Help & FAQs

General Contacts / Connections Communities / Discussions Library / Resources

General | Top

Q: What is my username/password?

A: You will use the same username and password that you use to log in to the main site. If you have forgotten your login credentials or need assistance with your login information, click here.

Q: How do I update my contact information?

A: From your profile page, click the pencil icon next to "Contact Details."

Q: How do I control what information is visible in My Profile?

A: Go to your profile  and click on the “My Acount” tab. Choose "Privacy Settings" from the drop-down menu. This will let you control what information is visible to whom. After you’ve made changes, click the “Save Changes” button at the bottom of the page.


Contacts / Connections | Top

Q: How do I find other members?

A: Click the “Directory” link found in the main navigation bar. The Directory lets you search for other members based on:
  • First and/or last name
  • Company/Institution name
  • Email address
  • City/State/Country
  • Community Name and Type

Q: How do I add contacts to my contact list?

A: There are several ways to add contacts. When you perform a search in the Directory, you will see an “Add as contact” button to the right of each person in your search results. Just click this button to send a contact request. If you click through and view an individual’s profile, you can click the "Add as contact" button below their profile picture.


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 community site to stay in touch, ask questions or even build a referral network. Additionally, when you view another member’s profile, you’ll be able to see any contacts you have in common. You can also choose to let your contacts view certain demographics in your profile that others can't.


Communities / Discussions | Top

Q: What are communities?

A: Communities allow you to participate in discussions and share resources with other members.

Q: What communities do I already belong to?

A: Go to “Communities” in the main navigation bar. Select “My Communities” to view the communities you’re currently a part of.

Q: How do I join/subscribe to a community and the affiliated Discussion Group?

A: Hover over “Communities” and click on “All Communities” in order to see a list of available communities. Click on the community that you wish to join and simply click "Join," then choose a delivery option for posts (Real Time, Daily Digest or No Email).


Q: How can I control the frequency of emails I receive?

A: Go to My Profile and click on the "My Account" tab. Choose Community Notifications from the drop-down menu. 

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
  • 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 into the community site.
  • Consolidated Digest: allows you to combine your messages from multiple communities into one daily or weekly email notification. Be sure the discussion email setting is set to "No Email" when you check the consolidated digest box so that you won't receive both the discussion email and the consolidated digest for that community.

Q: How do I respond to others’ posts?

A: Click “Reply” to send your message to the entire community or “Reply Privately” (use the dropdown arrow to find this option) to only send your message back to the sender; both links are located to the right of the post. We recommend replying to the sender for simple comments like “me, too” that add little value to the overall discussion; and replying to the entire community when you are sharing knowledge, experience or resources that others could benefit from.

Q: How do I start a new discussion thread?

A: From the Discussion tab within a community, click the "Post a Message" button to start a new thread.


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. 


Q: Can I search for posts across all the communities?

A: Yes. Enter a keyword in the search bar. From the results page, you can filter on content type, date range or posted by. Click on "Advanced Search" for even more options.

Q: How do I see a listing of all of the posts to a specific Community?

A: Locate the community you are interested in viewing from the appropriate communities page. Click through the community's landing page, then click on the “Discussions” tab. If you see a post you’re interested in, click the subject line which will take you to the entire thread. 

Libraries | Top

Q: How do I find resources that may have been uploaded by other members?

A: If you know which library the resource might be located in, find the community on the appropriate communities page. Click through the community's landing page, then click on the “Library” tab . If you do not know where the resource might be, enter search terms in the main search box.

Q: Can I search for specific file types?

A: Yes. Enter your desired keyword in the main search box. From the search results page, under "All Content," click on Library Entries. Then, under "More Filters" click on the dropdown for “File Types.” 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: When you include an attachment in a discussion post, the system automatically places it in the library. You can also upload documents directly by using the "Create a new library entry" link on any community's library page. Library resources are not required to be associated with a discussion thread.

Q: How do I upload a file?

A: Select the "Create a new library entry" on any community's landing page. 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:
  • 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, but be cognizant of any copyright licensed material). Then click “Next.”
  • 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 files can I upload?

A: The system supports dozens of file types including hyperlinks, standard files (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), webinars, images 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.