community intranet

Community Intranet

Group Administrator’s Guide

print date: 20th November 2004

© Keyvision Pty Ltd 2004 2

Contents Introduction .................................................................................................................................................... 3 Prerequisites ................................................................................................................................................... 3 Browser Minimum Requirements and Known Issues ......................................................................... 3 CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................4 CHAPTER 2 – EDITING THE GROUP’S HOME PAGE ..............................................5

CHAPTER 3 – MANAGING THE GROUP’S APPLICATIONS ................................ 14 CHAPTER 4 – MANAGING THE CALENDAR....................................................... 16 CHAPTER 5 – MESSAGE BOARDS....................................................................... 18 CHAPTER 6 – CREATING SURVEYS ..................................................................... 19 CHAPTER 7 – MANAGING DOCUMENTS........................................................... 21 CHAPTER 8 – MANAGING DIRECTORIES........................................................... 22 CHAPTER 9 – MANAGING SLIDESHOWS ........................................................... 23 CHAPTER 10 – MANAGING FORMS .................................................................. 25 CHAPTER 11 – MANAGING PROJECTS ............................................................. 28 CHAPTER 12 – MEETING AGENDAS ................................................................... 30 CHAPTER 13 – SPECIALTY APPLICATIONS ......................................................... 32 CHAPTER 14 – ACTIVITY REPORTS...................................................................... 33 CHAPTER 15 – FINDING HELP ............................................................................. 34


Group Administrator’s Guide Introduction This Guide is designed to help administrators of groups and clubs to utilise their online Group to its full potential. The Guide focuses specifically on the applications and skills applicable to Group Administrators. Prerequisites Group Administrators are presumed to have already read the Community Portal Members’ Guide and completed the skills Worksheet and/or attended Member Training. Browser Minimum Requirements and Known Issues Minimum Requirements: 1. Internet connection 2. Internet Browser (such as one of the following)

PC – Internet Explorer 5.0 and above PC – Netscape 4.7 and above PC – AOL – 6.0 and above PC – MSN Explorer 6.1 and above Mac – Internet Explorer 5.1 Mac – Netscape 4.7 and above

(N.B. All browsers are set by default to accept cookies so, if you have disabled them, you will need to enable them to utilise the Portal.) Known Issues:

Internet Explorer 6.0 and above – Browser is set to automatically resize images. To change this setting, go to Internet Explorer, click on Tools drop down menu and select Internet Options. Go to the Advanced tab and scroll down until you find the “Enable Automatic Image Resizing” setting. Uncheck this option and click OK at the bottom of the window.


Chapter 1 – Introduction

Objectives: Upon completion of this chapter, you will be able to:

1. Log in to the Community Portal 2. Locate your group’s Home Page 3. Understand what a Group Administrator is responsible for

1. By this point, you should already have a valid User Id and Password, enter it on the

Main page and click ‘Go’ to proceed into the Portal. 2. To locate your group’s Home Page, you will need to click on the ‘My Groups’ link

on the left menu. A menu will appear of all the groups that you are a member of within the Portal. Click on the name of the group of which you are an Administrator.

3. As an Administrator, you have full control over the content that is published in

your group’s various applications. Your main responsibilities are to keep track of your membership list and update the content on your group’s Home Page to keep it fresh and interesting to your members and guests (if applicable). Some of the content that Administrators are responsible for may include:

updating the group’s Calendar of events; managing the group’s Directory; creating Forms and Surveys for members to use; uploading Documents; and deciding what type of content appears on the group’s Home Page.

Each group can decide for themselves which applications they wish to use i.e. calendars, directories, forms etc. This Guide will cover all aspects of managing these areas and applications. Remember that every group's Home Page may look different and there is no one way to present information to your members and visitors. The next chapter talks about how to customise your group’s Home Page and make it more individual. If you wish to have one or more of the other members of your group to have Administrator access rights in order to help you manage the group, simply advise the Site Administrator. Similarly, if you have asked for additional Administrators to be created for your group, and wish to change or delete them, please advise the Site Administrator.


Chapter 2 – Editing the Group’s Home Page


1. Modify the content of your group’s Home Page (Details Tab) 2. Modify the Description and Security of your group’s Applications (Applications

Tab) 3. Add a Picture to your group’s Home Page (Picture Tab) 4. Manage Members (Membership Tab) 5. Add Web page links (Website Tab) 6. Customise the layout of your group’s Home Page (Welcome Page Tab)

To edit your group’s Home Page, click on the ‘Edit’ button at the top of your group’s Home Page. The ‘Details’ page will appear and you will notice a number of other tabs at the top for each of the areas you can customise. Each tab will be covered in the following pages. Details Tab: This section is where Administrators can modify the contact information and ‘Group Details’ that appear on the group’s Home Page. It is in ‘Details’ also that you can choose the number of Upcoming Events which will appear on the Home Page i.e. events for the next 7 days or 7 months depending on how full the group’s Calendar is.


Chapter 2 (continued) Link to URL If you have a registered domain name for your club or group and would like to use your online group as your website, select ‘Yes’ in the menu next to ‘Link to URL’. This will enable you to publish information about your group on the web but you are still able to restrict access to information you wish to keep confidential. For example, you may wish to make you group’s Calendar of events visible to Guests. If you use your group as a website it will mean not only portal Guests can view the information published in your calendar but also anyone who logs onto your URL will have a Guest view and can find out more about your group’s activities. Once you click ‘Save’, a link will appear called ‘Instructions for Publishing to a URL’. If you find the ‘Instructions for Publishing to a URL’ too technical to understand, please contact your Site Administrator for further assistance. If you need to register a domain name, you can try options such as www.ausregistry.com.au and www.enetica.com.au. Applications Tab: The applications that are available to groups are as follows: Website, Calendar, Classifieds, Message Boards, Surveys, Documents, Directory, Slideshows, Forms, Projects, Meeting Agendas and News Articles & e-Newsletters (not covered in this Manual). Many of these applications will have been enabled for your group when it was created. If there is an application that your group would like to have enabled or disabled simply contact the Site Administrator with your request.


Chapter 2 (continued) Specialty Applications There are a few specialty applications – ‘FAQ’, ‘Knowledge Base’ and ‘Recipes’ which you can enable yourself. Simply click the ‘Enable Specialty Applications’ at the bottom of the page and then click the checkbox next to the application(s) that you wish to enable, and click ‘Update’. Label: The ‘Label’ field next to the application names allows you to specify a different name for each application, if you wish to, by typing the name in the ‘Label’ field and clicking ‘Save/Refresh’. Security: Next to the Label fields is a column called ‘Security’ and it has a series of ‘Edit’ links for most of the applications. It is here that you can set the security options for each application. This area allows you to manage how much of your group’s information you wish to share with other members of the Portal (Registered Users). For example, you may have Documents, Forms, or Slideshows etc, which are of interest to all users. Each application is maintained separately and you can choose different security configurations for most applications. The security options are as follows: 1. View Access: This is where you can choose whether you wish:

all Registered Users and Guests (External) all Registered Users (Internal), only Administrators (Admins Only) only your group’s members (Members Only) or only Guests (Guests Only)

to view the information in a particular application.


Chapter 2 (continued) 2. Update Access: this allows you to specify who can add content to an

application i.e. you can choose to allow:

all Guests and Registered Users to add content (Open) Guests and Registered Users may add content subject to Administrator

approval (Guest Contribute)

only your group’s members (Members only) your group’s members can add content subject to approval (Member

Contribute) only Administrators may add content (Closed) only members with a specified password (User Id)

Security (Additional Options in Directories) In Directories’ Security you have the option to change your preferred directory template from the default template which is ‘PERS’ (Personal) to ‘BUS’ (Business) or ‘FAMILY’. Remember though this setting will apply to all the Directories in your Group. To change your Directories’ template simply click on the link next to ‘Directory Type’ to select your choice. You also have the option to add extra ‘Custom’ fields to your Directory entries, you may wish to include a field for ‘Special Interests’ for example. To add a custom field, select the Add/Edit Fields link next to Custom Fields, fill in the name/s of the extra fields you wish to add and click ’Save’. The new field/s you create will appear at the bottom of the standard template in your group’s Directories each time you add a new entry.

There is another option to select which is whether to show or hide the email addresses of directory entries. If you choose to hide email addresses, entries can still be contacted by email by clicking on the entry’s email icon. The default is set to 'Hide Email Addresses' but, if you wish to show them, select 'Show Email Addresses' from the menu and click ‘Save’. Notifications – this gives you the option to send notifications to your Group’s administrators or Group Members. Simply choose your preferred options from the drop down menu.


Chapter 2 (continued) Row Display gives you the option to see varying degrees of details for each contact i.e.

‘Standard’ means only the name, phone number and email address will appear in the row display;

with ‘Details’ you will see the address information and notes only without the picture;

and ‘Details + Picture’ will show the information and picture next to each directory listing.

Security (Additional Option in Surveys) In Surveys, there is the additional option to ‘Publish Results’. If you set ‘Publish Results’ to ‘No’ then only Administrators will be able to view the Survey results. If you set it to ‘Yes’, then all registered users will be able to see the aggregate results.

How to set the Security options To set the security options for a particular application, click on the ‘Edit’ link to the right of the application name. Select your preferences from the menu for ‘View Access’ and ‘Update Access’ and then click ‘Save Changes’. If you select ‘User Id’ for the ‘Update Access’ for any application, an additional tab will appear at the top of the ‘Settings’ page: ‘User List’. If you click on this tab, then the ‘New’ button, a drop down menu of members will appear from which you can select specific users. Making Applications “Visible” There is another level of security that is managed by the Site Administrator. Each Group can request that certain applications be made “visible” to all Registered Users and/or Guests and then the group’s application will appear in the list of categories in the main application. For example, if your group wishes to secure more membership you may want your calendar with your group’s activities to be listed in the main Calendar application. Similarly you may have a slideshow or forms etc which you would like listed under the main application; you will need to contact your Site Administrator to request this. How to create a Custom Icon To customise the look of your group’s Home Page even further, most application’s icons can be replaced with other images of your choice. To replace an icon with another image, select the ‘Icon’ link to the right of the name of the application you wish to


Chapter 2 (continued) change the icon for. Next, click the ‘Browse’ button to locate the picture on your computer. Once the image has been selected, click the ‘Upload Image’ button; the image will automatically be resized not to exceed 30 pixels. If you wish to have a border around your customised icon/s, go to the ‘Details’ tab and select ‘Yes’ next to the ‘Frame Custom Icons’ option and then click ‘Save’. To remove a customised icon, simply click on the ‘Remove Icon’ link on the ‘Custom Icon’ page. Picture Tab To add one or more pictures to your group’s Home Page (this also enables your group to be featured on the ‘Featured Group’ rotation), click the ‘Picture’ tab at the top of the page. You have two options to add a picture: upload a picture, or your group’s logo, from your own computer, or you can choose one from the Stock Photo gallery. To add a picture from your own computer, click the ‘Browse’ button and locate the picture and then click the ‘Upload Image’ button. It is best to use an image that is 250 x 210 pixels or smaller. To choose a picture from the Stock Photo gallery, click the ‘Stock Photo’ button at the top of the page. The Stock Photo Library will appear with a list of categories of images. Select a category by clicking on a category title and then click on your preferred image. If you want to remove the image completely from your group’s Home Page, click on the ‘Remove Picture’ link on the ‘Upload Picture’ screen.

Membership Tab The Membership area has a complete list of all the members of your group, it is here you can manually add new members and delete existing ones.


Chapter 2 (continued) If your group is public, any registered user can join your group. To see if you have any new members, you will need to periodically check the member list for new names. If your group is private and a prospective member has contacted you directly to join, you will need to access this area and choose their name from the drop down list, and click ‘Add Member’ to make them a part of your group. If you wish to send an email to all of your Members, simply click on the ‘Notify’ button on the Group Membership page. A template will appear where you can fill in the ‘Subject’ and content of the email in the ‘Email Body’ field and click ‘Send’. You will receive a confirmation message indicating the number of emails that have been sent. Web Site Tab Under the Web Site tab, you are able to create a variety of web links which will appear on your group’s Home Page. You also have the ability to create extra web pages to add to your group’s Home Page. How to create a link to a Website If you wish to create a link to an existing website (your group may have one of its own), you can create a link to it in by clicking on the ‘New’ button; a ‘New Web Page’ template will appear, then:

1. fill in the ‘Description’ (the name of the link you would like to have appear on your group’s Home Page),

2. enter a number in ‘Section’ for the order in which you wish the link to appear,

3. choose page type ‘Link’ (which features a ‘Return’ button on the top left corner once the web page has opened or ‘Link Pop Up’ (no Return button) from the drop down menu,

4. fill in a ‘Summary’ description if you wish, and click ‘Save’.


Chapter 2 (continued) When the screen reappears, a field will appear to the right of ‘Page Type’, for you to fill in the URL to the web site and then click ‘Save’. How to Create Extra Web Pages If you would like to add extra pages of information about your group to the group’s Home Page, you can create your own web pages which will appear as links on the Page. To create a new web page, click ‘New’, fill in a description, section, and you can select either Page Builder (does not require any knowledge of HTML), HTML, or Text and click ‘Save’. If you choose ‘HTML’, an input box will appear in which you can type the HTML code for your web page and then click ‘Save’. The ‘Text’ option will enable you to type free text with no HTML code. If you choose ‘Page Builder’, you will be able to use a Visual Editor to build the page and add pictures. This option only works with IE 5.0 and above on PCs only. To use the Editor, click on the ‘Visual Editor’ icon. 1. The first step is to add any images you wish to appear on the page. To do this you

can either select an image from your computer by using the ‘Browse’ button near the Upload Picture field and then the ‘Upload Picture’ button, or you can select from the Stock Library by clicking on the ‘Library’ link. If you use the Stock Library, you will need to click on ‘Library’, then select a category, image, and then ‘Copy this Picture’.

2. A page of templates will then appear for you to select the layout for your picture and text. Simply click on the link above your preferred layout.


Chapter 2 (continued) 3. Next, type the text you wish to appear on your web page (you can edit the text

using the tools on the tool bar at the top of the page) and click ‘Save and Update’.

4. If you wish, you can attach a document/s to your web page by clicking on the ‘Browse’ button near the Upload File field. Fill in a description of the document in the ‘File Description’ field and then click the Upload File button. The document will appear as a link on your web page.

The Visual Editor also has a Help icon which can guide you in creating your web page. Welcome Page Tab The Welcome Page section allows Group Administrators to set the layout of the group’s Home Page. The items that you can move are the group’s Picture(s), Contact Information, News, Upcoming Events, application Menu and Web Page links. Remember though if you wish to change the layout of the Home Page, even if you only want to move one of the above items, you must assign locations to all the items on the Home Page otherwise they will not appear. To specify a new location for an item, click the ‘New’ button at the top of the page. First select the section of the page you want to work with (Left 1-4, Right 1-4). Next, specify the item you want in the particular section and click the ‘Save’ button on the right. You need to work through the drop down list of items and assign each of them a location and click ‘Save’ in order to fill your group’s Home Page again.


Chapter 3 – Managing the Group’s Applications Objectives: This chapter contains information that is applicable across many of your group’s applications. Upon completion of this chapter, you will be able to:

1. Create sub-categories for applications 2. Set a default sub-category and change the sub-category order 3. Send notification emails to your members 4. Edit an entry 5. Delete an entry

1. To create sub-categories for an application, click the ‘Edit Sub-Categories’ tab at

the top of the application’s main page. Simply type the sub-category name you wish to create in the box and click the ‘Add Sub-Category’ button. Every time you add an entry you will be able to select from the sub-categories you have created in your drop down menu.

2. You have the option to put a particular sub-category at the top of the list by

making it the default sub-category. To do this click on the ‘No’ link to the left of the sub-category name and it will set the sub-category as the default. If you have a lot of sub-categories within an application, you can arrange them in a specific order. To do this place numbers in descending order according to your preference in the ‘Sort‘ field to the far right of each sub-category entry and remember to click ‘Save’ each time.

3. Many of the applications have a ‘Notify’ button at the top of the window when

you are adding an entry. This feature allows you to quickly and easily send an email message to all of your members regarding a new event, survey etc. Once you click the ‘Notify’ button, an email template appears with a suggested subject and text; you can


Chapter 3 (continued)

modify the subject or text simply by deleting it and inserting your preferred wording and then click the ‘Send’ button at the bottom. You also have the option, of making the recipient’s name appear in the email by using the key words SUBFIRSTNAME and SUBLASTNAME in the email body. Once your notification has been sent a confirmation message will appear.

4. To edit an existing entry click the ‘Edit’ link to the right of the entry name, make

your changes and then click ‘Save’.

5. To delete an entry in a particular application, simply click the (bin icon) to the right of the entry name to remove it.


Chapter 4 – Managing the Calendar


1. Set up an RSVP 2. Add Custom Fields to your RSVP 3. Set the ‘Recurring Event’ option 4. Add a Picture to an Event 5. Add a Document to an Event 6. Print Calendar pages

Each group can have their own calendar, to which they can add events and activities. It not only keeps your members informed of upcoming events, but can allow other users and guests (if you wish to enable access) to find out more about your group. To access your group’s calendar, click the ‘Calendar’ icon from your group’s Home Page. When the Calendar first comes up it shows the current month. To browse other month’s events, click on the arrow near ‘Month’ at the top right side of the page. 1. When you add an Event you will notice an ‘RSVP Set Up’ tab at the top of the

window. This enables members to respond to invitations via the Portal. Events that members indicate they will attend will also appear on the ‘Upcoming Events’ area of their personal Home Page. If you wish to set up an RSVP, click on the tab, choose ‘RSVP’, specify all the necessary information such as the deadline, message, attendance number, if the event is for adults/children/or both, organiser’s name and email, and who you wish to publish the RSVP list to. Remember to click ‘Save’ when you are finished.


Chapter 4 (continued) 2. You have the option to add ‘Custom Fields’ to your RSVP form, the fields you can

add are a ‘Notes Box’, an ‘Input Box’, and a ‘Pulldown Menu’. These fields enable those responding to include information to the organiser when they RSVP. For example, an ‘Input Box’ will allow them to add a single line of response, a ‘Notes Box’ multiple lines, and with the ‘Pulldown Menu’ you can create a series of options for them to choose from. To add a Custom Field, fill out the ‘Custom Field Label’ then choose your ‘Custom Field Type’ from the menu and click ‘Save’. If you choose ‘Pulldown Menu’ for your Field Type a ‘Values’ link will appear, this will enable you to add the options to choose from. Click on the link and then add your list of options in the ‘List of Values’, separating each option with a comma, and click ‘Save’.

3. At the top of the ‘Edit Event’ template there is also a ‘Recurring Event’ tab, this

can be an extremely useful tool if you have a regular meeting or event. Click on the tab, select the frequency the event recurs (daily, weekly, monthly etc) and an end date for when you would like to cease the recurrence and click ‘Save’.

4. You can also add a picture to an Event by clicking on the ‘Edit’ link to the right of the Event description and then selecting the ‘Picture’ tab. Click the ‘Browse’ button to locate the picture and then click the ‘Upload Image’ button.

5. If you wish to attach a file or document to an Event, click on the ‘Edit’ link and

then the ‘File Attachments’ link at the bottom of the page. Click on the ‘Browse’ button to locate the file and then the ‘Upload File‘ button. Your attachment will then be listed with an icon indicating the type of file, a file number, file size, and the date. To the right of this listing is an ‘Edit’ link which you can use to rename the file and add notes.

6. There is also an option to print each Month’s view in Calendar by selecting the Month and then clicking on the ‘Print’ button at the top of the page.


Chapter 5 – Message Boards Message Boards enable your members to quickly and easily communicate with each other on a variety of topics. Unlike email, one person can quickly and easily post a message for everyone to see and allow anyone in the group to reply to it. Messages can become discussion forums. There isn’t any real administration in Message Boards except to delete any messages, or discussion topics, that are not deemed acceptable by your group.

To go into Message Boards simply click on the ‘Messages Boards’ icon from your group’s Home Page. A list of all current messages will appear with the subject name and date posted. If there are any replies, the number will be noted in brackets next to the subject and the date of the last reply will be listed in another column.


Chapter 6 – Creating Surveys Objectives: Upon completion of this chapter, you will be able to:

1. Create new Surveys for your members 2. View Survey submissions

The Surveys section enables Administrators to find out their members’ opinion about different topics. To access this section, click on the ‘Surveys’ icon from your group’s Home Page. You are able to have multiple surveys at one time for your members to fill out, each member can only respond to each survey once. There are several different types of survey that you can create: Multiple Choice (allows members to select one option), Checkbox (allows members to select one or more options), and Feedback (enables members to write a response to the question). 1. To create a new Survey:

click the ‘New Question’ button at the top of the page type in the Question select the type of Survey (Multiple Choice, Checkbox, or Feedback) select whether you wish the members to see the results in ‘Show Results’ fill in any information about the question in ‘Notes’ enter a Confirmation Message (optional) choose the type of ‘Respond Button’ which will appear at the bottom of the

survey (Save Information, Submit Feedback, Vote, Submit Ballot, or Submit). click the ‘Save’ button if you have chosen Checkbox or Multiple Choice for your Survey format, you

need to then click on the ‘Response Options’ tab, fill out the list of options to choose from and then click ‘Save’.



The ‘Manual Data Entry’ tab enables you to manually enter any Survey responses you may have received by other means (i.e. telephone, email). Just fill in the total responses in the appropriate fields and click ‘Save’.

2. To view the results of a particular survey, click the ‘Results’ button at the top of the

Surveys’ Main page. Select the question you wish to see the results for by clicking on the ‘View’ link to the right. A response chart will appear for checkbox and multiple choice surveys, with percentages for each optional response. The chart will also indicate if there have been any manually entered responses. For Feedback surveys, each reply will be listed. There is also the option to print the results from the Survey Results page by selecting the ‘Print’ button. The printed results include the date, question, graph of results and percentages for each current survey.


Chapter 7 – Managing Documents


1. Upload Files for members to view 2. Understand the different file types to use

The Documents section enables you to upload and store different types of documents and files for your group. Once a file is uploaded, your members can download the information when it is convenient for them. To access the Documents section click on the ‘Documents’ icon from your group’s Home Page. 1. The term ‘uploading’ refers to transferring a file (such as a document) from your

personal computer to the Portal. Depending on the size of the file, and what type of Internet connection you have, it may take a few minutes to transfer the file over. To upload a new file, click the ‘Upload File’ button at the top of the window. You will then need to select a sub-category (if applicable), specify a title, place a number in the ‘Sort’ field to choose the order in which you want the document to appear, fill in any notes about the file, and then click the ‘Browse’ button to locate the file on your computer. Once the file has been selected, click the ‘Save’ button to start the transfer process. A confirmation message will appear when your file has uploaded successfully.

2. There are certain types of files that are better to use than others. The problem

when dealing with different file types is that not all users have the same programs installed on their computers. For instance, if you upload an MS Word document, a user who does not have MS Word installed on their computer will be able to download the file, but not open it. Some file types are considered ‘safe’ text files such as JPEG image files (. jpg) and Acrobat documents (. pdf). Acrobat documents are used frequently on the Internet instead of Word/WordPerfect etc because people can view .pdf files by downloading a free utility from Adobe. If you don’t already have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer, you can download it free from www.adobe.com. If you wish to create a .pdf file to use you will need to purchase the full version of Adobe, which allows you to create them.


Chapter 8 – Managing Directories


1. Create, modify, and delete entries in Directories 2. Use the ‘Quick Entry’ screen to add new entries

Directories is a place where groups can store contact information about people and businesses, and create links to sites that may be of interest to other members of the group. To access Directories, click the ‘Directories’ icon from the group’s Home Page. 1. To add a new entry to a directory:

click on the ‘New’ button at the top of the window. the ‘Name’ tab will appear, select a sub-category from the drop down menu,

fill in the necessary fields (name, phone, email, web link etc) and click the ‘Save Directory Entry’ button when you have finished.

the next step is to select the other tabs: ‘Address’ and ‘Notes’ – fill out the details and click ‘Save Directory Entry’ before changing tabs.

you can also add a picture by selecting the ‘Picture’ tab and choosing a picture from your own computer and click the ‘Upload Image’ button.

2. If you have many entries to add you can use the ‘Quick Entry’ option to save

time. To use this option, click the ‘Quick Entry’ button at the top of the window, this brings up a screen where you can easily add just the basic information (first and last name, phone and email) without having to navigate multiple windows. Simply fill in the relevant information and click the ‘Save’ button to the right of the entry.


Chapter 9 – Managing Slideshows Objectives: Upon completion of this chapter, you will be able to:

1. Create a new Slideshow 2. Add a Slide 3. Add a Slide using the Visual Editor 4. Re-sort Slides

Slideshows is a wonderful application for groups not only to share images of events but it can also be used as a tool for training, orientation etc. You can add an unlimited number of slides to each Slideshow. It is best to use .jpg or .gif files which do not exceed 550 pixels in width, and consider the order of your slides before you begin. To access this application, click the ‘Slideshows’ icon on your group’s Home page. 1. To create a new Slideshow, click the ‘New’ button at the top of the page. The

‘Slideshow Information’ tab will appear. Fill in the appropriate information for your slideshow: a title, any notes, and click ‘Save’.

2. To add a slide, select the ‘Add/Edit Slides’ tab, and then the ‘Add Slide’ button at

the top of the page, an ‘Edit Slide’ template will appear in which in you fill in the ‘Slide Title’, ‘Sort’ number (for the order in which you wish the slide to appear), caption, and click ‘Save’. The next step is to locate the file on your computer by clicking on the ‘Browse’ button, and then click ‘Upload Image’.

3. If you wish to create slides with advanced formatting and multiple pictures, you

can select the ‘Visual Editor’ button instead of filling in a caption and uploading the image from the ‘Edit Slide’ screen. Fill in the ‘Slide Title’ and ‘Sort’ number as above then select the ‘Visual Editor’ link. In ‘Visual Editor’ you can simply type any caption or text directly into the Editor and then choose from the following options to incorporate pictures:



upload images using the Browse feature select pictures from the Library. copy and paste pictures from the internet directly into the Editor.

If you have used the Browse feature or the Library to add your picture, a page of templates will appear for you to select the layout for your slide’s picture and text. Simply click on the link above your preferred layout. Remember to click ‘Save and Update’ after adding text or pictures. For further instructions on how to use the Editor, select the Help icon within the Editor's toolbar.

4. To re-sort your Slideshow, from the main Slideshow page click on the ‘Edit’ link to

the right of the Slideshow name, then the ‘Add/Edit Slides’ tab and a list of all your slides will appear in numerical order. Click on the name of the slide, enter in the new number in the ‘Sort’ field and click ‘Save’. Repeat this process for each of the slides you wish to move.


Chapter 10 – Managing Forms Objectives: Upon completion of this chapter, you will be able to:

1. Create new Forms for your members 2. View Form submissions

The Forms section allows groups to post forms that members (and registered users and/or guests, if applicable) can fill out right from the group’s Home Page. Some ideas for forms could be: Booking forms, Membership applications etc. To access this area, click the ‘Forms’ icon on your group’s Home Page. Creating a form is one of the more challenging tasks you can do on the Portal; it can take a little trial and error to get them looking just right. 1. To create a new form, click the ‘Add Form’ button at the top of the window. An

‘Edit New Form’ template will appear, fill in: the ‘Form Description’, or title, for the form choose the ‘Status’ - ‘Pending’ choose ‘Email Type’ - ‘HTML’ or ‘Text’ fill in the email address of the person who you wish to receive the form

submissions in the ‘Email‘ field any ‘Instructions’ on how to complete the form (optional) a ‘Confirmation Message’ which the sender will receive once the form has

been submitted (optional), and click ‘Save’.


Chapter 10 (continued) The next step is to design the actual form, to do this you click on the ‘Edit Fields’ tab at the top of the page. In this section you need to click the ‘Add a Field’ button for every item of information you want to be provided. You then need to specify the options for that field such as description, type, validation, position, size, and settings and then click ‘Save’.

Sort - is the order in which you wish the field to appear. Field Description - is the name you use to describe the field. Field Type - you have 9 options to choose from:

• User Info - this will automatically include the sender’s name, address,

telephone and email address from their member profile. This field type is only allowed in the first field of a form – it saves members having to fill in these details.

• Input Field - this provides a box for the sender to enter a single line of information.

• Notes - this provides a box for the sender to enter multiple lines of information.

• Pulldown Menu - a pulldown menu for the sender to select an option from. • Checkboxes - a list with checkboxes for the sender to select one or more

options from. • File Download - this field type allows you to add a hyperlink to a

document for the sender to download. • File Upload - the sender can upload and attach a file to the form. • Plain Text - allows you to add non-editable, free form text. • Header - a shaded bar with a title in, aligned in the centre. This allows you

to break your form up into multiple sections.

Validation - here you specify whether a particular field is an ‘optional’ or a ‘required’ field for the sender to complete. This does not apply to Field Types - User Info, Pulldown Menu or Check Boxes.

Position - you can select from Standard, Left, Middle or Right to position the fields on your form. Standard will give the field its own row. By selecting the other options, you can put multiple fields on the same row.



Size – enables you to select the size of the field in order to include multiple fields in a single row.

Settings - this is where you provide additional configuration information for the field. For Input Field, Notes, and Pulldown Menu if you click on ‘Settings’, an ‘Advanced Settings’ template will appear with a space for a Default Value and Instructions. A Default Value is a default answer, which the sender can change.

For ‘Pulldown Menu’ and ‘Checkboxes’ you can create list of options (Values) for the menu by filling in the ‘List of Values’, separating each option with a comma. If you complete the ‘Instructions’ box for a Default value a ‘?’ (red question mark) will appear near the field. When a sender shades this with their mouse, the instructions will appear. For File Download, ‘Settings’ will produce a File ID template in which you enter the File ID number of any previously uploaded Document. For Text simply fill in any text you wish to add to the form in the ‘Text box’. To add a Header fill in the ‘Header Text’ box. Once you complete the Settings information for your field, click the ‘Update’ button to save those settings. Then, click the ‘Return’ button to go back to your list of fields. To preview your form click the ‘View’ button at the top of the ‘Edit’ window.

When you are satisfied with the form content and layout – change the Status to ‘Posted’. 2. To view form submissions, click on the ‘Submitted’ button at the top of the Forms

main page. A list of forms will appear with the number of submissions and date of the last submission indicated. Click on the name of the form to see the list of form submissions for that form. Each submission will be displayed with a reference number, date, name and email link for the sender, a ‘View’ link to view the details of the form submission.


Chapter 11 – Managing Projects Objectives: Upon completion of this chapter, you will be able to:

1. Create and assign Tasks 2. Add a document to a Task 3. Add a Note to a task you have created

Projects provides Group Administrators with a simple system to manage projects in which their Group is involved. Tasks can be organised within Projects by a creating sub-category for each Project. Group members will find Assigned Tasks appear in the ‘My Projects’ section in their personal Home Page under the ‘Assigned Tasks’ tab. To access Projects click on the ‘Projects’ icon from your group’s Home Page. 1. To create a task, simply click on the ‘Add Task’ button at the top of the Projects

main page. A template will appear in which you: select which project (sub-category) to which you wish to add the task choose a ‘Due Date’ write a ‘Task Description’ select an assignee from the list of Registered Users fill in any ‘Notes’ describing the task and then click ‘Save’.

The task will then appear if you click on the relevant sub-category or ‘Show All’ from your Projects main page.


Chapter 11 (continued) 2. To attach a document or file to a Task, select the ‘File Attachment’ button on the

‘Edit Task’ screen, use the ‘Browse’ button to locate the file and then click ‘Upload File’

3. Administrators have the ability to add ‘Notes’ relating to tasks they have created.

To do this click on the task name and then select the ‘Notes’ tab at the top of the task. Next, click ‘New’, write a description for the Note, choose whether you wish the note to be viewable by all members by selecting ‘Yes’ or ‘No’, write the note and click ‘Save’. Each time you click on the ‘Notes’ tab for a particular task, a list of all notes that have been added will appear with the date it was added, who created it, and whether or not it is viewable.

4. Once a task is overdue, the number of days it is past due will appear in red next

to the due date. To check off a completed task simply click on the checkbox to the left of the task name. A tick will appear, and the task will then move into the ‘Completed Tasks’ section on the page with the date the task was completed. Only Group Administrators or the assignee can check the task off as completed.


Chapter 12 – Meeting Agendas Objectives: Upon completion of this chapter, you will be able to:

1. Create a Meeting Agenda 2. Add a File Attachment to an Agenda item 3. Delete a File Attachment 4. Format an Agenda 5. Print the Agenda and Reports

Meeting Agendas provides Administrators with a tool for managing their Meetings. Agendas can be viewed by any member of your group, and individual members also have the ability to add relevant reports to the agenda for everyone to read prior to a meeting. The Agenda and Reports can then be printed out for use at the meeting. The benefits of using online Meeting Agendas include the following:

Members can collaboratively prepare for a meeting in one central place. Meeting Agendas can help keep the length of meetings to a minimum. Members

can review the agendas and reports online prior to attending the meeting. The Community Portal becomes the central repository for past meetings, thus

providing a historical record for the association.

To access Meetings Agendas click on the ‘Meeting Agendas’ icon from your group’s Home Page. 1. To create a new Meeting Agenda, click on the ‘New’ button, fill in a description

of the meeting, date, choose ‘Open’ for the status (the status can be set to ‘Closed’ when the Agenda is finalised and then ‘Published’ once the Attendee list is finalised), fill in the list of attendees and then click ‘Save’. To create the actual Agenda, click on the ‘Edit Agenda’ tab and then select ‘New’, a template will appear in which you can fill out a description for each ‘Agenda Item’, a brief ‘Report’, and click ‘Save Report’. You will need to complete this process for each

item on the Agenda.


Chapter 12 (continued) 2. If you wish, you can include one or more files as an attachment to the agenda

item by typing a name for the file in ‘File Description’, locating the file on your computer using the ‘Browse’ button and then clicking ‘Upload File’.

3. To delete a file attachment, select the name of the file from the ‘Delete

Attachment’ menu and click the ‘Remove’ button. 4. When you return to the ‘Edit Agenda’ screen after creating each item you will

find a list of all the items you have created and you are able to edit the format of the Agenda.

The ‘Sort’ field indicates the position of the item on the agenda; to change

the position of an item(s), change the numbers on the list clicking ‘Save’ each time.

‘Section’ enables you to number the agenda item from 01, 02 etc by filling in the field and clicking ‘Save’.

‘Indent’ gives you the option of creating ‘sub-items’ which can be indented under a main item, simply choose ‘Indent’ and click ‘Save’.

‘Print’ gives you the option of whether or not to print specific items on the Agenda, the default is set to ‘Yes’ but you can select ‘No’ and click ‘Save’.

5. To print your final Agenda and any reports that may be attached, from the main

page of Meeting Agendas, click on the name of the agenda you wish to print and click on the ‘Print Agenda and Reports’ link on the top right corner of the page.


Chapter 13 – Specialty Applications Objectives: Upon completion of this chapter, you will be able to:

1. Add Frequently Asked Questions 2. Add a Folder to Knowledge Base 3. Add an Entry to Knowledge Base 4. Add Recipes

As mentioned earlier it is possible to enable a number of ‘Specialty Applications’ within a group. From your group’s Home Page, you will need to select the ‘Edit’ button, then the ‘Applications’ tab and then the link at the bottom of the page ‘Enable Specialty Applications’. 1. To add FAQs, select the FAQ icon from your group’s Home Page, click ‘New’ and

an ‘Edit Details’ template will appear; fill in a question and answer and click ‘Save’. Repeat this process to provide answers to all of your group’s Frequently Asked Questions.

2. Knowledge Base is a very useful application if your group wishes to organise and

store a lot of information, links, documents etc. In Knowledge Base, you create folders rather than sub-categories to organise the information. To create a folder, select the Knowledge Base icon from your group’s Home Page and then click on the ‘New’ button. Type in a description or name for your Folder and click ‘Save’. You have the option to change the folder into a custom icon by selecting the ‘Icon’ tab, then locate the image by using the ‘Browse’ button and click ‘Upload Image’. It is best to use an image that is approximately 100 x 100 pixels.

3. To add a new entry to Knowledge Base, click on the relevant folder and then the

link ‘New Entry’. Choose an appropriate ‘Type’ for your entry, fill in a ‘Description’, the ‘Source’, a URL in ‘Web Site’ (if applicable), a Summary describing the entry and Contents (optional) and click ‘Save’.

4. To add a recipe, select the ‘Recipe’ icon from the Home Page, click ‘New’ and,

in the ‘Edit Details’ template, fill in a title for the Recipe, the number of Servings, Ingredients and Directions and click ’Save’. If you wish, you can also select the ‘Picture’ tab to add an image of the recipe. Use the ‘Browse’ function to locate the image on your computer, and then click ‘Upload Image’.


Chapter 14 – Activity Reports Activity Reports provide Group Administrators with data associated with their group members’ usage of the online group. The reports provide Administrators with information such as the number of members who accessed the group and which applications were viewed most. Administrators are then able to assess whether a reasonable proportion of their membership are utilising the site, and consider how the group could be improved to be even more useful to its members. To access Activity Reports click on the icon from your group’s Home Page. The Activity Reports that are available to Group Administrators are as follows:

1. Activity Summary – this is a summary of activity across the group

2. Page View Trend – is a graph of the number of pages viewed across all of the group’s applications on a monthly basis.

3. Application Usage – is a chart showing the percentage each specific application represents of the total usage.

4. Unique Visits - indicates how many times the group was visited within the past

30 days. If the same member accesses the group on 3 different occasions it counts as 3 visits.

5. Unique Visitors – indicates how many distinct individuals accessed the group

within the past 30 days. If the same individual accesses the group on 3 different occasions it counts as 1 Unique Visitor.


Chapter 15 – Finding Help

To find help with managing your group, you can click the ‘Help’ icon from your group’s Home Page. This will allow you to find specific help topics relating to group administration. To learn more about a specific topic, click the name of the help file. If you would like to print off any information in this help section, click the ‘Print’ button at the top of the screen.