Managing Your Member Profile

How do I update my contact information and other profile information? 

To update your contact information, go to your profile--a link to your profile is located in the top right corner of all IPRAConnect pages. Click on the "Edit contact information" link. Edit the fields you wish and save when you are done. To update other information in your profile, click the “Edit” or “Add/Edit” links in each section, such as your biography, education, job history, and other profile fields. You can also click “Manage Profile” on the right side of the page to access additional account information.

How do I control what information is shown in My Profile? 

On your profile page, click 'My Account' and then 'Privacy Settings' link. This will let you control what information is visible to whom. Please note that selecting the “public” option will make your profile visible to anyone on the internet; we recommend you do not use this option unless you would like to use your profile as an electronic resume. After you have made changes, click the “Save Changes” button at the bottom of the page.

My picture won’t upload. What’s wrong? 

The dimensions of the image must be no larger than 600 pixels wide by 600 pixels high. The file size (kilobytes, megabytes, etc.) does not matter. You can check the dimensions in programs like Photoshop, Microsoft Paint, and Microsoft Photo Editor. The image must also be saved in a .jpg, .gif, or .bmp format.

Managing Your Contacts

Why should I add contacts to my contact list?

Creating this virtual address book makes it easy to send your contacts messages through the system to stay in touch, ask questions, or solicit advice. Additionally, when you view another member’s profile, you will be able to see any contacts you have in common with them. You can choose to let only your contacts view or comment on your blog or view certain sections of your profile.

How do I add contacts to my contact list?

There are several ways to add contacts to your list. When you perform a search in the Directory, you will see an “Add as contact” link next to each person in your search results. Just click this link to send a contact request. If you are viewing someone’s profile, you can click the contact request link just to the right of their profile picture. Clicking any of your “My Networks” links, either from your profile or under the “My Profile” tab, will yield a similar list.

I received a contact request that I don’t want to accept. What happens if I decline?

When you receive a contact request, you will have the option of accepting, declining, or sending that person a message. When you choose to simply decline, the request disappears from your contact requests; the person who sent it to you is NOT notified that you have declined. If you would like to tell the person why you are declining their invitation, choose the option to send them a message first. After the message is sent, you can click the “Decline” button.

Managing My Communities

How do I change my subscription settings in the community discussions?

Under "Profile," click the "My Account" link, then 'Email Preferences'. Your notification settings for all of your communities are located here. We recommend you select Real Time or Daily Digest; we do NOT recommend No-Emails or Unsubscribe. By selecting No-Emails, you are choosing to cease all emails from that particular discussion, and you will no longer receive any updates about new posts or discussion threads. Unsubscribing from a community will restrict your access to that community’s document library and discussions. You should only unsubscribe when you no longer wish to access that community’s discussions and resources.

• Real Time: You will receive notifications of new discussions and replies in the community in your e-mail inbox as they occur in real time, sent in HTML format.
• Daily Digest: You will receive one daily e-mail notification of any discussions or replies that occurred throughout the day in that community.
• No-Emails: You will not receive any e-mails from the specific community.
  
• Unsubscribe: You will remove yourself from the community.

I’m having trouble viewing the HTML e-mail messages. How do I fix this?

If images are not appearing, it is likely that your e-mail client is set to suppress images. This should be something you can change in your security or viewing options. If you would rather receive text-based e-mail, go to the “My Subscriptions” page and select the “PDA” format option for each of your communities. Be sure to hit “Save” at the bottom of the page.

Can I search for postings across all of my communities?

Yes. Click “General Search” under the “Library” tab in the top navigation bar, then select the “Advanced Search” link. This will let you search based on keywords, select the specific discussions you would like to search, and even select a date range.

Using IPRAConnect Libraries

How do I access the main IPRAConnect Library?

Click the “Browse” tab in the top navigation bar, then “Library Entries.”  

I’m a member of a few different communities. How do I view the documents in those community libraries?  

Click the “Communities” tab in the top navigation bar, then “My Communities.” From this list, you can select “View the Library” next to the community of interest.

Alternatively, you can also conduct an advanced search for documents in specific libraries by clicking the “Library” tab in the top navigation bar, then “General Search” and selecting the “Advanced Search” link. You can then search specific communities for documents and resources.

Can I search for specific file types?

Yes. Under the “Library” tab, select “General Search,” then click the “Advanced Search” link. This search will let you specify file type: PowerPoint, Excel, image, video, etc.

On what other properties can I search?

The advanced search option allows you to find documents based on keywords within a document title or description or even within its content. You can also specify which libraries you’d like to search, by which author, date posted, tags and more.

How do the libraries get populated?

You can add documents in two ways: you can upload documents directly by using the “Add Document” link found in the left navigation. Alternately, when you include an attachment in a discussion post, the system automatically places it in the affiliated community library and sends a link to it to all subscribers. Document additions will be moderated by the IPRA Staff.

How do I upload a document?

In the library section of the site, click the “Add Document” link in the left navigation. Please note that uploading a document is done in three steps and each step must be completed before you can move on to the next.

• First, enter a title and description for your document. Select the library to which you would like to upload it, and click “Save.”
• Next, select a file to upload, and click “Upload.”
• After uploading, you will have the option of adding tags or keywords to your document so it is more easily searchable.

What kind of documents can I upload?

The system supports literally dozens of file types: PDFs, PowerPoint, Excel, Word, images, and even video. You are, however, prohibited from uploading copyright-protected documents that you do not have the rights to post. 

What are tags?

Tags are another way of organizing and searching for documents. Tags allow you to search for resources and documents based on specific topics, no matter where they are physically located in the library. This is particularly helpful if you are looking for all resources on a specific topic.

Can someone else edit or delete my file?

As the owner of the document, only you or a system administrator can delete your document. If you would like to delete it, just click the red “X” that appears when you view the document details.

Can I download documents?

Absolutely! To download a document, conduct a search, then click on the name of the document in which you are interested. To download the file, click on the link or links listed under “File(s) in this Document.”