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How to Use Connect

By Steve Bonoff posted 12-04-2012 05:46 PM

  

Frequently Asked Questions About
Connect
Connect is the hub for IDEAlliance Leadership Councils and Working Groups to strategize, develop, and promote adoption of IDEAlliance best practices, specifications, and standards. 

Click for FAQs about Connect:
My Info I Contacts I Libraries I Discussions

My Info

Q: Where do I login:
A: You login to Connect at connect.idealliance.org

Q: What is my username and password?
A: You will use the same username (your email address) and password that you use to log in to www.idealliance.org.  If you have forgotten your password you may request a new one by clicking HERE. If you need assistance with your login information, contact Wendy Leyes at wleyes@idealliance.org.

Q: How do I update my contact information?
A: From you're My Profile profile, click the “Edit Contact Info” link.

Q: How do I control what information is visible in My Profile?
A: Under "My Profile”, click “My Privacy Settings” in the left-hand side navigation. This will let you control what information is visible to whom.  After you’ve made changes, click the “Save” button at the bottom of the page.

Contacts

Q: How do I find other members?
A: Click the “Directory” link found in the blue navigation bar, then “Find a Member”.  The Directory lets you search for other members based on:

• First or Last Name
• Company/State
• Email address

Use the “Advanced Search” option to increase your search to:

• Location
• Interests/Hobbies
• Community members
• Certifications

Q: How do I add contacts to my contact list?
A: There are several ways to add contacts to your list. When you perform a search in the Directory, you will see an “Add as contact” link underneath each person in your search results. Just click this link to send a contact request. If you click through and view someone’s profile, you can click the contact request link to the right of their profile picture. Clicking any of your “Networks” links (“My Profile” > “My Networks”) will yield a similar list.

Q: Why should I add contacts to my contact list?
A: Creating this virtual address book makes it easy to send your contacts messages through the system to stay in touch or ask questions. Additionally, when you view another member’s profile, you’ll be able to see any contacts you have in common with them. Your contact list makes it easy to send invitations if you create a community, and you can also choose to let only your contacts view certain demographics in your profile.

Libraries

Q: How do I access a particular library?
A: Go to “Communities” in top blue navigation bar, then “Libraries” to find the one you’d like to access.

Q: Can I search for specific file types?
A: Yes. When in the Libraries area, select “Advanced Search”.  This gives you the option to specify file type:  Document, Image, Spreadsheet, etc.

Q: How do the libraries get populated?
A: The libraries are populated in two ways: you can upload documents directly by using the “Upload a Document” link found in the left navigation. Alternately, when you include an attachment in a discussion post, the system automatically places it in the library.

Q: How do I upload a document?
A: In the Libraries area, click the “Upload a Document” link in the left navigation. Please note that uploading a document is done in a few steps and each step must be completed before you can move on to the next:

1. Choose a title for your document, include a description (optional) select the library to which you’d like to upload it, select a folder to which you’d like to upload it (optional), and choose an Entry Type (most will be Standard Files); then click “Next”

2. Browse and upload your file.  Click “Next” if you want to add tags to your file or click “Finish” (you may have to scroll down to access these buttons)

Q: What kind of documents can I upload?
A: The system supports multiple file types including hyperlinks, standard files (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), Webinars, and YouTube videos.
 
Q: What are the “tags” for?
A: Tags are another way of organizing and searching for documents. You can help others find the file you uploaded by including tags when you upload it.  There are many pre-loaded tag categories to choose from.

Discussions

Q: How do I join/subscribe to a community?
A: To request to join a group or council, use the ONLINE FORM HERE. To review available communities and their descriptions, DOWNLOAD GROUP FORM.

Q: What are all the email delivery options?
A: Under “My Profile” > “My Subscriptions”, there is an option for Text or HTML. By default, this is set to HTML, and we encourage you to leave it set to this if your email client can support it. However, if you are having problems viewing the HTML version or if it takes too long to open, please switch to the text version.

 For each discussion, you have the following delivery options:

Real time: sends an email every time a new message is posted

Daily digest: sends one email to you each day, consolidating all of the posts from the previous day

Legacy: sends real-time text versions of the posts, which are compatible with Blackberries and most other handheld devices. This option also allows you to reply without logging in to a web browser, but it does NOT allow you to include attachments with your post.

No Email: allows you to be part of the group without having emails sent to you. You can still post and read others’ messages by logging in to NASPO Network.

Q: I’d prefer to have certain discussion posts go to a different email address. Is this possible?
A: Yes, you can use different email addresses for different discussions. For example, you could have one discussion post go to your personal email and others go to your work email. Go to “My Profile” > “My Subscriptions” and under each discussion to which you’ve subscribed, you’ll see “subscribed as [email address] with an option to “Change.” Just click the “Change” link, enter a different email address, click “OK”, and click “Save” at the bottom to confirm the change. If you change your main email address in your profile or with us, it will update all of the discussions that used your former email address. Those that use a different email address will remain the same.

Q: How do I leave a community or unsubscribe from a discussion?
A: Go to “My Profile” > “My Subscriptions”.  Here, you will see a list of available groups and those to which you’ve subscribed. Select “Unsubscribe” on the discussions you wish to leave and click the “Save” button at the bottom of the page. You will get a message confirming that your subscription options have been successfully updated. This can take several seconds if you change your settings for several groups at the same time.

Q: What are “Networks”?
A: These are groups of members that are automatically created based on demographic information in your profile. They help you locate other members who live in your city or state, share your interests, have the same job title, and more.  Be sure to visit “My Profile” > “My Networks” to see your existing networks and make contact with others.

Q: How do I respond to others’ posts?
A: Click “Reply to Discussion” to send your message to the entire community (an alternative is “Reply to Sender”  which only sends your message back to the sender; both links are located to the right of the post on the email or to the left of the post on the site. We recommend only replying to the sender for simple comments like “me, too” that add little value to the overall discussion.

Q: Can I attach files when I respond to a post?
A: Yes. But to reply, you must click “Reply to Discussion” within the email. You can not Reply from your email application. When you attach a document to a list posting, it is automatically placed in an online library for all members of the section to view.

Q: How do I start a new discussion thread?
A: In an email (HTML version) from a particular discussion forum, you can use the “Post Message” link in the right navigation bar. You can also use the “Post Message” link found in the left navigation under “Communities” > “Discussions”.  We recommend bookmarking or adding this link to your favorites list in your web browser to make it easily accessible.

Q: I’m having trouble viewing the HTML email messages. How do I fix this?
A: If images are not appearing, it is likely that your email client is set to suppress images. This should be something you can change in your security or viewing options. If you would rather receive text-based email, go to “My Profile” > “My Subscriptions” and select the “Text” format option near the top of the page. Be sure to hit “Save” at the bottom of the page once you’ve made this change.

Q: Why do I have to post messages and reply to them through the Connect site?
A: There are many features made possible because of the Web interface:

 - When you send an attachment through the system, it automatically places it in the Community’s library and sends a link to members (no blocked attachments because of file size or type.)

- All posts are automatically archived and very easily searchable.

Q: How do I see a listing of all of the posts to a discussion forum?
A: Go to “Communities” in the top blue navigation bar, then “Discussions” and choose the name of the one you’d like see.  This takes you to the threaded view of the posts.  If you see post you’re interested in, click the subject line which will take you to the entire thread. “Show original message” at the bottom of all of the posts in a thread will display the original message that started that discussion. The “Author’s Messages” link will show you all of the posts that particular member has contributed to the discussion. You can also view postings by date by clicking the link in the middle of the page.

Q: How do I change the information showing up in my signature block?'
A: We have set a default signature, but if you would like to change the information that appears or the order in which it appears, click “My Profile” > “My Signature”.  You can add, delete or reorganize the fields that show up in your signature by clicking the variables on the right-hand side of the screen.  Please note that the content of these fields is pulled directly from your profile, so if you want to change the information itself, you will need to make the change to your actual profile.

Q: Can I attach files when I respond to a post?
A: Yes. But to reply, you must click “Reply to Discussion” within the email. You can not Reply from your email application. When you attach a document to a list posting, it is automatically placed in an online library for all members of the section to view.

Q: How do I start a new discussion thread?
A: In an email (HTML version) from a particular discussion forum, you can use the “Post Message” link in the right navigation bar. You can also use the “Post Message” link found in the left navigation under “Communities” > “Discussions”.  We recommend bookmarking or adding this link to your favorites list in your web browser to make it easily accessible.

Q: I’m having trouble viewing the HTML email messages. How do I fix this?
A: If images are not appearing, it is likely that your email client is set to suppress images. This should be something you can change in your security or viewing options. If you would rather receive text-based email, go to “My Profile” > “My Subscriptions” and select the “Text” format option near the top of the page. Be sure to hit “Save” at the bottom of the page once you’ve made this change.

Q: Why do I have to post messages and reply to them through the Connect site?
A: There are many features made possible because of the Web interface:

- When you send an attachment through the system, it automatically places it in the Community’s library and sends a link to members (no blocked attachments because of file size or type.)

- All posts are automatically archived and very easily searchable.

Q: How do I see a listing of all of the posts to a discussion forum?
A: Go to “Communities” in the top blue navigation bar, then “Discussions” and choose the name of the one you’d like see.  This takes you to the threaded view of the posts.  If you see post you’re interested in, click the subject line which will take you to the entire thread. “Show original message” at the bottom of all of the posts in a thread will display the original message that started that discussion. The “Author’s Messages” link will show you all of the posts that particular member has contributed to the discussion. You can also view postings by date by clicking the link in the middle of the page.

Q: How do I change the information showing up in my signature block?
A: We have set a default signature, but if you would like to change the information that appears or the order in which it appears, click “My Profile” > “My Signature”.  You can add, delete or reorganize the fields that show up in your signature by clicking the variables on the right-hand side of the screen.  Please note that the content of these fields is pulled directly from your profile, so if you want to change the information itself, you will need to make the change to your actual profile.


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