or off in the Edit Preferences section of your Account Overview. (For more details, see: "My Account" )1

Recommended Reading

1. My Account
2. Free and Paid Membership Benefits

Footnotes
1  Written by Jeff