Getting Started
Why should I register with the community?
Registering lets you take full advantage of the community, enabling you to:
-
- Post new messages and reply to other members' posts
- Receive email when someone responds to a specific post or topic
- Exchange private messages with other members
- Personalize your community experience
- Post comments on blogs that don't allow anonymous comments
- Post ideas, vote on the ideas you like best, and post comments
If you don't register, you can only browse, search for information, and read posts. You won't be able to give kudos, vote on ideas, interact with other community members, or set customization preferences.
How do I register?
Registering takes only a minute; all you need is a login name, a password, and an email address.
To register:
-
- Click Register|Sign In at the top of any page.
- Enter Email Address.
- Click Sign Up
Tip: Most people create anonymous names for the sake of privacy and to help them feel more comfortable participating. Be creative, have fun with it, but choose carefully: you can't change your login after you're registered.
- Enter First Name, Last Name, Username, Email Address, and Choose Country
- Click Register.
- Check your email for a confirmation e-mail and click the activation link.
Note: You must have cookies enabled in your browser to and to sign in the community.
How do I sign in?
After you've registered and confirmed your registration, you can sign in and start participating.
To sign in:
-
- Click Sign In at the top of any page.
- Enter your Email and Password.
Tip: If you're the only one who uses this computer, click Keep me signed in to sign in automatically next time you visit.
- Click Sign In.
What do I do if I forget my login or password?
To get help with your password:
- Click Sign In
- Enter the email address you used when you registered with the community.
- Click Sign Up
- On the right side Click Reset Password
- Enter your Username
- Click Send Request
- Enter the Security Code sent to your email
- Click Validate
- Enter New Password
- Click Save
My Settings
How do I change the image (avatar) next to my name?
Changing your avatar is an easy way to personalize your community identity. You can change your avatar as often as you like. Your current avatar appears at the top of the Avatar page.
To change your avatar:
- Sign in to your community account.
- Go to Profile > Actions> Change Picture
- Choose a new avatar in one of these ways:
- Choose an avatar from the Community collection. (Choose an avatar collection and click the avatar your want.)
- If you have been granted permission, use your Facebook profile photo as your avatar. (Click From Facebook and click Set Avatar.
- If you have been granted permission, use an image from the web. (Click From the Web and enter the URL for the image. Then, click Set Avatar.
How do I create a signature for my posts?
Your signature is text that appears at the bottom of your posts.
To create your personal signature:
- Sign in to your community account.
- Go to My Account > Discussion Signature
- Enter your signature text in the Signature box. Some communities let you use HTML in your signature. Check with a moderator if you have questions.
- Click Save.
How do I tell other community members about me?
You can tell other community members as much or as little about yourself as you want. You can enter a short biography, your location, your interests, or anything else (within community guidelines, of course).
To tell other community members about yourself:
- Sign in to your community account.
- Go to Contact Details
- Enter information about yourself That you wish to share in the appropriate fields.
- Click Save.
By default, all community users can see this information. To display your info only to people on your Friends List:
- Click My Account > Privacy Settings.
- Set Privacy to how you want.
- Click Save.
What is my Friends List and how do I add people?
Your Friends List is a way to create your own community within a community.
Depending on your privacy settings, the people on your Friends Listcan see your biography, other personal information, or online status. If you send private messages, you can choose friends from a list instead of typing their user names. Note: Your Friends List is available only if your community supports private messages. To add people to your Friends List:
- Sign in to the community.
- Click the user name of a friend to see the friend's Profile page.
- Click Connections
- Click Add as Contact.
Note: You can remove a person from your Friend's List by clicking "Remove from Contacts". Additionally, you can click "Ignore" to prevent specific users from contacting you.
How do I set my viewing preferences?
You can customize the look and behavior of the community in many ways, including time zone and language preference, text size, menu behavior, message order, and privacy settings. To set your viewing preferences:
- Sign in to the community.
- Go to My Account > (Email Preferences, RSS Feeds or Community Notifications).
- Click through the various preference tabs and make the changes you want.
- Click Save on each tab where you make changes.
Community Basics
How do communities work?
Communities provide a place for members or participants to search for information, read and post about topics of interest, and learn from each other. Depending on how the community is set up, you'll find:
- boards where you can post questions and answers
- blogs where you can read and comment on articles
- idea exchanges where you can suggest ways to improve products and vote for ideas that other community members have posted
- and more...
Guests (unregistered visitors) can browse or search the community for information. Members (registered users) can post messages or comments, track discussions, and get email notifications on posting activity and other community actions.
What is my role and responsibility in the community?
You are essential to the community, even if all you ever do is read messages or articles that someone else has posted. Communities offer all kinds of contributions: posting questions and sharing answers, leaving comments on blog articles or ideas, voting for ideas you like, or just searching for answers to your questions.
We encourage you to visit often and participate. Ask your toughest questions. Chances are someone has a solution or can point you in the right direction. If you find a solution that works, let others know and pass on your own tips and insights. You might just have the answer someone else needs.
Remember to thank community members who have helped you. Show your appreciation by giving kudos to helpful posts, accepting a solution that answers your question, or posting thank-you replies.
We want the community to be appropriate, friendly, informative, and fun for everyone.
Be sure to read the Community Terms of Service and the community's Rules and Guidelines so that you know what to expect and what is expected of you when you're here.
Searching
How do I search for information?
To search the Community, Click the magnifying glass in the top right hand corner next to your profile picture
- Enter your criteria into the search bar
- Click the magnifying glass
- Choose which post best suits your search.
How does auto-suggest work?
Auto-suggest accelerates your search by displaying results as you type search terms. When you see the post or user you're looking for, just click it.
To turn auto-suggest off, click Turn off suggestions in the auto-suggest list.
To turn auto-suggest on, click Turn on suggestions below the search entry area.
How do I filter search results?
You can refine your search using one or more filters (communities, tags, comments, Categories, when post was created).
Active filters appear at the top of the results list. To turn off a filter, click the X to the right of the filter.
How can I customize search results?
You can customize your search results to make them more meaningful in several ways:
- Use the interactive filters on the left side of the page to refine the search results based on a variety of criteria: location, author, date, and others.
- See which filters are active at the top of the results list.
- Turn an active filter off by clicking the X button to the right of the filter.
How do I search for people?
You can search for community members by name or by rank. The name you search for must be at least three characters long.
To search for users:
- Click the magnifying glass in the top right hand corner next to your profile picture
- Enter your criteria into the search bar
- Click the magnifying glass
- Look for user
Posting Messages
How do I post a message?
To post a message:
- Go to the community where you want to post.
- Click Join to join community
- Click Discussion
- Click the Post New Message link.
- In the Subject field, enter your message title.
Tip: Make your subject clear and concise, as it's the only part of the message that shows up on the message-listing page.
- In the Body field, type your message. Be sure to include all necessary details, especially for technical topics.
- Format and spell check your message, as needed.
- Click Send.
How do I reply to a message?
Click
Reply to respond to a particular post.
The Reply Message screen is similar to the Post Message screen, with these differences:
- When you reply to a post, the subject line is filled in automatically. You can change it if you want.
- You can paste the message to which you are replying into the body of your reply by clicking Quote Message.
Your reply is added to the existing thread. It won't create a new thread.
Facebook/Social Media
What is Facebook/Social Media Integration?
Facebook Integration enables you to sign in to the community using your Facebook user name and password.
You start by connecting your Facebook account and your community profile. Then, the next time you sign in to Facebook, you can automatically sign in to the community, too. When your accounts are connected, you see a Connect with Facebook link next to the regular Sign In link. Clicking this link signs you into both the community and your Facebook account. Likewise, signing out of the community logs you out from Facebook, too.
And if you change your mind, you can disconnect your profile from your Facebook account and go back to signing into the community with your old login name and password.
How do I connect my Facebook account and my community profile?
To connect your Facebook/Social Media account(s) and community profile:
- Go to Profile
- Next to Social Links Click Actions
- Enter your Facebook URL in the search bar
- Click Save.
You can now log in to both Facebook and the community from the Facebook Login page. You can also choose your Facebook profile picture as your community avatar.
How do I disconnect my Facebook account from my community profile?
To unlink your Facebook account and community profile:
- Go to Profile
- Next to Social Links Click Actions
- Delete Facebook URL
- Click Save
Your Facebook and community accounts are now disconnected. Use your community user name and password next time you sign in. If you were using your Facebook profile picture as your avatar, you must choose a different avatar.
How do I choose my Facebook profile photo as my avatar?After you've connected your Facebook account and community, you can choose your Facebook profile photo as your community avatar.
To choose your Facebook profile photo as your avatar:
- Go to your Profile
- Under your profile picture click Actions.
- Click Change Picture
- Click the Facebook icon.
- Click Save
Note: If you disconnect your Facebook and community accounts, you'll need to choose a new avatar in the community.
Bookmarks, Subscriptions, and RSS
How do I use bookmarks?
Bookmarks enable you to list community content (boards, articles, ideas, topics, or individual posts) on a special page so you can easily find it again.
To bookmark a piece of content:
- Go to the item you want to bookmark.
- To bookmark a location, choose (Location) Options > Bookmark.
To bookmark a specific post, go to the post and choose (Post) Options > Bookmark.
To view and manage your bookmarks:
- Go to My Settings > Subscriptions & Notifications.
- Click My Bookmarks.
You can click a bookmark to go to the item.
- To delete a bookmark, click the check box for the bookmark and click Bookmark Options > Delete Selected Bookmarks.
How do I use subscriptions?
Subscriptions let you get email updates whenever new content appears in an area of the community that you're interested in. You can subscribe to a board, a blog article, an idea exchange, or any other location in the community. You can also subscribe to a specific post.
To subscribe a piece of content:
- Go to the item you want to Follow.
- Click Follow
What is RSS and how do I use it?
RSS stands for "Really Simple Syndication." It is a way for you to get the latest content from this community, along with many other sites that you visit, all in one place. With an RSS feed reader, you subscribe to web sites, and those sites feed you new content so you can stay up to date.
To use RSS, you need a feed reader, such as Google Reader, MyYahoo, or the Live Bookmarks feature of Firefox. There are many free options. After you have your feed reader set up, you can find RSS feeds in the community by going to a board, blog, thread, or message and selecting
Subscribe to RSS Feed from the options menu. There you will see a preview of the feed. Most RSS readers give you a button to click at this point. After you click it, the RSS feed appears in your reader as well as new content from that section of the community whenever it becomes available
Knowledge Base
What is a knowledge base?
A knowledge base (also called a tribal knowledge base) is a collection of articles that captures and organizes helpful community information. Knowledge bases are great community resources for several reasons:
- You can search for knowledge base articles or use special navigation links that let you browse through the community's knowledge bases.
- After you find an article, you can add your comments and maybe even edit the article (if you have the right permission). If the article's publisher incorporates your comment into a later version of the article, you'll get credit as a contributor.
- Articles can contain some of the same rich media as other posts, including images and attachments.
- Each article contains lists of contributors and related links.
Contributors could be community members whose posts or comments are used in the article, authors who put the article together, or editors who reviewed or refined it. Related links take you to posts that were used in the article or other posts that the authors thought you might find helpful or interesting, including forum messages, blog articles, and ideas
How can I view a knowledge base?
You can view a knowledge base article in a number of ways.
To go to the knowledge base for a board or forum, click the
Support Tab at the top of any page. Then choose
Documentation from the drop down tab
How do I edit a knowledge base article?
To edit a knowledge base article:
- Click Edit on the article page.
Note: You only see the Edit button if you have permission to edit the article.
- Click in the section you want to edit and make your changes.
You can edit text, add text, or drag content from the clipping area on the right side of the Editor.
- To search for additional material, enter a search term and click Search.
- To find tagged material, click the Tags tab and click a related tag.
- Format text, spell check the content, and add contributors or related links as needed.
- Add a revision note that explains your changes.
- Click a save option: Save.
Blogs
What's a blog?
A blog is an online journal written by one or more authors. Blog articles usually appear in reverse-chronological order, so you see the most recent article first, followed by earlier articles. Some blogs have comments from readers, which you can read by clicking the
Comments link at the bottom of the article.
How do I post a comment on a blog?
Posting a comment on a blog is a lot like replying to a message on a board. If the blog is open for comments, you'll see a post a comment link or a comment count link at the bottom of the article.
To post your comment:
- Click Add to the bottom of the page
You can post a comment to an article or to someone else's comment.
- Type your comment in the comment area.
You can use simple HTML and quote the article you're commenting on.
Tip: Unless you have special permissions, you can't edit or delete a comment after it's posted, so be sure to preview your comment and spell check first.
- Click Save.
Some blogs display new comments almost immediately. Other blogs don't display new comments until the blog author or a moderator approves them.
Can I post a blog comment without registering or logging in?
No.
Where is my blog comment? I posted a comment, but don't see it.
Some blogs display new comments almost immediately. Other blogs don't display new comments until the blog author or a moderator approves them.
If your comment doesn't appear immediately, check back in a few minutes. If it still doesn't appear, your comment is most likely in the approval queue.
Can I edit or delete my blog comments?
No, you can't. Be sure to check your spelling and preview your comment before you post it.
How do I share a blog article with friends?
To share blog articles with friends, you can use any shared bookmarking, social network, or other tracking service, such as Del.icio.us, Digg, Reddit, Facebook, MySpace, Google, StumbleUpon, Technorati, or Twitter. However, you must have a valid account with the service.
To share a blog article:
- Go to the article you want to share.
- Click Bookmark.
- Click the service you want to use.
The next steps depend on the service.
Can I subscribe to a blog?
No
Images
How do I insert an image in a post?
You can insert images from your computer (this uploads the image to your gallery), from your image gallery (if the image has been approved), or from another location on the web.
To insert an image in a post:
- Start a new post.
- Click the Photo Icon (bottom left corner of text toolbar)
- Choose one of the image source options and follow the on-screen instructions.
What is a private image?
A private image is one that only you can see. Each time you upload an image, you can decide whether you want that image to appear in your image gallery. If you choose no, the image is private. Remember, a moderator must approve all uploaded images before your can use them in a post or display them in your gallery.
To change the privacy setting for an image:
- In your gallery page, click the check box below the image you want to change.
- Click Image Options > Make All Checked Images Public or Private.
Accepted Solutions
What is an Accepted Solution?
An Accepted Solutions is a way for you to choose the reply that best answers a question that you've posted. When you accept a solution, both the question and the solution get special icons and links that take you directly from the question to the answer.
An Accepted Solutions icon also appears on boards and in search results so you can see which messages have solutions.
You can mark a solution as accepted only for questions that you've posted (you started the thread). Community moderators can also mark one of the replies to a message as an accepted solution
How do I mark a message as a solution?
To mark a message as a solution,
click the drop down arrow next to the
reply
Select Accept as Solution.
If you change your mind or if another reply provides an even better answer, you can revoke the first selection and accept the second reply.
To revoke an accepted solution, click Options > Not the Solution.
You can choose another solution or leave the question unsolved.
Kudos
What are Kudos?
Kudos is a content rating system that lets you vote for the messages you think are the most useful or important.
When you give kudos to a message, you are giving a thumbs-up for good content and a pat on the back to its author. Your kudos help to boost the value of certain messages and enhance the reputation of their authors.
Giving kudos is as easy as a single click, but the impact of kudos ripples across the community.
How do I give Kudos?
You can give Kudos to any posts in the community except your own.
To give kudos to a message and its author, click
Kudos on the message.
If you change your mind about the quality of the message, you can revoke your kudos.
To revoke kudos you've given, click the
Kudos button again.
How can I see who's given me Kudos?
Want to know who thinks a message is good? It's easy to find out which regular community members and community experts have given kudos to a message. Kudos from community experts can carry more weight than those from brand new members. (Community administrators can choose to have kudos granted by experts carry more weight than kudos granted by regular members.)
To see who's given you kudos:
- Go to the message page.
- Click the Kudos total.
The Who Kudoed this Message page shows you all the community members who've given kudos to the message.
Why can't I give Kudos to some messages?
There are a few reasons why you might not be able to give Kudos to a post.
- You've already given Kudos to this message (you can only give them once).
- You wrote the message (you can't Kudo your own messages).
- Your community manager wants you to give Kudos only to a message that starts a thread and not to replies.
- Your community manager has turned Kudos off for a message or a forum.
- Your community manager has frozen Kudos for this message. You can still see how many Kudos the message has received, but you can't Kudo it any more.
Where did the Kudos number go?
Sometimes a message gets so many kudos that we run out of space to show the number. When that happens, you'll see a Hot Kudos symbol or icon instead of the kudos count on the kudos badge.
Tagging
What is a tag?
A tag is a single keyword or phrase that describes the topic, theme, or subject of a post. You can add as many tags as you want and so can other community members. For example, in a post about a mouse, you might add these tags: mouse, USB mouse, optical mouse, wireless, DPI.
Be sure to use commas between tags.
What is a tag cloud?
A tag cloud displays tags used frequently within the community or within an area of the community. The more frequently a tag is used, the larger it appears in the tag cloud. By looking at a tag cloud, you can get a sense of what the hot topics are in a given area.
What can I do with tags?
Tagging is a way to help other users discover interesting posts. It's also a way to organize content in the community that you think is related. When you apply tags to a post, you add to the value by providing another way for people to find it.
Why do people tag?
Some users will tag posts for their own convenience in finding them later. Other users enjoy helping categorize interesting posts for the benefit of the community. Users who tag lots of posts gain status by appearing on Tag Leaderboards.
How do I tag?
To add a tag:
- Navigate to an interesting post or comment.
- Click in the Add a Tag field and type your tags (separated by commas).
Private Messenger
What is the Private Messenger?
Private Messenger enables you to send private notes to other community members. Private Messenger has two big advantages over email:
- You don't have to know the other member's email address to send the note. (Also, you don't have to reveal yours.)
- You can read and send private messages without leaving the community, making it easy toa quick conversation with another community member.
To use the Private Messenger, you must be registered and signed in. You'll see a Private Message icon at the top of your page. If you have any new messages, you'll see the number of unread messages next to the envelope icon.
Click the message count or envelope icon to go to your Private Messages Inbox.
How do I send a private message?
To send a private message:
- Sign in to the community.
- Click My Inbox to go to your Private Messages Inbox.
- Click Compose.
- Enter the recipient's name in the Send to area.
Note: Depending on your role in the community, you might be able to send a message to a group of users based on their role or rank in the community. If so, you can choose a role or a rank.
- Enter the subject for the message in the Message Subject area.
- Type the reply in the Message Body editor.
- Click Send.
You can look for the messages you've sent in the Sent tab.
How do I read a private message?
To read a private message:
- Sign in to the community.
If you have any new messages, you'll see the number of unread messages next to the envelope icon.
- Click the message count or envelope icon to go to your Private Messages Inbox.
- To read a message, click the message subject.
- To reply to a message, click Reply. Type the reply and click Send Message.
How do I reply to a private message?
To reply to a private message:
- Sign in to the community.
- Click the message count or envelope icon to go to your Private Messages Inbox.
- To read a message, click the message subject.
- To reply to a message, click Reply To Message.
The recipient and subject are automatically entered for you, but you can edit them.
- Type the reply in the Message Body editor.
- Click Send Message.
How do I delete a private message?
You can delete messages one at a time as you read them, or in bulk from your Inbox.
To delete a private message:
- Sign in to the community.
- Click the message count or envelope icon to go to your Private Messages Inbox.
- To delete a single message, click the message to view it and then click Delete.
- To delete all messages, click the Options menu and click Delete All.
How do I see private messages I've sent to others?
To see the private messages you've sent:
- Sign in to the community.
- Click the message count or envelope icon to go to your Private Messages Inbox.
- Click Sent Messages.
Organization/employer email address
If you use an employer- or organization-based email address (e.g., name@higherlogic.com), ask your IT department or vendor to add the following domain to your organization's allow list.
connectedcommunity.org
Alternatively, they can allow list by IP address. Higher Logic sends email messages from 12 dedicated IP addresses.
- 240.14.78
- 240.14.79
- 240.14.80
- 240.14.31
- 240.14.32
- 240.14.106
- 240.14.216
- 240.14.217
- 240.14.218
- 240.14.219
- 240.14.220
- 240.14.221