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General
Contacts / Connections
Places / Discussions
Library / Resources
General | Top
Q: How do I create a new account?
- Click the Sign In button on the top right of the site. On the Sign In page, click on New User/Register Now
- Fill in the fields and click the Create Account button. (See screenshot below).
- Your request to create an account will generate an email to the VOA Connect community team to approve your registration. If you are a confirmed VOA employee, you will receive an approval email within the same workday. If you don’t receive an email, contact our team using the Contact Us form. You should use your VOA email address, or you risk being denied. Please contact our team if you don’t have an official VOA email address.
Q: How do I update my contact information?
A: On your profile page, please select the pencil icon next to "Contact Details" in the left column.
Q: How do I control what information is visible in My Profile?
A: Please navigate to your profile page, then select the "My Account" tab and choose "Privacy Settings" from the drop-down menu. This will let you control what information is visible to whom. After you’ve made changes, click the “Save Changes” button at the bottom of the page.
Q: How do I upload my profile picture?
A: Uploading a profile picture is highly recommended for all VOA Connect users for several reasons, but first and foremost, it lets other users "put a face to the name," helping you seem less like a digital stranger and more like a real person. Ultimately, something as simple as uploading a picture, which takes less than a minute, can give you a stronger connection to your VOA family. To upload a profile picture, click Actions > Change Picture and browse for the desired image on your computer or network, or use any of the available third-party options.
Q: What size image works best for my profile picture?
A: For best results, your profile picture should be 200 x 200 pixels at 96 dpi. If your image is more significant, it will be automatically re-sized to this and may not display as you intend.
Contacts / Connections | Top
Q: How do I find other members?
A: Click the “Member Directory” link in the main navigation bar. The Directory lets you search for other users based on the following:
- First and/or last name
- Affiliate name
- Email address
- City
- State
Q: How do I add contacts to my contact list?
A: There are several ways to add contacts. When searching in the Member Directory, you will see an “Add as contact” button to the right of each person in your search results. Just click this button to send a contact request. If you click through and view an individual’s profile, you can click the contact request link to the right of their profile picture.
Q: Why should I add contacts to my contact list?
A: Creating this virtual address book makes it easy to send your contacts messages through the VOA Connect site to stay in touch, ask questions or even build a referral network. Additionally, when you view another member’s profile, you’ll be able to see any contacts you have in common. You can also let your contacts view certain demographics in your profile that others can't.
Places / Discussions | Top
Q: What are places?
A: Places allow you to participate in discussions and share resources with other members.
Q: What places do I already belong to?
A: Go to “Places” in the main navigation bar. Select “My Places” to view the places you currently belong to.
Q: How do I join/subscribe to a place and the affiliated discussion group?
A: Click on “Places” in the main navigation and click on “All Places” to see a list of available places. Click on the place you wish to join and click "Join," then choose a delivery option for posts (Real Time, Daily Digest, or No Email).
Q: How can I control the frequency and format of emails I receive?
A: Navigate to your profile and click the "My Account" tab. Choose "Place Notifications" from the drop-down menu. On that page, you can view and control your subscription options.
For each discussion, you have the following delivery options:
- Real time: sends an email whenever a new message is posted.
- Daily digest: sends an email to you each day, consolidating all the posts from the previous day.
- No Email: allows you to be part of the group without having emails sent to you. You can still post and read others’ messages by logging into the community site.
- Consolidated Digest: combines multiple places and submissions into one notification email received every Thursday.
Q: How do I leave a place or unsubscribe from a discussion?
A: Go to your profile and click the "My Account" tab. Choose "Place Notifications" from the drop-down menu. Here, you will see a list of the communities you’ve subscribed to. Select "Leave Place” under the Actions column for the discussions you wish to leave.
Q: How do I respond to others’ posts?
A: To respond to a discussion post, please navigate to the discussion post and click “Reply" to send your message to the entire place. To send a message to only the author of the post, please select “Reply Privately” (located in the "Reply" drop-down). We recommend replying privately for simple comments like “me, too” that add little value to the overall discussion and replying to the entire place when you share knowledge, experience, or resources that others could benefit from.
Q: How do I start a new discussion thread?
A: On the site, go to “Participate" > “Post a message.” From an email for a particular discussion group, you can use the “Post Message” link located at the top of the discussion email. Each place also has a unique email address. Save that to your address book, and start a new post like a regular email.
Q: I’m having trouble viewing the HTML email messages. How do I fix this?
A: If images are not appearing, it is likely that your email client is set to suppress images. This should be something you can change in your security or viewing options. If you would rather receive a text-based email, go to your profile page and click on the "My Account" tab. Choose "Place Notifications" from the drop-down menu. Select the “Plain Text” format option for each of the discussions you are subscribed to.
Q: Can I search for posts across all the places?
A: Yes, please enter a keyword in the search bar located in the main navigation. Select one or more facets from the menu on the left side to refine your search results.
Q: How do I see a listing of all the posts to a specific Place?
A: Locate the place you want to view from the appropriate places page. Click through the place's landing page, then click on the “Discussions” tab. If you see a post you’re interested in, click the subject line, which will take you to the entire thread.
Libraries | Top
Q: How do I find resources that other members may have uploaded?
A: If you know which library the resource might be in, you can find the affiliated place on the My Places page. Click through the place's landing page, then click on the “Library” tab. If you do not know where the resource might be, enter search terms in the main search box the same way you might enter search terms into Google or another search engine.
Q: How do the libraries get populated?
A: The libraries are populated in two ways:
1. When you include an attachment in a discussion post, the system automatically places it in the affiliated library.
2. You can also upload documents directly to a library by using the “Share a File” link found under “Participate” in the main navigation or the "Create New Library Entry" button on any place's library page. Library resources are not required to be associated with a discussion thread.
Q: How do I upload a file?
A: Select the “Share a File” link found under “Participate” in the main navigation or "Create New Library Entry" on any place's landing page. Please note that uploading a document is accomplished by completing a few steps, and each step must be completed before you can move on to the next:
- Choose a title for your document, and include a description (optional). Select the library to which you’d like to upload it, and select a folder to which you’d like to upload it (optional). Then, choose an Entry Type (most will be Standard Files, but be aware of any copyright-licensed material). Once you have completed these steps, please click “Next.”
- Upload your file.
- Select “Next” to further describe your files and/or add tags to your file. Otherwise, please click “Finish” to post your library entry
Q: What kind of files can I upload?
A: The system supports dozens of file types, including hyperlinks, standard files (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), webinars, images, and YouTube videos.
Q: What are the “tags” for?
A: Tags are a great way to organize and categorize content on your site. Tags can be applied to blogs, library entries, events, and glossary terms. Tagged items are prioritized in the search results.