Help section
- Profile
- Projects
- Events
- Groups
- Forum
- Noticeboard
- Search
Profiles
A profile is a part of the site where you tell other members all about yourself. It contains details that people will require when searching for contacts on the site.
The importance of a profile:
A profile is important because it is the first point of contact you will have with other members of the site. People will look at your profile and then decide whether they want further communication with you by seeing if their interests or recent projects match up with yours. It is advisable to have more detail on your profile than a basic description and your demographics.
Updating/Editing your profile:
To update your profile click on the “My Profile” link located in the left hand navigation. This will load your profile. At the top of your profile is a link that says “Edit”. By clicking this link you will be led to the “Edit Profile” screen where you will be able to change, add or remove details as you wish. This screen will also allow you to change your password.
Uploading your CV to your profile:
To upload a full CV, click though to the “Edit Profile” page and scroll down until you see the field labelled “Upload CV”. It is then just a matter of browsing your computer for the CV you wish to upload (In Microsoft Word document format) and clicking “Upload”.
Adding a picture:
If you wish to add a picture to your profile, go to the Edit Profile screen and look at the links beneath the top navigation bar. The second one is called “Picture”. By following this link you can upload a new picture, which will be displayed whenever someone else sees your presence on the site.
Finding other member’s profiles:
To search for other members, click on the “Search members” link located in the top right hand corner of any page. This clicks through to a facility whereby you can search for profiles by filling in any of the available fields and clicking “Submit”. Bear in mind that entering a small amount of detail will return a wide range of search results. Making your search criteria more specific will return a more relevant outcome. Please also see “Searching for other members” in the help guide index.
Projects
Projects are the community's opportunity to share information on work they have complete, engaged with or will be working on in the future.
My Projects:
My Projects is a platform whereby you can show other site users what your current and past projects have entailed.
Adding a Project:
On the top navigation bar click on “Projects”. This will load the “Projects Home Page” which displays yours and your contacts projects. To add a project, click on “Add Projects” located beneath the top navigation bar. This will load a page where you can enter in all the details regarding your project to show other users. Please remember to check the box accepting this sites terms and conditions. After filling in all details, click “SUBMIT”. This will take you to a screen where you can add photos to the project. Add a caption and browse your computer for a picture before clicking “Add Photo”. If you wish to bypass this step then click “FINISH”. You will then see the display of your project, which can be accessed by other members of the site.
Viewing other people’s projects:
Click on “Projects” in the top navigation bar. This will produce a list of all of the most recent projects added. To view a particular one, click on the description.
Viewing all of my projects:
To see all the projects you have added to the site, load the “Projects Home Page” by clicking on “Projects” in the top navigation bar. Look for the “My Projects” link beneath the main navigation bar to load a list of all projects that you have added to the site. To edit any of your projects, simply click on the "EDIT" link located in the right hand column of any project on this page.
Mail is the quickest and most common form of communication between members on the site. You can send private messages to any other members at the speed of e-mail.
Accessing Mail:
Accessing your mail can easily be done by clicking the “My Mail” link on the left hand navigation bar. Following this link will take you to your inbox where all your received mail from other members of the site is displayed, sorted from the most recent. From this page you can also view your sent mail by clicking the “Sent” link as well as items you have deleted by clicking on “Trash”.
Sending Mail:
To compose a mail, go to the “My Mail” screen and click “Compose” on the right hand side. This will click through to a page whereby you can construct the mail you wish to send. Select someone on the drop down menu to whom you wish to send the message and click on “Add recipient”. If you add the incorrect recipient, click on the small “x” next to their name to remove. Add a subject, type in the message and click on “Post Message”.
Formatting mail:
There are a few ways to format the mail you wish to send. Currently you can make text bold or italicise it, as well as adding numbered or plain bullets.
Events
The events functionality allows you to see what events are happening amongst the community. You can also add details of events yourself.
Adding/Creating an Event:
Creating or adding an event on the site is an easy way to invite all or selected contacts. Do this by clicking through to the “Events Home Page” and looking for a link beneath the top navigation bar that says “Create an Event”. This links to a page where you can fully describe your event; including dates, times and locations as well as the purpose and name of the event. This will all show up on your contacts profiles when they go to their own “Events Home Page”. Mandatory fields are marked with a * symbol. After all pertinent information has been filled in, click “Submit” to store your event on the site.
Viewing Events:
To view upcoming events, go to the “Events Home Page” screen by clicking the “My Events” link located in the left hand navigation.
Inviting people to Events:
To invite people to your events, go to the “Events Home Page” and click on “My Events” beneath the top navigation bar. You will see a list of your events with a link saying “INVITE” next to each one. Select this to send out Event invitations to specific people.
Viewing My Events:
To see a list of all events that you have added to the site, click “My events” beneath the top navigation bar. This produces a list off all upcoming events that you have added to the site.
Using the Calendar:
To access the Calendar, go to the “Events Home Page” and look for a link that says “Calendar” below the top navigation bar. This clicks through to a page of the month you are currently in. The yellow block highlights the current date and the blue-green block highlights days containing events.
Groups
Groups give the opportunity for like-minded people to discuss an issue or point together. Access the Groups Screen by clicking on “Groups” in the top navigation bar.
Creating a Group:
To create a group, click on the “Create a Group” link located beneath the top navigation bar. This will click through to a page where you will be asked to enter a name for your group, an image and a brief explanation. Click “CREATE” after you have filled in the fields and your group will be created in the system.
Debate and discussion:
To enter into debate and discussion, please see “Forum” in this help guide index.
Forum
The Forum is a platform whereby you can offer your opinion and discuss issues with other members of the site.
Using the Forum:
To get to the forum, click on “Forum” located in the left hand navigation bar. This will take you to the “Groups Screen”, which a list of groups you belong to. Clicking on the title of any group in this list will take you to the group. The specific group page will show you the description of the group, the latest members who have joined the group, the latest events regarding the group and the latest Forum posts. Beneath the latest forum posts is a link labelled “Go to the Forum”. Click on this, and a list of topics will be displayed.
Posting comments:
Click on “Forum” in the left hand navigation bar to access the Groups screen. Beneath the latest forum posts is a link labelled “Go to the Forum”. Click on this, and a list of topics will be displayed. Select a topic you wish to respond to and click on “Join the Debate - Read Comments”. This will load a screen whereby you can reply to other people’s posts by writing in the relevant fields. If you wish to reply to an exact posting, click the “REPLY” link beneath the post. If you wish to add to the discussion then write your comment in the box labelled “NEW POST”.
Noticeboard:
The Noticeboard works like a classifieds section across the site. Should you need something, or have something to offer, the Noticeboard is the perfect place in which to seek or offer it.
Viewing the Noticeboard:
To view the Noticeboard, click on “Noticeboard” in the top navigation bar. It is sorted into six sections:
- People Required
- Services Offered
- Articles Wanted
- Articles for Sale
- Skills Exchange
- Free Stuff
Adding a listing to the Noticeboard:
Go to the “Noticeboard Home” page by clicking “Noticeboard” in the top navigation bar. Click on the “Create a listing” link below the top navigation bar, which will take you to a page containing blank fields. Add the title, other important details and the body text of your listing and click “Preview Listing” to view your advertisement as other site users will see it. If you are satisfied, click “ADD LISTING”. Otherwise, edit your listing and preview again.
Editing/Deleting a listing:
To edit any of your Noticeboard listings, click through to the “Noticeboard Home” page and click “My listing” below the top navigation bar. This will click through to a list of all the listings you have created on the site. All of these have an “Edit” link in the bottom right hand corner. Click “Edit” to change any details, and finish by previewing and submitting your listing again. If you wish to remove the listing, click “DELETE”.
Searching the site
Finding other members:
To search for other members, click on the “Search members” link located in the top right hand corner of any page above the top navigation bar. This clicks through to a facility whereby you can search for profiles by filling in any of the available fields and clicking “Submit”. Bear in mind that entering a small amount of detail will return a wide range of search results. Making your search criteria more specific will return a more relevant outcome. You can search for a member by forename, surname, location (and region), city and job details.
When you search results load, click the title or name of the profile. This will load the member’s profile and give you the option of either sending them a message, or adding them as a contact.
Searching for Events, messages, Profiles, Notices, Forums or Projects:
To search for Events, messages, Profiles, Notices, Forums or Projects, click on “Advanced Search” on the “Members Search” screen.